The Beast's Desire 1-3 (Paranormal Romance, Beast Lust Series)
Read The Beast's Desire 1-3 (Paranormal Romance, Beast Lust Series) Online
Authors: Emerald Ice
The Beast’s Desire 1 - 3
(Beast Lust Series)
b
y
Emerald
Ice
Copyright © 2012 Emerald Ice
All Rights Reserved
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your
use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
* * * *
This ebook is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locations is coincidental.
Disclaimer: The material in this book is for mature audiences only and contains graphic sexual content and is intended for those over the age of 18 only.
* * * *
Table of Contents
* * * *
* * * *
From the Author and Future Titles
Book 1
Chapter 1
.1
Chloe Sanders blasted the radio as she drove along the highway through one of the most beautiful parts of the state. She was in her last semester of graduate school, studying mycology, and was looking forward to completing her fieldwork assignment to earn her masters.
The young woman was excited to put her book knowledge to the test, especially since she was going to be in an area about thirty miles south of her hometown. The area was thick with trees and streams and was absolutely beautiful.
It was Thursday and Chloe planned on making a long weekend of camping, albeit in a very rustic cabin, and relaxation – after she completed her work, of course. She would be the first outsider allowed to go into the fragile ecology since the park had closed fifteen years ago. After the decline of the now endangered Little Brown Bat (Myotis lucifugus) and the apparent disappearance of several species of fungi, the government closed off the preserve to all foot traffic.
Part of her research entailed looking for surveying existing plant life, taking samples of fungi, and documenting any botanical or biological anomalies present in Apple Creek Preserve. It was delicate and often tedious work, but Chloe enjoyed a challenge any day.
The forest ranger assigned to the area – it was either Rollin or Rolland, she couldn’t recall – was barely available due to the amount of acreage within the preserve; Chloe didn’t mind his absence in the least. She’d rather explore at her own pace without somebody breathing down her neck, watching her every move and forcing her to hurry.
Evidently, the ranger wasn’t exactly eager to have anyone trampling around his precious nature preserve, which she mostly understood; however, she wasn’t just some ditzy woman, she respected all life and was especially mindful of nature’s delicate balance.
Thankful that she’d made arrangements to stay in the cabin, get her research and samples, then leave, Chloe hoped she wouldn’t have to deal with the ranger at all. He was supposed to have readied the rustic cabin, left instructions for her and provided a map of the surrounding woods. Regardless of the ranger, she was going to make the most of her time doing what she loved.
* * * *
It was early in the evening as she made the turn onto the blacktop, the last stretch of her tedious journey. Of all the days not to have air conditioning, this was by far the worst she’d experienced, the temperature soaring to over one-hundred degrees. Her 1989 Ford Bronco was on its last legs, often overheating when Chloe used the air conditioning; turning it on was not an option.
Chloe relaxed into her seat, mesmerized by the beauty of the greenery around her. In spite of the drought, the scenery on either side was gorgeous. On her left, the lazy river peeked into view every once in a while through the fields of corn, the view almost surreal; to her right sat the chiseled bluffs, the surrounding woods thick with trees and green with plant life.
Wiping the perspiration from her forehead, Chloe found it hard to believe that even with the windows open, the inside of the truck felt like an oven. A line of sweat tickled over her skin, trailed down her temple and onto the side of her cheek.
Only a little while longer,
she thought, estimating about thirty minutes or so before she could relax in the comfort of trees and shade.
Thankfully, she’d worn a sleeveless, white, button-down shirt over her strapless yellow halter top, so at least she could remove one piece of clothing and still remain decent. Her strapless bra was soaked with sweat, but then those things always proved to be uncomfortable in the heat. The denim shorts had probably been a mistake, and she was anxious to get rid of those and kick off her tennis shoes for the night.
Slowing the SUV so as not to drive off the road, she maneuvered her knee to guide the steering wheel to free up her hands. Her long blonde hair was already up in a ponytail, but she grabbed a scrunchie from her backpack and wrapped it into a thick bun so it wouldn’t get caught when she removed the shirt. She quickly unbuttoned the blouse then eased it down over her right shoulder, finally shrugging it off and freeing her arm.
As she worked the shirt off her left shoulder, Chloe rounded a curve shortly before Apple Creek, where two large, orange construction signs came into view. One read, “Bridge Out” and the other said “Detour”, with a large black arrow pointing to the East.
“Great, just what I need,” Chloe mumbled to herself. She was already hot and a detour meant more time in the truck, which meant more sweating.
Chloe pulled to a stop, turned down the radio, then looked around for other signs of cars or people but found none. Deciding that the detour route didn’t look as though it would have too much traffic; therefore, the risk of anyone seeing her in her skimpy halter was pretty slim, she decided to rid herself of her bra.
She quickly pushed her halter down exposing her generous b-cup breasts and unclasped the hooks of her bra then threw it into the passenger side well. After replacing the halter to its original position, she had to admit, it did feel good to get the soggy undergarment off of her skin.
Apple Creek was the southernmost boundary of the nature preserve, so she hoped the detour wouldn’t lead her farther away from her destination. Following the direction of the arrow, Chloe turned right onto an unpaved, single lane gravel road, which put the setting sun behind her for the time being. At least the heat would be on the back of the vehicle for a little until she was able to take advantage of the approaching shade in the more wooded area.
She crossed a small bridge, putting the creek on her right. The normally tall grass was brown and had fallen over due to lack of rain, revealing animal paths leading to and from the creek and forest.
Quicker than expected, trees became thicker, creating a canopy of green over the Ford. She’d never been on this back road before, and it was almost as beautiful as driving next to the river with the creek running adjacent to the gravel road.
The path wound downhill, switched back and forth several times, following the route of the creek. After several miles, grass and weeds began to show up in the middle of the gravel road, indicating its lack of use. Chloe frowned and began to wonder if she’d missed the detour sign pointing her in another direction.
If the construction had just begun, she reasoned, then it would make sense that the road had been rarely used until recently; that would explain plants in the middle of the road. But why would a construction crew choose such a run-down path? Anyone driving a car would find this particular drive challenging.
Though puzzled, she decided to give the route a few more minutes and continued driving. The creek was still to her right, giving her at least one landmark to guide her. Vines had taken over the deciduous landscape, making the path even more secluded and suddenly darker as she meandered down the road. Just to be safe, Chloe turned on her headlights, lighting the path in front of her.
She’d only taken her eyes off the road for a split second to turn on the lights, but it was long enough for the truck hit a huge hole in the road. The SUV suddenly fell steeply, then jerked up fiercely, whipping Chloe’s body back and forth. A loud
pop!
came from underneath her truck; the next sound she heard was the rubber of the tire flopping around and knew she had a flat.
The Ford fishtailed, swerved to the left, then to the right as Chloe fought to control the SUV on the loose, rocky surface. “Shit!” Chloe screamed, along with a few more choice words after seeing that the vehicle was heading directly toward the creek’s ravine.
She had less than a second to slam on her breaks and turn sharply to try to refrain from hitting the thick tree directly in her path, but the lack of traction due to the flat tire sent her careening into the sturdy trunk.
Even with her seatbelt on, the jarring blow from the collision with the tree caused her head to smack violently onto the steering wheel. Steam poured from the damaged carburetor and Chloe smelled hot oil and singed wires. Her last thoughts were,
I hope the truck doesn’t blow up,
before she passed out cold.
1.2
Chloe woke up less than a few minutes later. The lights of her truck were still on, illuminating the cab of the Bronco with just enough light to find her pack. As she bent over, she felt warm liquid tickling its way down her forehead. She winced as she wiped her fingers across the trail before it fell into her eyes, not terribly surprised to see blood on her fingertips.
Chloe carefully reached for the glove compartment, making certain not to bend her head forward and found three napkins. She kicked herself for not carrying a first aid kit in the truck, but dismissed the thought since hindsight was 20/20, as the saying goes.
Tilting the rear view mirror down, Chloe’s big blue eyes looked at her reflection and easily found the source of the blood. She pressed the napkins just above her blood-stained eyebrow and grimaced as pain lanced across her forehead.
Chloe dug through her purse, containing her cell phone, wallet, a brush, a couple of band-aids and tissues. She turned on her cell phone and waited for the bars to show up indicating the phone had a signal.
After putting her only band-aids on the cut above her eye, she realized the phone was not going to register a single bar, probably due to the bluffs. With no cell reception to call for help, she could either spend the night in the truck or get out and make her way back to the main road.
After waiting a few minutes, she turned the ignition key one more time, but only heard a
click
as the engine refused to turn over. She groaned as she realized she had no choice but to walk back to the main road, which was at least six or seven miles away. Chloe stuffed her purse into her backpack and pushed on the door so she could get out, only to have the stupid thing refuse to open.
Chloe used her shoulder and tried to open the door again, but she was unsuccessful, except to cause pain in her left shoulder. Because of the impact with the tree, the door had been firmly wedged into the steel frame of the truck and was not about to budge. Cursing under her breath, Chloe moved to the other side of the truck, but she quickly realized the passenger door was located over a steep ravine leading down to the creek. The drop was a good distance and she didn’t want to risk further injury since one misstep meant she’d be tumbling into a rocky creek.
