Beauty and the Bear (Werebear Shifter Billionaire Paranormal Romance Standalone) (2 page)

She raised her head at the sharp tone in her father's
voice. “What? I'm sorry, Dad.”

“You're a million miles away. I was talking.” He gave
her a long look. His blue eyes, though faded, as always saw too much. “The
Baron von Ursus is supposed to be handsome.”

Bella blushed. “Dad!”

“I'm just saying.” Her father gave her another one of
his looks. “Rich men are just like other men, Bella. They only have one thing
on their minds, and nothing to stop them from taking it.”

“Dad,” Bella said, exasperated. “The Baron has been a
gentleman. He isn't going to try anything.”

Her father gave a disbelieving noise, but he returned
to helping her with packing.

It took much longer for Bella to move on from the
conversation. Rich men might be just like other men, but she couldn't shake the
feeling that the Baron was different.

Nor could she shake the memory of his hair falling over
his eyes.

~

It was hard to keep her mind to scrubbing and dusting after
all she had seen and heard. Bella had always thought of herself as a steady
person any employer could count on, but even her scarce interactions with the
Baron had set her curiosity afire and her heart to racing. Who was this
mysterious man? Why did he want to keep her here? What did he mean that it
wasn't safe - and what were those frightening noises she had heard the night
before?

Her visit with her father had done nothing to settle
her nerves. It took all Bella had to complete her day's work on time without
ever doing more than glancing up out of the corners of her eyes to make sure no
one - man or beast - was watching her as she moved.

But nothing untoward happened. Still feeling the
unease, Bella sought out the Baron, wanting to let him know she was finished...
and something else.

He was working in his study, where he had been hours
ago as she came through cleaning. The man had hardly moved. Only an errant lock
of hair had fallen out of place, making her feel the inappropriate desire to
move to his side and brush it back.

"My lord?"

"Yes, Bella."

She blinked. She hadn't been expecting him to remember
her name. It sounded sweet on his lips. "My lord, I've finished."

"Yes, Bella. Is that all?"

The question hung in the air, almost a challenge. Only
now did he glance at her, his dark eyes flicking her way and sizing her up all
at once, as though he had seen to the very depths of her soul and understood
without words the question she so desired to ask.

Taking a deep breath, Bella asked it. "Sir... why
is there a beast roaming these grounds?"

The Baron looked away, "You heard something last
night?"

"I did." She hurried to add, "Only from
my room, my lord. I stayed in ask you ordered."

"Good." The Baron sighed and lowered his pen
to the paper once more, though he did not write. "A long time ago someone
in my family did something foolish. The beast is a result of that. Don't let it
trouble you."

"But sir..." Bella bit her lip. "It
sounds so lonely."

He stared at her then in shock, his eyes wide and
vulnerable. "What?" he asked, his voice harsh with surprise.

Almost again, Bella caught herself wanting to go to
him. Whatever the truth of this beast was, it haunted the Baron. "My lord,
I only meant..."

"Forget it." He passed a hand over his eyes,
his expression returning to its normal stoic beauty. "Do you hear me,
Bella? Forget it. Go to your room, if you have finished your labors, and stay
there."

"Yes, sir," she whispered, and fled.

~

Her life fell into a strange sort of routine. And
though Bella had promised herself she would soon ask again about returning to
her apartment with her father, it somehow never seemed the right time to ask
the Baron to change the terms of their agreement.

Most of the time, he was cold and brusque with her, but
then there were moments he was almost kind. When he found her polishing a medal
of his father's with especial care, he said nothing, but there were flowers in
Bella's room that night when she retired. It began to matter more to her than
Bella liked to admit, finding little things she could do for him to please him.

Those were the good times. And then...

And then there were moments when he looked at her, and
her whole world seemed to disappear except for his eyes.

She found herself daydreaming about him as she worked,
not only as an employer she wanted to please, but as something more. Her
father's warning rang in her mind, but Bella couldn't help herself.

The way he moved, his muscles rippling under his
shirt... how his hair fell over his eyes... and the way his lips caressed her
name.

“Bella.”

Startled out of her reverie, Bella stood, flustered.
She could feel her face burning and prayed it wasn't too noticeable in the dim
light. He moved as softly as a predator stalking prey, and she had been
surprised by him more than once, but never before while she was thinking
such... things.

Bella cleared her throat, trying to regain her
composure. “Sir?”

“I wanted to show you something.”

The tone of the Baron's voice gave nothing away, but
set Bella's heart to pounding nonetheless. She nodded. “As you wish, sir.”

He turned and walked away without waiting to see if she
would follow.

Bella hurried after the Baron as he lead her through
Castle von Ursus' winding halls. His long strides kept him far ahead of her, far
enough that she kept being distracted by his form as he walked, especially the
way his buttocks clenched...

She shook her head and tried to keep pace without being
distracted.

The Baron led her through the halls so quickly she was
very nearly lost, even after she had been cleaning the castle top to bottom.
Finally, he led her out into the grounds behind the castle from a small door
she had never before noticed.

Bella tried to gather her breath to ask where they were
going, but he stopped not long after, in front of a small stone cottage that
must have once been the home of a gardener or groundskeeper back when the
castle held a larger family.

Now, of course, it was only the two of them.

“I wanted to you to see this.” The Baron's voice was
quiet and strangely withdrawn. “I know how much it's been bothering you to have
your father far away. This cottage hasn't been used in some time, but I wanted
you to know it was here.”

He took a deep breath. “If you wish, I will have it
repaired so your father can live here on these grounds for as long as you work
for me.”

Bella's heart leapt in her chest. She didn't know what
to say. She had been second guessing herself, wondering if she had made up all
of her thoughts of the Baron's inner gentle side, but this – she had never
expected he would do something like this.

“Sir...” she whispered, overcome. “I don't know what to
say.”

The Baron smiled. “Does that mean you like it?”

“Sir...” Bella stared at him, marveling.

Not daring to think too much about what she was about
to do, Bella took a step forward and kissed him.

His eyes widened in surprise, and then closed. Bella
felt an electric shock pass between them, a pang of need so strong she might
not have believed it if, when she broke away, the Baron hadn't had the same
look, dumbfounded, on his face.

“Thank you, sir.” She whispered. “I won't forget this.”

~

That night, Bella lay awake for long hours, remembering
the Baron's lips on hers. How could she have been so daring? And yet, every
time she thought on it, she felt a desire like she had never known and didn't
think she would have ever been able to have him be so kind and not want to kiss
him.

What was she going to do?

But surely the Baron wouldn't fire her – he knew she
appreciated the gesture, that was all.

Bella tried to calm her beating heart and keep her
thoughts from him, but it was hard, so hard not to imagine kissing him once
more, sliding her hands down his muscled arms and letting him clutch her
tightly. Feeling their bodies press together as they bared their flesh,
drinking each other in. The way it would feel when he buried his cock deep
inside her...

A mournful cry echoed through the castle, shattering
her fantasy.

Whatever beast roamed these halls sounded particularly
pained tonight. It made her heart ache until she could bear it no longer.
Somehow she knew in her heart of hearts it was in pain. Something or someone
had changed things here in the castle, and Bella had the sinking feeling it was
her.

Sliding from her four-poster bed, she moved to the door
on bare feet. The luxurious carpet gave no sound as she tiptoed across it, her
silken nightgown brushing soundlessly against her smooth legs. She knew she
shouldn't. But she had to.

The knob too worked quietly, as though the whole room
was conspiring to free her. Taking a deep breath, Bella stepped out into the
hall.

She could see nothing in the gloom of the
night-shrouded castle, but footfalls not her own still echoed on the stone.
Bella was not alone here.

Her heart beating so loudly she felt sure someone would
hear, Bella took one step, then another. Still no one.

She turned the corner, and found herself face to face
with the beast.

A dark form loomed before her, great and terrifying. At
first, she thought it was turned away, that she might back up and it would
never know, but then the great head swung towards her, and Bella knew she had
been caught.

She froze, heart pounding.

Oh please, oh please, pass me by.

But her prayers fell on deaf ears, and the dark shape
did not pass her by.

Instead, it loomed before her, greater even than she
would have thought possible by the sound of its footfalls and the size of the
castle halls. It seemed blurry and indistinct in the dark until she realized
that the shape itself was indistinct. It was a great beast after all, one
covered in fur.

She thought at first it stood on two legs like a man,
but as it approached it was on all fours. Bella could smell it now, a deep
musky smell that filled her with terror and a strange longing. Heart in her
throat, she waited to die.

But the blow she expected never came.

Instead, she heard a heavy breathing and realized the
beast was smelling her. She could feel a soft exhale on her belly, then her
thighs, as the creature lowered its head. The thin gauze of her nightgown
swayed with the beast’s breath, but Bella didn’t dare move away lest it provoke
the creature into attacking.

It breathed in deeply once more, and Bella felt a cool
wetness press against her legs. The beast’s nose touched her through the thin
silk of her nightgown. She struggled not to flinch or scream.

The nose traced its way down her leg, until it reached
the hem of her nightgown and its muzzle brushed against her bare ankle. She
could feel its warm breath on her fair skin.

Her pussy tingled with each exhalation. Now she pressed
her lips together not to hold back a scream, but a moan. Why was her body
responding to the touch of such a beast? How could this be happening?