LITMIR.BIZ

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protection from his piercing eyes. She stood still before him, her erect nipples clearly outlined against the thin fabric, eyes down and knees shaking. The Beast looked her over, noting the firm thrust of her breasts, the curve of her tiny waist and the soft flare of the hips. His eyes skimmed down and he realized that her legs were long and well formed. She seemed flawless. He felt himself grow hard with desire.

      “The shift too, if you think your brother’s life is worth it,” he growled roughly.

      Without a word she slowly slid the straps of the shift off her shoulders, letting it fall gently to the floor. She raised her eyes, staring straight ahead. Naked, she stood before him, looking proud and unafraid. It was a sham; although she appeared outwardly calm, inside her stomach was roiling, and she struggled hard not to faint.

      The Beast knew well how to read the tension in her face, the slight clenching of her jaw, the furrow between her brows. He knew the effort she made to appear calm and felt a faint hint of admiration for her courage. Knights had shown more fear facing him than did this lass.

      He tamped down the admiration and sneered cruelly, “Why should I release your brother? You are mine anyway, and I can have you anytime I want. I should hang your brother for trying to hide you from me, and if I could do it twice, in all likelihood, I would. God’s truth, I should have you whipped for hiding yourself from me but I’d hate to mar that silky skin before I had a chance to touch it. You were very foolish indeed to come here. Now, go upstairs and prepare yourself. I’ll attend to you shortly, after I have hanged your brother.”

Chapter Two

      “No!” Beauty shrieked.

      In that instant, all her attempts to appear calm and unafraid were for naught. She struggled to control her sobs as her legs gave out and she slumped once more to the cold stone floor. She raised her teary eyes with tremendous effort, and for the first time deliberately met the Beast’s gaze head on and held his eyes.

      What she saw in his eyes both amazed and strangely saddened her. The eyes of the Beast, eyes that were known far and wide to be merciless and cold, filled with cruel rage and hate were instead bleak, touched with pain, filled with loneliness and hopelessness.

      “M’lord, I am not a fool. I knew well the peril I faced coming here. Truly, you can and probably will ravage me anytime you feel the urge, and do anything with me, however vicious and cruel, that fills your dark desire. I know I cannot withstand you or refuse you anything, including my own death. That is the power you hold over me, over all of us in the village. It is your privilege by right of conquest and by sheer strength.” She swallowed a few times, still holding his eyes. “I am only a commoner and a woman, a small woman at that. You may take my body and demand anything you want to from me, but there is still one thing you cannot take from me by force, something I can still give or withhold from you only at my own will.”

      “What is that?” She’d barely managed to pique his curiosity but it was just enough to bring the question out.

      “The thing you claim never to have felt or known, real affection, mayhap even love.” Beauty paused, choosing her words with care. “You can rape me now, ‘tis true, but if you will release my brother unharmed, I promise I will stay with you willingly tonight and do anything you ask, freely and with affection. If you release my brother unharmed you can do anything you want to me: Rape me, beat me, use me in any odious way you choose, and I will still strive to love you and serve you faithfully in any way I possibly can all through the night.”

      “All through the night? What if one night isn’t enough for me?” the Beast asked sourly. “What if all the things I want to do to you, to your body and to your very soul, take more than one night? Is the rest of your brother’s life only worth one night of yours?”

      “Truly, I meant to put no limits on what I would do for you, M’lord, or how long I would stay with you,” Beauty told him seemingly calmly. “Tis just that it’s well known that you only use a woman for one night. No woman has ever been known to hold your interest any longer than that. Why should I think to be any different from the others?”

      “If I were to free your brother, I would ask much more of you than one night in bed, even with your willingness. I would ask that for as long as I want you to serve me, you would do so. I would ask for the use of your body in my bed and for you to service me in any way I wish during the day, either as my lowest servant or as my whore. If I tire of you, I would put you away from me in whatever manner I wish. I may give you to one of my soldiers as a reward for his good service or I may even decide to kill you,” the Beast glared at her sternly. “In other words, Beauty, to save your brother’s life, you must give yourself to me completely and forever. You must become my chattel just like my horse or my dog. Is your brother worth such a sacrifice?”

      “Yea, M’lord. I would agree to anything to save him.” Beauty’s voice trembled.

      “And knowing I think of you as a possession, could you still do anything I ask freely and with affection as you said you would? Could you even begin to try to love me?” the Beast challenged her.

      “M’lord, I give you my word.” Beauty broke away from his gaze and lowered her eyes, her voice was hardly more than a whisper. “And I meant it. I knew it would not be easy.”

      For a long moment, the Beast made no reply. Silently, he studied Beauty with a guarded expression as he considered the situation. Against his will, the spark of interest she had ignited within him began to grow. What was it like, the Beast wondered, to bed a woman without terror in her eyes? Without knowing only her pleading and her tears? To have sex with a lass who wasn’t scared and begging for mercy?

      Once he’d been at court and soon learned that even the town whores feared him when he sampled their crude wares. They put on a brave face when they saw his purse, but they plied their trade reluctantly and quickly, disappearing as fact as they could.

      How could it feel, he wondered, to have someone stand by his side willingly? To have someone he could go to for comfort and companionship, even someone who would come to him for the same. Someone to spend the long winter evenings relaxing with him. Possibly even to have someone reach out for him with affection. Would it be wonderful? Was it even possible or was this just a woman’s trick? He debated whether he could release the boy without being seen as too weak and soft to rule. He decided that he could.

      Without a word, he determined it was worth the boy’s life to find out what a willing, affectionate woman was worth. After all, he could always hang the rascal later if he changed his mind.

      Keeping his thoughts and longings to himself, the Beast growled, “How could you promise to love me? Lass, you don’t know anything about me except for all the tales you’ve heard. All those wild stories of my cruelty.”

      “Are they true?” Beauty asked softly, hesitantly. “Those reports of your cruelty, could they possibly all be true?”

      “Most of them, the worst of them, probably are true. I am a very hard and harsh man,” the Beast answered coldly. “Anyway, it makes no difference, I will take you to my bed tonight and then you will know for yourself. But make no mistake, Lass, I will take you with or without releasing your brother, whether you want me or not. It matters little to me how you feel about it. If I’m the monster you believe me to be, can you still promise me your love?”

      “I can and will love you, in a small way, for the saving of my brother’s life but ‘tis true it’s not the same deep, abiding love, filled with passion, that’s said to be found sometimes between a woman and a man. It’s not the romantic love that poets sing songs about. I, myself, do know that sort of love truly exists, as my parents felt it for each other, but I’ve never found it. I can, however, promise to give you my admiration, my deepest loyalty, my lasting respect, and even my real affection.”

      Unexpectedly, the Beast hid a grin. “I note you didn’t promise to give me your obedience. I want one more promise from you.”

      “What more can I promise

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