I arrive at the training room followed by my ever-present guards. Boot isn't here, so I begin warm-ups and stretches. I struggle though because I feel like all my muscles have turned to bricks. My head has stopped pounding and my stomach is under control at the moment. It doesn't mean I'm ready for today's torture. I stretch, teetering to keep my balance, and I know I look like a fool while doing it. A giggle from a small cabinet in the corner alerts me that I'm being watched.My guards remain outside the open door and they're not looking in. I slowly walk to the cabinet and peek inside. The large brown eyes that peer back at me seem to sparkle in that "naughty boy I've been caught" kind of way. His brown hair comes to mid shoulder and there's a smudge of dirt beneath one eye. His skin is light burnished brown, from his mother's Cuban heritage. I lift my finger to my lips giving the age old "quiet" signal."You shouldn't be in here, Che," I whisper, taking a guess who my young spy is
It's been four weeks since Marinah arrived. We eat dinner together most nights and play an interesting game of cat and mouse. My half-grunt answers infuriate her. She's picked up the same habit when I ask her a question she doesn't want to answer, which means she's learning to play the political game.On the nights I go without her company, Beast acts up strangely and before I know it, I'm having food for two delivered to my room. It's like he can't live with her or without her and his grumbling reminds me of a whiny baby. Tonight is one of those times.A freshly showered, wet-haired Marinah, who is wearing jeans and a white tee, drags herself into my room and collapses in the chair. She's worn out from the training she's been putting in and that pleases me. I can actually go a step further and say I'm proud of her commitment.The sexual awareness I have when she's near adds to my overall enjoyment of having her with me. I'm even becoming accustomed to Beast grumbling at the sight o
"You've had this the entire time?" Marinah asks in disbelief as she stares at the silk."You needed to unwind a bit and the only way to do that was to get you on the road.""You are so aggravating," she grinds out in frustration. She wiggles on the back of the bike, wrapping the scarf around her head and securing it. Her thighs squeeze my legs and Beast takes notice.I can't think of a female I've met who's more aggravating than Marinah. Maybe Beast and I have finally met our match. I rev the throttle so she'll hurry and it does the trick. I have a spot picked out where I'd like to eat lunch. It will take another hour to get there. She wraps her arms around my waist again and we're off. This time it's her laugh that makes me push speed."I loved it," she says an hour later after I pull over. "I should learn to drive.""Walking and running first. Riding a motorcycle last." Her tongue slips out and more than anything I want to kiss her. I grab our lunch from the saddlebags instead a
Her eyes show the same need I feel, but her sense of honor holds true. "I need to return home and help my people prepare for the hellhounds with or without Shadow Warriors."I cup her jaw and kiss her again. I swipe the scarf from her hair after our lips meet and move my hands so the tangles are caught around my fingers holding her in place. I explore her soft, warm mouth and I wonder why I didn't kiss her sooner. Beast remains calm, drinking in her taste, wanting more. I want more. She got under our skin the first time she fell. The entire situation is impossible and I shouldn't have allowed it to go this far."It's not happening between us, is it?" she asks softly when I reluctantly let her go."No," I breathe loudly in frustration."I didn't think so, but thank you for this," she looks down at the blanket and bag that contained our lunch before looking at me again."We need to leave." Wrong time, right place. Maybe someday we can come back. Even I know making personal plans for
The day was too perfect, and I should have known it wouldn't end well. I'm trapped in a very small cave with an injured beast-man with someone trying to kill him close by. The injured party in question has decided I need to be practically sitting in his lap while I try to remember not to look into his eyes. We stay this way for the longest time and strangely I feel safer than I ever have. The sun begins going down and I hear his slight snore before I have a chance to take a good long look at a Shadow Warrior in beast form.He's amazing.If I had to compare him to anything, it would be a wolf, but no wolf holds a candle to this creature. Short hair covers his body that once had smooth skin. His legs are larger and his arms have grown too. His wicked claws are sharp and deadly. It's his jaws and skull that have changed the most, though. Whereas his skull was round before, it's narrower and larger. His enormous teeth overlap and make it look like it would be impossible to close his mout
It takes two hours to get back to our quarters and I'm exhausted by the time we arrive. Axel is waiting out front when we pull up. Two of the men grab King when he lifts his leg over the bike and stumbles. They half drag him past Axel, who takes a long look at me before following the men. I hope his regard had to do with seeing if I had injuries, because he doesn't say anything and he doesn't look happy.I follow the men and they fortunately don't stop me from entering the medical room. King is moved to a bed and Axel quickly unwraps my makeshift bandage. "I'm administering a shot to relax you so I can help the bullet out the rest of the way," he tells King."No." King lifts his hand and grabs the doctor stopping him from injecting the needle. King glances around the room until his eyes land on mine. I walk over and the men move back. I take King's free hand and hold it. He slowly releases Axel."I don't think he wants an injection."Axel looks at me in frustration. "I really don't
Beast has never been this calm. The pain is all but gone, and my mind is completely clear. This has never happened when Beast takes over. There's a completeness that I haven't felt before. Why did Beast want her dead?A bigger question is why did the men who came after me want her dead? Without the K-5 flooding my system in waves, I can concentrate on what's important. Someone wants Marinah dead and I need to discover who. Then I'll eat them.Marinah rests the bowl beside us when the healing food is gone and then eats her meal quickly. Exhaustion rolls over me and I fall asleep to the sound of her eating. Sometime during the night, I shift back to human form. When I open my eyes, sunlight enters the room through a high window. Marinah is gone.Axel walks in and takes the chair she vacated. "Good to see you awake.""Where is she?"He sighs. "She went to take a shower and change clothes. She'll be back as soon as she finishes breakfast. I told her I would remain here until she retur
Today's torture isn't enough to keep my mind off King. Boot isn't helping. He usually assists me, but today he's staying practically on the other side of the room like I'm a leper. I'm currently walking a balance beam and fall for the twentieth time. I step back onto the tricky beam and glare at my worthless trainer across the large open space between us."What is going on?" I demand after wobbling and then finding my center."You just fell," he says like he has no idea what I'm talking about."If you were standing over here, giving me a shoulder to balance with like a good little trainer, I wouldn't land on the floor or did you forget that part of this exercise?""You're depending on me too much and you need to learn to trust your feet. You're standing just fine now. Try lifting one toe and pointing it toward the door.""I'll do it if you come here and keep me from falling."He crosses his arms, the stubborn man. "I'll watch from here, thank you."First Beck and now Boot. The t