Taken by the Beast (7 page)

“Fuck,” he said.

The reporter was talking over the video shot of the two of them walking out of the McDonalds. They were calling it a kidnapping and from the look on Kayla’s face in the footage, he could understand why.

It went on. There was a reward on his head, one million for information leading to his capture and another million on her safe return. The reward was offered anonymously, but he knew immediately who was behind it.

Switching off the TV, he walked into the bathroom, reached into the shower, and switched it off.

“Hey! I still have shampoo in my hair!”

“Shower’s over. We’re leaving,” he said.

She switched the water back on.

He grabbed her hard, “Now, Kayla!”

“Fine. Christ, give me a break! It’ll just take another minute!”

“Don’t fucking swear!” he said, lifting her out and dragging her into the bedroom.

“I can’t
fucking swear
but you can? Just leave me here; I’m not going with you! You’re
fucking
crazy
, Elijah! What the hell’s got up your butt?”

“You’re going to have me up yours if you keep going like this.” That quieted her. “Your stupid stunt has us all over the news and there’s a price on our heads. Can you guess which anonymous group posted that reward?”

She looked at him. Well, she wasn’t stupid.

“Get dressed.”

He collected the rope and put his t-shirt back on.

“I’m not going with you. You’ll be faster on your own anyway, just leave me here. I’ll say I got away. I won’t tell them anything else.”

“Fuck, Kayla. Why do you have to be such a pain in the ass?”

* * *

Kayla sat in the front of the car, still wrapped in the ratty towel from the hotel, her hands and ankles taped together tightly. She looked straight ahead, fuming. He was a brute. And to think, just moments ago, she’d been thinking how caring he was! She had serious issues.

“Sleep if you want; we’ll go as long as we can by car tonight.”

“Fuck you.”

“I’ll owe you for those. You’d do well to remember if it weren’t for me trying to save our lives right now, you’d be over my knee, little girl.”

“I’m not a little girl. And spanking isn’t the answer to everything.”

“But it sure is fun watching you squirm.”

She glared at him, but had no comeback, so she turned to stare straight out of the front window.

* * *

She drifted in and out of sleep for what seemed like forever. When the sun was coming up, she turned to him.

“How much longer?” she asked.

“Not much.”

“You’re always a wealth of information.”

“I try.”

“Can you take these off? It’s not like I’m going to jump out of a moving car naked or something.”

“No, I can’t. Besides, when we get to the cabin, I’ll need to hunt. This way we can save tape.”

Was he serious? “You’re a real jerk, you know that?”

“I’m saving your ass.”

“You got my ass into this to begin with.”

“Christ! Go back to sleep. I like you better that way.”

“I’m hungry, I’m cold, and I hurt all over.”

He ignored her and she turned to watch out of the window. She had no idea where they were, but they were climbing up a steep, one-lane road. After another forty-five minutes, he turned off the path and drove into a wooded area.

“It’s only a half-hour’s walk from here, but this is as far as we can drive,” he said.

He came around and opened her door, then unbuckled her seatbelt and squatted down, taking the pocket knife out of his jeans pocket.

“Swing your legs out.”

She did and he cut the tape, freeing her ankles. She didn’t thank him, but held her wrists out for him to free them.

“Step out,” he said.

“What about my wrists?”

“Step out.”

“How am I supposed to get dressed?”

Without hesitation, he hauled her to her feet and stripped her of the flimsy towel.

“Hey!” she said, just barely able to cover her breasts.

“Maybe I should keep you naked. Might help with your manners and overall attitude.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Wouldn’t I? You might be more cooperative.”

She glared at him. “I’m cold.”

“I can see that.”

She looked down to see one hardened nipple peeking between her arms and flushed red.

She exhaled and pasted a fake smile on her face. “Would you please cut this tape off?” she asked in a sweet voice laced with poison.

“Nice,” he said, returning his own fake smile. He retrieved her clothes from the back seat and bent down to hold her panties for her to step into. She held onto his shoulders to do so, trying hard not to think how powerful he felt beneath her small hands or the fact that he was eye level with her
there
.

Once her pants were tied in place, she stepped into her flip-flops.

“Wrists,” he said.

She held them out and he cut the tape off.

“Hoodie is in the back seat,” he said.

She got it and pulled it over her shoulders, watching while he removed the license plate from the car and threw the tarp over the top of it. Then they began their walk.

She was determined not to say a word. He seemed to listen to all the sounds around him, turning at things she couldn’t hear, reminding her again of what he was.

They finally came upon the cabin and, after checking the perimeter, he unlocked the door and invited her inside. Light spilled in from the windows and she looked around. It was bigger and more comfortably furnished than the hut they’d slept in the first night. A kitchen took up one end with a small round table and two chairs inside, while a large leather sofa situated in front of the huge stone fireplace made up the living room. There was a coffee table in front of it and wood was stacked alongside the fireplace.

“Bathroom and bedroom are through here,” he said.

She followed him into the bedroom where a thick, high bed took up most of the space. Another door led to the bathroom, which contained a bathtub, sink, and toilet.

“Nice,” she said. “An upgrade from the hut.”

“Thank you. I built it a few years back.” He paused. “I need to hunt. I won’t be long, but I don’t want to make a fire until I return. Would you like some water in the meantime?”

“No, I’m ok.”

He rummaged through the duffel bag and withdrew the rope. “I can sit you on a chair in the kitchen or tie you to the bed. The latter will be more comfortable.”

“Or you could just lock the door. It’s not like I know where the hell I am anyway.”

“I don’t like you swearing, Kayla,” he said. “I’m serious.”

She could tell his fuse was short, but couldn’t help herself.

“Get up on the bed.”

“No. My wrists still hurt from the duct tape and I’m not going anywhere.”

“I still don’t think you understand the danger you’re in,” he said, taking hold of her.

She swung at his face and kicked her legs when he lifted her, carrying her to the bed and tossing her onto it.

“Belly or back?”

“Fuck you, asshole!”

“Belly it is. If I weren’t such a nice guy, I’d make you sit on a hard wooden chair. Given the tender state of your ass, you should be grateful.”

“Try this for grateful, you bastard!” she yelled, kicking, almost landing it in his crotch, but not quite. He lifted her arms over her head and wound rope around and between her wrists. He then secured it to one of the bars of the iron headboard. When she continued to struggle, he caught her ankle and pulled her flat.

“Let me go!” she screamed, kicking.

“Then stop struggling!”

His voice sounded different, harder. She immediately stopped and turned to look at him. When he reached a hand to the buckle of his belt, her eyes grew wide.

“No, no, no! Please don’t whip me again. Please,” she begged, climbing onto her knees.

“Then don’t make me.”

She nodded and watched while he stripped off his jeans and t-shirt, noting how he kept his eyes on hers the entire time. She turned away when he pulled his underwear off but not before she got a glimpse.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“I told you I need to hunt. I tear my clothes if I shift while dressed and I happen to like these jeans.”

She turned back to him. Was he going to do it right here? Seeing him in wolf form once was enough for a lifetime.

“Relax, I’ll go outside. Be good, Kayla.”

He walked out of the bedroom and she heard the front door open and close, then the sound of the lock turning. She was alone.

Chapter Seven

He lost a simple rabbit. He’d been hunting all his life and hadn’t lost one in as long as he could remember. Crap! It was her.

He sat down, needing to regroup. Was it the spanking? How turned on he was whenever he punished her? He hadn’t disciplined a woman since his wife, and Kayla wasn’t his to take; he’d decided that. Spanking her just felt natural, good. Was it more instinct than anything else that drew him to her? The need for survival?

But he wasn’t going to do anything about that. He’d put her in enough danger—he should have just left her alone. It was too late now. Surely the men who were after him would have done their research, found out who her father was. Phillip was too smart not to have done that. The million on her head only proved it to him. He should have left her alone from the beginning; never even looked into finding her.

He’d known her history. He’d even known the men who had killed her father. The same men who were after them now. Should he tell her? He’d known of her existence since long before searching for her, knowing the chances of her having the wolf gene would be 50/50. That drive to find her, to find out for sure, was instinct. Was nature—the need to survive. When he’d found her, he’d completed his research and knew she could bear children with the dominant wolf gene. It was his only chance to restart his line again. But it wasn’t as simple as that. He had feelings for her; he had ever since that day in the lobby of the apartment building they shared. He’d wanted her since then and he was only fooling himself by denying that fact.

“Fuck!” He slammed his fist into a nearby tree. He needed to leave her alone. He’d only be placing her in more danger if he traveled down that road. Hadn’t she had enough pain in her life already? And it wasn’t like his presence in it, as much as it had saved her from a few awful things, kept her safe. Just the opposite. Her being at the cabin bound to his bed was an indication of that.

He growled. He needed to hunt, get some food for tonight, and get back to her. The rest he’d figure out later.

* * *

Kayla lay on her side on the bed. She wasn’t even going to try to escape, not yet. She didn’t doubt for a moment he would track her down and the sting of the belt was too fresh on her mind and her bottom. She knew somehow he’d been holding back when he’d punished her. It had still hurt like hell, but she knew he could make it much worse if he chose. Easily.

The memory of him removing his belt, the almost ritual-like preparation, caused her clit to swell, as if it were just waking. The spanking aside, when he’d had her strip and bound her as he had, almost dangling her from the middle of the room, she’d already been wet. The way he’d taken her panties down to mid-thigh, quietly watched her, had heated her through. He had dominated her completely and the simple rope trick had subtly and effectively made his point.

But why wouldn’t he do more than touch her? Didn’t he want to fuck her? She could see how turned on he was whenever he spanked her, but he never did anything about it. Maybe it wasn’t her at all. Maybe it was the act itself that aroused him. Either way, she needed release.

She heard the lock and turned to watch over her shoulder. He sauntered into the bedroom, naked, smeared with earth and carrying a dead rabbit by the ears.

She tried hard to focus on that rabbit.

“Dinner,” he said. “Hope you were all right while I was gone.”

At least it wasn’t a squirrel.

“Yes, I was completely comfortable. It was great, thanks for asking.”

One side of his mouth lifted into a small smile. He walked out and before she had a chance to call after him and make him untie her, he was back doing just that.

“Thank you,” she said, rubbing the tender flesh. He walked toward the bathroom. She watched his back, his muscled, wide shoulders, narrow waist and tight, gorgeous ass. His thighs were thick and she distinctly remembered how hard when she’d been sprawled across them.

He turned to her and she flushed red. He narrowed his eyes and grinned, which only made the shade a little darker. He knew exactly what she was thinking.

“Come, I need to wash and you were whining about your hair earlier. I only have cold running water and am boiling some now. We’ll have to share the bath, but I’ll wash you first.”

She swallowed, her body coming alive with sensation. An image of her straddling his slippery, wet thighs, sliding onto his cock while he soaped her breasts wouldn’t leave her be.

“I think I can wash myself,” she said, her voice sounding thick, unnatural. “I’ve been doing it for years.”

He shrugged a shoulder. “There’s a spare toothbrush in the cupboard and some shampoo. Help yourself,” he said, leaving. He returned a moment later with a steaming pot of hot water. He then turned on the tap and cold water mixed with the hot. She watched while brushing her teeth. It took a little time as he carried several more pots of water in, obviously very comfortable working naked around her. When he was finished, he turned to her.

“Take off your clothes and get in.”

“I will. And I promise not to take too long so the water’s still hot for you,” she said, feeling quite generous. In all honesty though, she planned on locking the door after he left and sitting in the tub until her skin pruned.

He shook his head and nodded toward the window, which wasn’t big, but if she really tried she could probably squeeze out of it.

“So you think I’m going to climb out of the window in my oversized hoodie and yoga pants, no shoes, and run blind into the woods?”