Hunter Beaumont doesn't understand his grandmother's deathbed wish: "Destroy Beaumont House." He'd never even heard of the place. But after his grandmother passes and his first love betrays him, the family house in the Wisconsin woods looks like a tempting refuge. Going against his grandmother's wishes, Hunter flees to Beaumont House.<br><br>But will the house be the sanctuary he had hoped for? Soon after moving in, Hunter realizes he may not be alone. And who -- or what -- he shares the house may plunge him into a nightmare from which he may never escape.<br><br>Sparks fly when he meets his handsome neighbor, a caretaker for the estate next door, but is the man salvation...or is he the source of Hunter's terror?

A Demon Inside

Michael shrugged. “It gets lonely out here. I should have stopped last night and told you what I was doing. It would have been the sensible thing. I don’t know about you, but I have a history of not always doing the sensible thing. But that doesn’t make me a monster.”


The two sat quietly for a while. Outside the wind had picked up, sounding fierce. Hunter stared at the floor, confused. Why weren’t things easier? More black and white? Hunter wanted to believe Michael Burt. He seemed like a truly sweet man, and he couldn’t deny the pull he felt toward him, emotionally as well as physically. But what other explanation could there be? He looked up at Michael. “You know, that’s a pretty lame excuse.”


Hunter traced a pattern with his foot on the braided rug. There was no concrete evidence with which to confront him. Finally Hunter sighed and looked into Michael’s expectant gaze.


“Look, there’s nobody else around. Who else could it be?”


Chapter 56