Page 60 of Beauty and Her Beasts (Dirty Paranormal Fairytale Haremlan 1)

We were at another tense stand-off.

Several moments later, with neither of us willing to move. Collin huffed a sigh. “Fine. Have it your way. But don’t come crawling back to me when this blows up in your face.”

I shook my head. “I wouldn’t crawl to you if you were the last man alive.”

My father patted me on the back as he joined my side. “I definitely had nothing to worry about.”

I chuckled and leaned into him.

“You clearly don’t know how to stay safe,” King said, words clipped. Then he added much softer, “But I’m glad you came.”

“I had never been so proud and so upset with you,” Gunnar said. “I’m impressed.”

I laughed. “Gee, thanks.”

Declan stepped up to me with a smirk. “You’re a little troublemaker.”

My father laughed. “If you three are surprised by this, you have a lot to learn about my daughter.”

“Come on,” King said. “We still have guests waiting on us.”

We all walked back toward the castle. As we did, Gunnar said, “We should compensate them for the evening going the way it had.”

I nodded. “That is a great idea. We’ll also have to come up with a way to bring them back and hold a celebration for the grand re-opening.”

King cleared his throat. “What?”

I smiled. “I told you to read over everything before you signed it.”

My father laughed deep and heartily as we continued toward the dining room.

The men exchanged worried glances. I shook my head, laughing under my breath.

“I should have listened,” King murmured. “What did I agree to, exactly?”

“Vouchers for a free night’s stay,” I said. “They’re in my office, in the top drawer of my desk.”

Hours later, my feet and back ached, and exhaustion was getting the better of me. Gunnar settled his gaze on me with concern pulling his eyebrows together. I shook my head. He didn’t listen.

He approached me, scooped me up, and carried me down the hall.

“I’m fine,” I said. “Really.”

“You’re exhausted,” he argued. “I can see it plainly on your face.”

I sighed. I didn’t have the energy or desire to argue and leaned into him, resting my head on his shoulder. Minutes quickly passed and we arrived at my room. I winced as he put me down.

“What is it?” he asked.

“I’m just really sore,” I said.

“I know just the thing for you,” he said and opened the door to my room.

I followed him in. He made a beeline to the bathroom while I collapsed onto the couch. Seconds later, rushing water filled my ears and steam started billowing out of the doorway. I smiled to myself and started undressing as I made my way to the bath being drawn for me.

Gunnar stepped out of the room as I reached the door. His eyes darkened as he took one look at my naked form. He growled. “I would take you if you weren’t so exhausted.”

I smiled even bigger. “Rain check?”

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