In Bed with the Beast (Naughty Princess Club 2)

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, you’ve got your own Prince Charming at home who treats you like a princess and grants your every wish with his magic dick, blah, blah blah,” Ariel mutters. “I’d like to discuss why Belle fell asleep sitting up today, and why she’s been distracted during our last few meetings. And don’t even try to give us the same, boring excuse that you’ve been swamped at the library. When was the last time anyone even checked out a book there? 1952?”

“You know very well that I’ve been busy trying to come up with ways to keep the library open, and for your information, we had a record high of twenty kids at this morning’s children’s hour,” I tell her haughtily.

Which is the current cause for my exhaustion, aside from not getting more than a few hours of sleep combined in the last two nights, since I left my dad’s house. I used to look forward to hosting our children’s hour every week, but attempting to keep that many kids entertained and excited about the stories I read to them while trying not to wince from the permanent kink in my neck and moan from the aches in my back from sleeping on the floor took its toll on me today. Not to mention the fact that I tossed and turned all night thinking about Beast and how even though he annoyed me, he made me feel all tingly when he looked at me.

“Do you need me to give you more money?” Cindy asks softly. “I’ll give you more money. Just tell me how much you need.”

She starts to reach for her purse and I quickly grab onto her arm and stop her.

“You already pay me more than I deserve, considering I’m not the one who is taking her clothes off for customers yet. You have a teenage daughter to clothe and feed. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.”

Tell them you have no place to live. Tell them you have no place to live. Cindy has a spare bedroom and you know she’ll let you have it without hesitation.

“Speaking of my teenager, did I tell you guys that Brian has really stepped up to plate with Anastasia?” Cindy asks just as I open my mouth to spit out the truth. “He picks her up and takes her over to his parents’ house for dinner at least three times a week, and he calls her every single day when she gets home from school to ask her how her day was. He even showed up at her choir concert two nights ago. Granted, he flirted with three of her teachers and one of her friend’s older sisters, but at least he’s making an effort and not being a complete waste of space for once.”

Not only did Cindy’s ex-husband flee the country with all their money and their former babysitter, he also fled his fatherly duties, completely ignoring their daughter the entire nine months he was gone. When he suddenly showed back up in both their lives a few weeks ago, she agreed to keep the peace as long as he made up for the hurt he caused their daughter by disappearing from her life. She knew that as much as she wanted Brian to get everything he deserved after what he did to them, Anastasia didn’t deserve to have a father rotting away in prison.

“He’s making an effort because he’s afraid PJ will cut off his balls if he fucks over Anastasia again,” Ariel snorts.

Cindy gets the same dreamy look in her eyes she always gets whenever PJ’s name is mentioned and I open my mouth once again to tell them about my situation.

“And, speaking of PJ,” Cindy says, shaking herself out of her daydream and practically bouncing in her seat. “He wants to move in with us! I know we haven’t been dating that long and I know everyone will probably think it’s too soon, but Anastasia loves him, and I love him and hate it when he’s not there, and it just doesn’t make sense for us to have two houses, and it just feels right. Anastasia even wants him to move in!”

She talks so fast that I can barely understand what she’s saying, but it’s enough for me to know that moving in with Cindy is no longer an option. It was bad enough thinking about asking her when she was simply enjoying being in love and having someone who truly cared about her for the first time in her life. There’s no way I’m going to ruin their moment of moving in together and make a mess of that experience for them.

“Oh, Cindy, I’m so happy for you,” I tell her honestly, even though I just lost one of my options.

“I’m happy for you as well, but I’m telling you right now, if you two get even more disgusting with all your PDA once you start living together, I will slit both your throats,” Ariel tells her, sliding her finger across her neck.