Page 60 of Beauty

“No.”

“Yes,” he keeps insisting.

I snort. “We almost sound like a boring old couple arguing now. And no, absolutely not ‘tiny.’”

“Maybe I’d like to be a boring old couple,” he muses, pressing another kiss to my shoulder. “Beauty.”

The thought makes my heart flutter.

But could we have such a future together?

Suddenly, my stomach roars.

And he definitely noticed, judging from the frown on his face. “You’re hungry.”

“It’s fine,” I reply. I take a much-needed sip of my water and check our cupboards. There are only a few pieces of bread left and some jam in the fridge. Just one more day.

I sigh.

“What’s wrong?” Beast asks.

“We’re running out of food,” I reply.

“Well, we can get more,” he says.

I place my cup down. “How? We don’t have any money.”

He shrugs. “Steal it.”

I frown. “No. That’s wrong.”

He snorts and points at himself. “I’ve lived as a criminal.”

I make a face. “Well, it doesn’t have to be that way. We could try something else.”

“How?” he says, tilting his head. “Beg for food?”

I roll my eyes. “No, I mean like … shouldn’t we go find some jobs?”

His face grows tighter, darker, more intense. Like all the joy has been sucked out of him. “No.”

A pang hits my stomach. “Why not?”

What’s wrong with a regular job?

“Have you seen me?” he replies with a furrowed brow.

“Yes. Of course. That doesn’t have to mean anything.” It’s hard not to look at him, that’s for sure, especially when he wears so little that I can practically look underneath.

“No, no way,” he says, shaking his head.

I sigh out loud. “C’mon. We need to figure something out. We can’t stay here if we don’t do something to get money.”

“Stealing works too,” he says, grabbing a cup. “I won’t hurt anyone.”

“If you steal once, what are you going to do next? Steal again?” I fold my arms. “Forever and ever?”

“Whatever it takes,” he says like it’s the most normal thing in the world.