Her Beast

She doubted Aunt Tay would ever do that.

“This way, she’s given you your freedom, not that you really need it. At eighteen, you can do whatever the hell you want, but I just wanted to have that piece of paper just in case. You’re going to live at my house. I pay for food, utilities, and I own my property. I deal with all the finance. You can still continue to work here if you wish, but I’ll have a driver escort you to and from. No questions asked.”

“Why?” she asked. “Why are you being so nice to me?”

“I’ve got a feeling that not many people have been all that nice to you, Hope.”

She didn’t get it. This man owed her nothing. There was nothing she could ever give him to repay him, and yet here he stood, holding a chance for her future to be a whole lot better than it had been.

Staring at him, she knew in her heart she fell a little bit in love with him right then. Everyone was afraid of him, but he’d only ever showed her kindness, and she didn’t care what other people said. All she worried about was how he made her feel. She refused to care about anything else, especially right now.

“Thank you. Erm, I better go and get my stuff.”

“I’ve already got it.” He opened the car door. “If you climb inside, I’ll go and show you where you’re going to sleep.”

She climbed into the car and held still as he secured her seat belt. There was something sexy about the way he took charge, plugging her seat belt in.

Let’s face it. You’ve got a crush so damn big on him that rivals any kind of movie star crush.

He sat behind the wheel, and she watched as he pulled out of the parking lot, heading in the opposite direction of her old home, and instead, toward her new one.

I can totally handle this.

Out of the corner of her eye, she kept watching him, not wanting to miss a moment. Biting her lip, she couldn’t help but smile. Everything felt so charged, so different. She took a deep breath and wondered what her mother would think of Beast Carson.

It didn’t matter really. She felt amazing when she was around him.

“I’d like to keep my job if that’s okay.”

“I said it was. I’ll arrange for a driver to get you there and back safely. I don’t want you walking the streets.”

“Because it’s dangerous?”

“You don’t know when the bogeyman may come out and scare you.”

She chuckled. “I’ve not heard ‘the bogeyman’ in so long.”

“Did your parents ever tell you about it to make you go to sleep?” he asked.

“Nah. I was a very good kid. I always did as I was told. The only time I heard about the bogeyman was at Halloween, and my mom did it to be scary. I used to love Halloween. She’d get us both dressed up, and we’d go out trick-or-treating. I loved it.”

“What happened?”

“I got older, and all the magic with an addict dad just went out of the window. It was easier to stay in. We’d watch a few horror movies, and leave it at that.”

He pulled into the open gates. “I’ve never celebrated Halloween. Dressing up felt pointless. There’s no reason to be scared of those things that go bump in the night when you’re one of them.”

“I’m not even going to think about that right now,” she said.

He parked the car, and she was pleased she didn’t have to ask him anything more. Holding her bag tightly to her, she stared up at the house and followed Beast. He placed a hand at her back and began to move her into the house.

Guards stood at the door, and he nodded at them. It was only then she heard another car entering the grounds.

“I always have men following me,” he said as she’d stopped to look behind her.

Beast didn’t linger, and they were making their way up the long staircase. In fact, he moved toward the end of the hallway where she saw a second staircase.

“Dwayne’s room is down there. I’ll be having a word with him tomorrow. He won’t bother you. I’m going to get him to take you to school though.”

“I don’t mind walking.”

“And I don’t mind getting people to drive you to where you need to be.”

He stopped at the far room, and she stared at the door he stood at.

“This is my room?”

“Yes.”

She reached past him, gripping the door handle and twisting it. The door opened, and Beast flicked on the lights.

The room was huge. It easily had to be the size of an apartment. The bed was one of the largest she’d ever seen.

Beast moved past her. “En-suite bathroom so you’ll have your privacy. A walk-in closet, and over here is a storage area.”