Bitten, Beaten, & Loved Read online

I followed him in shock as he headed towards the front door and opened it. He bent down and kissed my cheek softly. “Thank you, Rose. I hope I can see you again soon.”

  “Thank you for tonight,” I whispered.

  He smiled happily at me and walked to his car. I shut the door and sagged against it as a smile split my face. He was amazing.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  I called into work the next day and after explaining I’d been up all night with Mr. Wright, Richard had been more than happy to let me off.

  I hadn’t expected our date to go as well as it had. I really hadn’t expected him to want to see me again after learning what had happened and understanding how broken I was. Honestly, I had expected him to force me to let him stay the night, but he had behaved like a perfect gentleman. Was it just a trick? Or was he really just nice? I knew he was right about every person being different, but was it true of male werewolves? Could it be because he was a born wolf instead of a bitten wolf?

  I contemplated what I should do and what I thought of him as I ran around the park that morning. I didn’t usually run in the mornings, but our date had kept me out and I needed to burn off energy. As I walked back to my house, my cell phone rang. “Hello?” I answered.

  “Hi,” Sean said cheerfully. “What are you up to?”

  “Just out for a jog,” I said nonchalantly. “You?”

  “Well I was hoping we could meet for lunch?”

  My instant reaction was no, but that wasn’t really fair to him since he had been incredibly good last night. I chewed on my lip as I thought about it. Maybe I should test him? “I’m not really hungry right now,” I lied, “Maybe another time.”

  I knew he could sense I was lying and honestly, I wanted to see what his reaction to being turned down was. Jeff would never have allowed me to reject him.

  “Okay,” he said, sounding somewhat disappointed, “Well I guess I’ll let you get back to your jog then.”

  “Okay. Bye.” I hung up the phone and stared at it in disbelief. He’d taken the rejection well, hadn’t gotten angry or even tried to persuade me. Was this guy for real? I turned back around and jogged around the park six more times to release the nervous energy thrumming through me. If he was for real, I might actually be able to spend time with a wolf again! A playmate sounded like heaven.

  As I ate my ice cream on my couch that afternoon I decided to do something nice and to further pursue my tests on him.

  “Hello?” he answered after the second ring.

  “Hey, it’s Rose.”

  “Hey Rose,” he said happily.

  “I was wondering if you would be up to dinner and a movie?” I asked, trying my hardest to calm my racing heart and not sound as nervous as I felt.

  “That sounds great,” he said sounding genuinely pleased, “Where would you like to eat?”

  “I can eat anywhere so why don’t you pick?” I suggested. Truthfully, I couldn’t ever make up my mind about where I wanted to go so it was easier if he just picked.

  “How about Milton’s Steakhouse?”

  My mouth watered at the name like I’d heard Pavlov’s bell. “That sounds great.”

  “I’ll pick you up at five, okay?”

  “Okay,” I said. We hung up and I realized I was smiling! I looked at the clock, shocked to see it was already three and rushed to shower and get ready. Since tonight was a relaxed date I opted for jeans and a t-shirt. He had to see me as I truly was and I wasn’t a girl who wore nice clothes every night. I had been when I was in college, but not after everything that’d happened to me.

  I was pacing in the living room when I heard his car pull up to the curb. I started to move towards the door, but held myself back and waited for him to knock. Even though I heard every movement he made, I still jumped when he knocked on the door. I took two deep breaths and then opened the door.

  “Hello,” he said with a bright smile on his face.

  He looked incredibly hot in a tight fitting black t-shirt and blue jeans. I smiled back at him and asked, “How are you tonight?”

  He stepped back to allow me room on the porch without me feeling crowded. “I’m in a very good mood now,” he said as he backed down the steps.

  I locked the door and followed him. “Were you having a bad day?” I asked.

  He shrugged. “I got rejected for a lunch date and thought I might have messed up.”

  “So, you were upset you got rejected?” I asked, watching his body and listening for his reaction.

  “I was sad I was rejected, but more upset that I might have messed things up with the girl,” he answered honestly as he held open the passenger door for me.

  I waited until he was inside the car before asking, “Would that be so bad?”

  He was silent a moment and I glanced over to see what he was doing. His nostrils were flaring and he was looking at me out of the corners of his eyes. I almost laughed because I realized he was trying to figure out my mood. He parked the car and said, “It would have made me very sad because even though I barely know the girl, I really like her. She’s beautiful and smart and best of all she knows what I am.” My shock must have been apparent because he smiled and whispered, “Hopefully I don’t ruin this date or scare her away.”

  I smiled back at him and said, “I’m sure any woman would be lucky to have you.”

  He shrugged. “If you say so.”

  We stepped out of the car and went into the steakhouse, immediately getting a reserved table. I didn’t want to cost him too much so I was prepared to order a ten-ounce steak, but when the waiter came he ordered for both of us, getting me their largest twenty-ounce steak. “You didn’t have to get me that big of a steak,” I said.

  He sipped from his water glass and then said, “I’m not a cheap jerk. Besides, I know you could truly eat two of the twenty-ounce steaks before even feeling remotely satisfied. Please don’t feel like you need to save me money or like you can’t order what you truly want. If you want three steaks and two desserts then feel free to order it.”

  “I wouldn’t do that,” I said seriously, “Besides, this date was my idea.”

  He shrugged. “It’s more like the rain check from my lunch date.”

  “Why are you really interested in me? Do you just want to force me to join your pack?”

  He reached for my hand on top of the table and I jerked it back quickly, afraid I’d made him mad and he was going to hurt me somehow. He set his hand on the table, palm up and whispered, “I would never force you to do anything. I’m interested in you because you’re beautiful and sweet and I truly want to get to know you better. If we dated another year and you still didn’t want to join my pack, I wouldn’t force you.”

  We both knew that his alpha would though. It wasn’t allowed to be a lone wolf, especially when you were living within a pack’s territory.

  “I want to see the real you,” I whispered to him, “Not this guy you’re pretending to be.”

  He pulled his hand back and shook his head sadly. “I’m not pretending to be anything. What you see is what you get with me.”

  “If that were true these humans would be running away in terror,” I said.

  He rolled his eyes. “You know what I am. You’ve seen me in wolf form.”

  “And what are you like when you get mad?” I asked softly.

  “I’m me, but angry. I still have morals, which include not hurting humans if possible and never hurting females unless my life is in danger. What are you like when you’re angry?”

  “A bitch,” I said with a smirk.

  He laughed and whispered, “Rose, I swear that I am not like the wolves you’ve met. I am not cruel or psychotic. I wish you would believe me and I wish there was someway for me to prove it to you.”

  There was a way, but I was too afraid of him hurting me to allow it.

  “Here you go,” The waiter said as he set our food down for us.

  We ate our dinner without speaking, but my mind was whirling a mile a minute. There had t
o be some way for me to test him. Some way for me to make him reveal his true nature. He couldn’t be as perfect as he seemed. There had to be a flaw.

  “Would you like dessert?” he asked.

  I shook my head. “Not here, thank you. I might like some candy at the movies.”

  He paid the bill and we walked back to his car. The night was cool and perfect, but strange scents continued to waft passed my nose. I was almost to the car when someone screamed and charged at me from behind. I spun around, ready to protect myself, but Sean was already standing between me and the man who had tried to attack me. The man was human, obviously strung out on drugs and holding a knife.

  “Back off,” Sean said angrily. The anger in his voice made me cringe and step away from him and into the side of the car.

  “If you don’t want to get hurt pretty boy just give me your money,” the human said.

  “If you want to live I suggest you turn and walk away,” Sean replied.

  “You asked for it!” the human yelled and then charged forward, slashing the knife.

  Sean sidestepped the swings easily and then grabbed the man’s hand and broke his wrist. The man cried out in pain and backed away. “Walk away,” he said in a calm voice.

  The man turned and ran in the opposite direction. I dug my feet into the ground and hugged myself to keep from chasing after the man. It was always so much fun when prey ran. I looked at Sean and was shocked to see that he had turned around and was facing me. I expected his eyes to be golden or his face to be angry, but he looked as calm as he had when we’d left the restaurant. “Are you alright?” he asked.

  I looked down and saw the knife now in his hand and a growl slipped through my teeth. He whispered, “Easy Rose. I’m just going to put it in the trash can so no one runs over it out here in the parking lot. Watch…” I kept my eyes on him and turned my body with his as he walked in a wide arc around me to the trashcan by the street and put the knife inside it. He held up his hands, showing that they were empty. “See, all gone.”

  I exhaled and clenched my eyes against the memories of knives being used against me. “I’m sorry.”

  “Are you alright?” he asked again.

  I nodded my head and opened my eyes. “Yes.”

  He stood just in front of me and whispered, “Do you want to continue our date or would you like to go home?”

  I was shocked that he would even consider ending the date. I knew I needed to calm down before I blew this. “No, I’m alright. We better hurry if we want to get good seats though.” I smiled at him and climbed in to the car.

  He climbed in and whispered, “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. I won’t get mad at you if you tell me you want to go home.”

  I’d heard that before and received bruises for it, but for some reason I felt like he was being truly honest. “I don’t want to go home,” I told him, “I want to go the movies with you.”

  He smiled. “Good.” It didn’t take us as long as I’d thought because we lucked into a parking spot near the front. He paid for our tickets and then for our snacks during the movie, which included hot dogs for each of us, popcorn, soda and candy. When I was a human I would have had to go running two hours that day to make up for eating that much. Sometimes it was good to be a werewolf.

  I chose seats in the very center of the movie theater so that we were surrounded by humans and I could watch how he reacted. Personally, I didn’t like humans, but having been a human made me more tolerable of them. He’d chosen a comedy with one of my favorite actors in it and I settled in, ready to enjoy the movie. The humans filed in, searching for friends and looking for decent seats. “Do you like your job?” he asked me while I was people watching.

  “It’s an okay job. Pretty easy and the pay is okay.”

  “Is there something you would rather do?” he asked as he munched on pieces of popcorn.

  “I used to want to be a dancer, but now I feel like it would be cheating,” I told him honestly. I hadn’t ever told anyone that, but I knew it was because he made me feel so at ease. Even though I was prepared for him to try to attack me, I felt calm and relaxed. A group of women who were obviously out on a girl’s night instantly spotted Sean and started making their way down the row in front of us. I bent down to pick up my ticket stub, which had accidentally fallen from my hand and watched his reaction to the women in front of us.

  “Why can’t you join a dance troupe and then it won’t matter if you’re better because you’re making the same as everyone else during shows?” he asked as he looked down at me, completely ignoring the women.

  I sat up and had to flip my hair back, which wafted my scent towards him. “I don’t know. I’d still be worried about the problem of the week I’m on vacation each month getting in the way.”

  His nostrils flared and golden sparks danced within his eyes. He moved closer to me and whispered, “You smell incredibly good.”

  For the first time in years I didn’t shudder when a man complimented me. For the first time, I smiled back. “Thank you.” The lights dimmed and I relaxed back into my seat as the previews started.

  The movie was hilarious and as we walked to his car I realized that he still hadn’t shown any signs of putting on an act. Could I have really lucked into finding a great guy? A werewolf who respected females?

  I knew there was one last test I needed to do in order to make him fully prove his intentions and I decided I had to do it even if he did end up hurting me. He dropped me off at home and walked me to the door, but only kissed my cheek before turning around and leaving. Even when I was a human, men would push the issue of coming inside and trying to get some action. Was he not pushing me because of my past? Whatever the reason, it made me like him even more and I made a decision to call him tomorrow to come over.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Work seemed to take twice as long that next day, but luckily Richard kept me busy with letters and pleadings and meetings so that my mind was busy and I didn’t have much time to think about Sean.

  At lunch, I had text messaged him and he had agreed to come to my house for dinner. I didn’t have much at the house, but I planned to use some of the bonus I’d received and buy food just for tonight.

  It’d been so long since I’d had a man over and cooked for him that I felt on edge. I rushed through the grocery store, grabbing everything I needed for the night and rushed back home. There wasn’t much time before he was supposed to come, but I did as much as I could and had the food halfway done when I heard his car pull up to the curb. I checked my appearance and then set the small two-seater table I had with plates and silverware.

  He knocked on the door and I called, “It’s open.”

  He opened the door and inhaled with a wide smile on his face. “It smells delicious in here.”

  I smiled back and stirred the pasta that was now simmering. “It should be ready in a minute.”

  He sat down on one of the bar stools and asked, “How was work?”

  “Busy, but that’s good sometimes. How was your day?” I asked.

  He watched me rush around the kitchen and shrugged. “It was okay, but I couldn’t stop thinking about you all day.”

  I smiled and turned off the burners. “Okay, dinner is done. If you grab your plate you can come serve yourself.”

  He took both of our plates off the table and handed me mine. “It looks great, Rose. Thank you.”

  I moved out of the kitchen so that I wasn’t trapped in the corner while he made his plate and watched him. My heart was beating faster than normal as I thought about my plan for that night and I knew he could hear my heart, but nothing I did calmed it. He sat down at the table with his full plate and I filled mine up quickly so as not to keep him waiting.

  He stabbed a piece of chicken and pasta and put it into his mouth, chewing slowly. I watched in anticipation, waiting to see if it tasted good or if he disliked it. He finished it and smiled. “It’s delicious!”

  I exhaled and started eating
with him. “Thank you. I was worried you might not like it. I haven’t cooked for another person in years.”

  “It’s really great,” he said honestly.

  We ate in silence and then I stood and took his empty plate to the sink. “Would you like dessert now or later?” I asked him.

  He laughed softly. “You know I could eat more now, so whatever you want.”

  I pulled out the cherry cheesecake I’d made and cut a big slice for him, putting it on a small dessert plate. “Here you go. I made it myself.”

  He took the cheesecake and whistled. “Wow, this is amazing.”

  “It’s the only thing I know how to bake,” I admitted to him.

  He took a bite and moaned. “Well you do it really well.”

  I laughed and cut a slice for myself, but ate bites slowly as I put away the leftovers and started the dishes. Sean brought me his dessert plate and kissed my cheek. “Thank you for dinner.”

  “You’re welcome.” I finished putting the food away and asked, “Would you like to watch some television or a movie?”

  He smiled and nodded his head. “Yeah.”

  We sat down on the couch and I turned on the television. He put his arm around my shoulders and I didn’t feel fear or flinch away from him. Was I being dumb in letting my guard down? We watched TV for a couple hours, but my eyes were starting to droop and he noticed.

  “You seem tired,” he whispered as he stroked my hair. “Maybe I should go?”

  He stood up and I grabbed his hand, pulling at what little courage I had and asked, “Would you mind staying the night with me?”

  He pulled me up off the couch and then slowly picked me up in his arms so as not to startle me. “I’d like nothing better.” He carried me to the bedroom, turning off lights and locking the front door on the way. He took his shirt and shoes off and climbed into bed beside me. Warning bells rang and I quickly tamped them down. He’d promised he would never hurt me and I’d heard the truth in his words. One night wouldn’t mean anything and it would help me see what his true intentions were.

  He wrapped his arms around me and whispered, “I’ll protect you. No one will harm you ever again. And I’ll break your bond while you’re sleeping. Jeff will no longer have any control over you and you’ll be your own wolf.” His reassuring words and his presence brought sleep over me faster than it ever had before.