Beloved Monster by Karyn Gerrard

Author:Karyn Gerrard [Gerrard, Karyn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

Glenna’s eyes snapped open at the resounding crash. Oh my God. The whole house will be roused. Not two minutes passed and a frantic pounding sounded on the door. Worried voices overlapped.

“Are you all right, miss?”

“Glenna, open this door at once!”

Reed and the maid. “I am fine,” she called out. “Please go back to bed. Merely an accident.” How to explain? Her mind grasped for some justification that would suit. “I lost my grip on the pitcher, and it flew from my hands and hit the wall, smashing the mirror.” Glenna winced. Rather illogical if one stopped to think about it.

“I demand you open this door,” Reed commanded, his fist continuing with its insistent hammering.

“I am quite naked and covered in soap, Reed. I am sitting in the tub and well away from the broken glass. Truly, I am not injured. The mess can be cleaned up in the morning.” Surely that would satisfy him.

The pounding ceased. “You are quite sure?”

“Yes. Let me finish my bath in peace. I thank you both for your concern, but I am well.”

Glenna could hear the low murmur of voices, then footsteps receding. She exhaled in relief. Only then did she see Luke, his back to her, his shoulders hunched in agony. Glenna scrambled from the tub, forgetting her state of nakedness, and embraced him from behind.

“I…lost control. I am sorry.” His voice sounded ragged and mournful.

“Hush. You cannot smash every mirror in the place, Luke. You must accept how you look and not wallow in self-pity. Promise me you will. Besides, it is not as if you are some malformed gargoyle. Far from it.”

A sharp bark of cynical laughter left him. “Gargoyle. That is exactly what I thought when I glanced in the mirror. An apt description.” Luke slowly nodded. “Yes. I know I must accept it. This is who I am. This is how others see me. Admit the truth. Accept. I will do as you ask.” He turned to face her, his gaze taking in her nudity, the soapy water trailing down her legs and landing in a puddle at her feet. “Regardless, I am the beast to your beauty. We can at least agree on that.” Luke reached for a towel, and with gentle strokes, sopped up the water and soap from her body. When completed, he handed it to her, and she wrapped it around herself.

“In case you do not recall the entirety of the story, Belle, the beauty, chose the beast,” she said, her voice soft with emotion.

Luke gave her a sad smile. “Yes, but then he turned into a handsome prince. No chance of that happening with me. Just stating an obvious fact.”

She cupped his cheek and whispered, “The point of the story is she fell in love with him while he was the beast. His handsome countenance or lack thereof did not even enter into her emotions. Remember that.” Glenna kissed his scarred cheek. “They do not enter into mine, either.”

Luke nodded, then pulled her close, giving her a desperate, crushing embrace.

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