Beauty and the Beast (Not Quite the Fairy Tale #3) Read Online Free

massive; but save for the one and a half foot he had on her, though, there was very little to differentiate him from anyone, as far as she was concerned.
Yes, his skin was pale. Ok, he didn’t have eyelashes. Boo-hoo, I’m frightened.
    Or not.
    What was definitely intimidating about him was his presence; he had a regal way of owning the space around him. His gaze was sharp, intense, and seemed to see straight through flesh. 
    Forcing herself to refrain from fidgeting under the scrutiny, she challenged: “And for how long, exactly?”
    He seemed to consider this, before replying.
    “It depends on your performance, doesn’t it? Let’s say, if you’re good, you’re making up for one grand a night. Make it a great spectacle, I’ll write off two or three. So: for however long it takes. When we’ve ensured that no one else’s brother is going to play with my money, you’re good to go. In the meantime, feel free to pursue your usual activities during the day; as long as they don’t interfere with our arrangement. You will have to live here, too. Do we have a deal?”
“Fine.”
    More than fine, in fact. He was letting her off lightly.
    She hadn’t thought that she might have been able to be acquitted of Ben’s debt with so little inconvenience. No job she was qualified for would pay anything close to a thousand marks a day – with her clothes on, anyway. Hell, she should ask to stay an extra couple of weeks to pump up the savings account.
    Ok, people would assume that she was his whore; whatever. She wouldn’t be, that was the main thing. It might have caused her some problem if his casino had been closer to her home, but the swanky building might as well have been in another universe; no one she knew could ever afford one glass of coke in a place like this.
    Well, except Ben, when he’d stolen enough to come out and play, apparently.
     
    Everything else aside, moving in was going to have advantages.
    Her lease was coming up in two weeks: she’d been looking for a new place for a while, because the landlord was raising the rent, but turned out, every single homeowner had done the same.
    Jereena had been a mess since the beginning of the Anarchy, ten years ago, and for that reason most people had left the cities – they hadn’t been safe for families with children.
    However, there were less and less jobs anywhere, especially in the countryside. People were migrating back, which had made the prices shoot straight back up.
    So a few weeks with a roof – a very nice, free roof – above her head to comfortably look for a new place was a blessing. Without it, she might have given up and just renewed her lease.
    And to be entirely honest, she had to admit – if only to herself – that she was predominantly relieved because no one would dare chase her in the Beast’s mansion.
    She wasn’t frightened of her own shadow – not anymore; but a place where she didn’t have to use three locks and two alarm systems sounded like heaven.
    “I have a condition,” she said, well aware that she was in no position to negotiate the syrupy-sweet arrangement he’d offered; but hey, he seemed to be a nice guy. There was no harm in trying. “My brother will be in within the next few days.”
    Ben and Lucia would try to contact her as soon as they realized she wasn’t turning up for their appointment with the estate agent, but they’d leave it a day, maybe two, before turning up at her place; it wouldn’t be the first or the last time Belle disappeared for a while.
    Then, when they saw the empty rooms, they’d guess what she’d done.
    “Whatever he offers you must be dismissed. He wouldn’t manage to get it on time anyway; it would be empty promises to get me back,” she lied, and the Beast seemed convinced. Then, she surprised him by requesting: “I’d like him to believe exactly the same thing as your crowd.”
    The truth was, she was aware that her actions and her acceptance were enabling Ben’s behavior.