Beasty (A Royal's Tale Book 2)

by Jennise K

  “Buckle up,” Romanov mumbled as he placed me, still barefoot, into the passenger’s seat of his Lexus. Closing the door, he moved over to the driver’s side and got in. And we were off.

  The silence in the car seemed biting. Street light after street light passed, and I held the chips between my fingers awkwardly before glancing at a silent Romanov for the hundredth time.

  Going through the drive-thru had been a breeze, but driving around while being told to eat was downright awkward. A bite in, and the awkwardness settled in.

  Glancing at Romanov, I sighed. I brought the chips out of its bag and moved it in front of Romanov’s lips. His eyes darted to mine, and I motioned for him to eat some himself. His eyes moved to the chips, and making me release a sigh of relief, he leaned forward and carefully took the chips from my fingers, munching slowly.

  The warmth in my chest spread and blossomed, and I blinked when I found myself smiling. Looking back at Romanov, I brought another chip to his lips.

  He seemed as surprised as I felt, but leaning forward, he took the chips from my hands once again. I smiled and brought the next chips to my lips.

  “Don’t think I’m going to share just because you did.”

  I stopped then gulped the chips down. Turning to sneak a glance at Romanov, I rolled my eyes when I saw him smirking.

  I shrugged casually. “I’m not saying that I’m a thief. But anything for that Big Mac.”

  Romanov chuckled, shaking his head. He stopped the car at a red light.

  “Why not study in London?”

  I blinked. “I wanted to completely concentrate on my studies.”

  He nodded. My turn.

  “Why keep the scar on your back when it could have easily healed and disappeared?”

  My eyes snapped to the traffic light when it turned green, and Romanov resumed driving again.

  Suddenly, my iPhone’s ringtone bellowed in the car, and I jumped in my seat.

  Romanov looked at my iPhone with narrowed eyes, and I sent him a sheepish look before quickly accepting the call without looking.

  “Hello?”

  “It’s me. I’ve been wondering if after all these years you’d like to me—”

  “Don’t complete that line, Issy,” I groaned into the phone.

  On the other side of the line, Isabelle let out a giggle, and I heard her move about. “I was seriously wondering if you’d like to meet.”

  I blinked, my mouth falling agape. Romanov’s fingers found my jaw, and I closed my mouth, blushing a shade of beetroot red.

  “Yes!” I exclaimed excitedly. “When are you coming?”

  Isabelle let out her sweet laugh, and I smiled. It was rare to hear her like that. That was why her laughter was so sweet to hear.

  “Tomorrow. I’m taking the flight around noon.”

  “That’s great! I’m so excited! I’ll pick you up at the airport, alright?”

  “Alright! I’ll be going to bed now. You know me, minimum ten hours of sleep a day or endless amount of hell the next,” she said and laughed again.

  I rolled my eyes. “True. Sweet dreams, princess.”

  Isabelle groaned, and chuckling, I ended the call.

  I was already locking my phone when instantly it began to ring again. My eyes widened when I read Prue calling…

  Oh God, is something wrong?

  “Prue?”

  I heard Prue sigh, and I cringed when she began speaking.

  “Livy, I was wondering if you got my text?”

  I frowned. “No.”

  She sighed again. “I’m leaving. For London. Tonight?”

  I blinked, ignoring Romanov who was now stealing my burger.

  “I’m leaving tonight, Livy. For the meeting? So, you have to stay home with Letty?”

  Turning towards Romanov, I mouthed ‘please’ when I saw him watching me. The car was now parked on the side of the road. I smiled when Romanov nodded.

  “Okay, I’m coming over right now,” I told Prue.

  The silence had crept into the car again, and I remembered Romanov had not replied to my question yet.

  I turned to him and watched as he visibly sighed, knowing exactly why I was looking at him.

  “I kept the scar because I thought I didn’t have a mate. And when I met you, I knew I couldn’t keep one because of the curse. It was certain to me that I’d never see you again. So, I kept it. As a memory.”

  ~

  I had forgotten the key back at the castle. I groaned for the second time since getting out of the car and pressed the doorbell.

  Romanov still sat in the car. Looking back at him, I smiled when the warm feeling in my chest came back again.

  The sound of the door opening had me turning back, and I let out a happy laugh when a giggling Letty almost jumped into my arms. I saw Prue all ready with her shoulder-length hair pulled up into half updo. I smiled at her apologetically.

  “Sorry! How are you now headed to the airport?” I asked her.

  As if on cue, another car made its way into the driveway, and a smirk formed on my lips when I saw whose car it was.

  The freshly dressed-up man strode towards us, and smiling brightly, I moved into his arms when he reached me, hugging him.

  “Hey, Vic!” I chirped as he pressed a kiss on Letty’s forehead.

  “Hey, kid.” He chuckled as he pressed a kiss on my forehead too. My dad’s best friend, Victor, had always been a constant figure in my life growing up. Another constant that had hung around along with Victor’s presence was his love for Prue.

  Looking at the blush on Prue’s cheeks, I realized that Prue was finally giving him a chance.

  “Oh, alright then! Have a great trip! I’ll see you in three days!” I chirped excitedly as I turned towards Prue and gave her a hug, pressing a kiss on her cheeks.

  Turning around, I hugged Victor again and whispered to him, “Take care of her.”

  He grinned and patted my hair. “I will.”

  Letty giggled in my arms, and I smiled down at her as we both watched Victor pack the luggage in the boot. Closing it, both Prue and he then proceeded to get into the car and waved us goodbye.

  My smiling face turned towards Romanov’s Lexus and I walked towards it, Letty now tangling my hair between her tiny grubby fingers.

  “Hey.”

  “So, you’re staying here tonight?” he inquired.

  I sighed, nodding and smiling awkwardly.

  Romanov seemed to think before pulling out his iPhone and typing something. Slipping his phone back into his pocket, he reached over for the meal bags and got out of the car and locked it.

  His eyes met mine and he smirked. “I’m not leaving you alone.”

  The warmth in my heart returned, and I smiled as I watched him walk over and lock the gate.

  Something had changed—something that brought the warmth everywhere Romanov went.

  And as good as it felt, I was scared to know what it was.

  We went inside the house, and as I approached Letty’s crib, Romanov’s curious eyes turned from her to me and asked, “So, she’ll sleep here?”

  Tucking in Letty, who was already fast asleep, into her crib, I turned towards Romanov. “Her name’s Lolette if you’re wondering, and yes, she’ll be sleeping here,” I answered back tiredly as I pulled my hair up into a loose bun and readied myself to sleep.

  “I’ll be sleeping on the sofa, then,” Romanov muttered as he moved towards the tiny sofa. I cringed.

  “Or you can sleep in the guest room?” I suggested.

  Romanov shook his head, and I quickly looked away when the warmth began to bloom again in my chest. I pulled his sweater over my head and folded it neatly, placing it beside me.

  I paused.

  Glancing towards Romanov, I scrunched my face when I saw his oversized physique almost swallowed the sofa. I glanced at the expanse of bed unoccupied beside me.

  “Romanov,” I mumbled slowly, almost too low for him to hear.

  Or so I tho
ught.

  Pulling himself to a sitting position, he looked at me curiously.

  I gulped, suddenly scared of what I was about to ask of him.

  “Can you come over here, please?”

  I heard as Romanov let out a huff of breath and got out of the couch, his heavy footsteps coming closer. His black eyes blazed, and I watched as surprise slowly shadowed his features and golden flecks flashed in his iris. I shivered as I quickly went to the lamp and turned it off, taking all the light with it.

  Darkness washed over the room, and I reached and touched the wooden crib placed on my side, all the while being aware of Romanov pulling his t-shirt off. He got into bed, and my breath hitched as the bed dipped and squeaked beside me. I stared into the darkness, knowing full well that Romanov was as sleepy as I currently was. Which wasn’t at all. I was wide awake.

  The silence hung over us, and I waited for him to talk, or move, or fall asleep. Suddenly, he turned, and I held my breath as I felt him move closer to me. Slowly, his arm wrapped around my waist and he pulled me tight against his chest.

  The warmth enveloped my chest again, and I automatically smiled, liking his warmth covering me.

  It was simple, really. There were things that I wanted and things that I did not. Things that made me happy, even though they confused me, even though they made me cry. And then there were things that just hurt.

  There were also things I could choose to stay with or leave and things I could not make any choice about at all.

  With Romanov, I didn’t know if I could choose or not. But being this close to him made me happy.

  He confused, made me mad and cry, but he also made me happy. Holding him, being in his arms—it was only then that I knew the warmth he brought into my heart was a warmth only he could bring. No one else could ever make me feel this way.

  Moving my hand away from the crib, I placed it over his hand and snuggled closer until I felt him completely pressed against me.

  “I’m your soulmate, Romanov. And one day…one day you’ll admit it yourself.”

  Chapter 15

  The early morning’s rays beamed in disappointment as it danced into my room through the windows. The absence of a heavy arm over my middle cut a pang through my chest, and I almost decided to just stay and live a life there in bed, with my eyes closed and reality shut away by the darkness.

  Romanov had left. He had left even before I had woken up. And as I lay there, eyes shut and afraid, the reality of our relationship suddenly washed over me in an onslaught of pain and emptiness.

  I sighed. I supposed that was how it was going to be every morning now. Even after I tried to remedy it with my fantasies and wishes, the reality would come crashing against my face each morning, and each morning I would try to hide away. Last night’s memories danced through my mind again, and I almost let out a shaky breath when the electrical jolts hit my heart like they always did.

  Last night, Romanov had always had a bit of his skin on mine all through the night—tying his arms around my waist, sliding his leg over my back, or pulling me to completely lie over him, which surprisingly wasn’t that bad.

  Normally, I wasn’t much of a cuddler, but his want to just hold me for assurance or protection—maybe he was a cuddler?—felt amazing.

  Smiling a little to myself now, I turned to change sides on the bed, my eyes still closed, but I stopped when I realised something.

  Lolette was being awfully quiet.

  Usually she was, true to the term, a crybaby when she woke up in the morning.

  My eyes snapped open at once, and I instantly flung myself out of bed. My eyes turned towards her crib to check, and I began to panic.

  Lolette wasn’t there. Lolette wasn’t bloody there.

  The next minute found me almost flying out of my room and down the stairs, a tiny panic kicking inside me like a tidal wave, growing larger and larger by the second.

  The soft sound of mellowed coos coming from the kitchen had me frowning, and I hurried into the direction of it. When I finally reached it, I had to hold on the doorframe to keep me still as my breath came in puffs.

  When I looked up, I froze.

  The mellowing coos and awws continued and entering the kitchen, I watched two grown men seated on the kitchen island, chins resting on their hands, continue to coax and make adorable noises.

  I lamely blinked as I tried to take in the sight before me.

  In a moment that was almost too beautiful to be in real life, Romanov stood and held Letty in his arm, a spoon full of mashed carrots in his other hand, and with a look of pure concentration on his face, he brought the plastic spoon closer to happy Letty’s lips. I watched, mesmerised, as Letty slowly opened her mouth and ate out of the spoon. Without any tantrum. Without any mischief.

  A second later, her lips latched around the nipple of her baby bottle, drinking the freshly sterilized water. Her tiny hands clutched the bottle with all her might while Romanov held its bottom, a small smile shadowing the corners of his lips.

  Seeming to have enough, Letty let go off the bottle and looked up at Romanov, flashing an open-mouthed smile on her carrot mush-filled face. Suddenly, she fell on him, small gurgles of happiness bubbling out of her mouth as she rested her face against his light blue shirt, which was now smeared with carrot mush. Her hand grabbed hold of a button on his shirt she seemed to find interesting.

  Another round of awws echoed around the kitchen, and Romanov’s eyes snapped up—annoyed—before they swivelled to my direction and caught me standing on the doorway. My mouth was still, embarrassingly so, hanging open.

  “Err…she was crying,” Romanov explained.

  I clapped my mouth shut, and I nodded, my feet automatically taking a step in.

  Romanov’s eyes widened, and he seemed to stiffen, I noticed. His arm around Lolette slowly tightened as he began bouncing her in his arms.

  “Morning guys.” I smiled at the two men seated at the kitchen island. Immediately, two arms lifted up and sent a wave in my direction.

  “Morning, Olli!”

  “Morning, Se—” A low growl came from the other edge of the room, cutting Grayson off, to which he made a lousy face. “Morning, Olivia.”

  Smiling slightly, I turned towards Romanov again, his t-shirt now turned into a canvas to carrot and baby drool art, although it seemed he was perfectly fine with it. When I looked at his face, though, he seemed to have a controlled expression on it. I frowned, curious for the reason behind it.

  “Why didn’t you wake me up?” I asked him.

  Romanov arched an eyebrow up before he shrugged, his dark eyes staring into mine. “I wanted you to get a good amount of sleep.”

  I paused, my eyes now darting towards the walls. “What’s—”

  “Olivia.”

  My eyes snapped towards Romanov’s, and my eyebrows lifted in question to his sudden sternness.

  “Can you please get yourself in your room?” he asked, barely concealing the rage in his voice.

  My mouth fell open, and I looked at him with a bewildered expression. He looked at me pointedly from top to bottom, and then I understood.

  The next second, I was rushing out of the kitchen.

  “Oh, it’s already 11:24 by the way!” Grayson said, and his amused chuckle rang out of the kitchen. I cringed in embarrassment at the thought of him seeing straight through my boy shorts and tank top.

  Reaching my room, I quickly walked towards my nightstand and shuddered when I noticed a message from Issy.

  From: Issy belle

  Received: 9:12 am

  “Great! Now I’m embarrassed and almost late too!”

  Groaning and grumbling, I put my iPhone aside and slowly dragged myself into the bathroom and closed the door shut.

  Isabelle was going to be here in less than an hour, and I wasn’t even ready yet!

  ~

  It was the fastest morning shower I had ever taken, and having freshly brushed and done the other deeds, I was finally ready to conque
r the deadline. There was no way I was going to be late picking Isabelle up.

  Donning a soft smile on my lips, I wrapped my emerald green towel around me before slipping out of the bathroom.

  When I turned around, I froze when I noticed the bedroom door open at the same time, and in walked Romanov. Looking up, his eyes met mine, and I froze when he pulled his blue t-shirt off and stalked towards me. I looked down and began walking back to safety.

  With every step he took forward, I took one back, but soon enough, I felt the cold glass of the shower door press against my wet back. My heart almost jolted out of my chest with a new sense of something—something I couldn’t quite explain.

  Was it excitement? Panic?

  With only one step away from me, Romanov stopped. My breath hitched in my throat, but I continued to stare at my feet, the purple nail polish shining brighter than usual.

  “May I come closer?”

  I blinked, my eyes snapping up. His golden eyes burned into my brown ones.

  “You’ve never asked before,” I managed to say.

  Romanov smirked, and I noticed the glint of his beast in his eyes. A shiver ran past my back.

  “True,” he admitted and took the final step towards me, his feet now touching mine. He leaned lower and said, “That was not a smart thing to do back there.”

  Despite his nose almost touching mine, I rolled my eyes. “How was I supposed to know you’d have Dom and that fuckboy extraordinaire over?”

  Romanov’s eyes blazed, and he inched his face closer. “Your t-shirt was see-through. You don’t wear a bra when you sleep.”

  My heart was beating a mile an hour by now. A similar sense of embarrassment hit home. I didn’t know what I was thinking. I suppose in my panic to find out if Letty was okay, I wasn’t. I didn’t know how Romanov and his beast would have taken it had Letty not been in his arms. I was nervous. Very nervous.

  Despite that, I did what I wanted to do ever since his warm breath began making goose bumps along my neck. Taking a plunge, I tentatively placed my hands flat against his chest. I tilted my head and leaned forward, pressing a kiss on his chin.