Falling for the Beast (A Modern Fairy Tale Duet 2)

Erin forced herself to sit back down in her chair while Bel sat down on the antique-style sofa nearby. Very nearby. There were only inches between their knees, and it made Erin uncomfortable. Was she overreacting? Probably. But knowing that didn’t shake the tightness in her chest, the dread in her throat.

Maybe she could still fix this. If she used the same tactic Blake had used with his

father. “I’d love to hear about your life,” she said, feigning enthusiasm. “I’m sure you have lots of stories as the wife of a senator.”

Bel laughed. “Oh, I do. Stories about Jeb…you wouldn’t believe some of them, I’ll bet. They would shock you. Or maybe they wouldn’t. You seem like a girl who understands the world and its darker sides.”

That sounded ominous. She tried to steer the conversation back to lighter topics. Maybe flattery would help. “You must have gotten to meet some important people.”

“I have, darling. But I’m much more interested in you.”

She swallowed. “Me? I’m afraid I haven’t done much that’s interesting.”

“Haven’t you? You already snagged Blake Morris, after all.”

Erin stared, unsure what to say. What to feel. Technically it was true. She’d snagged Blake, who was a catch. Smart, kind, and hot as hell despite what he thought about his scars. Of course any mother would think that her son was a prize. And yet, she couldn’t help think Bel was talking about Blake’s money more than anything else.

“I’m glad to be with him,” she said carefully. “I love him.”

The smile seemed a little sinister but no less beautiful. “Of course you do. They’re lovable, our Morris men.”

What did that mean? “I think so,” she said, hoping that was the right answer. There were undercurrents here she couldn’t see. She could only feel them.

“Some might say too lovable. I’m sure you know what I mean.”

Erin was sure she didn’t. She would also rather be anywhere but here. The doorway beckoned her, and she wanted to run right through it and hide upstairs—except that would be childish.

It also seemed like a smart option.

“They’ll be out any minute,” she said in a rush, almost a prayer. Because God, she hoped so.

Bel didn’t even acknowledge that. Her eyes narrowed. “The important thing, with men like that, is to know where their loyalty lies.”

Well, this was getting unnerving. “Okay,” she said. “That’s good advice. Now I really think I’m going to head upstairs and take that nap.”

“Do you know where Blake’s loyalty lies, Erin?”

She knew she was being baited. And yet she couldn’t help but respond. “Blake wouldn’t cheat on me, if that’s what you mean.”

“Maybe not. You’re young and pretty, and he’s…well, he’s not quite the man he was. Some injuries can never be repaired.”

Excuse me? Shit just got real. She may not have known the man Blake was, but she knew the man he was now. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but Blake is an amazing man. He’s honorable and brilliant and—”

“And fifteen years older than you. You aren’t fooling anyone, sweetheart. Definitely not him. He knows what he’s got in a pretty little co-ed with a crush on the professor.”

Erin gasped. She didn’t want this woman to mess with her head, but that was her fear. Not that she was using Blake, but that he’d think so. Not that she didn’t truly love him, but that he didn’t truly love her. No, she wouldn’t let Bel mess with her. “You’re obviously angry and bitter over something, but you don’t know me. And I’m thinking you don’t know him.”

“I know enough. I know he’s rejected everything we’ve ever stood for, including a life in politics, including our friends, including the kind of woman who would have been a good wife to him. Instead he’d picked you, in some kind of adolescent rebellion.”

“I will be a good wife.”

“And I know you came from trash. That’s all you’ll ever be.”

Blake

Blake didn’t look forward to spending time in this office, where he’d been lectured many times for some dumbass antic or another. He had quite a rap sheet at the prep school he’d gone to—ironic considering he was now a professor.

His father didn’t sit behind his desk. Instead he sat in one of the high-back leather armchairs by the fire, and Blake joined him there. Equals? Blake doubted that would ever be true. And maybe that was the way of fathers and sons, for one always to be the leader, even if the son had stopped following years ago.