Beauty's Cursed Beast by Mary E. Twomey

Author:Mary E. Twomey [Twomey, Mary E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Mary E. Twomey, LLC

20

A Second Dance

Belle returned Adam’s laptop to him the next day. Each new morning presented her with a myriad of options for scrubbing down the place, so she cleaned another two rooms before she helped Chef Bouche prep for dinner.

“What’s that smell?” Adam asked, popping his head into the kitchen.

Audra was on the counter next to the stove, instructing Belle how to make the alfredo sauce. “It’s garlic.” When she picked up her head from her project, she was so surprised, she dropped the spatula into the pan. “Oh, wow.”

Adam had shaved, and though the shorter beard that was only half an inch long would be its standard two inches by morning, the effort made him look younger, and more like a man. He looked down at his clothes curiously, wondering if he’d accidentally put his trousers on backwards or something. “That ‘wow’ better have been a compliment.”

Belle swallowed thickly. “It was.”

Adam’s chest puffed, but he said nothing more about it. “I can smell dinner all the way down the hallway, and it’s making me starving. How long until we eat?”

Belle tore her eyes from his features, her cheeks rosy when she realized she’d been thinking how handsome he looked with his face more exposed. There were still the animalistic nuances, but this way he was about fifty-fifty between man and beast. “About twenty minutes. If you’re hungry, there’s some celery in the fridge.”

Adam fished around in the refrigerator and pulled out a stalk, munching on it as he sidled up next to her and peered into the pan she was stirring. His free hand found its way to the small of her back, his insides warming when she leaned into him. “Mm. Satisfying,” he lied as he crunched the celery.

Belle sniggered and bumped her hip to his. “It’ll tide you over. I’ve never made alfredo with parmesan and goat cheeses, but I’ve learned Audra’s never wrong.”

“That’s right,” Audra spouted proudly.

Adam knocked his hip to hers, and the two began to fight for space in front of the stove, their bodies battling like flirty teenagers. “Would you move it? I’m going to make a mess if you don’t knock it off.”

Adam grinned at her, not holding back the more wolfish aspects of his smile. Usually he smiled with his mouth closed, but he didn’t mind letting the veil down around Belle. She never balked at his fangs. “You can’t stir a pot while someone’s bumping you? And I thought I hired an experienced housekeeper.”

“You’re going to make me burn myself on the pan!” she giggled, putting the wooden spoon down so she could shove him with both hands.

“Audra, Bouche – rally! This monster’s attacking your master!”

Audra chortled at their playful nature, wondering to herself when the last time was that she’d seen Adam truly happy before Belle came into their lives.

Before Belle could turn off the stove, Adam whisked her away from the pan, holding one arm out to the side while the other kept a firm command over his favorite spot – the small of her back.

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