This wasn’t happening. What had gotten into him? “You’re hurting me, dammit!
Let me go, Peter, before you do something you will regret.”
18
Mountain Moonlight
She’d heard this conversation over and over again from him, but he’d never acted this violently. Her arm ached, her shoulder stretched so tight she felt like it would popout of its socket if he didn’t let loose soon.
“You need a mate. Someone to dominate you.”
She shuddered in revulsion when his tongue snaked out and swiped her neck. “You need a cold shower and a fuck with some other woman,” she countered. “Because you’re
never
going to get that from me!”
“Won’t I? I think it’s long past time I force the issue. You will be mine, if I have tofuck you without your consent.”
She stilled. He wouldn’t do that. She’d tell everyone he raped her. Though it wouldn’t matter at that point. Once he took her, she would be forever bound to him.
And he knew that. Had he become so desperate to have her he was willing to resort to rape?
Don’t do this, Peter. Don’t ruin both our lives.
He pushed her forward, heading for the bedroom. Okay, time to think. She had to clear her head. She had to force herself to relax, calm down and stem the panic that bubbled up in her suddenly dry throat. She had to think this through, figure out how to stop him before it was too late.
As a human she was no match for him. Peter was much taller and stronger. But as a wolf, she’d stand a better chance of either wounding him in some way or maneuveringher way free so she could run.
“Peter, stop this. You don’t want me this way.”
His voice was barely recognizable, dripping with sarcasm. “I’ll take you any way I can get you. With or without your consent. Trust me, Katya. You’ll like it. I’m good, baby. Really, really good. I’ll have you whimpering to come in no time at all.”
The visuals conjured up by his words made her nauseous. But she let him push herdown the hall, relaxing against him as if she’d given up the fight and would go along with him now.
In response, he loosened his hold, enough that when he laid her down on the bedshe forced the shift. Her teeth elongated first and before he had a chance to pin herdown, she sank them deep into his arm.
Peter screamed and yanked his arm away. “You bitch! You’ll pay for that!”
She scrambled off the bed but he caught her hair before she could escape the bedroom. Tears filled her eyes as he dragged her back by her ponytail, then threw her tothe floor, shifting partially so that his strength overpowered her. Pulling his arm back, he struck her across the face, his unsheathed claws tearing into her skin. An explosion rocked her temporarily blind. Searing fire burned along her temple and cheek, rendering her momentarily dazed.
While she fought for clarity, he sat on top of her middle and began to tear at her clothes.
19
Jaci Burton
No! No, no, no! This was
not
going to happen!
Dizziness pounded at her and she struggled to keep Peter’s face in focus. Warm liquid oozed down her neck. She didn’t need to touch it to know it was blood.
He ripped her shirt open, reaching for her breasts and squeezing them so hard that pain shot through her.
“You’re going to pay for making me wait,” he growled. “And for riding that bastard Devlin instead of me!”
She wished she was still dressed instead of just her long shirt and underwear. Hequickly tore her panties, reaching for the zipper of his pants and yanking it down.
Bile rose up in her throat and she was afraid she’d throw up. She was too angry to feel the fear. Too livid to just lie there and let him rape her. No way was she giving up without a fight. She tamped down the nausea and continued to force her body to change, her strength growing more with each passing second.
It was a race to see which one of them could complete the transformation first, since
he could easily take her in wolf form, too. Her fingernails became claws and she lashed out at him with wolf strength, pushing him off long enough to scramble onto her haunches and tear into his upper arm with her teeth. Peter screamed, but his rage made him stronger and he jumped back on top of her, flipping her over onto her stomach and pressing his knee into her upper back.
She couldn’t breathe! He’d cut off her oxygen, the shock delaying her ability tocompletely change. But he’d had plenty of time, nearly half shifted now and growing instrength.
“I want to take you like this. Human to human. I want to hear you scream when I sink my cock into you.”
“I won’t scream for you, you sonofabitch,” she managed between gasping breaths. “And if you rape me, you will suffer the consequences,” she bit back, her teeth clenchedin an effort to force him off her.
His laughter spoke of near hysteria. “I know the laws here as well as you. Lupinelaw supersedes human and you know that. Now spread your legs so I can take what’s mine.”
She’d die fighting him before she ever let him touch her. She’d just wait him outagain, relax enough that he’d let down his guard. Only this time she’d go for his throat.
But when she felt the tip of his cock against her buttocks, she began to worry. If hesucceeded in penetrating her, all was lost. He could rightly claim her as his.
Sweat poured from her as she fought. Her skin burned where his claws dug in to hold her down. When he growled and ripped into her shoulder with his teeth, she knew she had to do something now. But she couldn’t breathe with his weight on top of her. Without air, she couldn’t struggle, couldn’t fight.
Goddamn it! She hated being a woman.
20
Mountain Moonlight
Peter would pay for this. Somehow, someway, if she had to kill the prick herself, he’d pay for what he was about to do. She gritted her teeth and prepared to fight him,no matter the outcome.
Suddenly, his weight on her eased, then disappeared.
She sucked in a breath, oxygen filling her compressed lungs, then flipped over, stunned to see Conner snarling at Peter as he held him in a chokehold. Peter dug his claws into Conner’s forearm in an effort to pull him off. Despite the fact the men were about equal in size, Conner controlled him as if he was a small pup.
Katya struggled to stand, then dragged the cover off the bed and wrapped it around herself. Exhausted from that slight effort, she flopped onto the edge of the bed, her limbs shaking too hard to stand.
“Are you all right?” Conner asked, still maintaining his hold on Peter.
Her throat was dry and she was near tears, hating her body’s reaction to this event. She nodded and croaked out, “Yes.”
Conner turned his attention to Peter, squeezing Peter’s throat tighter. “When a woman says no, it means no,” Conner snarled. “Haven’t you ever learned that?”
“She’s mine!” Peter choked, his face red with fury. “She’s always been mine.”
Conner’s lethal smile was unnerving. As was his calm voice when he said, “Didn’t look to me like she was yours. In fact, what happened in here looks suspiciously like attempted rape.”
Peter stilled. “You have no authority here. Stay out of our business.”
“I’m here, and I’m knee-deep in your business, dumbass. Pay real close attention because I’m only going to say this once. You touch her again—I’ll kill you.”
“And I said—”
Peter’s next words were cut off because Conner growled, his claws extending further until a line of red appeared at Peter’s throat, precariously close to a vital artery. “Are you listening now?”
Katya couldn’t resist the upward curve of her lips as Peter finally stopped struggling. His eyes looked like they were going to pop out of his head, his cheeks red and puffed out as he struggled to speak. “Yes. I hear you!”
Noah tore through the doorway, skidding to a halt. His gaze darted in all directions of the room, quickly assessing what move to make first. “Got everything under control in here?”
Conner nodded, his face and body returning to human state. “Yeah. Take this scum and lock him up somewhere until I’ve had a chance to talk to Katya.”
Noah glanced over at Katya. Seeing the horror and anger on his face, she resisted the urge to smooth her tangled hair away from her face and wipe the blood from hercheek. She had to look a lot worse than she felt.
Then again, she felt pretty bad right now. “Is Elena with you?” she asked Noah.
21
Jaci Burton
“She was earlier, but then she left, saying she was going in to town to meet some friends and she’d be out the rest of the night.”
Katya nodded. Elena knew many people in the valley and often stopped off to visit with them. She wouldn’t be back until morning.
“You need me to go find her?” Noah asked.
Managing a smile despite the shooting pain in her cheek, she shook her head. “No, I’ll be fine. Just get
him
out of my room.”
“Gladly. Come on, prick. Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what happened in here tonight. You’re lucky Conner found you first. He’s much nicer than I am. Otherwise you’d be dead by now.”
Noah dragged Peter from the room. As soon as they were out of eyesight, her shoulders slumped and she began to shake, hating to show weakness in front of Conner but unable to prevent the physiological reaction to the attack. One of the drawbacks to being partially human—dealing with human biological functions.
And now a stranger tended to her. He sat next to her on the bed, looking as uncomfortable as she felt. Twice he lifted his hand as if he’d wrap his arm around her, then settled it down at his side again. Tension tightened the muscles of his thigh as it brushed against hers.
“Let me go get someone from the hotel to help you.”
He stood but she reached for his arm. “Please don’t. I don’t want anyone to know.” Calling attention to herself was never a good idea. And being lupine meant the hotel doctor couldn’t be called in. Since Conner was well aware of that fact, she knew he
wouldn’t offer to fetch the physician.
He studied her, then nodded. “Tell me what you need.”
Grateful he hadn’t tried to treat her like a helpless woman, she said, “I’ll be fine
here alone.”
“No, you’re not going to be alone. I know enough about trauma to realize that’s the last thing you need. You’re injured. How about we start by cleaning you up and assessing the damage?”
She was almost afraid to look, but Conner was right. As it was, she could barely stand up.
“Any bones broken?”
She shook her head.
“Where does it hurt?”
Turning her head to look at him, she said, “Everywhere.”
He grimaced. “Looks like it. Noah’s right. I should have killed him.”
“You made the right choice. My people will deal with him in their own way.”
“Can you stand?”
She nodded. “Might need some help. My legs won’t stop shaking.”
22
Mountain Moonlight
“That’s just a fight-or-flight reaction. From the looks of you, I’d say you put up one hell of a fight.”
The pride in his voice made her smile. “I tried. Sonofabitch was bigger than me.”
“Which is why he should have never forced himself on you like that. Goddamn it! It pisses me off when men get their rocks off by overpowering women.”
He slid his hands under her arms and lifted her to a standing position, then let her lean on him as they moved into the bathroom. He seated her on the ample corner of the
tub.
“Sit here. I’m going to run a bath for you and see if we can’t eliminate some of the
bloodstains.”
We? What the hell did he mean by “we”? She watched him turn on the faucets andtest the water temperature, then rummage through the bath salts on the edge of the tub. “This isn’t quite muscle relaxing, but it’ll do,” he said, pouring some lavender salts under the tap water.
The smell of lavender shortly filled the room, relaxing her enough that her legs stopped shaking. “I think I can take it from here.”
But instead of leaving, he crossed his arms and shook his head. “I’m not leaving you alone, and since your cousin’s not here, you’re stuck with me.”
“I’m not bathing with you in the room.”
“Yeah, you are, because I’m not leaving you alone.”
His voice was commanding, yet gentle. Not at all like Peter’s show of power. The fact he didn’t coddle her or treat her like a victim was comforting. He was just…here. And that helped. Much as she’d rather have crawled into bed and pulled the covers over her head until she healed, Conner was right. She needed to clean up and assess the damage, at least estimate how long before the lupine part of her healed her body.
When the bath was full, Conner shut off the water and turned to her. “Drop theblanket and get in. I’ll hold onto your hands for support.”