The Beast Within (4 page)

S
ebastian closed his eyes and gritted his teeth against the onslaught of pleasure. Liv’s tongue was tracing slick lines up and down his cock, teasing him, her hand rising and falling slowly on his flesh.

To say he had missed her touch was the understatement of the millennium, and this was different, better, than any time before. There was an edginess to both of them, a need to dive in and take everything, to grab and hold on to their ecstasy. She had always been an enthusiastic lover, but she had never been aggressive, never had that kind of smirk on her face that she was wearing now. Everything seemed sharper, more intense between them.

Her hair slid over her shoulders, a soft auburn wave tumbling down on her creamy flesh as she bent over him. Sebastian had always loved a woman’s mouth on him, hell, he couldn’t imagine a guy who didn’t love this. But now, after nearly losing her entirely, Sebastian was overwhelmed as he watched Liv moving over him.

Sensations both physical and emotional were assaulting him, the beauty of her body arching, the unleashing of all his love for her, the spike of desire with each stroke of her hand, all mixing together in a delicious slow motion. Each touch, each lick, each second, mattered, an intense appreciation for everything that he had just found again after suffering the agony of loneliness for the last six months.

“You’re amazing,” he told her, resting his hands on her head, the silken tresses of her soft hair surrounding his fingers. He meant the words to encapsulate everything, the way she was caring and giving, the way she loved him, the way she made him laugh, her beauty, the way she was taking him deep inside her mouth right at that very moment.

It was all amazing.

She was amazing.

The strokes got a little faster, his cock slick from her tongue and her mouth, her hand gripping him tightly, each squeeze, each slide, driving him further into ecstasy.

He fought the urge to close his eyes. He wanted to watch her, wanted to see himself disappearing between her lips over and over, wanted to see the curve of her ass moving forward and back with each suck, wanted to admire her hourglass shape.

His body was tight and throbbing and he knew he would come if he waited much longer. But it felt so good, so hot and right, and he pushed it, one more slide of her tongue, one more deep pull where nearly every inch of his cock was covered by her slick warm mouth.

Then grabbing every ounce of willpower he possessed, Sebastian pulled back, pushing Liv’s head away from him, shuddering at the pleasure and the loss. He had been right there, and he needed a second to get it under control. Liv was breathing hard, her lips swollen and shiny with moisture, her breasts tempting little mounds right in front of him. He palmed both of them, squeezing her firm smooth flesh, skimming his thumbs across her nipples.

She sighed, eyes half closed in a sexy slumberous look that nearly undid him.

He swung his legs over the side of the bed and told her, “Come here.”

“Where?” She didn’t look like she had a clue what he was suggesting, but she also looked perfectly open to anything he might suggest.

“On my lap.”

“Ooohh.” Her eyes darkened and she shifted one leg over his thighs.

Sebastian held her waist as she settled against him, her breasts brushing his chest, her lips hovering in front of his, her damp inner thighs making a teasing light contact with his very hard erection.

“Hi,” she said, in a soft flirty voice.

A grin split his face. “Hey. Funny meeting you here.”

Her expression went from amused to serious, and Sebastian immediately regretted his words. He hadn’t meant to imply anything. It was just a standard expression, a response meant to be funny, not in any way suggestive of where they were, in his brother’s house.

God, in his brother’s bed.

He was about to open his mouth and apologize, reassure her, but Liv lifted her hips and with a single motion impaled herself on him. The hot enclosure surrounded him immediately and unexpectedly and Sebastian groaned, gripping her hips tightly. “Oh, damn,” he murmured.

“I’ll meet you anywhere,” she said, her green eyes piercing him. “Remember that.”

He needed to hear that, needed to know that she would always be with him, at his side. He could see the love, the loyalty, the devotion in her eyes and he was flooded with gratitude, love, pleasure.

“And I’ll love you everywhere. Always.”

Sebastian thrust up into her, setting a slow, even rhythm, watching her mouth drift open on her ecstasy, her legs locked around his, her fingers light on his shoulders. She gave the most delightful little hitch of breath every time he pushed up into her, and he kissed her, wanting to catch that breath, wanting to take her inside him, wanting to touch and feel every inch of her.

When the kiss broke, her arms moved down and around, to his knees, and she arched her body, hair cascading back. Sebastian gave a low moan at how sexy she looked, how erotic and free, and he maneuvered one hand between them and stroked her clit.

She came with a cry, the pulses of her orgasm squeezing him and nearly taking him with her. But he wanted this one solo for her, so he gritted his teeth and controlled it, slowing down and just watching her beautifully undulate in her passion.

When she slowed down, Sebastian lifted her off him and onto the bed, needing a position that would let him pound into her, to have total control.

She gave a sigh of disappointment and started to lie down, but he tapped her backside. “Up on all fours, babe.”

He needed to take this home.

Liv heard the tightness in Sebastian’s voice and immediately obeyed. She knew that sound. He was close to coming, so despite the fact that she felt like she’d lost all control of her muscles from that amazing orgasm, she crawled into position on the middle of the bed. She barely had time to grip the duvet for stability when he pushed inside her.

God, she had missed him, this. He filled her fully, perfectly, deliciously.

He knew just how to stroke to please them both, knew the angle that made her crazy with desire. The thrusts were hard and fast, his hands holding on to her waist with a steel grip. The soft grunts of appreciation that came from him pleased her, had her inner muscles contracting again around him in a satisfying mini-orgasm.

That quivering sent Sebastian over the edge, his grip on her tightening. He exploded and Liv held on to the bed with white knuckles, and on to him with her warm and wet body.

He gave a final shudder, then a short laugh.

“Damn, that was amazing. You’re amazing.”

What she was, was in love. Liv collapsed on the bed in satisfaction, wanting to turn so she could see him, touch him.

Sebastian fell facedown next to her, falling so completely that Liv bounced up a little off the mattress from the impact. “Don’t wake me up for three days,” he said.

Liv laughed. “I doubt you’ll sleep for seventy-two hours straight.”

She expected him to make a crack in return, but he just rolled onto his side next to her and cupped her cheek.

“It feels like I’ve been running in my sleep for six months,” he whispered. “Now that I’m back with the woman I love, I can finally rest.”

Liv’s heart swelled and she looked deep into his mismatched eyes as she shifted in closer to him. “Then close your eyes and sleep. I love you.”

They could both rest now, back in each other’s arms.

The black wolf stared at her in the woods, his dark eyes filled with hatred and disdain. He was bigger than the others, stronger, quicker. He led with cunning and an unspoken threat. They were afraid of him, standing behind him uneasily shifting on their paws, one padding back and forth in nervous agitation.

She was alone, the lone human.

And he was going to kill her.

Liv fought the instinctive urge to run, knowing it would make no difference. He would catch her, and then he would have the satisfaction of knowing he’d sent her scrambling in fear.

She swallowed hard, staring him down so he wouldn’t hear her panicked and ragged breathing. This wasn’t how she wanted it to end, but if she was going to die, she wanted him to have to see her eyes locked on his until the very end.

Then he could take the image of her hurt and disgust through eternity with him.

Fisting her hands, she shifted her feet slightly apart, bracing for the impact.

With a growl, he sprang….

Liv sat straight up in bed, sucking in a lungful of air in panic, eyes darting around the room. It was still dark, Sebastian snug against her under the sheet, sound asleep.

The room was empty, silent, except for the soft snore from Sebastian and the tick of the clock in the hallway. The windows were closed and the room was warm from the heat she’d finally turned on for the fall and upcoming winter.

Nothing was wrong or out of the ordinary, yet her heart was racing, and she had the urgent and persistent feeling that they were in danger.

“Sebastian, wake up.” She shook him, feeling guilty about interrupting his sleep, but unable to stop herself.

“What?” he murmured, eyes still closed. His hands snaked out for her. “Climb on up and ride me again, baby.”

Normally she would have found his scratchy sleep-voice endearing, but she felt the anxiety creeping across her skin like a spider, covering every inch of her. “We have to go,” she told him without preamble.

His eyes shot open. “What? Why? What’s the matter?”

Now that she could see he was fully awake, Liv got out of bed and went to the dresser to pull out some clothes to throw on. “We need to get out of here. We’re in danger.”

Sebastian sat up, on alert, looking around. “I don’t see or hear anything.”

Pulling on her panties, she told him, “I don’t have a solid reason. It’s just a feeling. A strong feeling. I dreamt a black wolf came to kill me.”

There was a pause, then Sebastian climbed out of bed. “Okay, we’ll go to my place. We need to talk about all of this anyway. I’m sure you have questions, and we’re going to have to deal with my brother.”

Obviously that was the danger she felt…they were sleeping in Scarborough’s house, and though he was still in New York, there was nothing to prevent him from coming home early.

The full truth of what had happened and who she was hit Liv hard, and she paused in the act of pulling on her jeans. She couldn’t wrap her mind around all of this, and she sucked in deep breaths to try to calm herself down, the peace of lying side by side with Sebastian again shattered by reality.

“Hey,” he said, coming in front of her, his expression concerned. “It’s okay, we’ll work it all out. You have a lot to adjust to, but I’m here. It’s all okay, Liv, I swear.”

She nodded, wanting to believe that, and yanked her pants the rest of the way up. “You’ve been staying at your place?” Guilt crashed into her. She hadn’t even asked where he’d been the last six months once she’d known he hadn’t left her. There was a lot they needed to catch up on.

“Yeah. I wasn’t planning to stay there long since I thought my brother might figure it out, but I had cash hidden in my bedroom, which I desperately needed and I had to get it. Access to all my accounts has been cut off.”

“Your condo is in foreclosure,” Liv told him, a lump in her throat as she stepped into sneakers. “Scarborough said he wasn’t going to pay your mortgage while you betrayed everyone who loved you, so the bank is in the process of taking it back.” The guilt took an even stronger hold. “I’m sorry. I should have stopped him. I shouldn’t have believed him in the first place.”

“Liv.” Sebastian squeezed her hand. “It’s okay. With all the facts in front of you as they were, of course you believed him. There was no evidence of anything else. I’m not upset with you at all. I just wish you hadn’t suffered. That hurts me, that you hurt.”

She nodded. Now wasn’t the time to wallow in damaging emotions. They would need time to heal and process and let go, and they would over the next few months as they started a new life together. Right now they needed to get the hell out.

Five minutes later they were in Liv’s car and driving to his place when her cell phone rang in her purse.

“It’s four in the morning. Who’s calling you?” Sebastian asked, glancing over at her from the driver’s seat.

Liv pulled her phone out to check the screen, but the iron grip of fear had already settled around her heart. There was only one person it could be.

The lit-up screen mocked her, the ring loud and jarring in the quiet of the night.

“It’s Scarborough.”

“Does he usually call you in the middle of the night?”

Liv shook her head and dropped the phone in her lap. “No.”

“Y
ou’d better answer it,” Sebastian told Liv, uneasy as he drove, the phone resting in Liv’s lap like she was afraid it would bite if she got too close to it.

“No! I can’t talk to him.”

“But won’t he think it’s weird that you’re not answering?”

She shook her head. “Why would I answer? As far as he knows, I’m sleeping. I have my phone on vibrate at night normally.”

Sebastian didn’t like the sound of that. He stared at the yellow lines of the road in the dark. “So then why would he call you? It must be important.”

The ringing had stopped. “If it’s important, he’ll leave a voice mail.”

As they pulled into Sebastian’s condo complex, the phone chimed, indicating that Scar had left a message.

“Shit,” Liv whispered.

She looked scared, and that pissed Sebastian off. He hadn’t intended to deal with his brother immediately, but it seemed imminent. He wasn’t going to have Liv living in fear, nor was he going to have Liv staying in his brother’s house any longer.

“It’s okay, babe. Can I listen to the voice mail?”

Instead of handing him the phone, she put it to her own ear, punching buttons as he pulled into a free parking spot. She stared through the windshield as she listened. Sebastian turned off the car, feeling impatient.

Finally she hung up the phone and turned to him, her face pale in the beam from the overhead parking lot light. “He wasn’t expecting me to answer. He just wanted me to know there is a problem with the venue for the wedding and he’s coming home on a five
A.M
. flight to deal with it.”

Sebastian’s heart dropped into his gut. “What wedding?” he asked tightly.

Her eyes went wide. “My…mine and his. We’re supposed to get married next Saturday,” she whispered. “I thought you knew.”

A roaring flooded his ears and Sebastian’s vision blurred from an anger so intense he could taste it on his tongue. “You’re marrying him?” he asked, a little growl slipping out before he could control it.

“I thought you knew,” she said, her hands fluttering nervously in her lap. “It was a mistake, obviously…. I was already having serious doubts before I even knew the truth about you.”

Sebastian gritted his teeth. He could feel the change starting, his red-hot anger triggering a shift. He slowed his breathing, fighting it back.

It wasn’t anger against Liv, but against Scarborough, against the whole situation.

“I didn’t mean to let it get this far…. When you disappeared and I thought you stole my money, I was so devastated. He was there for me, a shoulder to cry on, offering me the one thing I’ve always wanted—a home, children, a family….”

She stopped speaking, her words trailing off, but they rang in Sebastian’s ears.

A home.

Children.

A family.

She had contemplated all of that with his brother.

She had intended to marry Scarborough, to have sex with him, to bear his children.

Now he was angry at Liv too, even as he knew it wasn’t totally rational.

His jaw throbbed, his fingers twitched, his legs moving restlessly.

Without a word, he got out of the car and stepped out of the streetlight, behind a row of bushes. Kicking off his shoes and tearing off his shirt, he felt the fur sprouting, his knuckles cracking, body arching.

He closed his eyes and gave in to the change.

If Liv had doubted the veracity of any of what Sebastian told her, or what she had seen, and felt in her dreamlike states, she could no longer doubt it.

When Sebastian had stepped out of the car without a word to her, she had followed him, knowing from the look on his face that he wasn’t taking the news of her impending marriage well. Wanting a chance to explain, wanting reassurance that he forgave her, she stepped behind the bushes.

And witnessed his shift right in front of her eyes. It was the most fascinating and appalling thing she’d ever seen. It looked painful, with his bones crackling and snapping, and his face contorting, yet she knew it had happened to her, and she didn’t remember it. Sebastian had fallen down onto all fours, and in less than thirty seconds, he was fully wolf, shifting restlessly on his paws.

Unsure what to do, Liv just stared, realizing that it was her confession about her wedding that had caused him to shift. Intense emotion. That’s what he had told her.

But she had shifted involuntarily, and she didn’t know how to force the shift intentionally, so she had no clue what to do now other than to wait for him to return to human form.

Sebastian moved purposefully around his discarded clothes, then looked pointedly at her. She figured he must want her to collect them for him, so she quickly scooped them up.

There was no fear that he would harm her as she moved closer to him, their faces mere inches apart. What she feared was that he wouldn’t understand, wouldn’t forgive her for intending to marry his brother. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, giving in to her urge and pushing her fingers into the thick fur of his neck and rubbing it.

He was warm, inherently masculine even in wolf form, and she suddenly felt very cold and alone when he moved away from her touch. His head turned to the building and then he nuzzled his jeans in her arms with his snout.

She realized he wanted her to go inside his condo. His keys must be in the denim pocket. When she pulled them out and said, “You want me to wait inside?” there was nothing she could consider a confirmation from him.

He simply took off running.

Gone. And she had no way to know where he was going, when he would come back, or if he was willing to discuss any of this with her.

Fingers shaking slightly, Liv readjusted her purse strap, held his clothes against her chest, and went into his condo. There was a staleness in the air, but nothing had changed. Scarborough hadn’t disturbed any of Sebastian’s possessions. He had clearly intended to let the bank have them, which sickened Liv.

It was hard to believe that the man she’d been living with for the past three months was capable of such callousness. Part of her wanted to think that there was another explanation, because Scarborough had never shown her anything other than kindness and compassion. But it had to have been an act, and that was scary, that she had never picked up on it, that she had been so desperate for companionship, she hadn’t noticed anything was off.

Wandering aimlessly around Sebastian’s musty and cold condo, she knew she couldn’t just sit there, worrying. He had clearly been hurt, and she understood that. She only hoped he would give her the opportunity to have a rational discussion about it.

In the meantime, she needed to cancel her wedding to his brother. Both for herself and her own peace of mind, and for Sebastian’s reassurance.

Leaving a note for Sebastian right inside the front door taped to the back of a kitchen stool she had dragged over, Liv put his house key on the stool and left.

Sebastian paced in front of Nick, who was sitting in his easy chair looking distinctly uneasy, his hair standing on end.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Sebastian was wearing a pair of Nick’s sweatpants. Despite the cold, he hadn’t bothered asking for a shirt. He actually felt like his anger was generating a heat from his insides out.

“Tell you what?” Nick yawned. “Dude, I need some coffee.”

“That Liv is marrying him next Saturday!”

Nick’s eyebrows went up. “I don’t know,” he said. “I guess I figured if you knew about them being together, you knew that too. And I didn’t think I should be bringing it up…thought it might be a sore subject for you, ya know?”

That it most definitely was. “Well, what the fuck! Why would she do that?”

“I’m guessing you need to talk to her about that, not me.” Nick shrugged. “And maybe it was just because he asked and you never did.”

That was exactly what he didn’t need to hear.

“Thanks a lot.”

“Sorry, but what do you want me to say? Bad shit has gone down, man, and I think it’s more important that you figure out what you’re going to do about it from here.”

“I’m going to stop him. I’m going to take over the pack again.” Sebastian knew Scarborough would be back at his house around eight. He would deal with him, then go back to his condo and get Liv. The whole thing could be handled in the next two hours.

Nick leaned forward, hands on his knees. “I support you wanting to take leadership again. I’m there with you. What your brother did was beyond wrong. But I can’t be a part of murder.”

“I’m not going to kill him unless I have to.”

That was the difference between him and his brother.

He still had a conscience and moral boundaries.

“Can you get the others and meet me in the woods beyond Scarborough’s in about an hour?”

Nick still looked reluctant, but he stood up. “Yeah. What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to Denny’s for a steak and egg breakfast.”

His cousin gave a snort of laughter. “Nice.”

“What?” Sebastian touched his bare stomach, the pit there driving him to distraction. “I need protein.”

“We are one wacky family, man.”

“Tell me about it.”

Liv tried to watch TV, glancing at the time on her cell phone every five minutes. Seven-thirty. Scarborough should be there soon. She was a bundle of nerves, alternating between staring blankly at the TV and checking her phone for both the time and to see if either Sebastian or Scarborough had called her. Neither had, and she was about to crawl out of her own skin if she were left alone any longer.

She jumped when she heard the
whirr
of the garage door going up.

When Scarborough came into the family room, rolling his suitcase behind him, dressed to the nines and looking alert and fresh despite the fact that he couldn’t have slept more than a couple of hours, Liv swallowed hard and tried to force a smile.

“Hey,” he said, looking surprised. “I didn’t think you’d be awake so early. It’s Saturday. You usually sleep in.”

“I couldn’t sleep. How was your flight?” Liv hugged her knees to her chest and mentally rolled her eyes at herself for making such an inane comment.

“Fine. My call didn’t wake you up, did it?” He left his suitcase by the kitchen door and came over to her, dropping onto the couch next to her and squeezing her knee.

Shaking her head, she said, “No.” Liv searched his eyes for any sort of anger, animosity, evil, but she couldn’t see anything. They were just…eyes. Maybe a little empty, but that wasn’t a crime, was it?

“I missed you.” He smiled and leaned forward.

He wanted to kiss her, obviously. Like normal. Like anything was normal anymore.

“We need to talk,” she blurted out, unable to fake her way through even a simple kiss. She just couldn’t do it.

He sat back, his face calm, a smile still playing across his lips despite the fact that she knew she must look slightly crazy. Liv could feel her fingers shaking on her legs.

“Okay. What about?”

“I…we…I think we should really think about postponing the wedding.”

His smile disappeared. “Why would we do that?”

Liv told herself not to give in to fear. Just be honest, explain how she felt. He would understand. “Because I have all these feelings, all these questions and concerns, and I think the thing is that maybe we rushed this.”

“I don’t think we rushed it at all. I’ve cared about you for years, we know each other backwards and forwards. You’re just feeling pre-wedding jitters. I think everyone has those.”

Damn. He wasn’t going to make this easy. “Do you have them?”

“No. But then I never doubt any decision I make.”

That was definitely true about him. “See, I doubt every decision I make. I just feel like something is off….” That she was in love with his brother. “And it’s not fair to you.”

The smile returned, and he looked confident that he would coax her back around. “I’ll decide what’s fair to me and what’s not. I want to be married to you.”

“Why?” she blurted out. She had stupidly thought this would be easier. That she would say she had doubts, that he would be hurt and retreat in anger. The wedding would be off, and she would figure out her next step from there.

“Because I love you,” he said smoothly, with no hesitation.

For the first time, she thought his words had the hint of a pat answer. Was there true emotion? Or was he just telling her what he thought she wanted to hear?

“I…” God, she didn’t know what to say. She couldn’t even express her gratitude to him for the last six months knowing it was him who had taken Sebastian away from her. “What if the sex between us is terrible?”

That wasn’t really what she was concerned with, but she was desperate. She had only half-truths and betrayal, and God knew, she wanted to get out of this without any sort of real confrontation. She wasn’t good at conflict. She had always liked everything even.

Which was probably the very reason she had found herself engaged to Scarborough.

He actually laughed. “Given that we’re two healthy, experienced adults who care about each other, I can’t imagine that would happen.”

Oh, she could imagine that it would be quite awful, actually.

“But if that’s your main concern, we can settle that very easily, you know.” His fingers moved up her leg to her inner thigh and he stroked across the seam of her jeans.

Liv jerked a little at the feel of his touch on her crotch. That wasn’t what she had meant, and it felt invasive, not seductive. Panicked, she opened her mouth to say something, anything, but he was already moving in closer.

“I’ve wanted you for a long time,” he said, eyes darkening. “Let me make love to you, Liv.”

“Scarborough,” she managed, clamping her legs together. “This isn’t what I want. No.”

“Yes.” He was close to her face, intending to kiss her.

Liv shoved his hand off her leg and was about to scramble away from him, when he suddenly froze, nose wrinkling, eyes narrowing.

The transformation on his face was unbelievable. He went from calm and determined to base and ugly, his features contorting in anger.

“You have Sebastian’s scent on you.”