Chapter 31 EIGHT: Burning Desire

Derik gulped air to steady himself. Straightening his arm at Kevin, he wrapped his fingers around the gun, not taking his eye off him. “Give me one reason I shouldn’t drop you where you stand.”

“Derik, wait!” he hollered, hands raised a bit higher. “I’m not your enemy. I may be one of them, but I’m certainly not a killer.”

Derik glared, his fierce eyes filled with rage and hatred. “You pinned a rod through a man’s eyes, how do you explain that?”

“Those guys deserved what they got and you know it. Heck, they raped Natasha and walked away free, while she suffers in the hospital. I couldn’t live with that.”

“You could have just left it to the authorities.”

“I was just doing the cops a favour.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that you’re a shifter and a killer.” he countered.

Kevin remained silent.

“Does Natasha know? Does she know what you are?” he asked him, his fingers tightening around the gun.

“She doesn’t have to know.” His eyes bored into him. “Let’s leave her out of this. Right now, we have one enemy in common and that’s T-Rex. He tried to kidnap her to get to me, and he will again. If he succeeds this time, he will torture her to death slowly, then he’ll make me watch.”

Derik’s brows waggled. “You’re not making any sense.”

“You heard about the little girl that was tortured to death recently? That’s exactly what will happen to Natasha if she is taken by the guy that’d attempted to kidnap her at De-Laurel a few days ago—not unless we find this guy and put him down for good. ”

“Why the hell will he do something like to Natasha?”

“Because–” he hesitated for a moment. “Because he knows I love Natasha, and killing her is his only means of torturing me mentally.”

Derik froze, his eyebrows rose. The room was left in sheer silence. He lowered his gun slowly. “You love Natasha?” he asked, his voice sounding low.

“Since the day I set eyes on her.” Now his breath had intensified, chest heaving rapidly as he spoke. “I know it doesn’t make any sense since we only just met each other, but I just can’t help it.”

Kevin turned to him. His brows furrowed when he noticed the pale look on Derik’s face. He couldn’t read his expression. But after a moment, Kevin blanched when he was hit by a realization. “You love her too, don’t you?”

He turned to look away, lowering his gun. “Was it that obvious?”

Blood drained from Kevin’s face, and his shoulder slumped. He knew not to argue. It was hopeless. He’s lost. And besides, Natasha would be better off with Derik since T-Rex would no longer need to go after her to get to him. He would gain no pleasure from killing Natasha if he knew she was now together with Derik.

But Kevin wasn’t willing to bet on that. By now, T-Rex already knows that he is far too attached to Natasha, so it wouldn’t matter to him if she was dating Derik or not, as long as Kevin feels a pang of emotion towards her, torturing Natasha remains an option. After all, that was all that mattered to him, making Kevin suffer.

“My love for her doesn’t matter anyway, and I don’t stand a chance with her because of what I am. Her dad would never let me be with his daughter—not after he finds out what I am.”

Derik said nothing, he wasn’t sure what to say. But he felt a slight relief.

“None of it matters now.” As much as he tried to console himself, he still felt a big sense of loss. “I need your help to find T-Rex and take him down—before he attempts to kidnap Natasha again.”

“Why should I trust you?” he glared, “You’re a shifter.”

“You don’t, but just listen to what I have to say.”

“Why are we even having this conversation?”

“The reason you haven’t put a bullet in me yet is because, deep within you, you know I’m the good guy.”

His moved finger to touch the trigger lightly. “Don’t dare me!”

His feature held no slight trace of fear as he spoke. “There is an organization run by dangerous shifters. They call themselves Beocraft, and T-Rex is a member. Use all the resources at your disposal to find this organization, investigate what they are all about. I believe that’s the first step towards putting an end to the shifter crises in this city.”

Derik was quiet for a moment.

“Another tortured body would soon be discovered if we don’t find them fast and stop them. I pray it is not Natasha.”

He lowered his gun. “I’ll investigate everything you’ve said. Let’s hope, for your sake, they pan out.”

Just then, Derik’s phone buzzed in his pocket. Taking out the phone, he looked over it. “It’s a text from William, he’s reminding me about the meeting which will begin in about thirty minutes. I better hurry now.”

But before he disappeared through the door, he shot a venomous glance at him, and said, “I better not regret this.”

Kevin spent the next couple of minutes opening several doors in the sizable mansion, wondering which Natasha’s was. Before long, he stumbled upon a door with a pink sticker of a guitar glued to it. He was sure it was hers.

Kevin gently slid the door open just enough for him to peer through. He finally found her standing by the window, watching the next-door neighbours have a picnic on their lawn. Sunshine cascading through the transparent window tanned her skin.

Looking out through her bedroom window, she then shifted her troubled gaze to the corner when she heard the door opened. “What do you want?” she asked, without turning to look behind.

Kevin was wonder struck at how she knew he was standing by the door. “How did you…”

“Your body scent,” she said—almost immediately. “It gets stronger whenever you are close by.”

Kevin fell silent. He didn’t knew that.

“What do you want?” she repeated.

From her mean tone, he could tell she didn’t want him around. “I came to make sure you’re ok before I leave.”

“I’m fine.” she answered immediately. “You can go now.”

Natasha heard the door closed. She didn’t turn to look right away until he was gone. Tears escaped her eyes, trickling down her cheek slowly. Then turning around, she came nose-to-nose with Kevin. Gasping, she stumbled backward. But he held her hands and yanked her into his arms, tackling her in a warm embrace.

For a moment, it felt great to be in his arms. She felt safe. But then she pushed him away to break free. Tried to cover the tears in her eyes. Couldn’t let him see those tears—a clear sign of weakness.

“What are you doing here?” she tried to make herself sound strong. But her voice only came out strained and weak. She quickly tried to hide her face from him, but he stopped her.

He traced his finger over her smooth face, then down her chin. Cupped his hands around her jaw and looked into her teary eye. All he could see was the sincere love she has for him. He felt his heart crumbled. Stared at her wet lips, they were trembling. He fought against the desire to kiss her, but the bitter passion to taste her lips overwhelmed him. And he swiftly surrendered to the sweet ecstasy of love as he lowered his head.

Pressed his lips gently onto hers, crushing her lips in a passionate kiss. Heat rushed through his body. The desire he had always been fighting finally sufficed. He stopped fighting it and just let everything else go. Nothing else mattered; not Derik, not William, not Landry or his warning. For the first time in eighteen years, Kevin felt truly at peace with himself.

Natasha pressed her hands against his chest, pushing him away, but he just wouldn’t let go. Tried to move away, but her body had a will of its own. Her strength failed her, and her hands dropped. She stopped fighting him. She gently closed her eye and gave in, surrendering to the sweat passion of his embrace. Raised her arms and wrapped them around his neck.

They stood in each other’s arms in a protracted kiss. Suddenly, the painful images of T-Rex torturing Loretta crept over Kevin’s restless mind and he slowly hesitated. He painfully remembered the sight of Loretta’s lifeless body tied to a pole, bleeding. He slowly broke the kiss, but Natasha tightened her grip around his neck, bring him closer. She jumped over him and kissed him hungrily, curling her legs around his body.

Again, he tried to resist.

“Kevin, please,” she whispered under her breath.

“Don’t fight it.” her voice filled with desperation and defeat.

She needed him now more than ever.

Her broken voice crushed him. He simply obeyed. Had no other choice. And the images completely disappeared from his mind, momentarily freeing him from his past. He felt free to do whatever he wants. Rubbed her back passionately as he kissed her. Felt a cold shiver go down his spine, and a burning desire to rip her apart built up within him. He tried to stop himself from going any further, but his own body had turned against him.

Don’t fight it, he berated himself. We are free now.

He ripped her dress open, and his hands, now having a will of their own, moved rapidly over her bareback. Her naked breast pressed against his chest. He kissed her neck. Natasha threw her head backward as pleasure exploded through every inch of her body. Her hands were all over his head, they travelled down the length of his body and found his belt. She pulled it free.

Kevin threw her on the bed and got on top. Natasha hurriedly took off what’s left of her shirt and tossed it away. Her skirt followed as she eased her finger under the waistband to push it down over her hips, revealing the perfectly tanned skin beneath.

He pulled it away, leaving her to lie completely naked. He stopped to stare at her with bitter passion flickering in his desperate eyes. It felt good to be doing this. He wasn’t sure just why, but it felt perfectly right.

Worry about the consequences later, now is not the time. came the whisper in his head.

Her eyes locked with his. She could sense his slight hesitation as he looked over her. Saw his deepest fear in his eyes. She pulled him unto herself. “Get your hands on me.” she said in a low sensual voice, smiling seductively.

Kevin lowered his head to kiss her. Right now, he would have to derive full pleasure and worry about the consequences later, when his brain returns him back to the reality of his present action. Every voice in his head was telling him not to stop, not right now, or the moment would be lost. Forever. He knew they were right. His hands cupped her breast, and he gave them a gentle squeeze.