Page 45 of The Beast & His Beauty

With haze clouding my judgment, I tell her, “My name is Henry.”

She whispers the name I used to go by and my eyes close. A pain rushes through me, and I shush her. Do not call me that, I wish to tell her but the words fail me.

To my surprise, she confides in me. “I do not know what to do with these feelings.”

“What feelings? Are you upset that I killed Lord Crawe? They were here to steal you away.” I know I should not be condemning men for trying to do the same thing I did, but I cannot help it. “If they had somehow found a way into the castle, they would have done everything in their power to take you back to the village and to kill me.”

“I know that is what they would have done. And I am not sad that Lord Crawe is dead. I am happy he’s dead. I have wanted men like him dead for longer than you know.”

She leans her head on my shoulder, and I keep my arms around her.

“It is,” Elle continues, “quite a different thing to see the others and to not know…” She’s not able to finish.

I gather her close to my chest and smooth down her hair while the last of her tears run out of her eyes. It must have been a shock for Elle to see so many dead at one time, all by my hands.

Elle’s shoulders finish shaking, and on her next breath, she lifts her face to mine and kisses me.

She kisses me as if she needs to in order to breathe. Her warm lips mold to mine and her chest presses to mine. She kisses me.

I go still, shocked, but then my body responds to hers as it has always done. I kiss her back, my heart unsteady at this contact. Elle is kissing me of her own volition. I have not demanded anything from her, and she is kissing me. It is a salty, tear-filled kiss, but it is a relief to us both.

When she pulls back, I run my knuckles down her cheek, reveling in touching her while I look into her eyes. It is so different from when she wore the blindfold. So much of her expressiveness is in her eyes, and it is a sin that I have not delved into the depths of her beauty like this before.

“I do not wish to harm.” I take a breath, stroking my thumb over her cheek. Elle’s skin is the softest I have ever felt. She is the most beautiful woman I have ever touched. I would steal her from her father’s house a hundred times over and never be able to bring myself to regret it. “I did not want to kill them, Elle, and I do not want to harm anyone else who comes here. But I will not let them take you.”

Elle’s lip trembles. “But what of my father?” she questions, and I am thankful I have prepared an answer, although I do not know its truthfulness in all certainty. I’m fairly sure of it, but not entirely as the world becomes red when the beast takes control.

“I would never harm him,” I tell her. “He is safe. He wasn’t among them.” She holds me tighter than before. Her gratitude is clinging to me.

I would lie a thousand times over to feel her touch forever. Although I pray that what I said is true. And if it’s not, I pray she lives in peaceful ignorance. I need her to love me. Simply to survive, I need her to love me like this.

ELLE

The beast kisses me, or rather the prince, I do not know which and I don’t understand what my mind has done to see him how he is now and yet as he was…but I know he is both. And I know that I love him. His hand rises to my face and his other arm circles my back to draw me closer.

I’m a shattered mess, but he does not seem to care. He kisses me deeply, making soft sounds into the kiss of the likes I have not heard from him since the night I found myself in his bed. A deep primal need that’s as intoxicating as the magic that surrounds the castle.

I don’t even try to understand while he kisses me, his fingers stroking the side of my face and down my neck. It is no use when I have no wits about myself. I can feel his desire for me, and he must feel my desire for him, but I do not know if I can offer him that right now. I’m exhausted from crying for so long, and I am also exhausted by the relief I feel at having the beast here with me.

I know that sounds like it cannot be true, but I could almost fall asleep if he weren’t kissing me like this. I would not have minded if he wanted to lie down on the pillows with me and sleep for a long time. He may need it as much as I do, after all that has happened and now that he allows me to see him.

Because in addition to seeing him with my own eyes, I am touching him, and my hands confirm what I feel. I cannot imagine that the beast’s body is an illusion. It feels too real under my hands, and when I peek out from under my lashes to make sure the warm skin and the muscle and bone underneath my fingertips match what I see with my eyes, they are always correct. I have no reason to disbelieve them.

His eyes are the same…but at this moment he has the body of a man. Strong sharp features and a rugged yet charming look. He is both. How was that never shared in the lore? It is as if he can shift from one to the other. My heart beats wildly and the same feeling from the first night returns. A deep need to touch him and to be bound to him. As if our love was fated. As if nothing else matters.

I feel almost breathless from how tenderly he kisses me, and how deeply.

It makes me dizzy to be kissed like this. The beast pulls away and looks into my eyes with curiosity. I put my hands to his face and feel his carved cheekbones. He flinches as if my touch pains him. I pull away, not wanting to stop him from loving me.

“I did not mean to hurt you.”

“No? Does it not disturb you to see me like this?” he questions and then adds, “Knowing what I am?”

“No,” I tell him honestly in a whisper, then lean in and offer him a gentle kiss. He closes his eyes for a few seconds, then opens them again, watching my face. “My prince.”

With my words, the magic is broken, snapping right before my eyes.

He jerks away, getting from his feet and taking a step back from the bed. His sudden withdrawal shocks me, and I put a hand to my chest.