Page 44 of Beauty and Her Beasts (Dirty Paranormal Fairytale Haremlan 1)

“Thank you. I am extremely happy here,” I said.

He pointed at the castle with his fork. “I just can’t get over the sight of this place. There is something so oddly familiar about the castle to me. But in all my years, I can’t recall how or why.”

I shrugged. “The building has been a hotel for quite a long time, so maybe you stayed here once as a child.”

He nodded. “Possibly. But I don’t think so. My parents were simple farmers. We didn’t have the coin to spend for a place like this. We couldn’t even afford to step foot on the grounds, much less spend a night here.”

“Well, you’re here now,” I said.

He nodded. “For the season.”

“Yes, Papa,” I said with a sigh. He had agreed to come and stay but under the stipulation that he only stayed for the winter. Once spring came, he would return home and tend to his flowers and cottage. He knew how much the idea of him leaving tormented me, but he seemed to know I was trying to find a way to get him to stay longer.

Guess he was just putting his foot down in his own way.

Before long, breakfast was over, and Papa once again broached the topic of the men. “So, which one has your heart?”

“What do you mean?” I asked, playing coy.

“Is it Gunnar or Declan? Or is it King?” Papa asked.

I chuckled, stood from the table, and approached my father’s side. “Stay out of trouble, okay?”

He nodded. “If you insist. But before you go, I do want to know which one...”

I smirked and kissed him on the cheek. “I have to go to work now.”

“All right, fine. Don’t rid an old man of his curiosities.” He patted my arm and chuckled. “Don’t work too hard.”

“I won’t. See you tonight.”

I left my father to enjoy the rest of breakfast and the view from the garden, and headed toward the castle to start my work day. I passed by the kitchen smelling the most delicious food being made and it instantly made my mouth water.

I poked my head inside, finding Gunnar working his rear off.

“That smells so divine,” I said.

He was startled, and turned to face me with wide eyes. The second his eyes met mine, he smiled. “Thank you.”

“What’s all this for?” I asked.

He shrugged. “You’ll just have to wait and see.”

I playfully narrowed my eyes on the cook. “I’ll accept that as an answer, but only if you kiss me first.”

He crossed the room in a few quick strides, wrapped me in his arms and planted a huge kiss on my lips.

“How’s that?” he said, voice low and gravely.

I breathed through my rise in arousal and smiled. “That will do. For now.”

He chuckled. “Get to work.”

“Okay,” I said and left him to his task.

The rest of the morning and first part of the afternoon was unremarkable. I still stressed over the dwindling finances as I completed the payroll. We were at the point of having no choice but to let some of the help go, and with this place being as massive as it was, I had a hard time reconciling the maid staff. I even started the process of collecting bids from contractors on the changes King signed off on.

By lunch time, I was famished and headed out of the office to get some lunch.

---