Bargain With the Beast Read Online Free

Tobias
whispered.
    “ She?”
    “ You know who I’m talking
about.”
    The man uncrossed his arms
and eyed Tobias through hooded lids. “I do,” he said. “And she is none of your
business.”
    “ If you’ve hurt
her.”
    “ You’ll do
what?”
    Tobias shook his head even as he felt
his heart sink, because what the hell could he say to that? He was
in no position to do anything. And yet, he remembered the look of
panic in the girl’s eyes. The way she tried to pull away from the
male who had clearly abducted them both.
    That was the only explanation, Tobias
realized. The male who had knocked him out had bought him here, and
clearly, the guy in front of him was in charge of…whatever this
place was...whatever this group was…
    But why bother? That was what Tobias
couldn’t understand. Once unconscious he was no threat…
    “ As it happens,” the man
continued. “Leyla is fine. She was...behaving petulantly. It is
nearly the full moon, you see, and she has some issues around this
time.”
    “ The full moon?” Tobias
said. “Is that a euphemism for time of the month?”
    The man smirked. “In a
way.”
    “ The guy who took
her...who gave me this...” Tobias moved his head slightly so that
his chin, which throbbed slightly, was on view.
    “ Is her
fiancé.”
    “ Fiancés don’t usually
have to drag their fiancées back home with them,” Tobias said. “Not
if they’re willing.”
    “ She’s
willing.”
    “ You know this
how?”
    The man took a step forward. Tobias
moved a little farther back, his chains clinking as he did
so.
    “ This is my world. I rule
here.”
    And there it was again,
that suggestion, no, that declaration, of being in charge. Like the
king of the castle, the beast in charge of the keep. The Beast …Tobias
swallowed unsteadily. That was exactly what this male looked like
he realized. With his corded muscles and his tawny hair, like some
sort of fantasy beast made human…
    “ Here?” Tobias asked,
trying and failing to halt his increasingly odd thoughts. “Where
is here ?”
    The Beast tilted his head, as if
considering Tobias’ words. For a moment Tobias felt sure that he
wasn’t going to be given an answer, and so when he did speak,
Tobias found himself almost surprised by the words. “We’re below
ground.”
    “ Underground ?”
    The Beast looked at the leather chair
pulled up next to the desk. With a quick glance in Tobias’
direction he strode across the room, took one arm, and moved it so
that it was on the left hand side of Tobias’ bed. Once in place, he
lowered himself into it and steepled his fingers together. Tobias
couldn’t help but notice that he had very long fingers. That the
nails were trim, the skin as tanned as everywhere else on his
body…
    “ You are aware of the
geography of the area?” he asked.
    Tobias nodded, pulling his wandering
thoughts back into place as he did so. “Of course.”
    “ You understand that the
town and the next one over, and the one after that, sit in
valleys.”
    “ Yes.”
    The Beast nodded slowly, almost
musingly. “I’ve often thought those valleys look almost like they
have been molded by giants. You can almost image them scooping out
great mounds of earth to create the beauty that we see around us.”
He grinned. “It’s a silly thought, but then I’ve always found that
the silly thoughts are often the ones that cheer me the most. Who
wants to spend every minute of every day thinking
seriously?”
    His words were so close to the
imaginings that Tobias had thought about in the past, that he
couldn’t help but give a little gasp. “Then we are still in
town?”
    “ In? We are certainly in town. We’re all around it.” His grin widened, and
it did something to his face that made Tobias shudder. In that
moment Tobias became aware—almost like a light bulb moment—that
this male, whoever he was, was painfully good looking.
    It hadn’t occurred to him
before now, maybe because of the manacles, the