Free Oak, Sophie - Beast [A Faery Story 2] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic) by Sophie Oak Page A

narrow eyes, as though prepared to attack should he take a step toward Dante.
    “It’s all right, sweetheart,” Dante said, feeling himself calm a bit. He noticed that the gnomes were coming in with the second tub. The water she’d cleaned herself in was grimy. She needed a bath from her bath. “Beck isn’t going to hurt me. He’s leaving.”
    “We’re leaving?” Cian asked, walking in with a bucket of hot water.
    “No,” Beck replied with a frown. “Dante is just being unreasonable.”
    Meg got up and fetched a towel as the wee ones made the clean tub ready. Kaja stood.
    “Hey,” Dante said, quickly covering her in the towel. He hadn’t thought much about her nudity before. She’d been covered in filth. Now that her pale skin was clean and glowing like a pearl, he had problems with it. “We have guests, Kaja.”
    She nodded. “Yes, I can see them. Meg, Cian, and Beck.”
    She smiled as she pointed to each and seemed pleased to have remembered their names.
    “Yes, and the men have no need to see what belongs to me,” Dante muttered. “They should leave.”
    “You see what I mean?” Beck asked, looking at his brother. “Unreasonable. He won’t listen to me, Ci. Talk to him. She’s wild. She needs to roam. She needs a place with lots of land and places to run. I was thinking of the woods outside the village. As long as she promises not to attack our villagers, it would be perfect. There is plenty of game in the forest. Would you like that, Kaja? Would you like to be alone in the woods?”
    Dante felt her small hand slip into his. She clutched the towel around her. Her smile had disappeared. “The First does not want me?”
    “First?” Beck asked.
    She inclined her head toward Dante. “Yes. I thought the First wished to mate with me. He allowed me intimacies. Do I not understand? Does he already have a mate? Our First is allowed to mate with any of the women. I am clean now. I will stay clean if that is what you require.”
    Her big eyes were killing him. What was it about this petite woman that got him in the gut? And the cock. Damn, she was beautiful. She was utterly different from any woman he’d met before.
    He put his hands under her arms and lifted her out of the water. The gnomes immediately took the filthy tub away. The new tub was ready. Dante could see everything he had asked for, including his Scotch. There was a glass of water for Kaja. “I do have a mate, though we use the word consort where I come from. You are my consort, Kaja. I signed the papers a few moments ago. You legally belong to me. Do you understand?”
    Her smile was back, and this time there was a bright happiness to her face. Her chestnut brown hair was starting to curl up, and Dante couldn’t help but stare at the graceful line of her neck. “You claim me?”
    Dante gave into the temptation, touching her porcelain skin lightly. “I claim you, Kaja. I’ll take care of you.”
    “You don’t know what you’re saying,” Beck interjected.
    “Leave it, brother,” Cian said in a firm, authoritative voice. “Dante knows what he’s doing. If he doesn’t, he’ll figure it out. He’ll take care of her.”
    There was a long moment between the twins. Dante was surprised to see Beck back down. He nodded briefly. “All right, then. We’ll leave you to your wedding night. We’ve been given a tent next to this one. You only have to call out, and I will come, Dante.”
    “I don’t need you to save me from a woman, Beck.” Dante winced. It sounded whiny even to his own ears.
    Beck studied Kaja carefully. “I hope that’s all she is, cos. Come on, let’s go settle our wife in for the evening.”
    Cian grinned brightly. “Aye, she definitely needs some settling.”
    Meg shook her head but threw her husband an affectionate look. She crossed to Dante. “Are you sure about this?”
    “You, too, Meg? Don’t think I can handle her, do you?”
    “No, I was thinking of her, actually. She seems very innocent.”
    Kaja