Beast (The Submissively Ever After Series Book 1) by Kim Faulks Page A

eyes. She waved a yellow piece of paper in front of my face. I caught the elegant scrawl, but not the words it held. "Our host. The mysterious man you’ve been promised to, where is he?"
    "I haven’t been promised to anyone. This is all a misunderstanding."
    Her conviction held a tremor, enough to make me turn. Nala stood behind me. Her solemn brown eyes held their mark, wavered for a second, then found the ground. Her perfect, creamy skin shimmered. There was a delicate touch of innocence in her eyes that intrigued, and yet a flash of anger surged through me. I wanted to grab her shoulders and force her to lift those brown eyes—to show her that she gave her heart to a monster.
    Nala’s sister kept nattering. I watched each comment draw blood from Nala. "I’m surprised Mark bothered to come at all. He’s been acting strange. I mean, it’s not as though you wear his ring. There’s still time to reconsid—"
    "Shut up." That quiet snarl held all the conviction of a woman in the kind of love that tore her apart from the inside. "Just shut your damn mouth."
    I wanted to see her in pain. I wanted to see each blow draw blood. Fucking naive bitch. How could she not see what type of man she’d fallen in love with? How could she not know? Mark never loved her. He was using her to get her father’s money. He was just like... Gaige. I flinched, the unseen blow stilling me where I stood. No. I’m not like her. I was young, vulnerable. She had to have known. She had to.... Jesus, the thought rocked me. How had I not seen this before? We were the same woman. Vulnerable, lonely. Willing to overlook even the sickest of creatures under the guise of love.
    No. Not anymore. Heavy footsteps had me spinning. I stared into Mark’s eyes as he stalked forward, heading for me. My chest clenched and something deep in my gut turned to water.
    "Where is he? This demanding bastard sends us a message demanding your attendance and then doesn't have the gall to show up himself? What kind of suitor is this?"
    There was a quiet rage in his body. His hands clenched, then unclenched, as though he needed something to wield. Blood. I could see it. The dark drops splattered his face and clung to the ends of his dark hair. Falling, falling. His cruel smile held the truth. The truth I could now see. The truth that chilled me to the bone.
    I blinked and the splatter was gone. There was no blood, no sneer. Nothing but coiled muscles of his arms that worked an invisible weapon. Those piercing green eyes held the promise of all the horror this man was capable of. Without thinking I stepped forward, wanting to meet this monster head on.
    "Be careful."
    A whisper of concern washed over me, taking the steel in my spine. I spun, searching the room, stopping on a darkened corner in the massive room. Six people crowded the space. Belle and Mark, and two women who could only be Belle’s sisters. The resemblance was there, although faint. I remembered the old man. All three women had his nose. The other two men in the room I didn’t recognize. By their sickly, sweet expressions and the matching gold bands on their fingers, they could only be the sister’s husbands. Both of the men never noticed me. They never looked in my direction.
    There was something familiar about this room. I could almost feel the delicious licks of the flames. I reached my hand toward the crackle. So warm. Maybe I could close my eyes and rest a little.
    "Well, have you asked one of the servants where their master is?" The question drew my gaze. One of Belle’s sisters ran her fingers along the tightly packed bookcase. The bottom of her lilac dress brushed the glistening wooden floor as she moved along the wall.
    One of the men answered. His snotty accent made me want to feel his crotch, just to see if he had any balls. "If you call that snarly little woman in the kitchen a servant, then yes, I asked her where their master was. And was rewarded with a barrage of hostility in a language I