How to Tame a Beast in Seven Days (The Embraced #1)

“I’ll take care of it.” Leo grabbed the knapsack.

Edmund elbowed the nearest guard. “He wants to be alone. I wonder why?”

They all grinned at him like the fools they were. Had they forgotten he was a Beast? “Stay extra vigilant,” he ordered his guards. “There is still an assassin at large, and he will be targeting this room.”

“Aye, my lord.” The guards bowed.

Edmund snickered. “And you’ll be somewhat distracted, I wager.”

“Edmund, go away.” Leo shut the door before he could be subjected to more of their inane chuckling. He dropped the knapsack on the floor and kicked it. “Dammit.”

“Is it true?” Ana’s voice carried softly across the room, and he looked up to see her standing in the doorway of the dressing room.

She was beautiful, so beautiful, that he stopped in his tracks just to look at her. Her face was a bit pale, as if she was nervous, but then why wouldn’t she be nervous? She’d just married the Beast.

Her hair was loose, falling to her waist in shimmering black waves that he couldn’t touch. Her slender body was covered from the neck to her bare ankles—a voluminous blue velvet robe on top of a white nightgown. He wondered briefly how sheer her nightgown was. If it was like the one before—just the memory of it caused his groin to tighten.

Stop that, he ordered himself. Her big blue eyes were watching him so closely, he couldn’t afford to swell up like a randy goat.

He positioned the basket in front of his breeches as he strode toward the table near the hearth. “I have food. You might be hungry like me. We didn’t get to eat at the funeral feast.”

She eased into the bedchamber while her maid hovered by the doorway. “Is it true that the assassin will target this room?”

“They might try.” Leo retrieved two goblets and a bottle of wine from the basket. “But don’t worry. There are four guards at each door and two outside below the windows. A total of ten.”

“Shouldn’t we stay in the tower? I thought it was safer there.”

He poured wine into the goblets. “It was safer for you there when you were alone. But now you have me.” He set the bottle down with a clunk. “Your guard dog is on duty.”

She blinked. “Guard … dog?”

“Precisely.” Time to set things straight. “Don’t think of me as a husband. I’m too dangerous for that. Don’t even think of me as a man. I am a vicious dog who will destroy anyone who tries to harm you.”

Her eyes had grown wide, but she didn’t cower in fear. Not his brave and beautiful Ana.

She lifted her chin. “I won’t have you speak of yourself that way.”

“Do you need a demonstration?” He ripped the glove off his left hand and stepped closer to the fireplace, where a few half-burned logs remained in the hearth. He reached out his hand, and sparks sizzled and popped around his fingers. A small bolt shot out and struck the logs, scattering a few wood chips before engulfing the wood in flames.

Leo heard the maid’s screech as he slowly tugged his glove back on. Steeling his nerves, he prepared himself to see the horror on Ana’s face.

To his surprise, she was hugging her maid.

“Shh, Gabriella.” Ana patted her on the back. “He’s not going to harm us.” She shot him an annoyed look. “For some reason, he felt compelled to try to frighten us.”

“Aren’t you afraid? You said in confession that you’re afraid of me. And I saw the panic on your face when you learned we would marry tonight.”

“I was caught by surprise.” She glared at him. “And it occurred to me that I’ve known you only five days. There is too much I don’t know about you.”

He snorted. “There is even more that I don’t know about you.” He lifted a goblet as if to make a toast. “To the beginning of our life together, and to the end of our secrets.”

Her face grew even more pale. Now he really had frightened her.

“Gabriella,” he addressed the maid. “Please bring some extra blankets.”

“Yes, my lord.” Gabriella ran for the exit to her small room.

Leo drained his goblet. “I will not be sharing your bed. Even an accidental touch might kill you.”

Ana approached the table. “Why are you acting like an ogre?”

“Because I am one.” He refilled his goblet.

She shook her head. “You’re a man, and a terribly confusing one at that. On one hand, you try to frighten me and push me away. But at the same time, you claim you want to bed me, and you press my hand against your—” She motioned toward his breeches.

“Cock?” He took a drink.

She narrowed her eyes. “Lightning rod.”

He choked. After a minute of coughing and sputtering, he wiped the moisture from his eyes and found her calmly filling two plates with cold chicken, cheese, and strawberries.

“Ana, you should be afraid of me.”

“Why? You’ve told me over and over that you’ll never harm me. Shouldn’t I believe you?”

He winced. How could he explain that he had two warring factions going on inside him? One that longed for her to trust him and love him, and another that feared if she did, he wouldn’t be able to resist her. And then he would end up hurting her or even killing her.

He was the one who was afraid, dammit. And the only solution was to keep her at a distance.

He sat at the table. “Tomorrow morning I will investigate the poisoning.”

“Oh, I’ve been meaning to tell you. A scullery maid in the kitchens did it. She was the second assassin’s lover, so I believe it was an act of revenge on her part and not even related to the third assassin.”

Leo sat back, staring at her as she nibbled on a piece of chicken. “You know all this for a fact?”

She nodded. “I have an eyewitness who saw her. You needn’t worry about her. My father told me after the wedding ceremony that he would take care of the matter so we could relax and … enjoy ourselves.”