Preternatural: An Erotic Paranormal Romance Collection (3 Book Bundle) (5 page)

Straightening up things on the counter, she was using a washrag to scoop up the scraps she’d left behind after cutting up the fresh veggies and such. She was humming an unfamiliar tune, a loose swinging of her hips to the rhythmic harmony.

She was quite into herself, her head bobbing and hips swaying as if she’d wore a headset and there was nothing that could shake her blissful ambiance. Then she turned around with the handful of scraps, headed for the trash can and dropped them to the floor. She let out a shrill scream of excitement, stretching out her arms to him.

Logan looked up to her.

What?
He thought to himself. Something seems a little strange here.

Logan looked up to her?

That’s right. Logan looked up to her… and then he barked.

Lucas rolled over underneath the heavy covers and draped his arm over Jennifer, who sighed quietly in her sleep in response to his touch. It would have been impossible for him to fully express how he felt about her. He loved her more than anyone, or anything, that he had ever known.

Jennifer was life itself – she believed in him no matter how many stupid things he had done, taught him what life was really all about and was the first person ever to really help him understand what love is. Without her he knew that he wouldn’t have ever known love in the first place.

Jennifer had filled a gap in his heart and soul that he didn’t think would ever be filled by any living being. She was the one shining reason he was now the man he knew he could be, rather than the man his hateful and abusive father had made him out to be all those years ago.

Lucas was a lucky man and he knew it. Jennifer’s love for him was patient and kind, if not a bit blind. She saw only good and loved the strength in him. She didn’t dwell on his weaknesses, thank God, because he knew there were a lot of them, but she saw the good in him.

She chose not to feed the hatred and resentment that had been placed there by years of being treated like a waste of sperm by his father, who hated his very existence and had made it clear on a daily basis while he was growing up. In that respect, Lucas was cursed. His father truly hated him. Under the watchful eye of an unforgiving father, his childhood was long, dark and truly awful.

Despite that one fact that had haunted his life for years, he had learned through Jennifer that love, real and true love, is never hateful or resentful. Instead of focusing on the bad, she made him want to be a better man. The love that grew between, a slow and strong love, then bound them together and helped to release him from the despair of his terrible childhood.

His father had found it funny to name him Lucas, which is often associated with light and illumination. The irony of his name was that, in his father eyes, Lucas caused him, the father, nothing but darkness and pain since he was the reason he had lost his wife all those many years ago. Not that Lucas could do anything about that, but his father cared not about that.

Lucas’ own father saw nothing in him of a redeeming value. In fact, he considered him a monster. A waste. Nothing but wasted space. And thanks to the mistreatment he had received over his entire childhood, Lucas had come to believe he was just as his father had always concluded him to be.

That was, until Jennifer found him. It was only then that he knew that he was alive and could really make a valuable contribution… that his life was really worth living. Jennifer changed his life!

But tonight, as he held his beloved Jennifer in his arms, a warm feeling reverberated through him as he remembered the week before – that one night in particular. He’d gone down onto one knee at a fancy candle lit dinner in her favorite restaurant, and proposed to her. The moment of silence that followed, in which Jennifer paused, dumbfounded at his action, had almost given him a heart attack!

But when a smile lit up her face, her eyes glittering with tears, her hands shaking, doing her best to reassure him that she accepted him and his invitation completely, he knew everything would be alright. He looked over and could just see the diamond ring on her elegant finger as her hand rested on the pillow right next to her head. He laughed a bit to himself as he realized he was having a “Hallmark” moment. I’m such a sap!

But no matter the circumstances, he didn’t know what he’d done to deserve a woman like Jennifer. She was beautiful, sweet, kind and friendly… yet there was something about her. He wasn’t sure exactly what it was, but she possessed some quality, something that was just Jennifer, that reduced him to nothing when she looked into his eyes, put her arms around his neck and kissed him in that way that she always did.

Lucas lay there, beginning to fall asleep, sending out one last silent “thank you” to anyone who might be listening up there. As he closed his eyes for the night, focusing only on the warmth of her beautiful body next to him, he realized that someone somewhere seemed to care about him in providing him with such an angel.

Not an hour later Lucas’ eyes opened wide! He squinted across the room looking for the calendar. He couldn’t see it from where he was lying, so he slowly and silently slid from underneath the covers, doing his best not to wake Jennifer. Once out of bed, he stealthily padded across the large bedroom to their desk over in the far corner of the room.

“Shit!” he said to himself much louder than he had intended.

Immediately he regretted his outburst because Jennifer stirred in the bed. Lucas froze, his body quaked, doing his best to control another outburst. Shivers ran down his spine as he realized that he had lost track of the days this month… and tonight was the first night of the full moon! He couldn’t believe it. How could I have messed that up? Immediately followed by, breathe, just breathe, Luke.

Lucas absolutely hated the full moon. The moon – he hated the moon… but especially the full moon. It was two nights long and it’s effects on him were both terrible and unavoidable. The first night of the full moon wasn’t quite as bad – since it was not 100% full, it was only sometimes full enough to bring about the change in him.

But the second night of the full moon, that was another thing altogether.  The second night was always strong enough to cause him to forget every trace of humanity he had ever known! Lucas had always wished that these two days never even existed; but so much for that wish. His curse haunted him every month anyway, no matter how many times he wished, or prayed for it to stop.

“Shit, shit, shit…” Lucas said to himself over and over, still standing by the desk, trying to figure out how he could have made such a ridiculous rookie mistake and overlooked the dates in the lunar cycle. Since Jennifer had come into his life he had done his best to keep up with it. Breathe, man, breathe…

And there was a distinct reason he did this. You see, Lucas was a werewolf! And this was his secret. One that he guarded with his life. And one that he had never even shared with Jennifer! I mean, who would accept that as a real thing, right?! This curse, his curse… it was passed from male to male in his family bloodline. In fact, all of his male ancestors, as far back as he could remember, were werewolves.

And this curse… his curse, it was in-born, unchangeable and dominated his life when the moon was full. He, and all the men in his family, they changed each full moon into a beast of the night… with a bloodlust that raged out of control… especially on the second night! He had always feared that he might tear someone else apart – and on occasion, it did happen.

And he hated himself for the lives he’d claimed in the past. When he was young and first beginning the change… he was a beast out of control. But how could one run away from the full moon… or oneself? Before he had learned to deal with his curse, there had been several people he had killed. Their lost lives never left his memory and he regretted his part in their deaths.

Eventually, though, Lucas taught himself a little more of how to control himself. He just had to figure out what worked for him, breathing exercises, meditation… It also took work and planning, but he had eventually gotten to the point that he could keep the beast from harming others. To date, it had been years since he had last killed someone.

And then Jennifer came into his life. And things, everything… it all  changed for the better. Something about her, about how he was with her… he wasn’t sure exactly what it was, but Lucas found he could control the bloodlust more and more, since they had started dating. And even more so since they had moved in together months back. Some nights, if he really concentrated, and if it had been a good week, he could even resist the change inside him completely.

Somehow, since he had found Jennifer, he was now able to defeat the monster inside him. Usually, on the nights of the full moon, Lucas always managed to be out of town. So far, he was always able to use some sort of business trips as his excuse for being gone. Jennifer never doubted him due to his reasons for leaving, and up till now, he’d been able to hide his curse from her with no hiccups of any kind.

Tonight…. since he’d messed up so badly… tonight… tonight would be a problem.  Full moon was tonight! Now! And since he had not planned his business trip this month ahead of time… how was he ever going to leave Jennifer now… before the change that might take him?

He stood there by the desk, overwhelmed by his stupid mistake, and fury at his stupidity started to burn deep inside him. How in the hell will I ever  come up with an excuse for me right this second? Lucas cursed himself over and over, so much so, that he forgot she was even in the room.

His brain was in overdrive, like a super computer, looking for a suitable  excuse for leaving Jennifer right now… at this odd hour of the night!

“Shit, shit, shit…” Lucas said to himself over and over, louder and louder, forgetting all about Jennifer, only feet away, over in the bed. He had stopped his breathing exercises… only minutes away from a full blown panic attack!

Panic pulsated through his body as he tried to think of a good way out. Right now! She can’t see anything. And I can’t bear the risk of hurting her. He knew he would never be able to live with himself if that ever were to happen.

For some reason, completely unknown to him, through the course of their relationship, he’d become more and more able to control the change. Many nights he was able to stay almost completely human, with only a small outbreak of hair on his back or maybe a lengthening of his nails. But that wasn’t always the case. He couldn’t risk it.

Just then Jennifer stirred in the bed, pushed herself up on her elbows, and looked sleepily across the room, trying to find him in the darkness.

“Hey… is something wrong?” she asked with a sleepy voice.

“No, baby… I was just checking something,” Luke lied.

“So come back to bed,” she said patting his spot.

He nodded as he walked back over to the bed, slowly sliding in beside her. She immediately wrapped her arms around him as she kissed his cheek lightly, ready to go back to sleep. He lay there for a bit wondering what he should say to her, trying to keep the panic at bay. There had to be a better way of telling Jennifer that didn’t involve such a surprise. But honestly, right this minute he couldn’t think of one. But he knew he had to get away – tonight!

“Jen,” he started, unsure exactly how this was going to go, “I have another trip coming up.”

“OK… why?” she asked sleepily.

“Same as always – for work. They’re sending me to a convention.”

“When?” she asked, a little more alert than before.

“Well, one of our instructors for the new software got sick, so they asked me to fill in for him and teach the class,” Lucas lied.

His heart was beating a million miles an hour as he lay there with her in his arms. He tried closing his eyes and started a few of his breathing exercises, quietly, trying to calm himself down, the moon rising slowly above them.

Jennifer was quiet for a bit, and Lucas actually thought she had gone back to sleep after a few minutes. Then, finally, she asked, “Alright, how long will you be gone?”

“Only two nights,” he said, breathing out relief, “You won’t even have time to miss me before I’m back.”

She lay there silent for a while longer, and then she sat up in bed and looked his way in the darkness. “I didn’t even know you were an instructor. Have you done this before?”

“No, this’ll be the first time. Like I said, it’s only because the regular guy got sick, and because I know the software so well. No big deal, really.”

Jennifer was starting to get a little suspicious, he could sense it. He wasn’t a computer geek, and she knew that. Finally, in an effort to distract her, Lucas rolled over and kissed her. And then he kissed her again, as the warmth inside him began to build. After a while the heat grew between them to a point she couldn’t deny either, and she gave herself over to him. Twice!

Several hours later, Lucas got up, got a shower and started packing his bags, taking care to pack a suit as if he was really going to do a presentation in front of a room full of people. Jennifer got up after him, which was unusual in itself, a bit tired from last nights workout, and helped him gather all his stuff together. She packed his shoes, socks, underwear and other usual items, leaving his shaving accessories alone until after he had finished getting dressed. Then she went down and made them a late breakfast.

Lucas, knowing already exactly how long everything would take, since he had been through this hundreds of times, paced himself as they ate, after his packing was completed. They laughed, talked, ate, discussed a few things… and then it was time for him to pack the car, which he completed in under 10 minutes.

Jennifer really didn’t pay any attention out of the ordinary, since he did this every month, so Luke thought he had gotten away with his mistake. Finally the time came for him to leave and he kissed her goodbye – a long, slow kiss, hinting at the heat behind it, before he told her goodbye and walked out the door to his already packed car.