Page 47 of Beauty and Her Beasts (Dirty Paranormal Fairytale Haremlan 1)

As I dressed, I realized I couldn’t have pulled this off without Gunnar and Declan. They were right about everything. They were also good men. Under different circumstances, we might all be friends. Maybe even brothers. But I wouldn’t jump to that conclusion just yet.

Once dressed, I arrived on the stairway just as Allana stepped into view. My lips parted as my eyes took in her beauty. I was completely mesmerized. I had no idea she could be more beautiful than she was already, but as she stepped in, wearing the golden gown, I stood corrected.

Then her eyes fell on mine, and I was floored. My breath was stolen from me, and I worried I would fall face first down the stairs if I wasn’t careful.

I gulped as I carefully took the stairs to the main floor to meet her halfway through the foyer. I never took my eyes off of her once. Nor did hers leave mine. She smiled as I stopped in front of her, and I was hooked.

“You clean up rather nicely,” she said as she greeted me.

“You are breathtakingly beautiful,” I murmured as I closed the space between us to brush her lips with mine.

“Thank you,” she said, breathily.

“It is I that should be thanking you,” I said.

She smiled again. “For what?”

“For giving me a chance,” I said.

She fiddled with one of the buttons on my jacket and then adjusted my lapel. “Well, you’re quite welcome.”

I smirked. “What do you think of the new and improved east wing, my childhood home?”

She looked around briefly before returning her dazzling brown eyes to mine. “It’s amazing. You did this all by yourself?”

I shrugged. “I had a little help.”

She chuckled. “You’re so humble.”

“Hardly,” I muttered. “Care for a tour?”

She nodded as she slipped her arm through the crook of mine. “I would love one.”

“This is the foyer, where I used to kick a ball back and forth with Declan as a child,” I said.

“You and Declan have known each other for that long?” she asked.

I nodded. “We were very close friends growing up.”

“What changed?” she asked, settling her gaze on mine as we made our way up the stairs.

“I did,” I said.

“How so?” she asked.

I sighed, not really wanting to go into the depths of the darkness that filled me. But she deserved to know all of those dark secrets. Perhaps, not all in one night.

With a shrug, I added, “I became a dick when I got older and turned taking women from Declan into a game. I ruined our friendship. Before I had a chance to repair things between us, I shipped out to war.”

“And that’s how you lost your arm?” she asked.

I nodded once.

We reached the top of the stairs and I took her to the right.

“Who are all the paintings of?” she asked as her eyes fell on the largest one taking up the wall of the hallway.

I met it briefly. A dagger of pain stabbed at my chest. “That is my mother and father, Jacinda and Philip Wendel.”

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