Page 46 of Beauty and Her Beasts (Dirty Paranormal Fairytale Haremlan 1)

I nodded. “I am.”

The last dress was made of gold. It was by far the most beautiful of the group. The skirt held gathers that were held up by a collection of golden flowers. The skirt rippled around me, and a sheer lace that covered it all added a feel of weightlessness to it. The bodice fit right, and I could not only breathe in the thing, but I could move as well.

The maid clapped her hands together and brought them to her mouth. “I know just the thing you need.”

She rushed off while I stared at how glamourous I looked in the dress. When the maid returned, she had golden heeled shoes she helped me into and a golden crown she placed on my head.

“This is too much,” I said feeling overwhelmed.

“Oh, no, miss. It’s perfect!” She awed over my appearance for several more minutes while fussing with the top layer of the skirt, making sure it flowed perfectly around me. When she stood back, I gave myself another appraisal.

“I think you’re right,” I said after wearing it for a while longer. It was hard to find something to not like about the dress. “I think this is the dress.”

“Excellent!” she giggled. “I’ll let Mr. Heller know right away.”

She rushed out of the room. I tried to stop her, but she was so excited, she didn’t hear me. I blew out a raspberry and carefully walked over to my bed and sat at the foot of it. Once she returned, she could help me out of the dress, and then I could get back to work.

As I waited, excitement started to bubble through me as I wondered what the dress was for. I couldn’t wait. My curiosities were getting the better of me. Before I decided to leave the room dressed for a surprise occasion, the maid barged through my door with a couple of other ladies.

“Time for your hair and makeup!” she announced.

I sucked in a breath as the ladies started to get to work.

I had never been shown this much attention before, and I typically don't like to fuss over myself with makeup and whatnot. But I had to admit that this felt good. I felt adored, and that made my choice just a tad bit harder.

18

KING

I had planned for this night for weeks, but it felt like so much longer. I had everything accounted for. Every detail was planned down to the minute. What I hadn’t counted on was my nerves getting the better of me. It didn’t help that Gunnar and Declan were on high alert as well.

Keeping the ball a secret wasn’t an easy task. But after talking things over with Declan and Gunnar, we decided the east wing was the perfect location, which made keeping our plan from Allana only minutely easier. I had worked almost night and day over the past few weeks getting the wing back to its original grandeur. Of course I had a little help from the staff to rely on, but I couldn’t expect them to spend all hours of their night and day working for me.

They deserved better than that, and if all went well, they would have a nice bonus to spend for their holidays.

The difference in my old childhood home was like night and day. A couple of days before the ball, I had moved back into the wing, taking my old room. All of this while Allana was none the wiser. She knew there was a surprise of course, but not what the surprise was. I loved that she was excited about it, and it was nice to learn she wouldn’t try to figure things out before the time was right.

I appreciated her patience.

Of the many things there was to appreciate of Allana, her patience was just the tip of the iceberg. I adored a great many other things about her as well. Things no one could ever take from me.

The woman I had tasked with getting Allana dressed and ready rushed down the hall toward me. Judging by the smile on her face, the dress Allana had chosen was perfect and she was ready to join me.

“Is she ready?” I asked.

She stopped several feet in front of me and rested a hand on her chest as she worked to catch her breath. I stood by, giving her the time she needed. I attributed my extra patience to Allana’s presence, of course. She had created a lot of changes around her, and I feel the more astounding changes were with me. Even if she would never learn of such things, I owed her my life.

Even if, God forbid, she didn’t choose me.

“She is, sir,” she said, still beaming.

I nodded. “Escort her here. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, sir. Anything else before I go?” she asked.

“No. Thank you,” I said.

She curtsied before leaving the wing. Once she was gone, I sighed. Some of my anxieties dwindled away. Now it was time for me to get ready.

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