Tempting The Beast by Lora Leigh Read Free Book Online Page B

handled the direct look from his eyes, the caress of his fingers against her chin. She ran her tongue nervously over her dry lips, aware of the sudden fullness in them, the ache, the throb just beneath the skin.
    His eyes narrowed. His thumb reached out, running experimentally over the soft curve, picking up the moisture from her mouth. Her chest tightened as she tried to breathe normally. She couldn’t seem to draw in enough air to fill her lungs sufficiently. She felt the need to fight for breath, to release the moan she held there.
    “You’re dangerous.” There was that growl again, rumbling just beneath the surface of his words. “Whatever this is, Merinus, could mean our lives.”
    “Anomaly.” She bit her lip. She had no answers for this.
    A mocking curve of his lips showed his disagreement.
    “There is no such thing as an anomaly when dealing with one such as I,” he assured her. “I’m instinct, Merinus. An animal barely disguised. Any response is one to fear.”
    “Not an animal.” She shook her head, seeing the bitterness in his eyes.
    She drew away from his touch quickly. He made her body weak, pliant. She needed all her wits about her now.
    “What would you call it then?” There was a thread of anger running through his voice. “If I did as you asked, and by some miracle of God did not end up dead, then I would be known as America’s Freak. More experiments, more tests. At least this way, I’m free. As long as I can run faster than their soldiers and hide better than their trackers, then I can survive.”
    “And is survival enough?” she asked him, angry that he didn’t want more. “What about those who will come later? The poor souls that meet their killing criteria? Don’t you feel in some way responsible to stop it?”
    Cynicism washed over his expression.
    “So passionate,” he murmured, leaning against the wall, his arms crossing over his chest as he watched her. “I’m one man—”
    “With a nation that will back him,” she argued desperately.
    “Your innocence is to be commended, Merinus,” he bit out, straightening now, stalking closer to her. “As are your motives. But you have no idea of the piece you’ve bitten off here. It’s bound to choke you.”
    He gripped her arm, jerking her against his body, allowing his erection to cushion against her stomach. Merinus breathed in harshly, her hands bracing against his chest as he locked her to him.
    “You spout off with your morality and your ideas of justice, and all the while your juices froth from your cunt, tempting me, driving me insane with the scent. It’s not the story you want and it’s not justice. You want to be fucked by the Cat Man. Admit it.”
    He gripped her hips, ground himself against her. Merinus gasped out, fighting against the slow relaxation of her body against his, the needs suddenly swamping her. Where had they come from?
    “I don’t know why,” she cried out hoarsely, shaking her head. “It wasn’t like this before I came here. I only wanted to help you.”
    “Doesn’t this frighten you, Merinus?” His hand gripped her hair, pulling her head back. “Aren’t you scared of this sudden lust? Because if you aren’t, you should be. It has me damned near shaking in my boots with my need to lay you over that desk and fuck you until you scream with your pleasure.”
    Merinus shuddered, then cried out when his head lowered. His lips went to her neck, his teeth scraping over it in a slow, dangerous gesture. Merinus shook. Her hands gripped his powerful arms, she stared at the ceiling in dazed rapture as his tongue swiped over her skin. The moist roughness, the sandpapery rasp had her going to her tiptoes, silently demanding more. Her head tilted further, exposing the vulnerable curve of her neck. Her skin tingled, screamed out for more.
    “Damn, you taste good, Merinus. Damn good.” He licked across her skin again, and she cried out.
    She couldn’t believe the sensation. Like rough velvet, only