Charming the Beast
Page 12

Instead, he’d claimed her.
I’m sorry, Chloe.
“I shouldn’t have…done that,” he told her. Hating it—hating it so much—he slowly pulled from her body. She gave a little gasp that made him want to thrust right back into her. A sexy, breathless sound.
Chloe was going to be the death of him, he just had that feeling.
“Why not?” Chloe stared up at him. “I wanted you. I still want you.” Her hand lifted and pressed to his cheek.
His head turned and he kissed her palm. “You don’t know what I did.” Guilt was tearing through him. “Chloe, I—”
“You think I don’t know a werewolf mating? Really?” She shook her head. A faint smile teased her lips. “I know.” Her smile slipped. “But I also know what’s coming for me. I wasn’t ever meant to have one of those happily-ever-after lives. For me, those dreams ended a long time ago.”
He didn’t understand what she was saying.
Eric was pounding on the door again. Seriously, that SOB needed to back off.
“And your bite didn’t hurt.” She seemed to consider the matter a bit and added, “I think I could grow addicted to that bite.”
Because that was how vampires had been designed. When they wanted it to be so, their bites could give their prey nothing but pleasure. So much pleasure that the victim would submit, again and again, to the vampire.
I don’t want Chloe to be prey…or to be a victim. I just want her.
He rose from the bed. Jerked on his jeans.
Chloe rose, too. She grabbed her clothes and headed for the small bathroom. When she stumbled, he immediately grabbed her elbow. “I was too f**king rough,” he muttered. “Baby, I’m sorry.” If he could do it again…would my control hold? Because he’d never wanted anyone the way he wanted her.
When she’d kissed his scars…when she’d looked at him and actually seemed to understand him…there is no one like Chloe.
And he was in way over his head.
“You were exactly what I wanted,” Chloe said.
“Open the damn door!” Eric yelled.
Connor snarled back at him.
“You think I’m scared of your wolf?” Eric shouted as he pounded on the door again. “Try that again! I will send your ass back to Purgatory as fast as you can blink. I know what you’ve done in there! I told you—hands off! Did you listen? Oh, hell no, you didn’t.”
Eric was ranting. Figured.
“I’m all right,” Chloe said. “Just, give me a minute, okay?”
He hated to do it, but Connor let her go. He watched as she headed into the bathroom. Chloe closed the door. The soft click seemed a little too loud.
He stared at that closed bathroom door. Then, squaring his shoulders, he headed toward Eric. Before Eric could pound again, Connor yanked the room’s door open. “You are pissing me off,” Connor told him.
Eric lifted a brow. “So sorry to interrupt your f**king fun time with the little—”
Something snapped in Connor. He grabbed Eric—his boss—and shoved him back out of the room. His claws burst from his fingertips as he rammed Eric into the nearest wall.
“She-wolf!” Eric yelled. “Hell, man, all I was going to say was little she-wolf!”
Connor tried to choke back his rage, and, after about ten seconds, he managed to let go of Eric.
“Why do I put up with this shit?” Eric muttered. “I should slap a silver collar on you and just be done.”
“The collar won’t work. You know that. The silver does nothing to me. Not since you made me into—”
“A paranormal super soldier?” Eric straightened his shirt. “That’s right, I did. You’re welcome for that.”
He thought about biting the guy, just for spite.
“You drank her blood.” Eric glanced toward the room behind Connor. “That could work to our advantage. We need to infiltrate this pack, so I’ll get you to compel Chloe to go in for us and to—”
He lunged for the guy again. But, Eric, showing strength he shouldn’t have, caught Connor around the neck and held him back.
“I get that you’re angry because I interrupted at the not-so-best time,” Eric muttered. “So I gave you one attack. I don’t have time to shit away with another.”
Connor’s claws were inches from Eric’s face. Just what kind of damage would they do to each other if they fought?
“Compel Chloe, and let’s get a team ready to go. You having her blood makes things easier. At least now I know we can trust her.”
Eric still had a hand on Connor’s throat, and Connor’s claws were poised to rip into Eric. “I’m not compelling her.”
For the first time ever, Connor saw surprise flash on Eric’s face. “What? Why the hell not?”
The door creaked behind him. “Because he doesn’t need to,” Chloe said. “I’m going to make the trade. I’ll get Harris back for you, I promise.”
Eric’s hand slid away from Connor’s throat. “Well, that was sure easier than I expected.”
There was a dull pounding in Connor’s ears. He turned to face Chloe. She stood in that doorway, looking even more delicate and fragile than before. Her hair was loose, pulled forward around her neck and shoulders. To hide my mark? She was dressed in her jeans and t-shirt. And her face…her cheeks were still flushed. Her lips red. She was so beautiful to him that he couldn’t look away from her.
“I planned to do the trade all along. Ever since I saw the video.”
Now he knew why she’d wanted to make love with him. Chloe thought she was heading out on some kind of suicide mission. “It’s not happening.”
She shook her head. “I can’t let him die.”
“And I won’t let you die.” Didn’t she get that she was important to him?
Then he realized…no, she didn’t. Because Chloe was right. He’d been little more than a jailer to her. And it wasn’t like Connor was big on sharing his feelings. Hell, he hadn’t thought he was capable of actually caring for a woman, until her.
Everything was changing for him.
Eric clapped his hands together. “Great. Fantastic. Seems like everything is settled.”
Nothing was settled. Eric was insane.
Eric pointed to Chloe. “Come downstairs and we’ll see if we can find you some easy-to-conceal weapons. Unfortunately, silver will burn you as much as it burns them, but maybe I’ve got some other gadgets we can use.”
Eric turned away.
“Nothing is settled,” Connor said, each word snapping out. “She’s not trading herself.”
Chloe smiled at Connor. “I wasn’t asking for permission from you. Like I said, this is what I planned to do all along.” Then she slid right past him.
Connor shook his head. “I just want you safe—”
“And that’s why you’ll be going into Eclipse with her.” Eric spoke as if Connor should have already figured that part out. “I mean, come on…it’s a werewolf bar. You’re a werewolf. Partly, anyway. You’ll blend perfectly.”
Yeah, there was one thing Eric seemed to be missing… “She won’t. The instant the other wolves smell her, what do you think they’ll do?”
Eric’s grin stretched. “See, that’s where you come into the equation. If they launch at her, you’ll be there. It’s such a handy thing you’re good at kicking ass.”
***
“I didn’t even know this place existed,” Chloe said as she stared out the passenger window of the SUV and her gaze raked the exterior of Eclipse. From the outside, Eclipse looked just like any other run-down bar. But Eric had told her that it was actually a werewolf hangout. Humans never got past the doors, and she could certainly see why. Two big men—scary, guys who were as wide as they were thick—stood guarding the doors. Bouncers to the extreme.
“I thought you were all worried about her scent.”
This came was from the other guy who’d accompanied their little party. Agent Duncan McGuire. She turned her head and found him frowning at her. The dude had just sniffed her. “I don’t smell anything different about her.”
“That’s because you’re like Connor, half vamp, half wolf,” Eric said. “I was a little nervous earlier when we were watching the video, but you didn’t so much as twitch when you were near her.” He paused, then added, “Besides, you’re mated to Holly…and nothing trumps a werewolf mating. So even if you hadn’t been all vamped up, well, that probably means you wouldn’t be influenced by Chloe’s scent.”
He was mated to Holly? The vampire doctor? The pieces snapped together for her. “Wait! You’re Connor’s brother?”
Duncan glanced toward the front of the SUV. Connor was in passenger seat up there. “Guilty.”
“So…you’re the one he wanted to kill?” Only now they were both working at the Para Unit? Oh, there was so much more to the story that she needed to hear.
Duncan was still staring up at Connor. “I see you’ve been talking about me.”
Connor grunted. “This plan is shit.”
Ah, so obviously he wasn’t in the mood to share about his family. And maybe this wasn’t the best time. She had five minutes to go until midnight, so her fear level was about to shoot through the roof.
“The fact that her scent doesn’t influence Duncan is a good thing,” Eric pointed out. The guy sure seemed oddly calm. Did he have ice water in his veins or what? “It means Duncan can go in and provide back-up for you two without us having to worry he’ll go crazy.”
“I’d prefer for no one to go crazy,” Chloe said, just so they were all clear.
“Too late,” was Eric’s instant reply. “It sure looks like Keegan has gone over the line.”
She glanced back at the entrance to Eclipse. “What if those guys don’t let Connor and Duncan go inside with me?”
“Oh, they’ll let us in…” Connor’s voice was certain. “We’re not giving them a choice.”
Then he opened his door. Crap, that open door meant it was show time. Or, rather, trade time.
She started to push open her door.
Eric grabbed her arm. He was in the driver’s seat—fitting, since he was in charge of this plan—and he’d leaned back to grab her before she could slip out. “Remember, wherever you go, Connor can find you. He has your blood, and that’s all he needs. Even if the pack takes you away from here, we’ll come for you.”
His words were supposed to be reassuring. They weren’t. Because what if Keegan didn’t plan to take her anyplace? What if he planned to kill her on sight?
That was her fear. Her worst, horrible fear. And it was the reason she’d wanted to be with Connor so badly. To have one good, perfect moment to remember. Pleasure, to fight the pain.
Part of her just wanted to turn and run. But she couldn’t do that. If she didn’t go in that bar, Harris Grey would die.
Connor opened her door. Eric’s fingers slid away from her arm. Connor reached for her hand. She put her fingers in his.
She stepped from the SUV. Stood at Connor’s side. Duncan had already climbed from the vehicle, too. They waited there, just a moment.
“You don’t have to do this,” Connor told her, voice rough.
“Yes, I do.”
The lights were blazing in Eclipse, but she heard no noise. No music. No laughter. In a werewolf bar, she should have heard those sounds, right?
They started walking.
Eric hadn’t wanted to just storm the place because he’d said that if he did, Harris would likely be killed immediately.
So he’d agreed to Keegan’s rules, up to a point.
With every step that she took, Chloe felt her fear mounting. She wanted to be strong. She wanted to face Keegan without a tremble shaking her body. She wanted—
Her claws were coming out.
She looked down at her hands and saw the claws there.
“And your eyes are glowing,” Connor told her softly. “You’re beautiful.”
The two bouncers saw them coming. Their faces twisted as they looked at Connor and Duncan.
“I told you,” Chloe said, “they aren’t going to let you two in!”
One of the bouncers lunged for Connor. Connor broke away from Chloe. He grabbed the bouncer and tossed the guy a good ten feet. When the man hit the ground, he hit with a very hard thud.
“My turn,” Duncan muttered. The other guard was charging at him. Running fast and—
Duncan shot him.
Smoke rose from the man’s stomach as he fell.
“Silver always wins. Doesn’t matter the werewolf’s size,” Duncan said.
Right. The two bouncers—wounded now—were staying down.
Duncan opened the door to Eclipse. Connor went in first. Chloe sucked in a quick breath, and she followed right behind him. Duncan was pulling up the rear, and she didn’t look back, but she strongly suspected he had his gun at the ready.
Eclipse was so bright inside. Every light was on, so it was easy to see Harris Grey. He was in the middle of the room, bound and gagged and bleeding. His eyes were terrified as he stared at them, and he muttered frantically behind the gag.
“I can smell them,” Connor said, “their scents are all over this place.”
But no wolves were actually there. At least, not any she saw.
Chloe hurried toward Harris. Her fingers fumbled as she reached for his gag.
“No!” Harris yelled. “Get out! It’s a trap!”