Mastering the Beast: Taming the Beast, Book 3 Page 15
“You’re crying.”
She was sobbing uncontrollably and didn’t fight Becca’s embrace. Zoe clung to her as she had Anatol, Stefin and Taro on the platform when they’d still been interested in her.
“Sweetie,” Becca said, running her hand down Zoe’s hair. “Tell me what happened, please.”
“Nothing. The guys were great. Best time I’ve ever had.”
“And you’re crying because of it?”
“These are happy tears, like Heather’s.”
Becca hugged Zoe harder. “Where are they? Why didn’t they come back with you? What happened, baby?”
“Nothing bad, really.” They hadn’t promised her the moon. She’d been a fool for falling so hard. “They just met some babes down there. Last I saw they were—”
“They left you for other women?” Becca released her hold and eased back, searching Zoe’s face. “They refused to bring you back here?”
“Oh, hey, no. It wasn’t like that at all.” Zoe smiled, casually she thought, except for the tears streaming down her face. “They were busy. I didn’t want to disturb them.”
Becca clenched her jaw. “Why those—I warned them not to hurt—”
“You can’t make them love me!” Zoe shouted and then flinched at the sound of her voice, the obvious pain in it. “No one can,” she whispered. “It’s not their fault. I’m not who they want for the long run.”
Becca looked as though she wanted to say something but hadn’t a clue what that might be. Just as well. Words weren’t going to help Zoe now. “I need to get dressed. I want to be alone.” She pulled away. “Please just give me some time.”
She ran into her office and closed then locked the door.
“This is on both of you,” Stefin growled at Anatol and Taro.
They curled their upper lips. “Us?” Taro said. “I didn’t see you stop Zoe from leaving.”
“Me either,” Anatol said.
Why should he have had to? Stefin figured after giving Zoe a little rest and then stuffing her with more chocolate, she’d be good to go, not be fucking gone. They searched everywhere for her, even coming far too close to the gated areas. If caught, there would be hell to pay, literally.
Zoe wasn’t anywhere down there. Desperate, Stefin strong-armed a few demons, wondering if they’d seen someone kidnap her. He even cornered a strange creature moving through the shadows on one leg and an arm.
“Does she work at From Crud to Stud?” the thing asked. “By the way, she offered me a makeover for free.”
Ignoring that bold lie, Stefin bolted to the closet elevator with Taro and Anatol close behind. Halfway to the office, Stefin remembered his nudity with the other guys noticing theirs. With no time to waste, they used their powers to dress in black shirts, pants and shoes. Zoe wouldn’t like them doing it the supernatural way, but Becca would surely freak if they paraded around in all their glory.
As the enclosure bounced to a gentle stop, Stefin turned to the others. “I’ll handle this.”
“Oh, good.” Anatol rolled his eyes. “That should make it turn out nicely.”
Stefin got in his face. Anatol puffed out his chest. Taro made fists. The door swung open. Before the others could move, Stefin was in the hall, stopping dead so quickly that Taro and Anatol bumped into him. He elbowed them away and considering running but couldn’t.
Becca, Constance, MJ and Heather were in the way. The girls’ arms were crossed over their chests, their expressions way past pissed. Even sweet Heather was trying like mad to frown.
“Ladies,” Stefin said, pouring on the charm. “If you’ll excuse—”
“Not in this life.” Becca uncrossed her arms and poked his chest as she spoke. “I warned you what would happen if you even thought about hurting Zoe. Trust me, you’re not pulling that crap around here.” She glared at Anatol and Taro. “Neither are the two of you. You are so toast.”
Stefin didn’t understand, and then he did. “Zoe didn’t come back here?” Where in the hell could she—
“Of course she came back,” Constance said. “We’re her family. She needed comfort so she came to us.”
“How could you?” Heather accused, her mouth trembling. MJ wrapped her arm around Heather’s narrow shoulders, soothing her.
Stefin was totally lost. “I’m not following.”
“Hot but clueless,” Constance said to Becca.
Stefin frowned. “Zoe’s all right?”
“No,” all four of them said at once.
“You hurt her,” Becca snapped. “You ripped her heart out and crushed her soul.”
“How?” Zoe didn’t have one. She was a freaking demon. Stefin shook his head and then understood what Becca had been getting at. He whirled on Anatol and Taro. “What did you do to her?”
“Us?” Taro glared. “Nothing. We were having a good time and then she was gone.”
“Ah, boys?” Constance said and waited until they turned to her before she continued, “That’s the problem. You were having a good time with other women. If you want to keep your balls, a little advice, leave with the one you brought.”
“We would have,” Stefin argued back, “but she disappeared.”
“We were letting her rest,” Taro explained.
Anatol nodded. “All we did was talk with the other women. We weren’t doing anything.”
“Even though they wanted that,” Stefin said and shrugged. “Who could blame them, but I said no at least a hundred times.”
“Two hundred for me,” Taro said.
Anatol laughed. “Such a pitiful amount for both of you. I passed a thousand easily.”
Becca rubbed her temple. Constance shook her head. Heather seemed about to cry while MJ continued to console.
“Where’s Zoe?” Stefin asked, not wanting to waste a moment more on the ladies’ cross-examination.
Constance pointed to the break room.
Stefin led the way.
Zoe was at the table, her head down as she munched a Milky Way listlessly, a smear of chocolate on the side of her mouth. Stefin smiled at that, wanting to lick it off, but he didn’t make any sudden moves. She’d put her schoolgirl outfit back on and had pulled her hair into such a tight ponytail her eyes were mere slits.
“Chéri,” Anatol said, shoving Stefin out of the way to get into the room. He dropped to one knee at Zoe’s feet. “I was so worried about you.”
“Me too,” Taro said. He hunkered down on her other side.
Joining them, Stefin pulled the table away and went to one knee in front of her, his hands on her knees.
Zoe’s mouth wobbled.
Her sadness tore Stefin apart, more than anything else ever had. “Don’t cry, please. There’s no reason to. We didn’t do anything.”
She covered her eyes with her hand.
Anatol pulled it away. She smacked him.
Taro held up his hands in surrender.
“We were merely talking to those women,” Stefin said quickly.
Zoe regarded him, tears rolling down her cheeks. “While one of them was giving you a massage?” She turned to Anatol. “And playing with your dreadlocks?” She frowned at Taro. “And stroking your arm?”
“Is that what you’re upset about?” Stefin laughed. “They wanted to do far more, but I refused at least five thousand times.”
“Ten thousand for me,” Taro said.
Anatol sniffed. “I lost count for myself at twenty thousand.”
Zoe made a face. “Are you guys for real?”
She wanted the truth, not an empty boast. She wanted to feel special to them. Finally, Stefin got it. He shrugged and came clean. “I was propositioned fifteen times. Sixteen if you count one of the male demons.”
Taro sighed. “Thirteen for me.”
“What does it matter?” Anatol asked. “We�
��re here. We didn’t do anything down there with anyone else.”
Zoe didn’t comment.
“Tell her the truth,” Stefin ordered. “That’s what she wants. You call her chéri and pretend you have finesse, but you’re not willing to tell her the—”
“I get it, all right?” Anatol turned to Zoe. “Six women propositioned me. There would have been more, but Stefin and Taro wouldn’t let the others get close enough to do so.”
Zoe studied them one by one, barely controlling her tears. “You guys weren’t tempted at all?”
Taro sighed. “Not as we are with you.”
“You’re our Zoe,” Anatol said.
Stefin nodded. “You belong to us. We’re your Masters. How could it be any other way?”
Zoe’s shoulders shook with her hitching sobs. She struggled to speak. “I have to tell you something.”
Stefin exchanged a glance with Taro and Anatol. They looked as worried as he felt. Surely, she wasn’t going to banish them from her life because they’d been flirting a little. Very little for demons.
Worried, he whispered, “What?”
“I love all of you. Don’t tell me to take it back. I can’t. I don’t want to.”
Stefin hugged Zoe before the others could, though they soon joined in, all of them swaying from side to side as they embraced.
“I love you too,” Stefin whispered to her and then cleared the catch in his throat before he could continue. He’d never known another woman like her. Feisty, exasperating, bullheaded, temperamental, loving, kind, thoughtful. Everything he’d always needed but had never had. “When I thought I’d lost you down there…” He couldn’t finish.
“Don’t ever do that to us again,” Anatol said.
“Or we’ll beat your butt,” Taro added.
She giggled. “Take me, love me, please.”
Now she was talking.
The door to the break room slammed closed on its own. Before the sound had faded, Stefin and the others had Zoe naked and stretched out on the table.
Epilogue
Nine months later…
The awards ceremony for staff, clients and supernatural vendors was approaching critical mass with only the most prestigious honors still not presented.
Zoe didn’t expect any this year. For the first time since she’d joined From Crud to Stud, it didn’t matter that no one would recognize her contributions to the business. She had exactly what she needed. Stefin, Taro and Anatol shared her table, looking handsome as sin in their tuxes, their powerful forms tamed for the evening though flames flickered mischievously in their eyes.
She gave each of her guys a sultry smile, reminding them what would come once they left this place. Domination. Bondage. Punishment. Pleasure. Yum.
For the moment though, it wasn’t a burden to be here. Each of them had won an award for being the best new enforcer, their trophies well deserved and beautifully designed by Heather. She’d really outdone herself organizing the bash.
The banquet room was wonderfully opulent, boasting crystal chandeliers and French provincial furniture in dazzling gold and crimson. Gracing Zoe’s table were carrion plants, her fave, rather than the floral centerpiece the others had. She stroked the fuzzy purple leaves, amused at how the waiter made a wide circle around the table, obviously not caring for the plant’s unique fragrance or the scent of sulfur that was natural to demons.
His loss.
Seated at the next table were Daemon, Heather and MJ, all of them so goofy in love they kept giving each other sappy smiles. At the front table, Becca sat next to Eric, laughing softly at whatever he’d said. The high color in Becca’s cheeks told Zoe that it must have been wicked. Good for them.
Bad for Constance. Poor thing. She shared Becca and Eric’s table, the place setting for her date unused. The bum had stood her up. Anatol, Stefin and Taro had offered to hunt down the SOB and annihilate him, but Zoe had put the kibosh on that. You couldn’t force love on anyone. She knew that now and couldn’t imagine hoping for that—as she once had with Ebenezer—when having it freely was so much nicer.
Stefin’s calf brushed hers, so did Taro’s, while Anatol tapped his foot against her shoe, all of them wanting to maintain a physical connection. Their devotion moved her in ways Zoe hadn’t imagined and made her ache for Constance.
That did it. Zoe, Becca and the other ladies had to put their heads together to find someone for her. It wasn’t right that Constance was alone and so obviously horny. She grinned at the twenty-something waiter who smiled stiffly and then fled. Didn’t stop her from eyeing his tight ass.
“Excuse me, excuse me,” the MC said from the stage and tapped his palm against the top of the microphone.
Groans broke out at the high-pitched feedback.
“Sorry.” He stopped immediately, even retracting his fangs.
He was one of their best success stories, the vamp who’d bitten Zoe the day she’d met Anatol, Taro and Stefin. What seemed a long time ago and yet also felt as if it had only happened yesterday.
Rather than proceeding, the vamp read his cards, looking lost, proving what an amateur he was at this. Not that it mattered. One of the nice things about these ceremonies was that Becca included customers in the celebrations to cheer on their progress, and used their comments as the basis for staff awards. If the personnel didn’t please them, there’d be no accolades.
Given how love had mellowed Zoe, she’d lost her mojo when it came to enforcing. Becca and the others didn’t seem to mind. They accepted her for who she’d become. A demon mastered by tenderness, affection and scorching-hot sex.
“Okay, here we are,” the vamp finally said, holding up the correct card. “Now pay attention. This honor goes to…”
Unable to wait a second longer, Zoe dug into her molten chocolate cake, taking bite after bite, savoring its decadence. On a satisfied moan, she swallowed.
Stefin, Anatol and Taro turned to her as though she’d been too loud.
Smiling sheepishly, Zoe was about to enjoy another forkful when she noticed everyone in the room had also turned to her. Even the vamp was waving his card, apparently trying to get her attention.
“Sorry for making so much noise,” she called out. “I like chocolate.”
Laughter rippled through the crowd. Constance hollered above it, “Get your butt up here for your award.”
Huh?
“You’ve been voted enforcer of all time,” Becca said, her voice raised. “You’re also the new manager of our enforcement team with a hefty raise.”
Zoe’s mouth sagged open.
“A force to be reckoned with,” Anatol said.
Taro grinned. “Beauty, brains and muscle.”
“Our Zoe,” Stefin added softly.
Weeping, she pushed to her feet and threw her arms around each of her guys, hugging them fiercely to the applause of all. As she headed for the stage, her beaded red gown, one of MJ’s creations, whispered around Zoe’s curves.
Yeah, she had those too. Once she’d fallen in love and experienced its beauty, her appetite had picked up and she’d filled out. Her boobs and ass would never compete with J.Lo’s, but she had enough to satisfy herself and her guys.
With confidence and poise, Zoe passed the other tables, smiling at clients she’d wrestled to treatment tables and those she’d threatened when they hadn’t behaved. All of them gave her a high five, thumbs up or a broad grin, telling her she mattered, she wasn’t a lonely demon any longer.
She was honored, cherished, loved.
About the Author
Tina Donahue is an award-winning, bestselling novelist in erotic, paranormal, contemporary and historical romance for Samhain Publishing, Ellora’s Cave, Siren Publishing and Kensington. Booklist, Publishers Weekly, RT Book Reviews and numerous online sites have praised her work. Three of her erotic romances (Adored, Lush Vel
vet Nights and Deep, Dark, Delicious) were named finalists in the 2011 EPIC competition. The French review site Blue Moon Reviews chose her erotic romance Sensual Stranger as their Book of the Year 2010 (erotic category). The Golden Nib Award at Miz Love Loves Books was created specifically for Lush Velvet Nights, and two of her titles (The Yearning and Deep, Dark, Delicious) received an Award of Merit in the RWA Holt Medallion competition (2011 and 2012). Take Me Away and Adored both won second place in the NEC RWA contest (different years). Tina is featured in the 2012 Novel & Short Story Writer’s Market. She was the editor of an award-winning Midwestern newspaper and worked in Story Direction for a Hollywood production company.
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Look for these titles by Tina Donahue
Now Available:
Taming the Beast
Freeing the Beast
Surrendering to the Beast
The Yearning
Outlawed Realm
Unending Desire
Illicit Desire
Shameless Desire
Stolen Desire
The Prophecy
Come Fill Me
Deep Within Me
Coming Soon:
Taming the Beast
Muzzling the Beast
Don’t miss the other titles in Tina’s Taming the Beast series!
No more Mr. Nice Guy.
Taming the Beast, Book 1
Magic is Becca Salt’s business, but it ain’t happening in her bedroom. The half-witch proprietress of From Crud to Stud performs miracle makeovers for paranormal creatures. Once she’s done with them, they’re out the door hunting for hot babes, not hanging around for a too-curvy, plain Jane like her.