A Kiss Like Roses_Beauty and the Beast by Eliza Colton

Author:Eliza Colton [Colton, Eliza]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fantasy, Romance
Goodreads: 47951345
Published: 2019-08-27T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

I waited in front of Shao’s room, the door closed between us, while he grabbed his letters. As I stood, my shoulder and hip against a cold white wall, I wondered when he’d come back out; it felt as though I’d been waiting for hours, although it had only been minutes.

Hearing the creak of the door, my face lit up and I turned to greet him.

When he reemerged with an entire mesh bag that closed with a drawstring and could have fit me inside, I choked out a strained laugh.

He couldn’t even lift it up, because it was too large and unwieldy, although it was probably light. Instead, he dragged it out behind him by the drawstrings.

“Really,” I managed, “how did you convince yourself not to read any of them when you had so many letters? I’d have died of too much curiosity not to at least peek at one.”

“That,” Shao replied as he tugged the bag out his room and began heading towards the library, “is where we differ. This is only a small portion of the letters, but even then, I was too paralyzed by fear to do anything but hide it away where I couldn’t see it. That’s what I still want to do, in fact.”

I arched a brow. “What changed your mind?” I asked smugly, knowing the answer full well.

“Do you think you can handle the truth?” He asked, and I scoffed and nodded at the same time. “I figure I’m more scared of you than anything Isabella could have written.”

I feigned a gasp. “What, me? What have I done to make you fear me? I’m the kindest person you’ve ever met—”

“That’s not a high bar,” he said with a snort, and I winked.

“That might have been what I was counting on when I spoke with so much confidence.”

Shao rolled his eyes. His derision had little effect on me, however, considering how silly he looked with his burlap sack of letters.

“Need some help with that?” I asked, and I lifted my arm and flexed, revealing a… pretty sad attempt at a bicep, but if you squinted, I was sure you could see a hint of something round. Maybe.

“I’m stronger than I look,” I added pitifully to Shao’s laughter.

It wasn’t long before the library emerged before us, its adorned doors seeming vaguely foreboding and welcoming at the same time. I took a deep breath after I thrust open the doors, keeping them open for Shao and his luggage.

He passed through the first couple desks and seats until he reached the spacious desk I’d once laid my unguents meant to heal Shao with on. The mahogany wood was still stained with sickly greens and yellows, although the pungent odor was gone, as was the stickiness.

Shao brushed his fingers at the top of the table, paying special attention to the discolored bits. A soft smile played at his lips.

“Really?” I asked. “Of all the desks, is there a reason you chose this one?”

“My opinion of you changed the day you tried to heal me,” Shao replied, and I rested a hand on my hip.

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