BEASTLY LOVE BOX SET: Romance Collection

by Lindsey Hart

  “Stephane?” she asked, confused. “What’s going on?”

  “Oh, sorry,” he said, rubbing the back of his head. “I just… wanted to see how you are.”

  She still looked puzzled, so he looked pointedly at her bandaged wrist which was still sitting on the covers. Her expression cleared, and she sat up, glancing at the injured joint; Stephane looked away from the undeniably cute kitten pajamas she was wearing.

  “What time is it?” she asked, yawning.

  “Almost midday,” he said, glancing at the clock. “My parents and yours went to check out the fitness center, and I saw Lisa heading toward the spa.”

  He didn’t tell her that they all left around two hours ago and that he had been sitting here ever since after having denied Lisa’s invitation to join her. It wasn’t like Mia to sleep so long, and he wanted to make sure she was all right.

  “Those meds really knocked me out,” she said with another yawn. Her stomach grumbled, and she blushed. “My stomach doesn’t appreciate missing breakfast, though.”

  “Here,” Stephane said, reaching over to grab a plate that he had put on Lisa’s bed, having already figured out that she would be starving when she woke. “I kept some pastries for you.”

  Well, more truthfully, Sophie had kept the pastries, and Stephane had brought them into the room once everyone was gone. Mia gave him an odd look as he offered the plate, almost as though she was trying to figure him out, before she grabbed a pastry and gratefully bit into it.

  She moaned at the taste and Stephane almost blushed at the sound. Then he kicked himself, shocked; he had slept with countless women, performed sexual acts that would shock many people… and he was struggling not to blush when someone moaned at food? He shook his head at himself; he really had fallen deep for this one.

  They sat quietly as Mia finished breakfast. Then, when she was done, she put the plate aside and speared him with an intent look.

  “It wasn’t your fault, you know,” she said, indicating her injured wrist. “You don’t need to look so worried.”

  He wanted to snap at her, though he wasn’t sure what he would say; would he refuse the idea that he thought it was his fault, which he did, or would he try to convince her that it was? But any words that he could have said died in his throat as he glanced at her wrapped wrist, and he suddenly found himself reaching out to her, wrapping his arms around her and tugging her into an embrace.

  She went willingly, probably out of more surprise than anything. He was surprised at himself, but he hadn’t been able to help it. He had been so scared yesterday, when he had seen her on the ground. She knew she was listening to his frantically beating heart and realizing just how scared he had been, but he couldn’t bring himself to care.

  “If you had been more seriously injured…” he murmured.

  She slowly hugged him back. When had she burrowed so deep into his mind? Holding her like this felt more right than anything else in his life ever had, and he buried his face in her thick hair, trying to remind himself that she was okay.

  When he pulled back, she offered him a small smile, her eyes bright. Something had just passed between them and caught by the intimacy of the moment, he leaned down and captured her lips.

  He expected her to push him away. But, instead, she reached up and ran her fingers softly through his hair as she pressed her lips to his. Then she slowly opened her mouth and touched her tongue to his, sending a jolt through him. He clutched her to him and allowed her to deepen the kiss.

  It was only when he felt his hands wandering that he broke away, panting. Her lips were red and she stared up at him with wide eyes that invited him to do so much more.

  But… suddenly, he couldn’t. He let go of her hands. This entire time, he had known exactly how innocent she was, but the inexperience of her kiss finally hit him. Something that felt strangely like guilt curled in his stomach; what had he been thinking?

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “I think… we’re going to fast,” he said, folding his hands in his lap so that she couldn’t see exactly how interested he was right now.

  A large part of his mind was cackling at him. He didn’t think he had ever said those words before in his life. Yet now, someone that he actually seriously wanted comes along, and he’s the one putting the breaks on before he could hurt her.

  There was some karmic irony in all this, he just knew it.

  Mia licked her lips. Stephane could see that she was nervous, and there was an oddly pained look in her eyes.

  “Is it… because I’m ugly?” she asked cautiously.

  He stared at her. Where had that come from?

  “Who told you that?” he demanded, bewildered.

  “I…” she hesitated. He felt his guilt increase ten-fold; how had he pursued this girl without noticing the self-esteem issues she had? “You did.”

  He didn’t remember saying any such thing! Angrily, he opened his mouth to ask when exactly this had happened… and a memory slammed into him.

  “Ugly little duckling!”

  “Oh, shit,” he breathed.

  It was certainly a fine time to remember that. He stared at her, watching as she avoided his eyes. Had she seriously held onto those words all this time? If he had felt guilt before, it was nothing compared to what he felt now.

  “Mia… Mia, listen to me,” he said, reaching out and cupping her face in his hands. She met his eyes reluctantly. “Ignore that idiot from back then, okay? There is nothing ugly about you. Nothing at all. You’re beautiful.”

  She gazed at him, her eyes filling with tears. Unable to bear it, he leaned forward to kiss her again, tangling his hands in her hair.

  “Then why…?” she asked when they pulled apart.

  “If we start, I won’t be able to stop,” he admitted.

  She seemed to barely breath as her eyes searched his face, looking for a lie. When she didn’t find it, a gorgeous smile broke across her face, and Stephane realized that he would follow that smile anywhere.

  “Maybe I don’t want you to,” she whispered, drawing him back in to kiss him again.

  She deepened the kiss straight away, and Stephane felt himself being swept along in the force of the feelings she was evoking in him. The bet, or Lisa, or their parents… none of that mattered now. All that mattered was the woman in his arms and how desperately he wanted her.

  One of his hands wandered, finding the hem of her shirt and slipping underneath it, caressing the smooth skin on her hip. She gasped slightly into the kiss at the sensation and he pulled away to nip tiny, feathery kisses along her jaw, feeling her shuddering under his ministrations as his hands crawled up until he was cupping her firm breasts.

  “Tell me to stop if you want me to,” he murmured, though he wasn’t sure if he would be able to obey now.

  “No,” she returned.

  She hesitated, her fingers hovering over the hem of his button-up shirt. Then, slowly, she began to undo the buttons, her hands brushing against his chest as she did so. All too soon she was sliding it over his shoulders, her hands following the shirt and continuing down his arms. He longed to just throw her down and give them both the pleasure that they were obviously desiring.

  But he didn’t. Mia wasn’t like the other girls. She didn’t want quick sex and speedy pleasure. More than that, Stephane wanted to give her an experience that she wouldn’t forget. He poured everything that he had begun to feel into it.

  He forced himself to go slowly, at the same pace she was going, and was rewarded when her hands, steadier now, found his jeans and unzipped them. He helped her push them down as he carefully pulled her shirt off her.

  As he stepped out of his jeans and threw her shirt in the corner somewhere, left only in his boxers now, he knew he could no longer hide his interest. He kissed down her neck, finding her pulse and sucking at it, wondering what she was thinking.

  He wasn’t expecting it when her hand suddenly slipped beneath the hem of his boxers and held him firmly.
Contrary to the nervousness she had shown him when they started, her grip was sure as she slowly began to stroke him, and he gasped against her neck, electricity shooting through him. His grip on her hips tightened.

  “Too much?” she asked, and he whined when she stopped, obviously unsure.

  “No,” he panted out.

  He was rewarded when her hand moved again, this time faster and surer. He gave up control of the situation, allowed her to do what she wanted, because he didn’t want her to feel like he was pressuring her into this in any way.

  When Mia stopped again, he wondered if maybe that was as far as they were going to go. But then she scooted back, shimmying out of her pajama pants, her eyes hooded but her smile full of nerves, and reached for him. She wanted him to go with her, and he found himself crawling after her as she lay back on the pillows.

  “Let me take care of you,” he murmured into her shoulder as he pressed kisses against her skin.

  “Okay,” she gasped, her back arching as he kneaded one breast with his hand while the other wandered around her skin.

  He settled between her legs, moving down to kiss across her breasts, worshipping her. She clung to his hair, pulling slightly as she did so, and let out a shuddering cry as one of his hands slipped down between her legs and gently pushed into her.

  He leaned up again and swallowed her gasps and groans in a kiss while one hand made tight circling motions on her hip and the other moved further deeper and faster, preparing her for what would be happening next. She kissed him back eagerly, holding on desperately to his shoulders, her nails raking against his skin.

  He wanted to ask her if she was sure if this was what they wanted. But they were too far gone at this point, and it felt crass to put his concerns into words. Instead he caught her eyes and, seeing the small nod that she gave him, he slowly slipped into her.

  Her legs wound around him and Stephane lowered his head to latch onto her neck right above her pulse, biting and sucking to take away some of the overwhelming sensations that they felt. When he finally came to a stop, he paused for a moment, listening to her pant and trying to catch his own breath, waiting for everything to settle a little.

  Then her legs tightened slightly around him, and he knew she was ready for him to move. He thrust slightly, almost experimentally, trying to go at a pace that wouldn’t push her too far over the edge.

  But it was hard not to get lost in the heat and feelings around them. They were tied tightly together, caught in a little bubble that involved only Mia, Stephane and the bed they were laying on. His pace picked up and Mia writhed beneath him, not even trying to muffle the sounds she was making, which shot straight through him.

  He felt it when the climax started to steal over him, his thrusts becoming slower and more desperate as they chased the pleasure together. The heat was becoming almost unbearable and sweat slipped down his back as he gasped. She was garbling something, but he couldn’t make sense of the words that she was saying.

  Then, finally, a crashing wave of rapture pulled itself over him, and his entire body shuddered as he felt Mia shaking beneath him. Stephane’s vision whited out for a moment and when it returned he crashed down limply beside Mia, trying to catch his breath,

  He could barely believe what had just happened. It had been entirely unexpected, and not what he had thought would occur when he had come into the room that morning.

  Slowly, he turned his head to look at Mia, wondering if she regretted it at all. She glanced back at her, and then smiled tiredly at him, her eyes warm. A different sort of contentment and pleasure curled up in Stephane’s stomach at the expression and he smiled back, closing his eyes.

  Somehow, he knew he had just found something very special.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Mia wouldn’t have said that Stephane was the cuddling type, not even after his entire attitude had changed. She had expected him to leave the bed immediately and get dressed.

  Instead, however, he had tugged her toward him and wrapped his arms securely around her. The embrace had felt warm and comforting as she caught her breath, and the fact that he stayed had soothed a part of her that was frightened he would just walk away and never come back.

  Yet he had stayed, and Mia was almost skipping as she got out of bed the next day, humming while she checked her bandages and running a hand through her messy hair in front of the mirror. For the first time ever, she smiled at her own image.

  Stephane had said she was beautiful. He had told her that he wanted her. Even his hesitation at the beginning had been explained by his reluctance to take that final step before she was ready.

  She wondered if she should be more worried about all of this. After all, she did technically just lost the bet with Stephane. As that thought occurred to her, Mia’s hand lowered and she frowned into the mirror.

  That’s right… the bet had stated that if she could prevent herself from being seduced for two weeks, he would leave Lisa alone. Yet she had only lasted a week after he abruptly switched gears.

  No, it hadn’t even been the way he had treated her over the last few days that had done it. She had seen the honest terror and pain in his eyes after he had thought she was hurt. Whereas she would have thought at the beginning of this vacation, that he didn’t care about anyone other than himself, the almost overwhelming care he had shown her yesterday and the day before had broken down all her barriers.

  So where did that leave them and that stupid bet?

  She shook her head at herself. There was no point in worrying about this, really. The two of them were mature adults that had slowly come to know each other a lot better unexpectedly. Surely something as childish as that challenge was beyond them now. No doubt it was something neither of them would ever bring up again.

  On that thought Mia left the room, so happy that she couldn’t stop her smile returning. No one had ever made her feel as cared-for and secure as Stephane had yesterday, and part of her yearned for more. In the meantime, though, she probably needed to find him and talk to him about what would happen now between them; they had spoken about a lot yesterday as they laid in bed, but they had never quite gotten around to discussing that.

  Leaving the cabin, she began heading toward the manor. She wasn’t entirely sure where he was, but she had discovered, over this last week, that he preferred to stay near the large building over exploring the grounds, which would make it easier to find him.

  She went up to the fitness center, but he wasn’t there. Nor was he at the spa and neither, she was interested to note, was Lisa, who had left saying that she was heading back there that morning. It was as she passed the half-open door to the observatory that she caught a glimpse of his back.

  Curious, wondering why he had chosen to come here of all places, she moved closer to the door and nudged it open a little more. Mia froze, however, when she saw that Stephane had company; he was standing in front of Lisa.

  They appeared to be in deep conversation, though the furrow on Stephane’s brow told Mia that he was either annoyed or confused. Lisa, on the other hand, looked exasperated. She stepped forward, intending on asking them what was going on.

  Then Lisa reached up, snagged Stephane’s collar, and dragged him down into a heated kiss.

  The world dropped from under Mia’s feet. She thought she must have let out some sort of sound, because Stephane and Lisa broke away from each other and turned to stare at her, shocked at her sudden presence.

  She didn’t give either of them a chance to say anything. She turned on her heel and fled; her chest felt far too tight and her heart was pounding wildly in her chest. She crashed through the manor’s front door, the brisk mountain air stinging against her wet cheeks - though she couldn’t remember when she had started crying - and hurried off. She couldn’t breathe properly.

  She should have known it was too good to be true. She should have remembered that Stephane was just a jerk that liked playing around with women.

  She should have known better.

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  Stephane had come to the observatory that morning to think. Everything yesterday had moved far too fast, and he couldn’t really comprehend it all. Coming to the empty observatory seemed like the ideal plan to sort himself before he could face Mia once more.

  He didn’t really know what to say to her to try and explain the way that she made him feel. He had never had to try and tell a woman that he wanted to hold her and never let her go before. He laughed out loud, the sound echoing around the room, and ran a rough hand through his hair. He had thought Mia was inexperienced with relationships, but it turned out that he had just as little knowledge of how all this worked.

  “Stephane?”

  At the sound of his name, he turned to see Lisa standing at the door of the observatory. She was dressed in her swimsuit with a towel hiked around her waist. She was obviously on her way to the spa.

  “Lisa,” he said blankly. “What are you doing here?”

  She blinked and then smiled, a slow sultry smile that would have made him jump her in a heartbeat had he still been interested in that. She was undeniably beautiful, of that he was sure, but after his day with Mia and all these confusing feelings whirling around inside him, he found he didn’t really want to sleep with her anymore. He only wanted Mia.

  She kicked the door half-closed and sauntered into the room. He closed his eyes, frustrated with himself; he had done this. He had flirted with her and acted interested because he had fully expected to have her once he was done with Mia, and Lisa was responding to that.

  “Looks like you’ve found a very secluded spot,” she purred, reaching out to touch him.

  Her eyes widened, however, when Stephane ducked away. He wavered awkwardly, wondering how to tell her that he really wasn’t interested anymore after days of non-stop flirting. There didn’t seem to be a good way of saying that.

  Lisa crossed her arms, exasperation washing over her pretty features. She had a right to be annoyed, after all.

  “You have spent the last week flirting with me without making a move,” she said, her eyes narrowed. “Want to tell me what’s going on?”