Page 32 of Beauty and the Beastmaster

He lifted her off her feet, kissed her, and started walking. His home was simple, like hers, but she was pretty sure there was a bed in it, somewhere.

* * *

Blake cursed when he looked into the beauty shop window. All was dark. Gabi wasn’t here. Fuck this!

He’d been doing his best to remain unseen, to observe without being observed, but he was tired of waiting.

Waiting had never been one of his strengths. He was not a patient man.

He walked into the ice cream shop next door, where a very pretty blonde busied herself wiping down the small tables to one side. She greeted him, smiled, and walked to a position behind the counter where several flavors of ice cream were on display.

“I don’t want ice cream,” Blake said sharply. “I was hoping for a haircut, but the shop next door seems to be closed.”

“It is, but I think just for the day. If you can wait until tomorrow…”

“I don’t want to wait,” he snapped.

The blonde’s smile faded. Weirdly, a burst of cold air came out of nowhere, as if someone had turned on the air conditioning at full blast. The day was much too cool for air conditioning, even in an ice cream shop. The chill didn’t last, so he dismissed it.

“There’s a barber shop in Eufaula,” she said. “I’d be happy to give you directions.”

He waved her off and left in a huff.

His fingers began to tingle, then they started to itch. He glanced down to study his hands. They didn’t look any different, but what an odd sensation! It was as if all his anger had settled in his fingers and he could feel that anger growing until it burned.

Blake shoved his hands in his pockets, then headed back the way he’d come, north on Main Street, right on a side street, toward the abandoned B&B he’d called home for the past few days.

The house he’d commandeered was in view when the world began to swim; colors changed, became brighter, and then he saw hues in the air he hadn’t realized existed. He lifted a hand, tried to touch the colors but couldn’t. After a moment he shoved his hands back into his pockets, where they seemed to be safe. What the hell? Was he having some kind of a breakdown? If he was it was all Gabi’s fault.

Everything that had gone wrong in his life was her fault.

He headed for the back door of the B&B, but before he reached it a woman stepped between him and the door. He hadn’t even seen her before that moment, hadn’t realized she was there.

Blake pulled his hands out of his pockets and held them up. The woman, a pretty blonde but not the one from the ice cream shop, held up her own hands as if shielding herself.

“Whoa, don’t point those things at me,” she said.

Blake felt dizzy. The vision before him swam so he wasn’t entirely sure that the woman was real. “What the hell is happening to me?”

“Don’t worry, honey. You’ll understand soon enough. I’m here to teach you everything you need to know about what you really are. What’s your name?”

He’d been hiding, he didn’t want anyone to know he was here, but he found he couldn’t lie to her. “Blake. Blake Pierce.”

“Blake Pierce, I’ve been sensing your presence here for days. It’s very nice to meet you.”

“Who are you?” he asked, his words slightly slurred.

“You can call me Jenna.”

Chapter 11

Sex with Silas was great. It took her away, made her forget everything ugly in the world. Lying together after was also pretty damn good. She hadn’t been this relaxed in years, since well before Blake. Looking back, Gabi wondered if she’d ever been this content.

It would be much too easy to fall in love with him. She held on and steeled her heart, what was left of it. This couldn’t last, but while it did she was going to enjoy it.

She could stay in this bed all day, lose herself in Silas for a while. She had to enjoy every minute, because it wasn’t forever.

He seemed to be as content as she was, at least for now. Neither of them made a move to leave the bed for several long, wonderful minutes. The phone in his kitchen began to ring, the sound distant and yet a reminder that they were not alone in the world. Silas ignored the phone, and eventually it stopped ringing. No more than a minute later the persistent ring started again.