In Bed with the Beast (Naughty Princess Club 2)

“Huh? I . . . what?”

Cindy bites her bottom lip and glances around me at Ariel before looking me in the eye again.

“Well, I took the liberty of weeding through all of those emails you were getting from that dating website and . . . surprise! You’ve got four dates lined up!”

Chapter 9: Silver Fox

“I think we should leave. This is a bad idea,” I whisper as we walk up the steps to my dad’s house.

When Cindy and Ariel finished convincing me that going on a few dates is exactly what I need, they also convinced me to let them bring me here.

“I don’t have to shove your ass through a window for once. We can actually walk through the front door like normal human beings,” Ariel reminds me. “Besides, you have a date tonight and you can’t wear that. We need to pack up the rest of your things and hope you have something a little less nun-ish to wear.”

She grimaces at my floral maxi dress, and I roll my eyes.

“There’s nothing wrong with this dress. It’s sweet and pretty.”

“Exactly. If you have any hope of getting more experience with men, you need hot and sexy. Not an ankle-length dress that covers up all the goods. Your dates will think you’re Amish. They’ll take one look at you and want to churn butter or build a barn.”

“Ariel, be nice,” Cindy scolds from behind us.

“This is me being nice. It’s not like I said her date will take one look at her and his penis will shrivel and try to burrow its way back up inside his body.”

“These dates are just to get to know men better, not to sleep with them!” I remind her.

“Pshaw, whatever,” she says with a shooing gesture. “You still need to look hot, or the guy will lose interest.”

I know Ariel is right. I need to get used to being a little more risqué with the things I wear, especially if I want to be confident when I’m dancing for people wearing nothing more than a bra and underwear. My clothes have always been a reflection of myself: Sweet, innocent, and simple. And that is definitely not what I want to be anymore. I’m tired of being sweet and innocent. I want to be wild and reckless. I want men to look at me and think I’m beautiful and sexy, not look past me trying to find someone hotter.

Moving around Ariel, I take a deep breath and turn the handle of the front door, taking a step inside, with my friends right on my heels. I hate that I feel like a stranger walking into this house.

“Dad?” I shout tentatively as Cindy closes the door behind us.

When he doesn’t answer, I start digging around in my purse for my phone, knowing I should have called first, before I just showed up after a week of no communication with him.

I hear my dad clear his throat, and I stop looking for my phone and glance up at him.

All of a sudden, Ariel shoves me out of the way and I stumble into the foyer wall as she races around me, stopping halfway down the hall and getting into a fighter’s stance with her fists up by her face.

“Who the fuck are you and what are you doing here?! I’ve taken several kickboxing classes and I will not hesitate to drop kick your ass!” Ariel shouts.

Pushing myself away from the wall, I hurry up to her side and grab her hands, forcing them back down to her sides.

“What are you doing?! That’s twice in one day you’ve tried to fight men in my life!” I yell at her.

“What in the world is going on?” my father asks, standing in the doorway to the kitchen, glaring at Ariel.

“I’m protecting us! You said your dad is all alone at the house. So, who the fuck is this guy?” she asks.

“Um, that’s my dad.”

Ariel’s mouth drops open and Cindy comes up behind us.

“Oh my . . . he’s, he’s . . . oh my . . .” she whispers.

I have no idea what is happening right now.

“This is your dad?!” Ariel screeches, pointing at my father.

“Yes. What the heck is wrong with you?”

“You said he was OLD and frail!” she shouts.

“I never said that!”

“Well, it was implied! He goes to bed early, he has to take medicine for his back, he rarely leaves the house, blah, blah, blah, that equals old as shit!” she argues, sending me an accusatory look before looking back at my, dad who appears incredibly ticked off at what’s happening right now. “How you doin’?”

Ariel’s voice suddenly switches from anger to breathy, sex-phone operator.

Cindy smacks Ariel in the arm before I can.

“What are you doing?” Cindy scolds.

“Are you kidding me right now? Belle’s dad is a silver fox. Like, Sticks from the TV show Live PD silver fox.”