Page 12 of Beast

“How do you know?” His voice was soft and warm, making me want to keep talking.

“Because Uncle Maxim told me that he was going to do it. Uncle Maxim and I went to the mall and he bought mesomething. He said it was something special to remember him by when he was gone. I thought he was being dramatic at the time. Maybe I did that so I wouldn’t have to think of it as the truth. Not only the idea of never seeing him again but the thought of my dad murdering him. As I said, he was the only one who told me the truth. There was no messing around.”

I waited for a reaction from him, but there was none, so I got up and looked out the window as the sun started to set, as what was once day, started to become night.

“One minute he was around every single day, and the next he was missing. I knew from the moment he never came around why I hadn’t seen him in a couple of days. I was just happy I had to go to college the next day. I made up some excuse and told Mom I got my dates mixed up and I had to go to the dorm a day earlier. I packed my things and ended up in a hotel for the night. Anything was better than spending another night in this house.”

“So, you didn’t confront your dad?” he asked from behind me. I could feel the warmth of his body, he was so close. I shook my head, nearly choking on my words.

“I asked him what happened to Uncle Maxim. He told me I wouldn’t see Uncle Maxim ever again. He’d said it so calmly, and as the words left his mouth, I went to vomit. I couldn’t believe he’d killed his own brother.”

“Do you know why?” he asked as the tears started streaming down my cheeks.

I didn’t wipe them away. A person I loved dearly was murdered at the hands of my father and the person deserved my sadness at his loss. “No. I don’t care. It didn’t matter then and certainly doesn’t matter now.”

He spun me around and I looked up at him. He rested his hands on my shoulders, pulling me closer to him.

I felt empty.

I needed something, even if it was the kiss or touch of the man who had kidnapped me, to take away the pain of the memory I’d kept so tight to myself and didn’t want to think about, let alone relive.

Dad had killed his brother, and I worried back then about him doing the same to any boy I liked. Tomas was capable of anything and everything, but being here with him, I felt safe.

His lips pressed against mine as if he were asking for permission to take it further. I opened my mouth slightly, trying to deny my inexperience.

He grabbed me closer, as lust took over, and the invitation I’d given him to kiss me deeper was received. There was no holding back as I reached up and touched his face.

Then a buzz sounded from behind him.

I pulled away, trying to figure out what the sound was without Tomas realizing what I was doing. The clip of a buzz like static sounded again. It wasn’t a phone, but maybe it was a radio or even a walkie-talkie. Which meant that someone was near. Very near. And if I played my cards right, I could get off this island alive rather than dead.

5

BEAST

Natalia pushed against my chest, her face scrunching up as my damn radio clicked with one of my men trying to contact me. I sighed, my irritation of being disturbed raking through me, and I grabbed the radio off the couch and took it outside.

“What,” I asked into the device.

“Sorry, boss, just checking in to see if you need anything.”

I walked down the beach, glancing over my shoulder to ensure Natalia wasn’t eavesdropping. If she were a wolf like me, she could still hear me. But she was only a human. I’d gotten a good whiff of her since kidnapping her to know.

“Nope, just you and Lev guard the boat. No one but me gets on it. Got it?”

“Yeah-yes, boss. You got it.”

I chuckled. “Good.” I turned off the radio, watching the waves for a moment. I couldn’t believe Natalia had tended my wounds. Of course, I’d have to wear the bandages for a few days so I didn’t freak her out, but by morning, my knuckles would be completely healed up.

My wolf clawed inside my chest, wanting to be free, wanting to run and hunt.

Not tonight. It was too soon after her waking up and our fight. We were like gasoline and a lit match.

And I’d kissed her. Why the fuck had I done that? Except she looked so vulnerable with her big, blue eyes and pouty mouth.

I picked up a broken shell and hurled it at the sea. My thoughts of her and what I wanted to do to her when I had kissed her churned in me.

But then I thought I saw her gaze lingered on the scar that ran down from the corner of my eye to my cheek. A constant reminder from dear old dad when I tried to get him sober when I was nine. He cut me with a broken beer bottle and left me bleeding on the kitchen floor. Fucker wouldn't even take me to the doctor afterward, even when he was sober and Band-Aids and iodine could only do so much.

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