Forbidden (A New Adult Paranormal Romance) by Dawn Steele

eyes shot a warning: Trust me .
    “This better be good,” Milky Eye growled. The glowing coal hovered just inches away from Aein’s rather impressive manhood.
    Scarface slid his hand out, much to Snow White’s relief.
    “You love gold.” Aein’s tones were measured. “The kingdom I come from has streets that are paved with gold. Every brick in a worker’s abode is made of gold. Gold is plentiful, strewn everywhere like pebbles. What you crave, we do not treasure. If you let the girl go, I can bring you there and you can fill every cart and chariot with gold.”
    Snow White almost bit her tongue in shock. She had not believed Aein when he told her about his gold-paved home. Was it possible he was telling the truth? And oh, she had been absolutely beastly towards him. Why then was he negotiating with these killers to save her life?
    Fearfully, Snow White appraised the robbers’ faces. Greed lit up Gorm’s features. Metal Hat, the cannibal, seemed undecided; perhaps gold did not sway his own personal monster. Milky Eye’s milk eye twitched as the tongs wavered in his grasp. At her ear, Scarface nibbled a tendril of her hair.
    “How do we know this is not a trick?” Gorm said.
    Snow White wondered the same.
    “If I do not lead you to this place in three days, you can kill me and leave my body to the insects. But my condition is that you let the girl go now, unharmed.”
    Silence weighed heavily in the cell as the robbers considered this. Snow White’s head spun. Her ears had not heard wrongly. Aein was really making a plea for her life at great cost to himself. And she had thought him strange, mad and slightly dangerous!
    “You lie,” Gorm finally said.
    “I do not lie. Look at my face. Is it not unblemished? Only the softest of creams from the Far East have adorned my body, and such can only come in trade with shiploads of gold. What have you to lose? My life hangs in balance if I deceive you. Even if you do not wish to kill me, you can sell me at the auction for a handsome price.”
    “Gold.” Gorm’s eyes gleamed with its fever. Snow White knew he had taken the bait. “Perhaps it’s time to break away from Mother Baron’s clutches and come into our own. We can be kings, not chained to her foolish whims like slaves. Do this, fetch that. Truly, I tell you, there is nothing worse than blood ties!”
    Once again, the other men seemed uneasy. Whoever this Mother Baron was, she must be a force to reckon with.
    “That talk is sacrilege,” Metal Hat argued. “She has never been anything but mother to us all.”
    “Better to be free men than be in thrall to a woman with teats as long as her knees,” Gorm said.
    “Who happens to be our mother,” Milky Eye remarked.
    “Well, stuff her!” Gorm puffed his huge chest. “You can stay with her and her new world order if you want to, but I’m taking the road paved to gold.” He began to undo Aein’s straps, starting with the ankles, and then the wrists.
    Aein was visibly relieved. He massaged his strained shoulder joints. His eyes searched for Snow White’s.
    “Are you with me as men,” Gorm roared to his brothers around him, “or are you going to slink back to her with your tails between your legs?”
    The men exchanged glances. Nobody moved. For a long moment, the only sound in the chamber was of flames crackling on the brazier.
    “I’m coming,” Milky Eye conceded. The coal piece fell to the floor with a clatter.
    Metal Hat shook his head. “You will regret this,” he warned.
    “Then we best be on our way,” Gorm said. “Culuth, give the boy his clothes. You coming?” he directed this to Scarface.
    “Yes.” Scarface left Snow White’s side.
    Aein stared into Metal Hat’s face. “A deal is a deal. Let the girl go now.”
    Metal Hat glowered.
    “Let her go,” Gorm said. Scarface took a knife to Snow White’s bonds. “There is still honor among thieves. Now go, girl, before I change my mind. Run into the forest and never look