Read Online Seduced by the Beast by Jaide Fox - Free Book Online

warned you not
to touch me,” she said, voice soft with reproach.
                “I think perhaps
you require a lesson in manners and humility.”
                Alarmed, she
tensed.  “How dare you threaten me!  How dare you suggest that you have any
right to teach me anything!”
                He glanced at
her, but said nothing.
    Swan swallowed with some
difficulty.  “What do you mean to do?”
                Raphael would not
answer her, and despite attempt after attempt, she could not lure him into
speaking any more.  She could blame no one but herself, ungrateful wretch that
she was.  He was silent well into the night, though his anger was palpable with
every mile they crossed.
                Eventually, the
tension and worries overcame her, and she slept, guilt plaguing her dreams.

 
     
     
    CHAPTER FIVE
     
                With the morning,
she changed into a swan.  One moment, he was cradling her in his arms, the
next, a mist gathered and when it cleared, he held the graceful bird.
                If he had still
harbored any doubts that she was under an enchantment, it had been dispelled. 
A true swan maiden would shift much the same as he did when he shifted into his
beast form, with bones melding, their outer skin shivering as fur or down
cloaked them.
                To change
instantly was unnatural.
                Rising, he placed
the squawking bird in the empty basket he’d brought to carry her and latched
the lid.   Although he studied her for some time, he saw no sign of the
intelligent, vibrant woman she was as a human.  Did the spell consume her
entirely each day?
                He thought of the
Flow, the mind force, and an idea occurred to him....
     
    * * * *
     
                She was sleeping
in down, surrounded by comforting warmth and softness.  Something pricked her
consciousness, quiet, insistent.  Swan snuggled deeper into the darkness,
wanting nothing but blissful rest.  She was so tired.  Her bones ached from the
run, from fighting to stay alive and continue going.  Here all was peace, no
troubles plagued her.  Only sleep.
                A low growl of
sound nagged her, buzzing in her mind like a fly.  She waved it away, felt it
tickle her lips, then her nose, and finally settle on her lobe.
                “Swan,” a voice
whispered in her ear.  She made no move to acknowledge the husky voice, instead
struggling to burrow deeper into the comfort of nothingness.
                “Swan.” The voice
was louder this time, substantial, obviously not the stuff of dreams. 
Something shook her shoulders.  Still, she resisted.  It was the none too
gentle swat on her buttocks, followed by a soothing caress that finally drove
the vestiges of sleep from her mind.  Swan roused, groggy, struggling to turn
and sit up.
                A hand pushed her
down, on her back.  “Keep your eyes closed, little bird.  Lay still.”
                Raphael!  She
obeyed him, because she could do nothing else.  Her eyes were sealed shut,
heavy, as if made of lead rather than thin flesh.  Instead of alarm though, she
felt only a drunken restlessness.
                What was he doing
here?  Where was she, for that matter?  This was not her bed, and neither was
it the mass of furs she’d awakened on before.  It felt nothing like either of
those, and yet of both, a blending of memories that eluded her.
                Still, she could
not open her eyes.  Blinded, she had no defense, could not run or save
herself.  Her senses seemed unfocused, confused.  If she didn’t know better,
she’d almost suspect she’d lost herself entirely, existed as nothing but a thought
in the darkness.  Despite this handicap, she felt no fear, only a heightened
awareness.  “Where are we?” she asked softly, anxious to distract him