Page 14 of Beauty and Her Beasts (Dirty Paranormal Fairytale Haremlan 1)

I nodded. “Hopefully he will show up soon. I have some business things to discuss with him.”

“If I see him, I will let him know,” he said.

“Thank you,” I said.

“My pleasure. Have a good night Miss Pierce.”

“You too, but please call me Allana,” I said.

He smirked, and it was the first ounce of warmth I got from him since he walked out on me on the night of my arrival. I smiled in return, and he turned around and left me in my office alone.

I fanned myself with a folder resting on the top of my desk. “That man is too hot for my own good.”

I dropped the file to my desk and stared at the coffee cup. I had been playing catch up this first whole week, getting the company back on track. I spent nearly every night in this office, well into the early morning. Tonight was going to be no different, and I needed coffee to keep me going. Especially Gunnars. Holy cow, could he make coffee taste good. The best I had ever had.

Standing from my desk, I grabbed the mug and headed toward the kitchen for a fresh refill. The halls in this place were massive, and if it wasn’t for Gunnar giving me a tour, I probably would have been lost. And by tour, he only showed me part of the massive castle that was turned into a hotel. The entire East Wing was considered off-limits. A large white sheet sealed off the portion of the castle. I assumed it was due to construction or some sort of damage that needed to be repaired. I didn’t push the issue considering I was having a hard time keeping the location of everything I needed to at the front of my mind.

The one question I had asked about it was why no one went there.

Gunnar replied, “There are parts of this place even King won’t go to.”

Thankfully, the kitchen was on the main floor down the hall from the lobby. My office was located behind the front desk. Simple and sweet.

I found the kitchen and the pot of coffee sitting on the counter. I stepped over to it and poured the hot liquid into my mug.

A loud crashing sound echoed through the castle. The sound nearly caused me to spill my mug. My heart hammered in my chest as I let out a deep breath. Curiosity about what or who made that noise soon took over, and I found myself roaming through the maze of halls, searching for the source of the sound.

Grumbling filled the silence as I stepped toward the library. I entered the room and found a tall man with black, shoulder-length hair standing with his back toward me. He searched a shelf of books for something while continuing to mutter and curse.

I sucked in a breath knowing he must have been the reclusive owner. I took a step back and inadvertently knocked over a vase of flowers standing on a pedestal near the door. The vase hit the floor and shattered into dozens of pieces, scattering pits of ceramic, water, and flower all over the place.

King spun around, took one look at the mess on the floor, and growled at me. His eyes were a terrifying yellow, glowing with rage and fury.

I gasped.

He ran out the door toward the back of the room.

It took me several moments to calm down enough to start picking up the pieces of vase and flowers. My hands continued to shake, and it was the first time since my arrival that I was afraid and questioned my purpose here.

Footsteps pounded down the halls until a man rushed into the room holding a candelabra, filled with burning flames that illuminated his creamy skin and intense blue eyes.

“Allana?” Gunnar asked. “Are you okay?”

I shuddered. “I’m not hurt if that is what you mean.”

“What happened?” he asked as he sat the candelabra down on a nearby shelf and knelt next to me to help pick up the mess I made.

“I think I met King. I don’t think losing his parents is his issue, by the way. He frightened me with his glowing yellow eyes, and that was after he growled at me. If I didn’t know better, I would say he is far from impressed by my presence here.”

“He growled at you?” Gunnar asked, voice flat.

I nodded. “It wasn’t the best first impression, but here we are.”

“How did the vase break then?” he asked.

“I bumped into it as I was backing out of the room. I heard a noise when I was getting coffee and followed the grumbling here. You pretty much know the rest.”

Gunnar nodded as he stood and walked the handful of shards to the nearby trash can. After tossing his handful of vase shards into the trash can, he picked up the receptacle and carried it over to me. I dumped my handful into it and took his waiting hand.

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