Moody and the Beast

by Kristen Painter

  He wasn’t going to do that, unfortunately. “Are you all right?”

  “You kissed me.”

  He nodded. “I did. I claim that fully. But you didn’t answer my question. Are you all right?” He was starting to wonder.

  “I don’t know. I feel…tingly all over.”

  He raised one brow. He felt a little tingly himself. “I think that’s pretty standard. If it’s a good kiss, anyway. You have been kissed before, haven’t you?”

  Her fingers went to her mouth. “Not like that,” she breathed out. Then her eyes widened, and she looked at him. “What did you do? Did you use magic? Or release some kind of incantation?”

  He held his hands up. “I promise I just kissed you.”

  She put her hands to her face. “Then why do I feel like this?”

  “Like what?”

  “Like I might faint. And I’m not the least bit hungry. For food.” Her mouth scrunched up. “Oh no. This isn’t good. This isn’t good at all.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  It wasn’t good because Theo liked him. Her body, traitor that it was, wanted more of his mouth on hers. Where was that coming from? And why?

  Had Amelia done something? She was a witch, after all, and clearly a very powerful one if her magic created this town. Plus, she’d told Theo to be kind to Robin. And to help him have fun. How kind did Amelia expect her to be? And what sort of fun did she think Robin needed to have? And why didn’t the idea of fun with him repulse her?

  “Why isn’t it good?” Robin asked.

  She couldn’t very well tell him that she didn’t want to like him. That went against the whole point of being his companion. And it would hurt his feelings, something she unfortunately cared about. Plus, she didn’t want to lie to him. She did like him. She just didn’t want to like him in the kind of way that caused her insides to turn to jelly.

  Because of all that, she remained as tongue-tied as if he were still kissing her.

  A look of understanding crossed Robin’s face. “You’re not single, are you?” He turned away before she could answer. “Of course you aren’t. How foolish I am to think a woman with your wit and beauty would have no love interest at home?”

  “No,” she whispered.

  He turned back to her, shaking his head. “I knew it. Why I ever thought otherwise, I don’t know. I’m sure half the kingdom has made a bid for your hand.”

  Not hardly. She had a suspicion she wasn’t going to be able to hide her reputation from him for much longer. She swallowed and spoke softly. “That’s not what I meant.”

  “Whoever your special someone is, I hope they know how lucky they are.” He frowned as if her words had just registered. “What?”

  “I am single.” She stared at her shoes. They’d seen better days. Like most of her wardrobe. “I don’t have anyone. I spend all my time looking after my father and working.”

  That was all true. Just not the full story, but he didn’t really need to know the rest of it, did he?

  “You are a remarkable woman, Theodora.”

  No, she wasn’t. She was angry and irritable and bitter about her life. Although perhaps being away from her life had lightened that part of her enough to make him blind to it. “I’m not that remarkable.”

  He smiled like he was happy to placate her.

  She needed air. And space. She was too close to him. Too immersed in his world too quickly. “I was planning to come see you, actually. To ask if you’d like to go for a walk. I’d like very much to get outside.” The walk had been Amelia’s suggestion, but Theo was firmly behind the idea now. Outside, she could have space without making it seem like she needed it because of him.

  “You know I can’t go far.”

  “No, but you could show me around the rest of the garden. You must be able to go that far. Maybe into the woods a little?”

  “These woods aren’t really ideal for wandering. Too dangerous.”

  “They are?”

  He nodded. “There are lightning bugs in there that will zap you. And a variety of poisonous flora and fauna.”

  She frowned. And yet, he lived here.

  “You’re wondering why I built the house here, aren’t you?”

  “I am.”

  His eyes narrowed slightly. “The woods were nothing like this when we chose this spot.”

  “‘We’ meaning…”

  “Yes. Her. Anyway, the enchanted forest existed, as did this area known as Dark Acres, but the day that I woke up here after losing my throne…that’s the same day the woods were suddenly surrounding the house. Before then, they had been much sparser and farther away.”

  “You’re serious.”

  “Very. As I told you at the mine, this town has its own magic, but then, you came through the gate, so you must know that already.”

  She crossed her arms. “I didn’t come through so much as I went over.”

  “Oh?” He laughed. “I’ve heard the gate doesn’t always open for everyone who wants it to. Doesn’t mean you aren’t welcome. Just that you need to work for it a little more.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Like everything in my life.” She instantly shoved that thought down and smiled. “So if not a walk, how about a drive in that beautiful car out there?”

  He lost his happy expression. “I can’t go far.”

  “That’s all right.”

  He took a deep breath. “I mean it.”

  “How far can you go?”

  He grimaced, and a long silence stretched out between them before he answered. “To the end of the driveway.”

  “But that’s not even—really? That’s it?”

  “Yes.”

  A new thought suddenly came to her. “You said you have Henry drive you, though, right? So you must be able to go farther with him, then. Let’s get him to take us somewhere.”

  Robin’s grimace remained, and he shook his head. “Henry doesn’t drive me. He drives Mrs. Applestock or Mrs. Baton or Elswood if they need to go into town. Doesn’t matter who’s behind the wheel when I’m in the car. It stalls at the border of my reach.”

  He looked so miserable. Without thinking, she grabbed his hand and squeezed it. “Come on, let’s go for a walk and talk about something else. Show me the rest of your garden.”

  He held on to her hand, suddenly looking a little less miserable. “The garden Vesta built?”

  “That might be true, but it’s your garden now. You should get out there and enjoy it. Plus, we might see Pepper.”

  He got an odd look on his face for just a moment, then he nodded. “All right, let’s go. This way.”

  They passed a lot of doors on the way down to the opposite end of the long hall.

  “How many bedrooms does this place have?”

  He snorted. “Too many. These aren’t all bedrooms, though. One is a sewing room; another is a guest office. There’s an upstairs sitting room. All rooms I don’t use. But a lot of guest rooms, too. And then there’s the rear stairs.”

  He manually opened a door at the very end of the hall. “These are really for staff, but since no one’s ever at this end of the house, they don’t get used much. Maybe not at all. I’m not sure. But they’re the fastest way down to the garden from here.”

  “Good to know.” She went through the door he was holding for her. “This place is kind of a maze.”

  “It’s easy to navigate when you have nowhere else to go.”

  “I’m sure that’s true.”

  They started down. He let her go ahead of him. “How was Amelia when she left? Are you sure she wasn’t mad?”

  Theo answered as she hit the landing and turned to take the second flight. “She didn’t seem that way to me.”

  “Good.” He walked down the stairs behind her. “I think I’ll send her a bunch of roses anyway. She was admiring the purple ones in the garden.”

  “I bet she’d love that.”

  “I think so, too.” He went ahead of her a little. “Door, open.” It did, and the back
patio lay before them.

  “That’s really a thoughtful thing to do.” She squinted at him as they went outside. There was no sun, but it was still bright. “You know, you’re much nicer than I thought you would be.”

  “Door, close,” he commanded, grinning. “What were you expecting? Or shouldn’t I ask that?”

  “Only if you want the truth.”

  They strolled toward the pavilion.

  “I’m fine with the truth. I prefer it. So yes, I would like to know what you expected. But I also want to know what the people of Limbo think of me. Of what they think I did. Mostly, I want to know what lies Vesta has used to poison my memory. Besides my supposed plan to sell the citizens of the kingdom into orc slavery.”

  Theo stopped walking as they entered the vine-covered pavilion. The shade and the sound of the fountain were nice, and the air smelled sweet from the small white flowers on the vines. She didn’t want to tell him about Vesta’s lies. The very thought of how he’d react made her hurt for him. “Please don’t ask me that.”

  He turned to look at her. There was pain in his eyes. “Are they all that bad?”

  She looked away, unable to find the words.

  “That’s answer enough.” He let out a sharp, bitter laugh. “Do you have any idea how deeply it cuts to know the kingdom I loved has been turned against me?”

  She glanced at him. He was staring up, but she doubted he was looking at the clusters of tiny star-shaped flowers. He was smiling in a way that showed every bit of hurt inside him. Why had she started this conversation? “I’m so sorry, Robin.”

  “Why should you be sorry? You didn’t do this to me.”

  She took a step toward him, something inside her unraveling. “I’m sorry because I hate the idea of you being hurt by the things I might say. No, I didn’t expect to like you, but I do. I imagined you’d be this wretched, cruel old beast of a man who was going to make my next year unbearable, but you’re nothing like that. You’re young and handsome, and you’ve been kinder and more generous to me than anyone’s been since my mother died.”

  She took a breath. “More than that, it’s clear to me that your kindness isn’t an act.”

  The pain vanished from his face as concern took its place. “Why haven’t people been kind to you?”

  She barked out the same kind of laugh he had just a few moments ago. That was what he’d heard out of everything she’d said? “Because…” Time to tell him the truth. He’d learn it eventually. “Because I am not kind to them. I’m not a nice person. I’m angry and bitter, and to be perfectly honest, I’m single because no sane man in Limbo wants to saddle himself with a woman like me.”

  Robin frowned as though he didn’t understand. “You haven’t been like that here.”

  “Because I can’t afford for you not to like me. So I’ve been working on my attitude and curbing my tongue. But you’ve made it easy to be different, too. Maybe because you didn’t know what I was really like, so you treated me like anyone else. Maybe because I’m away from all the reminders of how hard my life is. I don’t know.”

  He came closer and brushed a strand of hair off her cheek. “Why are you like that when you’re home?”

  She took a deep breath. Then another one. “When my mother died, the light went out of my life. Everything that was good died with her. The darkness sucked me in, and I soon realized how easy it was to give in to the anger. Especially when I realized it made people afraid of me. Made them leave me alone. I liked that better than all the pity I got for having a dead mother and a gambling father, for losing my schooling, for having to go to work so young, for all the bad hands I was dealt.”

  His brow bent, but he said nothing.

  She sniffed. “After a while, I didn’t remember how to be happy anymore. And then, in a little while longer, I didn’t care, because the anger owned me. It was what kept me going. What protected me. People let me be. They started calling me Moody Middlebright.”

  The pain was back in his gaze, but this time it was for her. “I understand very well how the darkness can pull at you. And how anger can be the easiest thing to feel. But I am so sorry for all the bad things that have happened in your life.”

  She shook her head. “You’re the last person who should be apologizing to me. You’ve had your own troubles. More than your share, really.” She sighed. “How are you not a raging storm of hate and resentment?”

  “I was in the early days. Still struggle with it a lot.” He smiled a little. “But I can’t let myself go down that path very far, or I’m not sure I’d come back. It’s dark and inviting.”

  She nodded. “I know.”

  He gave her a curious look. “Maybe your coming here was what we both needed.”

  “Amelia said I should try to get you to have fun.”

  “She did, did she?”

  “Yep.” Sharing her truth with him had made her feel lighter, a very unexpected side effect.

  He came closer, leaving very little space between them. “You know what’s fun?”

  She looked up at him. Into his sapphire eyes with those long, beautiful lashes. “What?”

  He cupped her jaw in his hands. “This.” Then he pressed his mouth to hers in a long, slow kiss. He took his time, like she was a sweet to be savored. An indulgence that he wanted to explore.

  She reached out for something to hold on to, a way to steady herself from the dizziness of sudden pleasure. Her hands found his trim waist, hard with muscle beneath the thin layer of his T-shirt. She tried to think about how this shouldn’t be happening, but forming thoughts was impossible, unless it was to focus on him and the firm press of his lips and the warmth of his body under her hands.

  She’d never been kissed like this. Not once. And if this was what kissing was really like, she wanted more of it. From him.

  Thankfully, he seemed in no hurry to be done.

  Minutes later, when he ended it, she was breathless.

  His smile was languid and confident. “See? Wasn’t that fun?”

  She nodded silently. She understood the question, but words escaped her. All she could do was…smile.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Robin wanted to kiss her again. He wanted to spend the rest of the day kissing her. But he didn’t want to scare her off either. At least she looked happy. Quite the opposite of the picture she’d painted of herself. Was he the reason for that change? Perhaps. But probably best to leave things there.

  He took her hand and started to walk toward the woods.

  After a few moments, she said, “I don’t know what to say or think about all that.”

  “The kissing?”

  “Yes.”

  “Is that because you don’t want me to do it again?” He braced himself for her answer.

  She laughed softly, and even in the lower light of the pavilion, he could see pinkness in her cheeks. “No. If anything, I want you to do it again, more than I should.”

  He grinned. Good to know they were on the same page where that was concerned.

  “It just feels so strange,” she continued.

  “You’ll get used to it.”

  She snorted, seemingly back to her usual self. “No, I meant kissing you.”

  “Why?”

  She gave him an amused look. “You were king. My king, for however brief a time.”

  If only she’d been his queen. How very different would his life be now? “I understand how that might be a bit of a sticky wicket for you, but I would prefer that you think of us as equals.”

  She didn’t say anything for a moment, but it was clear from the worry in her gaze that something heavier was on her heart. “That’s a hard thing, but I’ll do my best.”

  He had a feeling he knew the source of that worry. “And I’ll do this. I’ll promise that nothing you do and nothing that happens between us will cause me to void your indenture. I know you’re concerned for your father’s well-being.”

  “I am. Thank you.”

  “Does that make the tho
ught of kissing me again easier?”

  She smiled. “Maybe.” Her smile got a little bigger. “So, how about that party idea?”

  He groaned.

  “You could start small. Just a little dinner party. Amelia and her niece.”

  He still didn’t like the idea of the awkwardness that could follow, but he wanted to make Theodora happy. “If I invite Emeranth, then I should invite her beau as well. Deacon Evermore. He’s sort of the law in this town. But five is an odd number for a dinner party, isn’t it? I suppose I could invite his sister, Gracie, too. She’s a friend of Emeranth’s, and I imagine someone you could very easily be friends with.”

  “Sounds perfect. How about tomorrow night?”

  “I wasn’t saying—” He sighed, but there was no real emotion in it. He was far too wrapped up in the feel of her hand in his to be frustrated about anything. “I suppose that would be all right. I’ll have to ask Mrs. Applestock if that’s enough time for her to organize and prepare everything for the meal.”

  “I think Mrs. Applestock will explode with happiness if you tell her she’s going to get to cook for six people. And that the meal is actually going to be served in the dining room.”

  He laughed. “You’re probably right.”

  She inhaled suddenly, as if she’d just realized something.

  “What is it?”

  “This is going to be a fancy kind of gathering, isn’t it?”

  “It doesn’t need to be. Why?”

  She looked upset. “Because this is the fanciest outfit I have, and it’s not remotely fancy.”

  “I’m sure we can do something about that.”

  “You don’t understand. I don’t have money for clothes.” She frowned harder. “I don’t have money for anything.”

  “I’m happy to give you the money for—”

  “No. Please, I don’t want money from you.”

  “And I don’t want you to worry about this. We’ll find a solution. I’ll speak to Amelia. I’m sure she’ll have an answer.” He hesitated. “We could always have a cookout. Those are casual, right?”

  Theodora made a face. “And ruin Mrs. Applestock’s fun? As much as I detest hand-me-downs and previously worn things, I’m also used to them. Maybe there’s a charity shop in town. I do have a few dollars.”