Beauty and the Beast (Demon Tales 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

throbbed,
but it was her throat and head that consumed her thoughts as
consciousness climbed slowly over her brain. She stretched out her
limbs like a waking cat. Cally revelled in the feeling of reaching
over her head, the tightness in her shoulders ebbing away as
she…
    Wait. Stretching?
    Cally’s eyes flicked open the moment she
realized that something was different. Panic gripped her chest,
tightening her breaths until she gulped in enough air to think
straight. She blinked her eyes against the bright sun light filling
the small room. She turned her head and winced, shocked by the pain
in her neck and her head and… well basically everywhere.
    “Try not to move to fast.”
    Cally stilled, even as her heart began
wildly pounding. A deep voice rumbled softly in the quiet room. She
turned her head and gasped when the big hairy demon filled her
view. He stood watching her from a doorway, his dark, dark eyes
appraised her as if judging her worth.
    Broad, strong shoulders filled the doorway
as he watched her. His baseball-bat-sized arms crossed over his
chest. He was wearing a white shirt and dark leather trousers. Most
of the demons’ fur was covered, but Cally could still see it all
over his face and hands. Brown, almost black, the fur shone like
silk in the soft sunlight.
    The demon cleared his throat, pulling Cally
from her thoughts. She gripped her banging head with shaky hands as
she tried to scramble together her rambled thoughts. “Where am I?”
she whispered. A cough wracked her chest, forcing her to sit up and
clutch at her sides. The demon walked forward and poured her a
drink from a jug on the table next to the bed. Cally looked at the
cup as he offered it to her. His hairy hand held the glass in a
tight grip. Suspicion and fear stopped her from taking the much
needed liquid.
    “It’s water,” he barked, thrusting it
forward. Cally flinched at his booming voice, and moved backwards
instinctively. She was somewhat surprised when he lifted the water
to his mouth and took a sip to prove its safety. Seeing no other
option, and being so thirsty she could spit feathers, Cally took
the drink. After tasting it tentatively and finding out that it was
in fact water, she chugged it down quickly. He watched her for a
long moment, his dark stare unsettling. Cally dipped her head and
drew the blanket up higher. The demon turned and resumed his
position in the doorway.
    “Where am I?”
    “You are in my cabin.”
    Fear stabbed like a jagged piece of glass in
her chest. His cabin ? He watched her with eyes now black as
night. His body language spoke of being battle-ready like, a knight
of old. He was frightening. The knowledge that she was alone with
him was enough to make her want to faint. She stared around his
cabin, and tried to compose her thoughts. Surely this was a better
option to that stinking hellhole she had been in before.
    Sparse furniture sat in logical places. A
chair by the fire, a table with one chair under the small window,
and a bed—the one she was on—set by the far wall, the opposite side
from the small kitchen area. From the looks of it, this was a small
hunting cabin built for one person.
    “Why?” She cringed at the sound of her weak
voice. Clearing her throat, she spoke again, this time she sat up
straight and lifted her chin. “Why do you have me here?” She tried
not to drop her eye-contact, but the beast was intimidating and her
control slipped as a wave of heat burned at her cheeks. She looked
back up using all of the willpower she owned. He watched her with
intense speculation, he had clearly heard her speak, but didn’t
offer a reply. Cally squirmed under his scrutiny, confused by the
heat warming her insides.
    The door rattled and boomed as someone
outside knocked hard enough that Cally could have sworn that they
used a battering ram. Startled, she dragged the blankets up and
over her, needing something to hide under. Images of demons with
wings and serrated teeth sprang into her