Kissing his hand once more, Ruby rubbed his palm against the side of her face. “I know I haven’t always been the best sister, and I’m sorry for that. I love you, Cameron. I love you with all my heart, and I would trade places with you in a second if I could.”
With a heavy heart, Ruby returned his hand to his side and rested her chin on the railing of his bed to watch him sleep.
He looked so young and pale, lying there helpless with tubes running from every direction.
She thought of Lincoln and wondered what he’d looked like as a child. She wondered how alone he must have felt. He’d had no mother to hold his hand when he hurt, no sister to tell him that everything would be all right. How utterly lonely he must have been.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Lincoln stood in the hallway, holding his breath as he listened to Ruby talk to her brother.
Something inside him shifted, the longer he remained there taking in her heartfelt words.
The Beast had never had anyone speak to him in such a way. He’d never known the tender touch of another, never experienced the unconditional love that Ruby obviously felt for her brother.
He leaned heavily against the wall, unable to pull himself away from the whispered words pouring from her lips.
A deep-rooted anger quickly rose up to replace the longing he felt clawing at his insides.
Damn her for making him feel, and damn him for allowing her under his skin.
Lincoln Barone had spent his entire life perfecting the art of solitude. He preferred being alone, found comfort in the things he enjoyed, such as his timber wolf, Satan, his cabin in the woods, and his mother’s roses.
But that was before Ruby Atwood waltzed into his life and disrupted his peace of mind.
Granted, he’d manipulated her there and blackmailed her into staying. But he hadn’t counted on caring for her.
He wanted to dislike her, had been conditioned to resent her since the day he’d heard about her birth, yet now that he had her in his grasp, he could do nothing but crave her.
Pushing away from the wall, Lincoln staggered back toward the stairs and into the safety of his bedroom. But everywhere he went, her scent seemed to haunt him.
He snatched up her clothes that lay across the vanity bench and tossed them across the room before wandering over to the glass-covered rose that sat next to the window.
The last petal had wilted and would fall within a matter of weeks. He wanted to jerk up the glass and rip the damn petal free. It was nothing but a constant reminder of what he would never have…what he would always be.
“What is that for?”
Ruby’s quietly spoken question caught him off guard. He’d been so wrapped up in his anger he hadn’t heard her come up the stairs.
He turned to face her. “What do you want?”
“Why is there a dead rose beneath that glass?” she persisted, inching into the room.
Lincoln wanted to rail at her that it was her dead grandmother’s way of tormenting him. But instead, he said, “How is your brother?”
“He’s sleeping. The nurse said he was getting stronger, and that the sleep helps him heal.” She trailed farther into the room. “Why are you avoiding my question about the rose?”
Lincoln lifted the hood of his cloak, noticing that she didn’t shrink back from his beastly appearance. “It’s part of my curse. When the last petal falls, it seals my fate.”
“Your fate?” She stopped before him.
“This.” He lifted his hand to indicate his face. “I will remain this way until my death.”
Ruby shifted her gaze to the glass case. “Is there no way to break the curse?”
“No way humanly possible,” Lincoln practically snarled. “Your grandmother made sure of that.”
Though Ruby flinched from his tone, she didn’t retreat. “Tell me.”
“There’s nothing to tell.”
She took a step closer and reached up to touch his face. “I think there is.”
Lincoln jerked back, horrified of what she’d intended to do. “Don’t.”
“I can touch your chest but not your face?”
The thought of her soft, perfect hand coming into contact with his hideous face horrified him.
He shook his head and changed the subject. “Dinner will be ready soon. If you would like to change, there are plenty of dresses in the armoire. I’ll leave you to it.” With that, he brushed past her and strode from the room.
The doorbell rang as Lincoln descended the stairs. He lifted his hood to cover his head and opened the door.
Spencer Wright stood on the porch. “I’m looking for Ruby Atwood.”
Lincoln felt as if he’d been kicked in the gut, so great was his fury. How dare the arrogant Spencer show up on his doorstep, asking after what belonged to Lincoln.
And Ruby did belong to him. Even if he had to blackmail her for the rest of her life to keep her there. He would never allow her to leave him now.
“You have the wrong house.” He moved to shut the door.
The unwanted idiot quickly lodged his foot in it. “I know she’s here. You either let me speak with her, or—”
“Spencer?” Ruby called out on her way down the stairs. “I thought that was your voice I heard.”
She came to a stop next to Lincoln and pulled the door wider. “What are you doing here?”
“Looking for you.”
An uncontrollable rage began to simmer in Lincoln’s chest.
Ruby somehow wedged herself between Lincoln and the door, her attention focused on Spencer. “How did you know where to find me?”
“Mrs. Fleming told me where you would be.”
The Beast opened his mouth to threaten Spencer’s life, but Ruby’s next words stopped him.
“She had no right to tell you that. Leave here, Spencer. And never come back.” She slammed the door in his face.
Lincoln’s heart stuttered. Ruby had just run Spencer off without batting an eye.
He stared down at her serene face, unable to voice his feelings.
She calmly looked up at him as if nothing untoward had just happened. “We should hurry and get dressed, or we’ll be late for dinner.”
The Beast stood there slack mouthed long after she marched up the stairs and disappeared from view.
He couldn’t seem to move, his entire body tense with an emotion he’d never experienced before. Was he falling in love with Ruby?
Panic settled in to replace his shock. He couldn’t love her; he wouldn’t allow it. She could never return his feelings, never care for someone as hideous as him. No, Ruby Atwood was far too beautiful and kind to love a beast.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Ruby numbly showered and changed into a pretty blue summer dress she’d found hanging in the armoire.
The Beast would like it, she decided, slipping on a soft pair of white sandals.
Picking up the brush, she paused as she brought it to her hair. Had she really just dressed to please Lincoln Barone, the man who’d blackmailed her into whoring herself to him?
Only, he hadn’t actually forced her to have sex with him, she silently admitted. And he could have, numerous times.
She wondered what it would be like to give herself to him. Would it disgust her? Would he make her do things that she didn’t want to do? Would he hurt her?
Another question cropped up in her mind. Why hadn’t he consummated their arrangement? Did he not find her good enough for him? With his money, he probably had hundreds of women in his bed. Women that cared more about his finances than his looks.
For some reason that thought bothered her.
Suddenly insecure, she sat on the edge of his bed, imagining him lying there, his face in the shadows while dozens of beautiful women used his body.
Shaking off her disturbing thoughts, she moved to stand when her gaze landed on a blanket covering something near the head of the bed.
Without thinking, she reached up and tugged the blanket free.
“A mirror?” she whispered, shocked to find one in his room. It was first one she’d seen in the house since her arrival.
The long, oval-shaped mirror was trimmed in what looked to be antique wood. It would be gorgeous if not for the broken piece of glass along the bottom.
“What are you doing with that?” Lincoln growled, striding into the room with his hood in place. The door slammed shut behind him.
For some reason, Ruby wasn’t afraid. “Just looking at it. I thought you didn’t like mirrors.”
“I don’t,” he shot back, yanking the blanket from her hands. “This particular one was another torturous gift from Agatha Atwood.”
Ruby’s stomach flipped. “My grandmother gave it to you? But why?”
“As I said, to torture me with.”
“I don’t understand,” Ruby persisted, wishing more than anything that she could see his expression.
Lincoln stilled for long moments, standing in front of her with that blanket in his hand. “I will show you, but you have to do something for me in return.”
More curious than afraid, Ruby slowly nodded. “Okay, what?”
“Allow me to touch you.”
Ruby’s heart stuttered. “You mean, sexually?”
“Yes.”
A blush spread up her neck into her face. Though she’d known this moment would come, she wasn’t sure if she was ready for it. She shifted uncomfortably.
Lincoln moved to cover the mirror.
“Wait,” Ruby breathed, reaching up to stop him. “Okay. Just please don’t hurt me.”
He stiffened beneath her touch, but didn’t bite her head off. And with those teeth, Ruby never doubted he could.
Dropping the covering, the Beast pulled the mirror over, stopping directly in front of Ruby. He then threw his leg up onto the bed, slid around behind her, and straddled her.
Ruby watched in the mirror as he reached up and pushed the hood back off his head. His eyes were closed, but the man in the reflection in front of her definitely couldn’t be Lincoln Barone.
“Oh my God,” she whispered, her heart pounding erratically. “Impossible.”
His hair resembled that of the Beast’s, but that was where the similarities ended. The man she saw in the mirror had to be one of the most beautiful men Ruby had ever laid eyes on.
Unable to wrap her mind around what was happening, Ruby turned her head slightly to see the Beast sitting behind her.
She shifted her stunned gaze back to his reflection, only to suck in a startled breath when he leaned in closer and opened his eyes.
“It is you!” There, staring intently at her from over her shoulder, were those same electric blue eyes she’d seen earlier on the Beast.
Her gaze dropped to his mouth, and damn what a mouth he had. Full, sensual, and resting close to her ear.
“What… This is… How?” she stammered, her gaze devouring his handsome face.
“I don’t know how, Ruby. I only know that Agatha sent it to me. I assume it was to torment me with what might have been, would have been, had I not been cursed.”
Ruby couldn’t seem to look away. “This is what you were meant to look like.”
“I can handle anything but your pity, Ruby. Do not pity me.”
Ruby blinked. She hadn’t meant to show him pity.
“Remove the dress.”
Heat rushed to her face. “May I at least shut the curtains? It’s awfully bright in here.”
“I want to see you. All of you. Every expression, every freckle.”
That sent her gaze elsewhere. She couldn’t bring herself to look at him given what she was about to do.
Taking an unsteady breath, Ruby bent, gripped the hem of her dress, and pulled it over her head. It dropped to the floor from numb fingers.
She could hear the Beast’s uneven breathing, feel his shuttering breaths next to her ear. It took everything she had not to cross her hands over her bared breasts.
“Beautiful. You are even more beautiful than I imagined.”
More heat traveled through her.
Ruby had never thought herself beautiful. Passable, maybe, but never beautiful.
She found herself relaxing under his attention.
His hands softly came around her to rest on her abdomen. He gently pulled her back against him and brought his lips to her ear. “Relax. I won’t hurt you.”
Ruby noticed his hands shook. She hesitantly lifted her gaze, surprised to find him staring back at her, devouring her with those electric blue eyes.
Something in his touch melted her insides. She couldn’t look away from him, even with his next whispered words.
“Put your arms around my neck.”
She lifted her arms without question, looping them around his neck.
His blue eyes slid shut. “Touch me, Ruby.”
Ruby slid her fingers into his long, chestnut-colored hair and coasted her palms along his scalp.
A moan slipped from his full, sexy lips. “Again.”
She shyly massaged his head and neck, watching in fascination as his expression changed from pleasure to bliss.
For some reason, it made her feel powerful. She shifted between his jean-clad legs, pushing back against his body heat.
“Ah, Ruby…” Lincoln’s hands inched up her ribs, the pads of his fingers stroking soft circles across her skin.
Ruby experienced her own moan as he brushed against the underside of her suddenly heavy breasts.
Her eyes closed of their own volition. She found herself lost in sensations she’d never imagined possible.
Of all the times she and Spencer had kissed and explored each other’s bodies, Ruby had never experienced the level of desire she now felt in Lincoln’s arms.
Maybe it was the mirror, or perhaps her grandmother’s curse that seduced her in that moment. Whatever the reason, it had to be the most powerful feeling Ruby had ever felt. And she didn’t want it to end.
She tightened her hold on Lincoln’s head and arched her back, telling him without words where she wanted his touch.
A low growl rumbled from his chest. It vibrated against her, adding to her desire as his callused palms covered her breasts.
The rough feel of his hands raking over her aching nipples wrenched a soft cry from Ruby’s lips. Wetness flooded her thighs, and a pulsing sensation settled in her center.
She lifted her eyelids to find Lincoln’s hooded gaze staring back at her.
“Put your legs over mine.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Lincoln’s body shook with a mixture of disbelief and need. Ruby desired him. The evidence of that sat before him now, open and accepting.
He could see the want sparkling in her amazing hazel-colored eyes.
She carefully lifted one of her legs and draped it across his knee before following through with the other.
His gaze lowered down her body to the juncture of her thighs. Lincoln nearly swallowed his tongue.
His shaft hardened past the point of pain so great was his need.
Her sweet woman’s center was small and perfect. The same shade as her olive-colored skin, it glistened with wetness, attesting to the fact that she wasn’t unaffected by him either.
Lincoln could barely breathe. He released her softly rounded breasts and guided his unsteady hands to the insides of her thighs. “I need to touch you, Ruby.”
“Yes,” she whispered, opening wider for him.
Careful of his beastly claws, Lincoln covered her warm mound, coasted the pad of his finger through her hot, wet slit, and gently opened her to his view.
“You’re too small for me.”
Ruby made a strangled sound in the back of her throat, one of her own hands coming down to cover his. She pressed him more firmly against her. “Don’t stop.”
Lincoln had to bite the inside of his mouth to keep from roaring in denial. Judging from her small passage, there was no way he could penetrate her without ripping her apart. Not with his beastly size.
And then Ruby took the decision from him. She reached behind her with her other hand and cupped his massive erection through his jeans.
The Beast within him warred with the man in the mirror. Take her, the Beast demanded, fighting to be unleashed. But the man inside, resisted. “I’ll hurt you, Ruby. If we don’t stop this now, I will hurt you.”
A knock sounded on the bedroom door. “Miss Atwood?”
The arrival of his housekeeper couldn’t have come at a better time, thought Lincoln.
Ruby stilled, her gaze flying toward the door. “Yes, Mrs. Tuff?”
“Your brother is awake. He’s asking for you.”
Ruby’s soft gasp echoed throughout the otherwise quiet room. She jerked her legs off Lincoln’s knees and slammed them closed. “I have to go.”
Lincoln held completely still, unable to move for fear of yanking her back and finishing what they’d started.
She jumped from the bed, snatched up her dress, and turned to face him. Her mouth opened without sound.
Lincoln couldn’t bear the look on her face. He quickly lifted his hood in place and stood as well. “Go.”
Ruby nodded, pulling the dress over her head, slipping on her shoes, and hurrying to the door. She left without another word.
Stumbling to the bathroom, Lincoln turned on the water to the sink and splashed some of the cool liquid onto his overheated face.
He’d almost taken Ruby.
Part of him wished he had. Yet another part, the part of him that still felt compassion, would have been horrified to penetrate her while she writhed in pain. And it would be painful for her. He’d seen how small she was.
A vision of her in Wright’s arms drifted through Lincoln’s mind. Did she enjoy being taken by Spencer? Did she moan in pleasure when he touched her?
Spencer had no doubt been born with a normal male anatomy. Unlike the Beast. Even soft, Lincoln was larger than an average man with an erection. Quite a bit larger.
The few doctors that had studied Lincoln in his youth had pointed out his deformity on more than one occasion.
Lincoln gripped the sink’s edge, frustrated and angry at the situation.
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