Free Magical Lover by Karilyn Bentley Page A

excited whenever he was near. Her entire body tingled when he touched her and she had this odd urge to throw him down and bite him on the neck.
    Why was that? Maybe dragons did that type of thing. She’d have to ask. Or not. How embarrassing would that conversation be? Hey, Thoren, I want to bite your neck. Right. He’d think her some sort of evil night creature.
    Looking up from the trail she followed, Keara saw the wall surrounding the town of River’s Run. Talk about being lost in thought. Had she actually walked all the way back to town and not noticed? What a way to be careful and watch where she walked.
    Was she in danger? Did Lord Simon want her enough to chase her? He wasn’t that ambitious, right?
    Probably not, but to be safe, she probably should return to Lily. If her nose proved correct, Jamie and the men were in town, not in the woods. And if she could scent Jamie, no doubt Thoren could too and do a better job of it. As hard as it was, she needed to trust him to return Jamie.
    Taking one last look at the town, she turned, only to come to a complete stop. Her lungs stopped pumping, her heart double-timing it.
    “Hello, Keara,” Lord Simon leered. “Nice of you to find me. Saved me a lot of trouble.”
    Keara tried to scream, but someone grabbed her from behind, slapping a grimy hand across her mouth. The scent of stale sweat and overripe bodies assaulted her. Time slowed, until her awareness focused solely on her useless struggling and the frantic beat of her heart thudding in her ears. Her feet kicked against the shins of what had to be a tree. Despite her efforts, he didn’t budge. What was Lord Simon going to do to her? Why did he want her badly enough to capture her?
    Stalking toward Keara with the grace of a large cat, Lord Simon pulled a stained rag from his tunic. His lip curled as he came to her, his eyes flat, emotionless. He stuffed the foul tasting cloth into her mouth, almost choking her with it. She shook her head, trying to spit the gag out, trying not to have him tie it, but he slapped her, stunning her into stillness. The cloth cut into her cheeks as he pulled it tightly behind her head.
    “I have plans for you.” Simon shook a finger in her face. “You’ve been a bad girl, running off, making it hard for me to find you.”
    The henchman loosened his grip from her waist, grabbing onto her arms, yanking them behind her back. Simon tied her wrists together, twisting the ropes until blood pulsed in her hands, trapped there by the bindings. The gag caught her yelp of pain. When he finished tying her hands, he cinched her feet together. If his henchman hadn’t been holding her arms she would have fallen over. Fear coiled in her stomach, and she swallowed the nausea that threatened to overwhelm her.
    The henchman pitched her over his shoulder and blood rushed to her face, throbbing against the gag. Each step he took stabbed his shoulder into her stomach as she fought to breathe. Her shoulders ached from the tension of her tied wrists. Her hands and feet tingled as they went numb.
    Would Thoren know to look for her? Would he care? How could she be so stupid as to fall into Lord Simon’s clutches? Again. Would she be able to escape him this time?
    Soon the man carrying her stopped. Keara raised her head to see that they stood at the side of the wall surrounding the town, an open door spilling darkness before them. The position hurt her neck, and she let her head fall against the man’s back.
    “Welcome to my home, Keara. You’ll stay here until the hooded man decides to take you elsewhere.” Lord Simon chuckled as he grabbed her braid, jerking her head up to meet his gaze. “Who knows? If you’re good, he might even share you.” Despite her eyes watering, she managed to fix him with a glare. Not a smart move, to antagonize one’s captor, but no way would anyone be sharing her.
    And who was this hooded man? A chill ran down her spine a second before Simon’s palm smacked against her