Free Romance: My Bear Boss: BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance (BBW Shifter Romance, Paranormal Shifter Romance) by Ashley Hunter Page A

glower before releasing the knife in her hand. The tension lowered but didn’t disappear.
    Ingrid tugged her wrists up, the cuffs jingling against her skin at the motion. Leo smiled at her again and he motioned for the butler. The man took a step to his side and produced a key from his pocket before placing it in the man’s awaiting hand.
    He leaned in, reaching over with the key in hand and Ingrid saw an opportunity. She hesitated; her breath hitching in her teeth when she was met with Leo’s piercing brown eyes.
    In this light, she could see their exact shade, a light chestnut that exposed a tight pupil and the intense emotion behind it. She could see it… the dare he was making her. As if asking her what she would do after she had seized her freedom.
    Yet she couldn’t ignore the presence of the two people behind them. If Nadya was able to take her down in moments, she had no doubt that the man beside Leo could do so just as easily.
    Ingrid remained still and relented, keeping her breathing short even as Leo’s fingers worked over hers. She could feel the heat radiate off his hands and Ingrid shuddered.
    With a click, her wrists were free and Ingrid let out a sigh, pulling away to grip around the angry red marks that surrounded her skin.
    “You’re welcome.” Leo said.
    “I’m not thanking you,” Ingrid said stoutly.
    “I shouldn’t have those things on me in the first place.”
    He flashed her grin as he deposited the cuffs in the butler’s hands.
    “Would you like them back on?”
    To spite him, she reached over and grabbed a muffin from the nearest basket, the motion was quick enough to startle the tense staff people.
    Ingrid took a bite and sat back on her chair, hiding her own rapid beating heart behind a glare and a bite of pastry. The muffin was delicious, but Ingrid dared not say anything.
    Leo watched her before he, too, reached over and nabbed a muffin from the basket.
    He took his knife and sliced it in half, reaching to grab a piece of cured meat between the pieces. “I always enjoy eating meals with company.”
    “So I’m not the first hostage?” Ingrid asked.
    He flashed her another look, this one less amused.
    “Believe it or not but I don’t actually spend my days taking women as captives.”
    “So you admit it then,” Ingrid said, digging her fingers into her muffin, not sure if she wanted to keep eating here.
    “Yes, but I am offering a proposition to improve your situation.” Leo said, taking another bite of his makeshift sandwich.
    Ingrid scowled. “You’d live here, as a guest. Ideally, without the handcuffs. Of course, you’d have Nadya keeping an eye on you. You’ll be taken care of, all your needs met and you would be allowed to live comfortably. You could have whatever you like.”
    “Except my freedom,” Ingrid interjected. Leo paused, brown eyes blinking once before he nodded.
    “It doesn’t have to be a bad thing, Ingrid.”
    She slammed a hand over the table, the muffin dropped to her vacant plate.
    The sound was loud but it didn’t startle Leo, nor the other two. “You’re not my friend. So you don’t have the right to call me that.”
    “What do I call you, then?”
    “Nothing. I don’t even want to speak to you!” She shouted.
    “You’re worried that you can’t trust me but you are safe in this stupid mansion of yours! Even if I tried to tell anyone I’m sure you’d probably have Nadya cut my tongue out if you saw fit! But I can’t trust you! I saw you kill a man with your bare hands! How do I know that you won’t do that to me? How can I possibly believe this isn’t some scheme of yours to turn me into… into some kind of toy for your entertainment?”
    “Because,” Leo said, and all manner of lightheartedness was gone from his voice.
    “I’m not that sort of man.”
    “But you’re the sort to kill someone?” Ingrid retorted.
    Leo’s face turned stony, eyebrows dragging down into a fierce stare that stunned her.
    “Yes. I am,” he