Free UNTOUCHED (Midwest Alphas) (Book 1) by Tabatha Kiss Page A

you.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Pike was flirting with her earlier,” I recall, “and Burt didn’t seem too happy about it.”
    “What exactly did you see, Claire?” Tobias asks, his voice steady as a rock.
    I shift on my toes. “He grabbed her arm — I don’t know, it happened pretty quickly. I did ask her if he’s the one that bruised up her face, but she wouldn’t say. She said she could handle it.” His eyes linger on the floor. “What’s wrong?”
    “Nothing,” he says. “I’ll take care of it.”
    I furrow my brow, wanting to question him more, but I decide against it. The fresh bruises along his abdomen draw my eyes south. “You okay?” I ask him. “That guy seemed really strong…”
    “Yeah,” he says. I’m fine.”
    “Got a little scary there for a second,” I say.
    “I had it under control.”
    “I don’t mean the fight.”
    He looks at me and flexes his jaw. “I wasn’t expecting you to be there,” he mutters.
    “You seemed…” I pause, “angry with me.”
    “I was.”
    “Like you were going to hit me—”
    “I’d never hit you, Claire,” he says quickly.
    “Are you still angry now?”
    He takes a long, deep breath. “No,” he finally says.
    I nod slowly. “Why not?”
    “Do you want me to be?”
    “No.”
    He smiles and steps a little closer to me. “I have more important things to worry about than you.”
    I blink. “Ouch?”
    “It’s not meant to be an insult,” he says. “It’s just the truth.”
    My body trembles against the wooden door. Feeling unwanted has become a familiar feeling to me these last few weeks. My mother didn’t want to put up with me anymore. My stepfather sure as hell wanted to see me gone and jumped at the first opportunity he had to get rid of me. Charlie’s pretty good at not showing it, but I get the feeling he’d rather not have me around either. And now, it’s Tobias’ turn to reject me. I’m not sure why I’m so surprised.
    Rick really is the only one that wants me around at all.
    “I should get inside,” I mutter. “Congratulations on your win.”
    He reaches out and grabs my wrist. “Claire—”
    I pause with my fingertips on the handle. “What?” I ask with my eyes down.
    “Look at me.”
    Hesitation takes hold of my chest. “I have to get some sleep—”
    He reaches out and grabs my other wrist to draw me forward. “Claire, I would never hit you,” he says. I look up into his deep, green eyes. “I want you to know that.”
    His voice sends shivers down my spine. “Okay…” I whisper. He slowly drops my wrist, but I let them linger between us.
    “Goodnight,” he says.
    I leave the barn and walk silently back to the house.
     
    ***
     
    I raise the pitchfork above my head and set it back where it belongs on the wall. That’s Charlie’s number one rule, after all. Put everything back where you found it.
    The barn is hot and muggy. The sun blazes in the summer sky, so warm I can barely stand it, but I don’t want to take a break. It’s just after noon and I’m not even close to being done with my chores. Let’s just say the memory of Tobias’ eyes drilling down into mine has left me feeling rather distracted the last few days.
    I turn to leave, but I catch sight of the punching bag in the corner once again.
    My feet carry me over to it. I reach out and push the leather shell with my fingers. It floats back and forth slightly but quickly comes to a stop. I ball my hands into fists, stopping for a moment to make sure my thumbs aren’t on the inside. I twist into a fighting stance, just like Tobias taught me, and throw a single, solid punch into the bag.
    “Protect your face.”
    I drop my hands and spin around to see Tobias standing in the barn doorway. “Hey—!” I gasp.
    He nods and steps over to his motorbike. “Been practicing?” he asks as he reaches into his pocket for his keys.
    “Not really, no,” I answer. He grips the handlebars and starts to push the bike out of the barn. I