Page 186 of Night's Fall
“Stop reading,”Ibegged.
“They got the ‘Beauty’ part right,I’ma little stung by being the ‘Beast.’”
I looked at his face and was relieved to see he was teasing.
“People saw us,”Isaid.
He was smiling when he replied, “Ofcourse they did, darling.Younearly ran into twenty buildings and about a hundred crafts.”
I buried my face in his neck.
My beast tittered.
His surged and settled.
Okay, those two reacting to each other took no time getting used to, not to mention understand completely.
It was easy.
And perfection.
Aleksei dropped the tablet to his lap and curled his fingers around the side of my neck.
“Uniquely stunning,” he said into the top of my hair. “It’snot only me and my creature who think so.It’sall over the news, all over the tapes.I’dsay you’re back in the nineties for your rating, darling.Germaineis probably doing back flips in the admin wing.”
“They like her.”
“Did you miss the ‘fairytale played out in the skies’ part?” he asked playfully.
“They like her,”Irepeated.
His fingers tensed at my neck.
And his voice was vastly different when he vowed, “Iwill tear them apart.”
I lifted my head.
And yeah.
His expression was vastly different too.
“Aleksei—”
“Not physically, but that doesn’t meanIdon’t want to.”
“I’ll get used to it,”Ipromised.
“Medical science bested the removal of scars over a hundred years ago,” he stated. “Thekind you have never disappears.Notunless you have your memories scrubbed.”
“I don’t…Ican’t.”Ishook my head. “Itmade meme.”
“I don’t say that becauseIadvise it,Laura.Itshould only be used for the most traumatic of traumas, because you’re right, any scrubbing alters a being, andI’lltake you any way you come, but the youIhave in bed right now is perfect, andIwant to keep her like she is.”
“Oh my gods!”Iexploded, pushing away from him. “Lancet’sperfect princess gown.Gettingher back last night.TheJupiterthing.Stopit.Ican’t take any more.Don’tmake me cry again!”
His brows rose. “Perfectprincess gown?”
I slapped his chest.
