BOUGHT TO CARRY THE BEAST'S CHILD

When Damien's mouth closed hers, the night echoed deafening silence as her body relaxed into his arms and she moaned with wanting pleasure so that she let loose of the white towel wrapping her from chest to knees, her body dripping wet from the warm shower she'd just took.

For a moment she felt shy by her nakedness, but her senses didn't urge her to pick up the towel to cover herself, rather they urged her closer to him so she wrapped herself in his arms as his tongue pushed past her sensitive lips. When he kissed the veins at the side of her neck, her eyes rolled, the earth spun under her feet, and she shuddered with desire and wants that had been breeding for months.

Arie closed her eyes and sucked in his scent, the faint smell of lavender missed with the alcoholic smell of his aftershave, and they further intensified her libidinous desires.

Arie Higgins was five months and two weeks into her pregnancy and Damien had been one of her cravings recently, although she knew that they were never meant to cross the line drafted alongside the contract she'd signed. But the surge of electric charging between them was so powerful that she felt consumed by the slightest touch of his fingers, and how could she think when he was in control?

Her body was soft and yielding to the bite of his fingers and the scrapes of his hands in her inner thighs, she was soaking wet and the slickness on her thighs made it easy to feel--she moaned deeply, gave a low growl as he fondled her left breast, then she eased herself helplessly to him.

Damien pressed her to himself and deepened the kiss into her mouth, tongue rolling and lips clashing in a spasm of raw desire and lust. She'd never felt this primal craving before. Come to think of it, she'd never felt anything so adventurous and devastatingly wanting, but maybe the pregnancy brought out her cravings, maybe she'd abstained for a while and her body just wanted to succumb to its biological need. Whatever the reasons were, Arie reckoned that it didn't matter. She wanted Damien to make mad love to her and she wanted it immediately, so she reached for his erection--hard and throbbing--and caressed him gently, making him moan.

Arie smiled to herself. She opened her eyes and looked at his face as she gave him pleasure with her hand, by then a constriction of muscles appeared on his forehead, the veins around his lids popped out and blackened and when he slightly opened his eyes, they were dark, a light of gold in his pupils as his eyes glowed. She cringed and pulled back in an instinctive movement.

Damien pulled away immediately and kept five inches from her, backing her so that she didn't see his eyes and the sudden changes to the side of his face. He could feel the length at which his nails had grown over a few seconds, so he kept his hands in front of him and began to look for a way out.

"What's wrong?"

Damien breathed deeply, agitated and scared to his bones. When Arie moved closer, he moved away to stand by the window.

"Will you please tell me what's going on?"

"Please, Arie. Leave, now!"

Arie chuckled in disbelief. "What's that even supposed to mean?"

"It means to leave, now!"

"But this is my room?" she noticed the conflict within him as his shoulders dropped. She picked up the towel on the floor and covered herself. "You know, you can just tell me if you don't want me, instead of embarrassing me every time we come to this point."

"Of course, I want you..." he thought to turn around but decided against it immediately. Damien sucked in a deep breath, then. "Arie, I do want you. I want you more than anything I've ever wanted in my life..."

He waited for her to say something. More than Arie hating what he looks like at this moment, he fears he will hurt her if he doesn't leave immediately. But he'd left her stranded on too many nights that now he was beginning to hate himself for it. If only he could control his changing by now.

"Then what's the problem? I want you too, Damien."

"That's not enough."

She chuckled wryly. "What is then?"

Damien gave a low growl, his ribcage hurt and his spinal cord spiraled up and down as if reshaping. It was midnight already, the change was kicking in.

Arie noticed his struggle and moved closer. "Damien, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he said, but she noticed that he was straining.

"Are you sure?" She moved another step closer.

"Stay back," he screamed, startling her.

"Damien, what's going on?"

"I should go," he moved quickly but crashed at the door and growled in pain as his kneecap cracked.

"Damien!"

"Stay away, please." he cried out loudly, his muscles ripping from his flesh. He could feel every crack within him, every pain that made him hate what he was becoming, but what he feared more was Arie seeing him this way, and that he might not be able to stop himself from hurting her. It was stupid of him to have subscribed to the doctor's hypothesis, that being around Arie, his growing feelings for her and his desire to protect her might help him control the change.

"Damien?"

He struggled to his feet and yanked the door, almost ripping it off in one try. He could feel Arie froze and stiffen behind him and he didn't need an eye at the back of his head to know that she was scared, terrified of him. So he hurried out, crashed to the floor but picked himself up immediately and ran off.

"Damien!" she moved out and tried to follow him, but the old butler got in her and she knew not to insist.

What the hell was going on?