Academia of the Beast: A Dark Retelling of Beauty and the Beast (6 page)

Their eyes met and he carried her from the balcony and back inside. They didn’t need to speak as he crossed the living room and carried her up the stairs to his bedroom in the loft.

Her heart sped as he laid her on the bed, and climbed on top of her.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Conall asked, taking off his shirt. “If things are moving too fast, just let me know.”

Allyn licked her lips at the sight of his bare chest, rippled with muscles and abs that were so tight, she imagined them being hard as stone.

“Are you kidding?” she asked as he took off his pants. She gulped once he took off his boxers, and revealed his hardened manhood to her.

Such perfection should be illegal.

She’d only ever been with one other person, and he’d betrayed her. It was time for her to stop guarding her heart and see what it was like with another. Her heart told her that Conall was worth the risk.

Conall reached inside the nightstand and pulled out a condom. Once it was on, Allyn took him by the hands, pulling him on top of her.

He grinned and kissed her once again before tugging her pants off.

She exhaled, a bit nervous as he looked at her body. He delicately took off her black panties and kissed her thighs.

“You’re beautiful, Allyn,” he said, softly, and slid his hands along her back.

Allyn tensed, and Conall froze.

Their eyes met and she sucked in a breath. For a second, she’d almost forgot about the hundreds of scars that marred her back.

“What happened?” he asked, his voice on the brink of being angry. He took a glance at her back and she closed her eyes in shame.

“Who did this to you?”

Allyn’s lips trembled. “The nuns. In the convent.” She drew in another breath. “They beat me.”

Conall tilted her chin and made her look at him. Without a word, he turned and showed her his back.

She gasped, and touched the scars that covered his back. While tattoos were placed meticulously to hide them, Allyn could feel each raised line along his flesh.

“My father,” he said before she could ask.

She pursed her lips. She didn’t need to ask. She knew what he meant.

When he turned back to her, she pulled him back onto her, her arms around his neck as their tongues explored one another’s.

How many people knew about Conall’s scars? Allyn doubted that anyone did, and that candid moment brought them closer in ways neither expected.

“I won’t let anyone hurt you again,” Conall said, and Allyn smiled through tears.

She giggled and wiped her eyes. “Ignore my tears. I’ve just heard those words before, but something tells me you actually mean them. Tell me you mean them.”

“I do,” Conall said and parted her legs.

Allyn’s eyes fluttered closed, a moan escaping her lips as thrust into her.

“Wow,” she said in a breathy whisper.

The intense pleasure filled her completely.

There were times when she was sure she would explode, and as if he could read her body, he would slow down and prolong the pleasure that verged on the brink of being torture.

He withdrew from inside of her and knelt onto the floor between her legs. He worshiped her dripping wet core, licking the slick slit with a tenderness and lust that had her squirming beneath his tongue.

She pulled herself up to her elbows and looked down at him, her brows furrowed. She was dying for release.

She fell back onto the bed and whimpered. He returned to sucking her clit, his fingers dipping inside of her.

He pulled her closer by her thighs and she lost it. Her body convulsed as she came on his tongue as it continued circling her gushing core. The sensitivity of it was maddening and she cried out.

She sucked in a breath as he pulled her to her feet and turned her around. Her legs were wet with her own juices, and he pushed them apart from behind.

Conall bent her over, and to her surprise, he rubbed her clit, waking her up again, and slid into her from behind. Her lips parted as he rocked inside of her at a slow and tender pace.

He held her by her waist and kept the pace that was maddening. It was better than any moment she’d shared with Byron.

“Allyn,” he said, filling her with his hard, thick manhood.

“Yes?”

He pulled her hair back, making her arch her back. “You know you’re mine now, don’t you?”

Allyn couldn’t help the grin that came to her face. “I do,” she said as each thrust sent her further and further into oblivion.

She gasped as he withdrew, spun her around to face him, and picked her up, spearing her with his manhood. She held onto his neck as he held her up. “Oh god,” she whispered, risking a look into his ethereal blue eyes, and together they climaxed.

This cursed creature was more beautiful than anything she’d ever seen. No man could compare, and for a few moments, he was all hers. That’s all she wanted.

That thought exhilarated her as she realized something.

He was just as vulnerable as she was. With that thought, she leaned down and kissed him, sucking his lip and nibbling it between her teeth.

Conall wrapped his arms around her and held her close as he set her onto the bed and lied beside her.

“Promise me that this isn’t a dream,” he whispered to her. “I don’t think I’d be able to take waking up and not having you here.”

Those words reverberated through her soul. She traced her name on his chest, over his heart. “If it is a dream, at least we’re in it together.”

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T
WO DAYS PASSED
as Conall and Allyn locked themselves in his loft and explored each other’s bodies and minds. In bed, they’d watched their favorite movies and ordered delivery from the kitchens.

The sun began to set on the third day and Prince Conall took Allyn by the hand.

She dreaded what she knew he was about to say. They’d just finished dinner and the wind howled outside.

“I should probably get you home before the storm gets worse.”

Disappointed, Allyn’s shoulders slumped. “Why?”

“I’ve already stayed longer than I should. I have to leave for the season.”

She nodded, chewing her bottom lip. “I guess.” She didn’t want to go back. Couldn’t she just wait out the season with him? She shook her head and harrumphed at her stupid ideas. No one wanted her freeloading.

But, a girl could hope.

“You don’t look too happy about that,” he said from across the table. He leaned onto his elbows, the tips of his black hair brushing his long, dark lashes.

She glanced at him to see an amused look on his face. His eyes were narrowed and there was a slight curve to his lips as he watched her.

She shrugged, blinking. “There isn’t much
to be
happy about. But, that’s life. Isn’t it.”

“It doesn’t have to be,” he said, softly. He brushed his thumb across his lips and Allyn wanted nothing more than to climb across the table and kiss his full, supple lips.

Swallowing, she forced herself to look away from his lips. The urge to kiss him was far too intense. “What do you mean?”

“Maybe when the season is over we can get together again.”

A ray of hope pierced through her heart, lighting the darkness. She perked up. “Yes,” she blurted. “Why must we wait, though?”

“I go away every winter season,” he said. “But, I’ll be back in the spring, and I will come for you.”

“Do you promise?”

He smiled and reached for her hand. Once hers were secure in his hand, he looked her in the eyes. “I always keep my promises.”

“I believe you,” she said, searching his eyes and only seeing truth.

“Something tells me we were supposed to meet. I can’t explain it, but I believe in fate. Don’t you?”

“I do,” Allyn said. She kept the hundreds of questions she had for him within. She didn’t want to ruin his promise. “Okay. We will meet again in the spring,” she said, a smile taking over her face. She hadn’t been so excited since she was told she could leave the convent on her eighteenth birthday.

“It’s settled. I will come for you when the winter ends,” he said, and Allyn realized that she finally had something good to look forward to.

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C
ONALL RODE WITH
Allyn back to Aude and Khia’s building, and she couldn’t have been more grateful. She wanted to prolong their time together for as long as possible. She saw within him a soul just as lost as she was. When he held her hand, she was at peace.

She smiled at him from her spot in the back seat of his car as the driver drove down the empty streets of the city. She was sure that she was dreaming and prayed that it would never end. She just needed to get through the winter without a hitch, and they could build on the bond they’d forged over the past few days.

They’d started something beautiful and wonderful.

What could go wrong?

“Conall,” Allyn called.

“Yes?”

“Do you remember kissing me in your tree house?”

He smiled at her and nodded. “Who could forget their first kiss?”

Allyn sat up, surprised. “Really? I was your first kiss?”

Chuckling, he shrugged. “We were ten. Had you kissed anyone before me?”

“No. I didn’t kiss anyone else until I met Byron. How sad is that? I was twenty-two,” she said with a laugh.

“It's not sad. It just goes to show how different you are from other women.”

“I am different,” Allyn whispered. “But it hasn’t won me any medals so far.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Conall said, reaching for her hand. “You have me now.”

Allyn held onto his hand, afraid that if she let go, he’d vanish.

Once the car parked before the Aude and Khia’ building, Conall stepped out of the car and into the snow storm.

“I’ve got it,” he said to the driver.

Allyn watched him walk around the front, unaffected by the torrents of snow. It was as if he didn’t even notice that the world was raging around him. He opened the door for her. She stepped out and together they went into the building. The doorman bowed, his eyes wide when he noticed that the imperial prince stood before him.

Wiping snow from her face and hair, Allyn looked to Conall who stood there with his hands in his pockets. She could tell that he didn’t want to leave her.

Why did he have to go? Why couldn’t he just take her back to his castle?

She bit her tongue and kept her questions to herself.

“Thank you for walking me in,” she said, and before she could say anything more, Conall wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her.

His kiss was soft, sweet, but there was a desperation there that broke her heart.

“Don’t go,” she whispered before she could stop herself.

Conall pulled away, his face flushed. Her heart raced as he stared at her, such conflict in his eyes that it scared her.

“I have to,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m sorry, Allyn. Wait for me.”

With that, he left.

Despite the heat inside the building, Allyn felt cold.

Alone.

She ran to the glass walls and pressed her hands to the glass as she watched the car pull away.

Why did she always lose whatever good came into her life? She remembered being disappointed when she and her father left the palace years ago.

This was worst. Her stomach muscles were clenched with anxiety for watching him leave.

“I’ll wait,” she said, tears filling her eyes. “I promise.”

C
ONALL WASN’T SURE
why leaving her was so difficult, but a pain in his heart nagged him the entire ride back to his castle. Thoughts of her sweet smile and even sweeter kiss haunted him as they drove through the woods with trees that stretched high into the gray sky.

Conall needed something good in his life, and seeing the girl he’d met as a child was a beacon of hope that things might get better.

He just had to make it through winter.

He hadn’t planned on actually connecting with a woman right after breaking up with Hannah, but that’s exactly what happened with Allyn. There was something about her that made him comfortable around her to the point where he knew that if they spent more time together, he’d actually open up.

That was scary, but that’s what he’d been searching for his entire life. For as long as Conall could remember, he’d been a private person. He never revealed his true feelings to anyone, except his mother. When she died, so did his hope to find another woman to love him.