Page 19 of Beauty and Her Beasts (Dirty Paranormal Fairytale Haremlan 1)

My eyes met his.

His nose flared, and he pushed me against the wall and breathed in the skin on my neck.

I sucked in a breath and closed my eyes as my thighs held back a flood of juices. His nose gently nuzzled my ear and I let out a shuddering sigh.

A door slammed shut from somewhere down the hall, and that seemed to have snapped Gunnar out of whatever mood I found him in. He instantly pulled away, placing several feet of distance between us.

He ran his hand through his hair as he seemed very uncomfortable. His pants were visibly tight around his massive erection. I bit my lip as I eyed the monstrous size hidden under his jeans.

“Sorry,” he quickly muttered and dashed down the hall, leaving my sight.

I gasped for air, not realizing I had been holding my breath that entire time. What was it with him and Declan that had them willing to throw themselves at me but change their minds once I was hot and bothered?

I shook my head.

“Sorry, not sorry,” I muttered.

Regardless of what was going on between the two of them, I had a date with my only source of release. Followed by a cold shower and a brainstorm on how to figure out what was going on and why.

I refused to be tagged along in whatever scheme those two had going on. It was high time for answers.

8

GUNNAR

Fucking Declan. The nerve of him. The gall. I couldn’t believe his audacity. He just had to go and slather his scent all over the one woman that had to remain untouched except by King. Of course I knew he doubted the plan from the start, but that in no way gave him license to try and sabotage everything. Too much was riding on my plan working. He knew this because I had made it perfectly clear.

And he couldn’t deny it if he tried.

I smelled him on Allana the second she bumped into me.

And stupid me. I just had to go and lose all sense of my self-control. My possessiveness got the better of me when I pushed Allana against the wall and breathed in deep her scent mixed with Declan’s. I also breathed in her intoxicating arousal, which made me want her badly. I wanted to smother her with my scent, drowning out Declan’s and claiming Allana as my mate.

Thankfully, I didn’t. I managed to pull myself away from her. Barely.

I had no right to her, and I knew that better than anyone. She wasn’t mine. She could never belong to me. But she also wasn’t Declan’s either. She was meant for King, and that meant she was completely and utterly off limits.

But, by God, if King didn’t pull his head out of his ass and let go of whatever had him living in the squalor of the castle’s bowels soon, he was going to lose her before he ever had a chance.

I would see to that much.

But first, I had a bone to pick with Declan. Of all the people to so much as even taste what that woman had to offer, he had to rub his scent all over her. Talk about a low blow. He knew how badly we needed the plan to work. He was the last person I ever thought would sneak around with a woman, much less with a woman meant for King.

I supposed I didn’t know Declan as well as I had thought. I realized I had given him entirely too much credit and underestimated his resolve against being around people.

I had to put a stop to this mess before things got out of hand. It was bad enough I had a slip-up. There was no way Declan had the restraint needed to keep this plan going.

After muttering a quick apology to Allana, I put some distance between us. I had tried to keep my distance ever since the first night she came here. It was almost too much for me to handle when she had kissed me, and I damn near doomed our plan right then and there.

It didn’t take much effort to find Declan. He was, as usual, avoiding people in the garden, picking various mushrooms, vegetables, and herbs. I didn’t get so much as ten feet from him when he stopped me.

“If you know what is good for you, you’ll stay the hell away from me. And Allana,” he said, keeping his back to me as he continued to work. Moon, his wolf, stalked nearby, growling in low tone.

I met the creature’s eyes as I stopped and huffed. He really did believe he was a vicious mongrel, didn’t he? It was cute.

I shook my head and settled my attention on Declan’s back. “Oh, so you do know why I’m here.”

“Well, it’s good to know that you’re man enough to admit your faults,” Declan said. “I was getting worried you were just an asshole. Brownie points to you.”

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