Page 24 of Beauty and Her Beasts (Dirty Paranormal Fairytale Haremlan 1)

“Good night, Miss Pierce.”

“Good night, Mr. Heller.”

He looked over his shoulder just once before disappearing down the hall. I bit my lip as he left my sight. I was so close to kissing him. I lost every ounce of sense that was instilled in me before arriving here. Now I had three men that damn near turned me inside out with the very sight of them.

I was doomed.

10

DECLAN

I wasn’t in the mood to answer Allana’s call. It was late, I was grumpy from not sleeping well, and Moon was annoyingly restless as well. I turned the maid away, none too gently, and returned to my bed. If it was important, I figured she would send for me again. Otherwise, Gunnar could handle whatever had her calling for us at such a late hour. I seriously doubted he would fail to control himself when he seemed so committed to the plan before. I meant what I said when I told him I didn’t care anymore. The thread holding this place together was quickly unraveling and I was watching everything I loved fall to pieces.

When I didn’t hear from Allana or the maid again, I figured I would stop in the morning, after a couple of hours of solid sleep. Maybe my mood would improve a great deal.

I groaned and rolled over in my bed. Who the hell did I think I was fooling? Ever since I met her, I have had a hard time sleeping. My animal wanted her. I wanted her. Hell, Gunnar wanted her, and I knew his desire went much deeper than mere human lust. As did mine. The more distance I put between us, the better.

I had to figure out a way to keep things strictly professional. It wouldn’t do me any good becoming attached to her. I learned a long time ago not to become attached to anyone because everyone would leave. Eventually. It was always only a matter of time.

After waking up for the umpteenth time, I gave up on sleep and headed for Allana’s office. When I didn’t find her there, I checked the kitchen and her room. Eventually, I found her eating breakfast in the garden again. However, she wasn’t alone.

Gunnar, of all people, sat with her. Judging by the look on his face, he wasn’t thrilled about whatever was going on either. I couldn’t help the smirk stretching my lips. If he was grumpy, he deserved whatever it was that made him so.

The jerk had it coming to him.

I approached the table. Once I was a couple of feet from Allana, she turned her fiery brown eyes on mine. Her lips were pulled in a frown, and I realized I was also in for a world of hurt.

I cleared my throat and nodded in greeting. “Allana.”

“Oh so you do exist as well,” she said and cocked her head to the side. “Funny. I thought maybe you decided to fall off the face of the Earth right along with Gunnar, here. Are you also incapable of reading?”

“Um,” I stammered. Judging by the sound of her voice and by the words she had spoken, Gunnar didn’t come running when he was called for either. I found that fascinating. That wasn’t at all what I had expected of him.

She cocked an eyebrow, and the simple move made me want her all the more. I tried to shove that feeling down to give her the attention she required.

“‘Um’ is not an answer. It’s a simple yes or no question.”

I rolled my eyes and shoved my hands into my pockets. I had a glimmer of hope this was going to turn out better than I expected. “Yes, I can read.”

“Fantastic. So, what is your excuse for not responding to my call?” she asked.

She had a temper, this one. And I loved it. But I couldn’t give my feelings away quite yet. If ever. The whole encounter needed a serious response, and my full attention. If I smiled, she probably would have taken it as an insult, and I most certainly didn’t want to give her that impression.

“I wasn’t feeling too well,” I said. It wasn’t entirely a lie. Not the whole truth either, but semantics.

Her face softened a fraction. “Well, that’s certainly the better excuse of the two.”

I turned a questioning gaze to Gunnar who barely shook his head.

“Take a seat,” Allana said.

I did so, recognizing her statement was nothing near a request but a command. I wanted to obey her. I would run to the ends of the world for her if she had asked me to.

“Since both of you are now finally here, we can begin,” she started. “I want to start by letting you know that I can’t work here anymore if I don’t get answers. So, keep that in mind before giving me some line of bullshit.”

Gunnar and I both nodded. Neither of us wanted to see her leave, that much I was certain of. We both understood the weight of the repercussions which would come if that were to happen, and I wasn’t referring to the business drowning without her. I didn’t have to ask to know we would do anything to keep her here.

“Start talking about whatever it is that has you both willing to leave me in the middle of my arousal.” She switched her gaze between the both of us.

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