Page 72 of Beast

“I knew the moment I saw you that you were different to the others,” Isla says, looking at me in the rearview mirror.

“The others?” I ask. “You mean Beast has been engaged before?”

I thought he’d been living in a drought for years.

Maybe years. But not forever.

“Oh yes,” Isla says.

Damn, why does that make my stomach feel strange?

Mya gives her a warning look, but Isla ignores it. “He’s only been engaged once before. To Jennifer. Much to his ex-girlfriend Guinevere’s disgust. Now there’s a story?—”

“Isla!” Mya yells as a bunny dashes across the road in front of us.

Isla slams on the brakes and we skid to a stop. She blows out a shaky breath. “Jesus, Mya. You scared the life out of me. I saw it, but you damn near made me jump out of my skin.”

“Well, you were so busy gossiping about Beast’s damn exes I didn’t think you were paying attention,” Mya says. She looks over her shoulder at me in the back seat. “You okay, Belle?”

“Of course. But I want to hear more about Jennifer and Guinevere.”

“Then you need to ask Beast,” Mya says.

I meet Isla’s eyes in the rearview mirror. She nods. “Mya’s right. Beast will tell you when he’s ready.”

I’m curious. I want to know about these mysterious women.

But I don’t press the subject.

Tonight has been too much fun to ruin with talk about ex-girlfriends and past fiancées.

If the feeling in my gut is anything to go by.

Oh my God, am I jealous?

I push away the thought.

But as we drive through the moonlit night, my heartbeat quickens and my stomach tightens with anticipation.

I’m looking forward to seeing Beast. I know it’s crazy. But tell that to my racing pulse and the heat in my blood as we pull into the long winding driveway leading up to the clubhouse.

After wishing Mya and Isla goodnight, I make my way up to the bedroom I share with Beast and take a shower. I don’t know what is going to happen when he comes to bed. But I know I am open to whatever does.

In the shower, I pay extra attention to soaping and shaving and moisturizing my skin. Because when he finds me waiting for him in bed, I want to be ready for what comes next.

But Beast doesn’t come to bed.

I wait up for him, but the hours tick over and he doesn’t show.

In the silvery moonlight, I stand at the window overlooking the fields next to the clubhouse and wait.

I wrap my arms around my waist and try not to feel the disappointment churning in my stomach.

Because tonight felt real.

It feltreallyreal.

Goosebumps crawl up my arms.

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