The big savage turned his head to the sky and bellowed loudly. He did this several times. The noise shook her bones and hurt her ears.

“What the hell are you doing?” She tried to pull out of his grip.

“I’m letting the others know that you have been claimed.” His voice was rough. His hold on her was like a vice.

“Claimed?” She shook her head. “No way.”

He ignored her. “My name is Coal. You are mine now to protect and to—”

“Fuck that.” It just slipped out. If Mr. tall, dark and… she wasn’t sure he was what she would call handsome. No, he was far too bulky, far too savage to ever be termed good-looking. His hair was shaved close to his scalp. His mouth was too full, his jaw too angular and his eyes too dark. He was a barbarian. There was nothing handsome about the guy. He was an abductor and a beast and… His grip on her tightened almost to the point of pain.

After that outburst, Julie cringed, waiting for a blow. Waiting for him to throw her on the ground and have his way with her. There wasn’t much fight left in her. Her body ached and she was freezing cold. She’d never been hungrier in her life. They had been given some flatbread and cheese this morning. It was the last time she’d eaten. She pulled in a deep breath. It didn’t matter, she would fight anyway.

She was shocked when the guy laughed. It was a deep, rich sound that lasted all of five seconds. “You are… interesting,” he said. “You may not like it or want it, but I won you fair and square. It is something that you will have to come to terms with.” He released her.

Julie took a small step back. “If you try and touch me. I’ll… I’ll… hurt you.” She finally blurted without much conviction. She may have caught him unawares with her spear the first time around but she kind of got the feeling that it wouldn’t happen again. His guard was well and truly up.

The big savage huffed out a breath. “Yeah, my tongue is already healed. My back”—he groaned— “will take another few minutes. I won’t touch you, tonight.” He added, like that was some sort of a comfort. It sounded like all bets were off by tomorrow though. Asshole!

“You won’t ever touch me. Do you hear me?”

“I can hear better than any human. So yes, I heard you.” The savage paused. “You need to understand, female, I will touch you and you are going to like it.”

“No damned way. No way in hell. No! You’re not coming anywhere near me.” She swallowed hard. “And just for the record, I would fight you every second and hate every minute.”