Bargain With the Beast Read Online Free Page B

your
skin.”
    “ Yes…”
    “ You have beautiful skin,
Tobias.”
    Tobias froze. His wrist was still
cradled in the Beast’s hand, though the manacle was on the bed now.
And the tone to his voice…the way his lips moved around the
words…suddenly Tobias understood why his skin was prickling, and he
let out a gasp. He looked up and locked eyes with the
beast.
    “ I…”
    “ And beautiful eyes.” His
eyes narrowed. “They’re a strange color. Not one we see down here
very often.”
    “ They’re blue,” Tobias
said, but he was aware, and knew the Beast was aware, that his
voice came out all sort of low and hoarse, because like the
revelation about just how attractive the Beast was, another came
now.
    The Beast was attracted
to him .
    A year ago Tobias would never have
picked up on it, because he never got noticed, was not used to
seeing the shadow of desire darken someone’s eyes. But that had all
changed the moment his body had started to, and Tobias had become
uncomfortably aware of what that look in a man’s eyes
meant.
    The reason for his continued presence
in this room began to tumble and turn. The prospect of what might
happen soon shaped itself in a way that Tobias had not expected. He
swallowed uncomfortably and moved his wrist. The Beast held on to
it, his thumb continuing to stroke up and down the small
scratch.
    “ Blue eyes…” he said.
“They’re different.”
    “ Lots of people have blue
eyes,” Tobias whispered.
    “ Not down here,” the Beast
said. “Down here we have this color.”
    At those words Tobias couldn’t help
but glance up and lock eyes with the Beast again. If there had been
any doubt in his mind before now it was gone in an instant. The
Beast wanted him…and Tobias had no idea how to react to
that.
    “ You’re wearing contact
lenses,” he said inanely.
    The Beast laughed. “No. They’re all
mine. You’ll learn that soon enough.”
    He placed Tobias’ hand on the bed and
bent down to unlock the manacle around his other ankle. A moment
later and Tobias was completely free. Tentatively he moved towards
the edge of the bed, the other side to where the Beast stood. Once
there he shot up and took a step back. It occurred to him then that
he could run now if he wanted to, the door was right there,
apparently unlocked. Only, Tobias had no idea what was behind it,
and if the Beast was telling the truth, if they really were below
ground, which he doubted, then he might not be able to find a way
out.
    The Beast smirked, as if reading
Tobias’ thoughts. He gestured towards the door. “Come,” he said.
“You’ll see what’s out there.”
    He strode across to the door and
pulled it open. Tobias followed carefully, his mind racing in a
million different directions because the door opened up into a
long, wide, well-lit corridor. The walls, from what Tobias could
see, were the same as in the room, stone—and dry stone at that—and
the floor was made up of flagstones that suggested many years of
wear.
    Underground.
    Suddenly Tobias began to wonder if
that really was true. It would explain the stone walls, and, now
that he thought about it, the lack of visible windows.
    “ Tobias.” The Beast leaned
against the doorframe, his gaze sharpening. “Before we leave this
room I must warn you. Do not try to run. Do not try to move away
from me. You need to stay close, and you need to do as I
say.”
    “ Or what?” Tobias asked
but he didn’t ask in an aggressive way, and clearly the Beast got
that and answered in the same serious tone.
    “ The fact that you have
been brought here…” He paused. “It has caused
complications.”
    “ He brought me here, didn’t he?”
    “ Yes.”
    “ Why?”
    “ Because.” He shrugged one
muscled shoulder. “You interfered. Because you saw something you
should not have. Karl, rightly or wrongly, assumed that there was
no choice but to bring you here.”
    “ And now?”
    “ And now, as I said, there
are complications.”
    “ Am I in