To Have & to Hold Read Free

the sharp square edges of the bit pressed hard into her flesh, and the bow threatened to mark its scroll pattern permanently onto her palm. The magic in the old key stung her skin and zipped up her arm.
    She didn ’ t care. Physical pain was better than this hell she lived every day, knowing that she ’ d been the one to, first, lure the beast, and then, trap and imprison her own husband for an entire year.
    She slipped the key i nto the slot and turned it .
    An ancient magic hummed through the hallway. Bands of energy sparkled blue and purple, burning white-hot like magnesium that unfurled with a snap. The Latin words she knew so well blazed above the door, the magic revealing their invisible warning. A cursive trace of fire charred the wooden lintel, scarring it with the words Cave, Hic Sunt Dracones . The acrid smell of scorched wood stung her nose. Orange embers sprayed then fell to ash before they touched the floor.
    A magic strong enough to hold a monster at bay for an entire year disintegrated before her very eyes. A trickle of sweat snaked between her breasts. S he trembled, her fingers slipping once, twice before she returned the key securely to the chatelaine.
    For better or worse, it was done.
    God, let it be for better. Please.
    The door swu ng open in a slow, wide arc.
    Cate froze, paralyzed. She tracked the door ’ s movement. Her heart beat fast, filling her ears with its loud drum.
    What would she find?
    Fear skittered on uneven feet across her lungs, making it hard to breathe.
    Her husband pushed himself easily from the bed to stand opposite the door.
    Instant lust for the man she ’ d always loved crashed through her body. Hair wet from a shower, he wore faded jeans and nothing else. A smattering of dark hair disappeared below the open button of his jeans. His feet were bare. He pulled a white t-shirt over his head, stretching it taut across his broad shoulders, muscled chest, and ripped abdomen.
    Hotter than ever.
    The man who had turned her world upside down now stood before her. Sexy. Hot. Delicious. Whole.
    A man, not a beast.
    Hope whispered through her. She took a step into the room. He ’ d done it. He ’ d learned to control the monster. A cautious joy made her heart feel weightless as it took flight. Her vision blurred. Tears of happiness spilled over. Her husband was back.
    “ Grayson. ”
    He drove his fingers through his dark hair, pushing it off his face. “ What the hell took you so long? ” he said, the growl rumbling deep in his chest. His nostrils flared as he raised his head to inhale her scent. He cocked his head. Went still. “ You have the smell of James on your lips. He dared to kiss you? ” The strangled sound that escaped his mouth rose to an indignant bellow. “ I ’ ll kill the bastard. No one kisses my wife! ”
    His moss-green eyes blazed intently. The pupils blanched then elongated to slits. The green color drained to amber, but only in one eye. The other stayed vibrant green. And, what a moment before had been hard, ripped muscle and taut human skin covered in white cotton, now became scales of amber, amethyst, sage, cobalt, and sienna. A snout elongated. Wings sprouted and filled the high-ceilinged space of the attic. The powerful tail with a razor-sharp protruding exoskeleton whipped forward, just missing her. She knew the brunt of that tail. It had been the source of her cuts and bruising and the broken arm. She smelled the brimstone a moment before the blast of fire exploded on the fire-resistant floor at her feet. The click of jagged talons against the floor reminded her of the scarring that graced her back.
    Nothing had changed.
    Shimmering. Beautiful. Spectacular. Awesome. Hideous in its splendor. The monster grew in the space of the attic apartment. Deadly and wholly uncontrollable.
    Why had she ever hoped and believed he could learn to control the monster within? Even after a year, he couldn ’ t contain the beast. Grayson Cooper had transformed into his