Taming the Beast

“So you’re looking for a wife for both of you? Or whatever the proper term would be?” When they both nodded simultaneously, a wave of relief swept through her, and she hadn’t even realized she’d been on edge as she’d waited for their answer. The situation was unorthodox, but it was strangely reassuring to know they were looking for a long-term, permanent partner rather than indulging in a sexual fetish.

She wasn’t certain if she was the right fit for them, but it was easier to let go of her concerns and concentrate on possibly building something lasting and meaningful once she knew their intentions. She was quiet for the remainder of dinner, her thoughts heavy, but when the meal ended, and Duncan asked her if they could escort her to her room, she had surprisingly little hesitation when she said, “Yes.”

Chapter 4

The next few days passed in a haze of sensual bliss. It was like living out every fantasy she’d ever had, along with several she hadn’t realized would appeal to her. Duncan and Nick focused solely on her, and it wasn’t all about sex. It soon became obvious they were trying to win her over in every aspect of her life. Of course there was hot, mind blowing sex like she’d never experienced, but there were also quiet moments of cuddling during deep conversations, or lighthearted teasing, along with answering questions that allowed them to know her better.

Only three things had dimmed her happiness the last few days. The first was she’d realized they were far more evasive with answers to her questions than she was. It wasn’t that they didn’t answer them, but it was as though they were holding back and not giving her the full truth. She wasn’t certain how she was supposed to trust them to build a foundation for a longer commitment if they were holding back from her.

The second problem that bothered her was they never stayed in her bed with her, and they hadn’t invited her to either one of theirs. Other than the first time they had all made love, when they had fallen asleep early in the morning and rested through part of the day, she hadn’t slept with either one of them again.

They always made love to her after dinner, but slipped away before bedtime. She tried not to let it hurt, but it left her feeling used for sex and nothing more. She had that reaction during the nights, when she felt lonely. Even reminding herself of how much they cuddled with her and randomly touched her throughout the day, often interrupting her work in the library to bring her food, massages, and perhaps sex, did little to mitigate the loneliness of spending her nights in an empty bed.

The third thing that diminished her happiness was the persistent text messages from Sam. She wasn’t certain how he had gotten her new phone number, but he’d already filled her mailbox three times, and he kept texting on an hourly basis.

She was tempted to just shut the phone off, or throw it out the window, but with her father’s heart condition, and him having had a heart attack less than a year ago, she was afraid to disconnect the lifeline to them. She had yet to see a landline in the house, and it seemed too intimate to ask to pass along Duncan or Nick’s phone numbers to her parents. She didn’t want to explain the situation or the relationship to her mom and dad, and she was embarrassed by Sam’s behavior.

How had she misjudged him so completely? He had seemed so sweet in the beginning of their relationship, but as soon as he’d won her over, he had started spending less and less time with her. She could have dealt with that, but when he started trying to dictate how she spent her time when she wasn’t with him, warning bells rang in the back of her mind.

She’d hung in there for another few weeks, hoping he would calm down, but then there had been that disastrous date at the restaurant. She’d chosen a public place with the intention of breaking up with him, and he had chosen it with the intention of proposing. He hadn’t taken her refusal well, and she was certain he had been humiliated.

Baylee had been embarrassed herself when he’d made such a production of it, and then she’d had to say no. More than one person had scowled at her, but she wasn’t going to accept a marriage proposal from a man she had planned to break up with just to avoid a little public embarrassment among strangers.

At first, the messages had been cajoling, but they quickly turned nasty. She didn’t bother to listen to the voicemails in her mailbox any longer. She simply deleted them, but she grew tired of having to continuously empty her box.

She tried to avoid reading the text messages too, but it was hard not to see at least a few words. Tonight, as she prepared to delete the latest volley, her eyes widened with horror when she realized the vitriol he was spewing. She was certain it was all anger and hurt feelings from her rejection, but that didn’t make it any more palatable to see proof of his mental instability.

She made the mistake of reading one message in its entirety, feeling ill at the way he was trying to lay claim to her. She glared at the phone when she reached the line where he added he couldn’t live without her, and he wouldn’t let her live without him. Melodramatic much?

With a snort, she cleared the messages and laid the phone on her nightstand. She was suddenly restless and felt the urge to be outside. She hadn’t yet undressed for bed, so she slipped on a light jacket to offset the chill in the autumn air and left her room. She exited the house a few minutes later, and it was only when she was standing outside near the edge of the forest that she recalled seeing the wolf on her first night there.

Freezing in mid-step, she decided not to venture into the forest. Just as she was about to turn away, one of the wolves appeared at the edge of the trees, its body mostly obscured by underbrush, but revealing enough to tell her it wasn’t a wolf. She gasped when she made out the massive form with its shaggy head, long fur, and fierce-looking teeth that sprouted from its lips even without it posturing aggressively at her.

The eyes had the same red shine as she remembered, and she started backing away slowly. When a second form joined the first one, she spun on her heels and ran, hoping it wouldn’t trigger a predator instinct that would lead them to chase her. Her heart was pounding in her ears by the time she returned to the house, closing the door and leaning against it with her heart thumping in her ears. She pressed a hand to her chest as though she could hold in her galloping heart and took several deep breaths.

The fear remained, and she needed comfort and reassurance. She also needed to inform Duncan and Nick that it wasn’t a pair of wolves on their property. They were something far stranger and unknown to her.

She went up the stairs, heading in the direction of their wing of the house. She hadn’t been formally invited to either of their rooms, but she knew the direction in which they lived. When she reached that wing, she started opening doors at random, finding a series of bathrooms and impersonal-looking guestrooms.

It wasn’t until she reached the end of the hall that she found two bedrooms across from each other with doors similar to the ones that opened her room. She chose the one on the left randomly, knocking on it first. She couldn’t explain why she knocked when she had just opened the doors of the previous rooms, other than she sensed someone actually inhabited this room. When there was no answer, she twisted the handle and eased the door open. “Hello?”

Upon receiving no answer, she stepped into the room, searching for the light switch before finding it. She blinked when the light came on, chasing away most of the shadows, and stared around the recesses. It was neat, with everything in its place, but it still had a lived-in air.

As she moved closer to the large bed, she recognized the hunter-green sweater that belonged to Duncan. He had worn it at dinner. It was folded neatly at the edge of the bed, along with his jeans. She was hoping he was simply preparing for bed, so she moved deeper into the room, heading toward the two doors she could see. The first one revealed the walk-in closet, and it was empty. The second door hid a spacious bathroom, which was also empty.

Feeling slightly irritated that he wasn’t available, though she recognized that as an irrational response, Baylee left his room and went across the hall to the one she presumed was Nick’s. She lifted her hand to tap on the wood, but received no response.

She opened the door and slipped inside as she asked, “Nick, are you in here?” There was no answer.

She fumbled for the light switch and turned it on, revealing a room similar in setup to Duncan’s, but with a different style of bed and color scheme. Moving closer, she saw the white button-down shirt and jeans he?

??d worn to dinner tossed haphazardly over a chair near the bed. Checking the doors in his room revealed a walk-in closet and a bathroom, and he wasn’t in either one.

Flummoxed, she exited his room and stood in the center of the hallway between the two. They had to be back soon, right? She didn’t know much about the stock market or trading, but it occurred to her that they were perhaps making business calls to another part of the world, where it was daytime. Feeling frustrated and lonely, she ended up sitting down in the hallway as she waited for them to come to their rooms.

At some point, she must have nodded off, because she dreamed about the beasts that she had seen at the edge of the forest. It wasn’t a nightmare though. In her dream, she was simply running with them, and she didn’t feel frightened until she looked down and realized she was also a beast. That realization rocked her, and she woke up with a gasp. Her heart was pumping as intensely as it had when she had seen them in person earlier in the evening.

After drawing in several deep breaths, Baylee finally felt calm. She got to her feet and checked each room again, though she didn’t really think she had slept through Nick or Duncan’s arrival. If either one of them had come to their rooms, surely they would have woken her to inquire why she was on the floor asleep.