Sundown & Serena Read online

  “I’ll tell you what to say,” he interrupted eagerly. “I know the scene by heart, at least what she said, anyway.”

  I felt a sudden chill. He’s reenacting something he overheard but wasn’t part of. “You want me to be that woman of Dev’s?” I blurted.

  “Yes,” Kev said abruptly with zero shame. “But you don’t need to know any more than that, not even her name. I don’t care about her. I just want that fantasy, because since I overheard them I’ve been fantasizing about it over and over.”

  If he wasn’t going to call me by her name, what name was he going to call me? “I don’t go in for swear names,” I said, grimacing. “Not even if I am canine.” One bear had called me a dirty bitch in the throes of his orgasm, and I’d thrown him out. He’d apologized, but I wasn’t sure the news had spread.

  “No names of any kind,” Kev promised. “Especially no insulting ones. I just want you to be the female to my male, and sate my needs.”

  He’s twisted, but he’s acting professional. I can be professional, too. “Fine, then,” I agreed, looking him in his eyes for the first time. “Now tell me the whole scenario from start to finish, so I can do what you want me to correctly.”

  Kev’s eyes were a beautiful dark brown color, almost like the polished oak of my dresser. Yet the intent look in them scared me a little, in spite of their attractiveness.

  * * * *

  A half hour later, we began.

  Kev came in, slamming the bedroom door behind him. I sat bolt upright in bed in a simple nightgown, pretending terror. “What? What are you doing here?”

  Kev said nothing, he just began growling and taking his clothes off, almost ripping them in his haste. Then he dove onto the bed where I cowered, shaking.

  “Please! Don’t do this!”

  “You know who I am!” he growled loudly, pulling me under him, and holding me still, pinning me with his body. “And why I’m here. You’re going to get what you deserve tonight!”

  “Please! No! Stop!”

  Kev flipped me onto my stomach, sodomizing me with a possessive growl. He was not gentle, and I let out a real gasp at the sudden penetration. Yet he hadn’t hurt me, though I’d never done this kind of sex before. The lubricated condom he was wearing helped.

  “Feel that?” he whispered, ramming into me as fast as he could. “Feel me taking you!”

  “Stop, please!” I cried, feigning fighting him weakly. “Please don’t!”

  “No one’s done this to you before, have they? I’m your first!”

  “Yes!” I cried truthfully, then switched back into character, continuing to struggle. “But please don’t! Stop! Stop! No!”

  Kev shuddered, and I felt him come. He gave a jerk, then swiftly pulled out of me, and stripped off the condom. Quickly, he entered me again roughly, but in the normal way. “I’m going to have you, girl!” he growled. “Every way I can think of! And you’re going to come for me!”

  “No! No, I won’t!”

  “Yes, you will!”

  Kev began stroking me, and he knew what he was doing. While the anal sex hadn’t been that enjoyable, his large organ felt wonderful, his touch reminiscent of Devlin’s encounter with me. I felt the climax coming, but tried hard to hold it off, enjoying the sweet torture that I both desperately wanted to end and also wanted to last as long as possible.

  “No! No! I don’t want you! No!” I lied, my desire ratcheting up a notch because I could smell his desire for me, and knew he must also be able to smell mine. I was practically swimming in lust, I wanted to come so badly. Every motion of his body inside mine threatened to push me over the edge and I fought myself to hold back, knowing I was fighting a losing battle.

  “You want it! You’re begging for it! I can feel how much your body wants mine inside you, fucking you!”

  God yes, it does. “No,” I managed to gasp. “I...I...oh...mmmm...”

  “Admit it! Say it! Say you want me to fuck you! That you want me to take you!”

  “No,” I managed once more, then felt the climax I’d been holding at bay shred my will. I surrendered wholly, my long groan of pleasure becoming screams. “Yes! Please fuck me! Take me! Don’t stop! Please don’t stop!”

  Kev shivered all over, then began guttural roars, his fingers shifting to blunt black claws and back as he began to come. We finished together, shouting, clasping each other as hard as we could, our animal nails parting skin that healed before a drop of blood could be shed.

  “Now for the last part,” Kev growled, pulling me to my feet in front of him at the edge of the bed. “Get on your knees, woman. And show me some appreciation for your orgasm!”

  I got on my knees, and bent my head, taking his unflagging erection in my mouth. He let out a scream, as I stroked him hard and fast with my tongue, sucking sensuously.

  “Taste me!” he groaned. “Taste yourself on my skin, how much you liked what I did to you!”

  I stroked him faster, deep throating him. He climaxed hard, shouting, pushing me down to take all of him in as he released everything he had left into my throat. After only a few jerks, Kev slipped out of me, collapsing back onto the bed, as I got to my feet. Tired and breathing hard as I was, I still got my robe and put it on.

  I was creeped out by what he had said and done to me, no matter that he hadn’t hurt me at all and I’d really enjoyed the game. He had been so turned on by my performance that the entire fantasy had taken only about ten minutes. How long has he been thinking about this? Was Devlin’s woman really the reason, or was that just the catalyst that finally made a secret smoldering desire so powerful that it became an undeniable obsession?

  I sat at the edge of the bed, but didn’t touch him. After a few minutes, Kev took a deep breath, and sat up. “That was great,” he said in a relaxed tone. “You were just like I wanted you to be. Will two hundred extra cover it?”

  I hadn’t expected that he’d effectively double my take home nightly pay for only ten minutes worth of fantasy. If they’re all as generous, maybe bondage is worth considering. “Yes.”

  “Will you do this again for me?”

  “Yes,” I assented. “I enjoyed myself. But not any rougher than you were, okay? And the safe word stays the same.”

  “Agreed,” Kev said, handing me two hundreds from his wallet.

  “One other thing,” I added, making sure I had his attention. “Keep this to yourself for now. I don’t want anyone getting any more ideas than they’ve already asked about. I don’t mind doing this for you, because the extra money is good, and you didn’t hurt me. But in all honesty, I want you to know that I don’t think I can do this night after night.”

  “I’ll keep it to myself,” Kev confirmed. “Most of the guys are pretty straight-laced, so they shouldn’t ask for something like this. Our time won’t always be like this, either, when I come to you. I’ll want just oral sex usually, with occasional regular fucking now and then. But I’d like this once every few weeks, if you don’t mind. I’ll let you know when I want it, and I’ll pay you extra those times, like I did tonight. That fair?

  “Yes.”

  Kev walked closer to me, and gave me a gentle kiss on the cheek. “Thanks, Serena,” he said, and then he left, closing the door behind him.

  Chapter Five

  Life went on like that for the next month. As Nick had said, once the men got used to me being available to them, their demand for me every day slackened. In fact, Vince was the only one who came to me every day without fail. Matt and Nick were close seconds, coming to me every few days. I got to know those three faster because I spent more time with them than the others.

  But where Matt and the others were only around me when they wanted sex, Nick and Vince seemed to want to spend time with me, even when they knew we weren’t going to have sex. We sometimes sat in the sun, working on our tans, or swimming in the ocean. Some nights we’d sit on my balcony, drinking beer (or harder stuff, for them), though we never drank very much, only one drink a night at most. Somet
imes Kev joined us, though that wasn’t often.

  I wondered about the drinking, as I sensed that they wanted to drink more than they did. But I didn’t figure out why they were so restrained until a night in mid-October.

  I’d come in from the beach. It was later in the day, almost sunset. I’d seen Devlin’s daily woman come in before me, and hung back, not wanting to talk to her. I knew after that night I’d never see her again. Once he spent the night with them, they were never asked back. I didn’t understand where they kept coming from, but decided it was some arrangement that Kev had set up when he was in Rio.

  Once in a while, I didn’t see a particular woman leave. That she hadn’t left at all occurred to me. That scared me a little, but I told myself that I’d just missed them leaving. If Devlin was killing them, I didn’t want to know. Cowardly as it was, I wanted to keep my head in the sand and mind my own business, because for the first time in my life, I truly felt happy. But after that night, I couldn’t deny the truth any longer.

  I’d gotten to my room, taken a bath, and was just settling in bed. With no appointments that evening, I was looking forward to some uninterrupted reading. Then I heard screaming. Bolting out of bed, I threw open my door. It’s coming from outside.

  I grabbed my bathrobe, and crept downstairs. The screaming continued.

  I got closer to the side where the courtyard was, and saw the source of the screaming. Vince and Kev were there holding Gerry, as Lash whipped his back raw.

  I watched for a few minutes in horror, and then Lash abruptly coiled his whip up. “Let him go,” he hissed.

  Vince and Kev dropped Gerry, and he lay there sprawled in a small pool of his own blood. He was healing, but not as fast as he should.

  “You fall asleep again, or get drunk again at your post, or any other time again, and I’ll whip you until you’re dead,” Lash hissed coldly, looking down at him. “It’ll take you a long time to die that way, Gerry. I know, because I’ve had to do it before.” He paused. “Don’t make me do it again.”

  “I won’t!” Gerry said in a raw squeal. “Please, I won’t!”

  “Take him inside,” Devlin ordered, coming into view. He was dressed in white again, his fair skin and light clothes almost shining in the gloom next to his black dressed guards. “See to his back.”

  “We’ll patch him up,” Lars said, lifting Gerry. Vince went with him.

  Kev turned to Lash and Devlin. “You need me to take her back to the city? You’re usually not out here so fast, Boss.”

  “I’m done with her,” Devlin said with finality. “Lash will take her where she needs to go, Kev.”

  I felt a shiver, and didn’t breathe, knowing my worst fears were confirmed. The woman he was with tonight must be dead. Had he needed to kill her, to drink enough blood to sustain himself?

  “Okay,” Kev said, turning away. “I’ll keep his watch while he’s busy. I’ll call you, Boss, if anything happens.” He walked over and picked up a discarded huge semiautomatic rifle with a scope that was leaning against a tree and strode out of sight.

  Lash turned back to Devlin. “Thanks,” he hissed. “It’s past time for me. But I didn’t want to ask you.”

  “I know,” Devlin said carefully, his usually casual, easy manner of talking oddly strained. “Come to me after, and I’ll help you shed, like usual.”

  “Thanks,” Lash said in a gruff tone. Then he followed Devlin to his bedroom.

  When they were gone, I went to the kitchen, and grabbed a box of Oreos. If I couldn’t drink, I was going to lose myself in some hydrogenated chocolate. I needed a mental escape of some kind because by the sounds of it, Lash wasn’t just burying the body, he was doing something else to it. Whatever it was, I sure as hell didn’t want to know.

  * * * *

  The law of being drunk didn’t apply to everyone, however. The next night, I came down to see Lash finishing off a bottle of Laphroig on the veranda. Now he didn’t act drunk at all; a human wouldn’t have noticed anything out of the ordinary. But I smelled the scent of him was slightly altered, and it was obvious to me in how his hands moved just a little slower, and how he wobbled very slightly in his seat when he shifted his weight in the chair. Yet when Lars came in, Lash stood up fast, looking immediately like he was in full control. “What is it?” he hissed.

  “I want to go into town,” Lars pleaded. “I need some smokes, Lash.”

  “That all you need?” Lash hissed sarcastically. “I know you were into coke before, Lars. I see any of that shit here, you’re dead meat. You know it’s Devlin’s life if we’re discovered here.”

  “Just smokes. I’ll pick up some for the other guys, too. And for you, if you want.”

  “My woman’s got that taken care of,” Lash hissed arrogantly. “But ask Kev, if he wants you to go for him this time into Rio. If he says yes, then you can go.”

  Lars gave him a grateful smile, and hurried off. I surmised that he went, as I didn’t see him for several days. Kev was there, instead, watching from Lars’s usual position on the roof with the high-powered rifle.

  * * * *

  A day after Lars left, Nick came to me, and asked me point blank if I’d consider taking a potion, to be a bear for him and Vince.

  I looked at him in surprise. “How? I’m not a werebear.”

  “But you are were, Serena. You could handle us making love that way.”

  Nick was very persuasive when he wanted to be, or when he wanted something from me. But I admitted I liked him best of my lovers, and I usually gave in when he asked me for something, whether it was a new sexual position or just a back rub.

  “How?”

  “Devlin said he could have a potion for you here by tonight, if you agreed. It’s not cheap, half a month’s pay from each of us to cover it. But it’s getting to the point we can’t deal with not getting any in bear form.”

  Negotiation time. “What will you do for me?” I said, folding my arms across my chest.

  Nick gave me an odd look, then he sat down on my bed. “Are you asking me to take you as my mate?” he asked in an unsettled tone.

  I flushed redder than I ever had in my life. Finally, I got out, “Mate?”

  “If you are with me and Vince as bears and in human form, and I give you something after, and you take it, you’ll be my mate,” Nick explained, sounding very nervous. “That’s were law. It’s what the mated bears who live here did with the women they call their own.” He swallowed again hard. “With bears, more than one partner is allowed in a mating. Males usually outnumber females three to one as a rule, so it’s males that usually share one female. So even doing what you do, it would be allowed.”

  I still couldn’t get any words out, sudden feelings I’d never felt before now flooding me. What would it be like to be someone’s mate? Nick’s mate?

  “But I’m not ready to be mated,” Nick added carefully. “I like you a lot, Serena, but if that’s what you’re asking, I can’t do it.”

  Make light of this, before he does think that’s what you meant. I cleared my throat. “That’s not what I’m asking. I was just teasing, really. But what you’re asking is a lot. I wanted to know if there would be any extra perks.” I softened my words with a smile.

  “Please?” Nick said, taking my hand. “I’m going crazy, Baby, not being able to.”

  Pleading won’t be enough by itself. But you can come to that conclusion on your own, Nick. I tuned him out for a while, thinking. Did I want to do this? Not really. But what would it be like to finally know what it would be like to be animal? Sex did bring out my animal side, as I sometimes changed partly during orgasm, though that had never amounted to more than temporary claws and a little fur that rapidly melted away as soon as I relaxed. This way I’d finally find out. Plus I didn’t have to pay any of the cost, which must be extravagant. “How? And I mean, how will you get the potion? From who?”

  “Devlin’s got a magic man,” Nick said eagerly. “A sorcerer, back in the states. He’ll make it, and
get it here tonight.”

  “And what, I’ll take it, and turn into a bear? For how long? Will I remember anything?”

  Nick considered. “For three hours, tops,” he said slowly. “That’s the limit, I believe. But as for what you’ll remember, I’d think it would be everything. Bear brains are big, so memory wouldn’t be compromised at all when changing form. But I’ll ask to make sure.”

  Hearing that, I decided that here was something I wanted that was worth being bear. “Okay then. But on one condition.”

  Nick looked at me warily, and waited.

  “I’ll expect the same from you at some point in the future. And from Vince, too.”

  “To be fox for you?” Nick said, looking at me strangely. “Or coyote?”

  “Either,” I said with a shrug. “But I want my animal side sated too, if the time ever comes when I am able to change form.”

  “It would be odd. But it’s still a predator, I guess. So sure.”

  “I will too,” Vince said from the doorway, beaming at me. Then he turned to Nick. “Let’s get to Devlin, before he hangs up with Titus!”

  Nick kissed me, and left, almost running out the door. With a last smile, Vince followed him.

  The next evening, I took the potion Vince offered me, swallowing it in a single gulp. And absolutely nothing happened.

  I gave them a look after a few minutes had gone by. “Am I supposed to do something?”

  Nick shot a questioning look to Vince.

  “Turn, both of you,” a cool voice called loudly.

  Kev strode toward us, bare-assed naked. Before the other men had time to say a word, he grabbed hold of me, and bore me to the ground. I squirmed, trying to get away from him, and then felt his skin began to ripple. I went still as his body changed, getting bigger. Hair was brushing my bare arms and my ankles. I screamed, but instead of my scream, I let out a guttural roar.

  My body was changing, too. I sprouted fur and claws, my body suddenly huge, so tall and wide! I rolled to my feet, swiping at the huge male next to me. Because he is huge, and the scent of him is heavy in my nose. He’s not proven himself. I’ll not let him have me until he does. Or the other two bears, either, who are snarling at him.