“You aren’t a beast,” she told him, her voice soft as she glimpsed the regret in his eyes.
It bothered him, she knew, these needs, the domination he fought to keep from exerting over her, the
control he fought to hang onto. He didn’t like the instincts raging at him, any more than she liked those
raging at her.
“But I am, Merinus,” he sighed, looking down at the bottle he held for long moments. When he looked
at her again, there was remorse, and acceptance. “I don’t deny what I am. To do so would risk my
sanity. And you can’t either. You can never forget that the animal is there, lurking beneath the surface.
It’s dangerous to do otherwise.”
The problem was, the beast within him didn’t frighten her nearly as much as it seemed to bother him. She
felt her inner muscles tighten, her womb clench with the heated memory of his loss of control. How much
more dominant could he become, she wondered, then shivered at the thought.
“Merinus, don’t do this,” he told her, his voice tormented now. “You are denying yourself and me. I
don’t want to hurt you.”
She heard the plea in his voice. She wanted to give in, she wanted to turn to him, to ease the fire ripping
through her body, but she couldn’t. Not now. Not yet. It wasn’t a need to tempt him, or even her
curiosity in the face of the lack of control he warned her about. She no longer controlled her own body,
and she knew this was the root of her problem. She needed that control. She needed to dictate when she
wanted to fuck and when she wanted to cuddle, not her body or this chemical reaction driving her insane.
“Not yet.” She closed her eyes, fighting her tears, fighting her body.
It was her body, dammit. It had a mind of its own lately and it was killing her.
Callan watched her a moment longer, then with a sizzling curse stalked from the room again. Merinus
sighed, her breathing rough now that he was no longer in the room. She couldn’t control the soft whimper
that escaped her lips. She was only thankful the television masked the sound.
She was breathing hard, fighting to draw air into her lungs as her inner flesh clenched, demanded relief.
Her clit actually throbbed and her nipples were torturously hard, aching for the warmth of his mouth. Her
hand moved, her fingers running over the hard points lightly, her body trembling at the incredible pleasure
the action brought her.
Her head ground into the pillowed headrest. She felt her juices pool between her thighs. Suppressing her
groan, she sat up on the couch, bracing her elbows on her knees as she raked her fingers through her
hair. Her fingers dug into her scalp. She shivered again. Even that tiny pain was exciting.
She could control this. She took a deep breath, reining in the madness that threatened to whip through
her. She could make it. Self-control, that was all it took. If a person could get through drug withdrawal,
surely she could get through Callan withdrawal. It was just a matter of controlling the urge. That was all.
She nodded firmly. The action shifted her shirt again, raking her sensitive nipples and she bit her lip to
hold back her moan.
Something cold to drink. One of Callan’s beers. Hell, he had a whole fridge full. She stood to her feet, a
shudder working over her body as her panties pressed against her clit. Oh God, she was going to come
from thong friction alone. She was pitiful.
Stepping carefully, she moved into the kitchen and jerked one of the beers out of the refrigerator. She
twisted the cap, hearing the faint hiss. She turned the bottle up to her mouth, taking a long, cold drink.
Then she held the frosted bottle between her breasts, taking a deep breath as she leaned against the
appliance for support. This was bad. Really bad.
“Where’s Callan?” Sherra stepped into the kitchen, her eyes narrowed as she watched Merinus drink
from the beer.
“In bed.” She would have shrugged if she could have handled the sensation of cloth rasping over her
breasts.
“How long since he fucked you?” Sherra asked bluntly.
Merinus rolled her eyes. “Long enough to suit me.”
Yeah. Right. Not in this lifetime.
Sherra’s lips firmed.
“It’s not a good idea to deny this when it’s so strong, Merinus. You know how bad it gets.” Sherra
moved to the sink, pouring herself a glass of water and drinking it quickly.
“How would you know?” she bit out. “I don’t see you crawling all over some man trying to get off.”
Sherra looked away, her expression cool, but a glimpse of tormented eyes filled Merinus with remorse.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that, Sherra. But it’s my body, my decision,” Merinus bit out, then tipped the