Page 36 of Beauty and Her Beasts (Dirty Paranormal Fairytale Haremlan 1)

“Be safe,” I said.

He nodded. “Where is the fun in that?”

Without waiting for my response, he left the room too. I curled into Gunnar and allowed him to comfort me for most of the afternoon.

14

GUNNAR

Once I helped Allana see off Declan and King, I escorted her to her room and ran her a hot bubble bath. While she soaked, I rummaged through the kitchen for a meal to woo her with. I wasn’t sure what she liked and didn’t like, so I was going for something on the safe side with an extravagant feel.

I finally decided on broiled stuffed oysters, steamed asparagus, and seasoned carrots. I made creme brulee for dessert, and I pulled out a bottle of classic merlot to top it all off. With a bit of help from one of the maids, I had a table set up with candles and dinner in a cozy corner of the garden, near a light chimera. She even brought out a box of truffles to add to the spread.

I stood back and stared at my work of art. It was almost perfect. Music would have made the night, but it was too short of notice to arrange.

“Please tell me you didn’t do all of this for me,” Allana said as she approached.

I looked at her and smiled as my gaze met hers. “Of course I planned on joining you. So there is a tiny bit of selfishness to this.”

“Good,” she said through a chuckle. The candlelight danced in her eyes, sparkling and shimmering like the stars in the sky. “I hope you weren’t waiting too long for me.”

“You’re just in time,” I said and escorted her to her seat. I pulled out the chair, allowed her to sit, and then joined her on the opposite side of the table. “Bon Appétit.”

“It looks so delicious and extravagant,” she said with awe filling her words.

I smiled proudly. “I wasn’t sure what you enjoyed, so I decided stuffed oysters were a safe bet.”

“You bet correctly,” she said, gazing at the plate hungrilly. “Thank you so much. You’ve outdone yourself.”

I chuckled. “It was nothing. Besides, you deserve to be fed like this every day.”

“Thank you, again,” she said and smiled.

“You’re quite welcome,” I said and popped open the wine, pouring some into each of our glasses.

“So what’s the occasion for a meal as extraordinary as this?” she asked.

I raised my eyebrows. “I need a special occasion to feed you?”

She chuckled under her breath. “No. You don’t. It is a nice distraction, but I was wondering if it was meant to be more than that.”

“More than distraction?” I asked.

She nodded. “Not that I’m not grateful, but I was wondering…”

“I’ll admit I had a hidden agenda when making you this meal. There’s no telling when I’ll get you all to myself again. I figured I would take what chance I had and make the most of the time,” I said and speared a carrot with my fork.

“I hoped so,” she said, and the word came out almost as a purr. “I love distractions with purpose.”

“Good. I wouldn’t mind distracting you for the rest of the night if it kept that smile on your face.”

She met my gaze, smiled wider, and said, “Quite the charmer, you are.”

“I try, but you seem to bring it right out of me,” I said. “How was your bath?”

“It was amazing,” she said. “I think I might make it a habit of mine. I almost fell asleep, it was so relaxing.”

“I’m glad it helped you. You should pamper yourself more often. I like how relaxed it made you.” I ate one of my oysters. Perfection. Allana was in for a real treat.

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