The Great North, Quebec, 1934. Joe Vega, the Beast, has been locked up in Linhart Prison for three years. The brutish guards harass him because of his size, but Joe remains cool. Until Christophe Dubois, the disowned son of an affluent politician, is led into Joe's cell. From the moment Joe sees him, he suspects the ginger-head is trouble. Christophe is bold, curious, and feisty, and Joe can't resist the temptation of climbing into the man's bunk for long. However, the beautiful spoiled Christophe is a furnace to which both guards and convicts want to warm their hands, and Joe must fight to keep Christophe safe. Linhart Prison may be a cruel place, but when the two men are released from its walls, they find an even tougher world out there. Is the flame burning between Joe and Chris enough to keep them together?

Linhart's Beautiful Beast

From his cot, Dubois sighed out impatiently. “Why do you insist on doing those ridiculous exercises?” He was stretched out on his back, staring at Joe from over his book. “We were both out there, working like horses all day and―”


“It keeps me calm.” Joe lifted himself up off the ground again. “I can’t just lie there the way you do.”


Dubois hid his face behind his book again. There was tension between them this evening. Dubois’s moods always changed so quickly, but Joe figured he must have done something wrong to upset him.


After a moment, Dubois threw his book on the ground. “I despise her. Oh, and I hate him too. Their love, so―so―so excessively carnal, and why should she be allowed to have this affair, this lover, when she’s got one pining away for her at home?”


Chapter 36