Page 22 of Beauty and Her Beasts (Dirty Paranormal Fairytale Haremlan 1)

By the time I had scoured nearly every inch of the castle, I had found all of no clues or hint of Gunnar, Declan, or the maid I had sent out in search of them. I had spent countless minutes looking for them and was starting to give up when I crossed the corridor that led to the forbidden east wing of the castle.

I stopped in the middle of the hall and stared at the long flowing sheet that separated the wing from the rest of the hotel.

My curiosities were piqued once again. I figured if I was going to get this building in tip-top shape, then the east wing needed to be addressed.

With little other thought, I headed down the hall. I stopped in front of the sheet and reached out a hand to pull the drape to the side. Just a little peek wouldn’t hurt me or anyone else for that matter.

The second my fingers touched the fabric and started to pull it to the side, a booming voice sounded from behind me, startling me.

“What are you doing? That section is blocked off for a reason.”

I spun on my heels to face the ever-elusive King. His eyes weren’t yellow this time, and I noticed his missing arm and the large scar that ran the length of the side of his face.

I stammered, “Oh! I’m so sorry. I was just trying to do an inspection.”

“This late at night?” he asked, just as sharply.

“Yes. I had nothing better to do.”

“Can you not sleep like normal people?” he asked.

“Seems to be a fleeting thing as of late,” I said, my words coming out shorter. I knew I shouldn’t take the tone with him. He was my boss and had the ability to fire me. But I couldn’t help it. With the sexual frustration Declan and Gunnar put me through on top of the general frustration of not knowing what was going on and not being able to sleep, my tolerance for male machismo was at an all time low. “Do you have to be a jerk about everything I do?”

He took a deep breath, his shoulders exaggerated the movement, and he smirked. The man actually smirked at me.

I gaped at him.

Did I say something funny?

“I apologize for my initial tone,” he said, much softer. “It was wrong of me. Please, allow me to start over.”

Talk about turning on the charm. His voice was like honey, and I wanted to bathe in it. With just his words, I was willing to jump off the roof.

Oh my, this one was dangerous.

“I’m sorry as well. I’m grumpy, frustrated in a number of ways, and I’m dealing with some insubordination that is making my job harder.”

His gaze turned serious. “Who?”

“I have it handled. I promise.” I held my hand up to ward off him rushing off in defense of my honor. “None of what is going on is beyond my control right now.”

“Speaking of job,” he said. “Didn’t you have something I needed to sign off on?”

I nodded. “Yes, but those can wait until tomorrow if you would like.”

He shook his head. “I’m free now.”

“Okay,” I said and approached him. I held out my hand toward him, “I’m Allana Pierce by the way.”

Up close, he was as gorgeous as Declan and Gunnar if not more. His shoulder-length brown hair was pulled back, revealing his features. Dark brown eyes took in mine, but there was warmth in them. I wondered if I had imagined the yellow eyes from our first encounter. His lips were full and wide and were lined with a thin dusting of hair.

Despite the scar on his face, he was breathtakingly handsome.

He took my hand into his, and the warmth in it was astounding. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Pierce.”

He planted a kiss on the top of my knuckles and held onto my hand for a few seconds longer before releasing it and gesturing for me to lead the way to my office. “Please, lead the way.”

I smiled, forcing back the rush of heat to my cheeks. My mind screamed for me to get a hold of myself. If he kissed me, he probably would run away just when things got heated up as well. It was better if I kept this strictly professional.

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