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“So you said.”
Beast shifts forward in his seat, and I catch a whiff of his scent as he moves. Fuck, he really smells good. “I mean it. That was a shitty fucking thing to say.”
“True though.”
“Not in the fucking slightest!”
Knocking back the bourbon for dutch courage, I settle the glass on the coffee table and meet Beast’s angry glare. “But it was. You were right about everything, Beast.”
“Right about what?”
“Before when you said that I was flirting with you, Iwas. I dressed like I did tonight to get you to notice me,” I admit.
“Princess, don’t do this,” he warns.
“I wanted to tempt you. I wanted you to want me. Fucking stupid because to you I’m just a kid,right?” I press, knowing in my heart that he’s been lying to himself as much as he’s been lying to me.
“Princess, I’ve told you—”
“To the King, I’m a mindless bimbo whose only purpose is to be someone’s trophy wife, and to my dad, I’m no better than a fucking whore, adisappointment,” I interrupt. When he doesn’t argue, I heave out a sigh. “I’ve grown up around bad men my whole life, Beast. I’ve seen and heard shit that would screw with most people’s heads. The irony is I stopped being a kid a long time ago, yet the moment I dress like a woman I’m made to feel worthless. It fucking stinks.”
Beast scrapes a hand over his face. “It’s a tough world we live in, Princess. Tougher for you.”
“Because I’m a woman?” I ask.
“Yes, because you’re a woman, but also because you’re Carter’s kid—”
“Daughter. I’m hisdaughter. I’m not a kid.”
“Daughter,” Beast corrects, his gaze dropping to my bare legs then quickly lifting back up again. “You have to be ten times tougher and twenty times smarter to survive. There ain’t no getting away from that fact. This business we’re in is full of men who will either want to fuck you or end you.”
“And where do you fall, Beast? Do you want toendme orfuckme?” I ask.
His eyes flare with, what? Anger? Lust? I’m honestly not certain.
“Neither. I’m here to protect you. Guide you. Keep you safe from making stupid decisions,” he answers and I swallow down the disappointment I feel at his lack of honesty. We both know he wants to fuck me.
“And yet you stopped me from shooting Saxon, from making a point that I’m not to be messed with.Thatwas a stupid decision.”
“I didn’t stop you. You made a choice. The right one, by the way,” he adds quickly.
“You and I both know that isn’t true.”
Guilt flashes across his features. “I was trying to protect you,” he admits.
“I know that,” I say with a heavy sigh.
“Princess, there’s a time to take action, and a time when you need to take a step back. I’ve learnt that the hard way.”
“So give me some tips on surviving this world,oh wise one,” I say, trying and failing to bring a little levity to the moment.
“That’s easy, you need to pay attention.”
“Pay attention?” I shift on the sofa as he pours himself another drink, my gaze drifting to his thick forearms and the muscles that flex beneath his beautifully tattooed skin. “You want another?”
He catches me staring at him, but instead of pretending I’m not, I just nod. “Sure.”
Our fingers brush as he hands me the glass, but I ignore the tingly feeling his touch gives me and wait for him to continue.
