Read Online Under His Skin by Jennifer Blackstream - Free Book Online

to be truly listening to what she was saying as opposed to just waiting for an excuse to take his revenge on her. In less than five minutes, he’d gone from a raging volcano to a peaceful river—all because he had his skin back.
     
    Tears burned behind her eyes. I would be like that too. All this pain, all this anger, all this misery would just disappear. I would be a whole new person—a better person. A tear slid down her cheek and her jaw ached as she clenched her teeth against the onslaught of misery. If I just had my skin back, I would be happy.
     
    She didn’t bother to fight the tears. Seeing the effect recovering his skin had on Brec was just too painful and her fear had already pushed her to the limits of her sanity. Weak with relief now that she was almost certain he wouldn’t harm her, she just didn’t have the strength to stop the tears.
     
    Already a sympathy for her pathetic lies had settled in his gaze. She’d committed the worst sin possible against him and yet he watched her cry and actually looked like he felt sorry for her. Only regaining one’s skin after suffering the torment of its loss could effect a change in demeanor that profound.
     
    A sob broke from her throat. She wanted her skin back. She wanted to run through the snow without feeling the cold gnawing at her bones, to hide in plain sight and watch brown bears lumbering around. There were so many wonderful experiences to be had, and she was stuck indoors with this human flesh that did nothing but shiver and turn blue if she stayed outside too long. Death would be better than this miserable existence.
     
    Helpless to fight the pain, she gave herself over to it completely. She turned her head and closed her eyes, no longer willing to let him watch her private pain for the sake of making him believe her lie. He wouldn’t kill her. She knew that now.
     
    The mattress springs creaked as he got off the bed, leaving her alone once more. The absence of his body heat just over her naked skin left a rush of cold air that reminded her of her nudity. A tiny voice in the corner of her mind told her she should be embarrassed, but she ignored it. Without her fox-skin she was always naked. Always insecure.
     
    One of her ankles jerked. The sudden slack told her he’d cut the rope that had bound it to the bed. She should have felt a tremendous wave of relief, but she was too absorbed in her own pain now to think of anything else. As strange as it seemed, a part of her started to wish he’d killed her. She was tired of living a half-life.
     
    She pulled her free foot toward her, her body trying to curl into a ball as if it would protect her from the outside world. She was cold, humiliated, and human. If not for the thought of one more healing spell waiting for her damaged fur, she would take his knife and end her misery herself.
     
      He cut the other ankle free a moment later and then the mattress shifted as his weight settled on her left. She opened her eyes to watch him cut her hand free. Without her fear to cloud her vision, she could see him clearly now. His anger was all but gone, his face now drawn into lines of sympathy.
     
    A tiny sliver of relief pierced her misery. Everything was going to be all right. He was letting her go. Soon he would leave and she could go back to her plans. Tomorrow she would try the new healing spell. It would work and her skin would be healed and then she would experience the dramatic change she’d just witnessed in the selkie. She would be happy again. Her sagging spirits lifted ever so slightly. Shoving positive energy into her spine, she straightened up. She could do this.
     
    “I can see you’re in a lot of pain,” Brec said quietly.
     
    He shifted his gaze to her eyes and her heart pounded. The dark orbs shone from his face with a sort of sad kindness. Shock furrowed her eyebrows. He really believed her. He really thought she’d stolen his skin because she was lonely. A touch of awe settled on her