in with an arm braced on either side of her body. “Because that’s what you get off on, princess. You want me to put you over my knee and flip up your skirt so everyone in the room can see how wet your cunt gets when I spank that pert little ass of yours. You’ll get off harder knowing you have an audience.”
She’s breathing hard enough that I take the coffee back again to prevent her from spilling it on herself. Isabelle narrows her eyes. “That’s not fair. You just said this wasn’t a kink thing and now you’re throwing a kink thing in my face. You don’t get to have it both ways, Beast. You just don’t.”
She’s not wrong. “I’m telling you to trust me, Isabelle. No more. No less.” I state it blandly, as if I’m not asking for the stars when we both know I am. She might trust me with her body, with her safety, but she’s never quite trusted me with her heart and future. Not yet.
She considers me for a long moment and finally nods, but not like she likes it. “Okay. But if you’re only giving me an hour, I have to start now.”
I step back. “By all means.”
She picks up her coffee, as prim as the princess we call her, and strides back toward the bedroom. Gaeton walks through the doorway right as she gets there, and she goes up on her toes to give him a quick kiss. No telling if Isabelle notices the tension that thrums through his body at the contact, because she’s gone before I get another look at her face.
Gaeton, though. He’s not awake enough to hide from me. His expression reflects the growing determination not to let this go. Or, rather, not to let her go. I still have to seduce him into agreeing to a new set of terms.
Time. It all takes so much damn time.
I pour him a cup of coffee and hand it over as he reaches me. He eyes it like I might have tossed some poison in, too, but ultimately takes a sip. “I’m sore as fuck.”
That surprises a snort out of me. “If you came out of yesterday not sore, you wouldn’t be human.”
He leans a hip against the counter next to me. A little too close to be strictly professional, but not close enough to see it as an invitation. He’s wearing those gray sweatpants again, and his big cock is a clear imprint against the front. Fuck, those things should be illegal.
“Beast.” He says my name slowly, amusement flickering to life in his tone. “Are you checking out my dick?”
No point in denying it. If I want him to come to terms with us wanting each other, playing coy is the wrong call. “Yeah.”
“Funny fuck, aren’t you?” He takes another sip of coffee, watching me over the rim of his cup.
I lean back against the counter. “Don’t think I’m going to forget the raincheck from last night.”
“Hmmm.” He doesn’t look away, though a faint blush darkens his cheeks. Finally, Gaeton says, “Why is Isabelle in a huff?”
Part of me wants to ignore his changing the subject, but I’ve learned to be a patient hunter over the years. I don’t have weeks to play this out, but I do have a little time. It’d be foolish not to utilize it. “She needs clothes. If we send for ones she already owns, Cordelia will figure out where we are and retrieve her.”
Gaeton grins. “You called Tink.”
“I called Tink.”
He stretches, his fingertips brushing the ceiling. The move puts his entire body on display, and I allow myself to enjoy the show. Gaeton snorts. “Guess I’ll get dressed, too. Tink and Hook might appreciate the sweatpants, but it hardly sends the right message.”
I nod. “They’ll be here in an hour.”
Gaeton rumbles out a laugh. “You only gave Isabelle an hour’s notice? No wonder she’s pissed.” He fills his coffee cup back to the brim. “We doing this tonight?”
“I don’t think it’s wise to wait. It’s a Band-Aid, but it might make Ursa back off long enough for us to figure things out and return to the territory.” Even that might not be enough to divert her at this point, but I don’t think she’s hungry enough to try for a full-scale war. I could be wrong. I’ve been wrong before, and people I cared about paid the cost.
I won’t let it happen again.
Gaeton stares at his bedroom door. “Think it’s a mistake