Beauty and the Beast (Demon Tales 1) by Kerrianne Coombes Page B

she
wondered if it wasn’t because of the two massive demons walking
with her. The pair had begun chatting about an hour ago and had hit
it off, swapping stories of war and talking of demons they both
knew.
    The first time she had heard Brigg laugh was
when Sam had talked of his brother Torc. She couldn’t imagine that
dark savage-looking demon doing anything funny, but, apparently, he
had—a few times. The sound of his laugh was a sexy rumble of sound.
He didn’t bark an obnoxious listen-to-me laugh, like her father,
nor did he hold back. Brigg laughed with the same cool control as
he did everything else.
    Cally bristled at the thought that he wasn’t
that relaxed with her. He was cold and bossy with her. Well, why
should she care?
    She looked up as they came to a clearing.
The pair had walked on ahead, but Brigg had kept an eye on her,
occasionally turning to check where she was. She hated that she
lagged, but they had such long leg that, she just couldn’t keep up.
Brigg was not as tall as the Ram Demon, but his back was wider. The
Ram was tall and thin, but no less lethal looking. The pair of them
oozed power. Their every sure stride spoke of confidence and utter
acceptance of their bodies. They were intimidating demons—or
protectors. Her eyes passed over Brigg again. From behind she
couldn’t see any of his fur, just what was on his head, and he
looked like a human—a massive human, granted, but still human.
    Cally felt her heart pulse. Imagine if he
were human… She had no doubt that he would be handsome, she
already thought him to be. He was chivalrous and caring. He thought
he was a beast without a heart, but Cally was beginning to see that
there was a lot more to Brigg. He was helping her, when he didn’t
need to. He had lost his house because of her. He was ready to
fight a bigger Demon with a sword—for her. Yes, Cally liked the
demon—maybe a little more than she should, considering the way her
body heated at his every touch.
    Trying to dislodge those wayward thoughts,
Cally looked at Sam’s arm and saw the bandage. The cotton was
mostly red, the blood had obviously soaked through.
    “Oh my!” She gasped.
    Both Demons stopped and turned. Brigg
frowned and his worried gaze flowed over her whole body in seconds,
leaving a strange heat in its wake.
    “What is it, Cally?” Brigg asked, his big
strides quickly eating up the distance between them. He sounded
angry, but was that concern in his eyes? When he was in front of
her, Cally looked up and wanted to smile. He was concerned—and why
that made her feel all fuzzy inside she didn’t know, but with him
stand so close she was suddenly aware of her heart as it throbbed
wildly in her chest. He had such emotion-filled eyes. She wondered
again what he looked like under all that fur. She was sure he was
very handsome.
    “It’s just I noticed Sam’s arm, and the
blood. I was worried.” Brigg scowled and flicked a look over his
shoulder to where Sam stood watching. He stepped back, and Cally
saw his hands as they curled into tight fists. Something dark and
angry flicked over his face . “You are not a nurse, Cally.”
    “Yes, but…”
    “No buts. He’ll get that fixed at his
castle. It’s not your job.” And then he turned away, leaving Cally
standing alone and confused. Sam watched Cally, holding an
expression that looked like sympathy before he turned and walked
with Brigg again, leaving her alone and stumbling to keep up.

Chapter Seven
     
     
    “Cally could probably use a bath,” Sam
commented as they entered the large diningroom of the Ram demon’s
castle. Brigg felt a jolt of adrenaline. He realized that he was
jealous when it came to Cally, especially when she paid another
male attention. When she had helped to clean up his wound, he
literally had to hold himself back from snatching her up and
running away. When she’d noticed that Sam’s cut had bled while they
were walking, he had almost allowed his temper to flare. He