The Fairy Tales Collection Read online

  “Why aren’t you painting?” He asked.

  Duncan shrugged. “I took a personal day. It’s not like I need the money.”

  “True. Does anyone in this town know exactly how rich you are, Duncan?”

  “Nope and they don’t need to know.”

  “Why not? What’s the big deal?”

  “You think the people in this backwater town even know what art is beyond a Norman Rockwell painting?” Duncan said bitterly.

  “You think they’ll treat you differently if they know you’re a damn millionaire?”

  Duncan scowled. “I don’t care what they do. Besides, you’re one to talk – how many of the good town folk know you’ve got money falling out your ass?”

  “Point taken,” Bennett said.

  He glanced cautiously at Duncan. It wasn’t like him to be so angry. The lion shifter had always been easy going with a sarcastic sense of humour, even as a boy. He watched as Duncan reached into the bag at his feet and pulled out a six pack of beer. He handed one to Bennett and opened another before taking a long swallow.

  “Go ahead,” he said when Bennett didn’t open the can.

  “It’s not even noon,” Bennett said.

  “It’s almost one,” Duncan said. “You’ve been out in the sun too long. It’s fried your brain.”

  Bennett rolled his eyes before opening the can of beer. He sipped at the cold liquid as Duncan stared moodily at the back yard.

  “You gonna tell me what’s wrong or just get drunk on my patio?” Bennett asked.

  “Tell me I didn’t do what I think I did last night,” Duncan said.

  “Do you mean when you threatened to kill a man for touching Ella Cinders, or announced that she belonged to you right in front of her? Or maybe it was when you nearly shifted in front of her, Mirabelle and that redheaded waitress. Wait – maybe it’s the part where you threatened to tear out your best friend’s throat if he touched your woman?”

  “Fuck,” Duncan said. “I was hoping I had imagined all of that.”

  Bennett laughed. “Afraid not, my friend. What happened last night?”

  “I don’t know,” Duncan said miserably. “I heard Ella scream and then I saw that asshole Marty touching her and I just – lost control.”

  He took another drink of beer. “I don’t know why I said what I said. Hell, I’m attracted to her – always have been – but the woman hates me. She won’t give me the time of day.”

  He paused before giving Bennett a sheepish look. “Do you know I hired her stepmother’s cleaning company to clean my house?”

  Bennett shook his head and Duncan sighed. “I did. I tried to tell myself it wasn’t because I wanted Ella in my house but that’s a damn lie. The ironic part is – it’s not even Ella who cleans it. It’s her stepsister, Ana. Who, by the way, is a real piece of work. I can’t be home when she’s cleaning or she spends the entire time hitting on me. I found a pair of her underwear tucked under my pillow with her cell number written on them.”

  Bennett burst out laughing and Duncan gave him a wry grin before staring at his can of beer. “What the hell is happening to me, Bennett? How do I explain what I said to Ella?”

  “You probably won’t have to. If she hates you like she says she does…”

  Bennett trailed off and Duncan nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. She’ll just completely ignore me like she always does. If she doesn’t, if she wants to know what the hell I meant, I’ll just tell her I was drunk.”

  He rubbed his forehead. “God, I never thought I would fall for a human. Did you?”

  “Don’t take this the wrong way, Duncan, but I never thought you’d fall for anyone. You’re not exactly the commitment type.”

  “Thanks, but I was actually talking about you.”

  Bennett gave him a startled look. “What do you mean?”

  Duncan rolled his eyes. “You’re in love with Belle Vale.”

  “I am not.”

  “Oh please. You just look at her and you get this puppy dog look in your eyes like you want to curl up in her lap while she pets you.”

  “Shut up,” Bennett said.

  “Try and deny it but it’s ridiculously obvious. You came back here for one reason and one reason only and that reason has gorgeous blue eyes and a seriously magnificent rack.”

  Bennett growled at him. “Talk about her rack again and I’ll gut you like a fish, Duncan.”

  Duncan laughed. “I’m not after your woman, relax.”

  “She’s not my woman.”

  “Not yet she isn’t. But I’ll bet you a thousand bucks that by this time next week you two are making the beast with two backs.”

  “Nice, Duncan,” Bennett muttered.

  “Yeah, I’ve never been much of a wordsmith,” Duncan said cheerfully. “Now, do we have a bet or not?”

  “I’m not betting with you on sleeping with Mirabelle,” Bennett retorted. “Besides, it isn’t going to happen. Humans and shifters aren’t meant to mate.”

  “Says who? Your father? Just because he was old-school about keeping separate from humans doesn’t mean everyone is. Hell, my cousin in Trenton is married to a human. She’s been mated to him for nearly five years now and no one cares that he’s not a shifter.”

  “Are you serious?” Bennett said.

  Duncan nodded. “I am. His parents don’t know she’s a lion shifter but she’s pregnant with her first kid so that’ll change soon. It’ll be difficult to explain why in a couple of years their grandbaby is just randomly turning into a lion from time to time.”

  Bennett couldn’t help but grin. Shifters started to change to their animal form when they were toddlers and it took at least a good two months before they learned to control it. Shifters had learned long ago to keep their toddlers away from humans during the time it took to teach them to control the shift.

  “You know what I think?” Duncan said thoughtfully. “I think way more humans know about the existence of shifters than most shifters realize. The High Council are fooling themselves if they think our existence is as secretive as they want it to be.

  Bennett stiffened as a car door slammed and the faint scent of cinnamon wafted over him. He stood up and yanked Duncan to his feet. “You need to go.”

  “What? Why?”

  “Mirabelle is here.”

  Duncan grinned at him. “She’s visiting you at your house? You sure you don’t want to bet – “

  “Knock it off!” Bennett hissed. “Hey – how do I, uh, look?”

  Duncan snickered loudly. “Seriously, dude?”

  Bennett flushed and Duncan laughed again. “Truthfully, you’re pretty sweaty, you’ve got leaves in your hair and,” he sniffed in his direction, “you’re not smelling all that great. You want me to distract her while you have a quick shower?”

  “Hi there.”

  Bennett groaned inwardly at the sound of Belle’s soft voice before raking his hand through his hair. A few leaves fell to the ground as Duncan swung around and grinned at Belle.

  “Hello, Miss Belle. How are you today?”

  “Good. I heard voices so I just came around back. I hope that’s okay.”

  “It’s fine,” Bennett grunted.

  They stood in awkward silence before Belle smiled faintly. “I’m sorry. You have company and I’m interrupting. I’ll come by later.”

  “Don’t leave!” Bennett said quickly. “Duncan was just leaving.”

  “That’s right I was,” Duncan said. “It was lovely to see you again, Belle.”

  “You as well, Duncan.” A devilish little gleam appeared in her eyes. “I was just visiting Ella. She’s at home if you were thinking you’d like to continue your discussion with her about how she belongs to you.”

  Duncan’s tanned skin turned bright red and he cleared his throat. “Uh, I was very drunk last night, Belle. Very, very drunk.”

  “Oh, right, of course,” Belle said with an innocent smile.

  Duncan grinned uneasily before waving at Bennett and wal
king out of the backyard.

  “Do you have a few minutes to talk, Bennett?” Belle asked.

  He nodded. “Yes, why don’t you come into the house.”

  As she followed him up the deck to the patio doors, he was acutely aware of how sweaty and smelly he was. In contrast, she was looking cool and crisp in a jean skirt and soft pink shirt. Unlike her clothing from yesterday, the shirt dipped low at the neckline revealing a deliciously pale hint of cleavage. He clenched his fists and tried not to notice the way her long hair fell down her back like a dark waterfall. God, she was gorgeous.

  “The back yard is starting to look really good,” she said politely as she followed him into the kitchen.

  “Thanks. I like to garden,” he said.

  She smiled but didn’t reply and he poured them both a glass of water. He handed one to her and couldn’t stop a shiver going down his back when their fingers brushed briefly. She gave him a curious look and he blurted out, “You’re not wearing glasses.”

  She touched her face self-consciously. “Yeah, I normally don’t anymore. I just hadn’t picked up my contacts yesterday so, you know…”

  She trailed off before taking a small sip of water. He searched frantically for something to say as silence filled the large kitchen. “How’s your dad feeling today?”

  She closed her eyes briefly before smiling at him. “Hungover, but that’s nothing new. I,” she paused and gave him a heartbreaking look of shame, “I spoke with dad about your money. He hasn’t spent all of it but he’s refusing to give me the rest of it.”

  “That’s okay,” he said.

  “It isn’t,” she insisted. “It’s not okay at all but I - the thing is - I lost my job yesterday and I don’t have a lot of extra money.”

  “Mirabelle, it doesn’t matter. I don’t need you to pay me back the money.”

  She glared at him. “I don’t need your charity, Bennett.”

  “That’s not what I meant,” he said quickly. “I just meant that – “

  “I was thinking,” she interrupted, “that maybe I could pay my father’s debt to you in some way other than money.”

  An image rose in his mind, one that was darkly inviting and utterly intoxicating. Mirabelle, naked in his bed, moaning and gasping as he buried his face between those pale thighs of hers. He drank the glass of water in four large gulps. Somehow he didn’t think Mirabelle would accept his proposal of bringing her to orgasm repeatedly in exchange for her father’s debt. The coolness of the water did nothing to drown the fire in his belly for her and she took a nervous step back when he raised his gaze to hers.

  “What did you have in mind, Mirabelle?” Even he could hear the dark desire in his voice and he watched as she flushed and the heady scent of her arousal filled his nose.

  Oh fuck, she wanted him just as badly as he wanted her.

  She made a nervous little noise in the back of her throat and his desire deepened when he glanced at her breasts. Her nipples had hardened. He could see them clearly through her bra and thin shirt and it made his cock stiffen until it rubbed painfully against the front of his pants.

  He turned around quickly, staring out the window over the sink and tried to ignore his bear’s demands that he take Mirabelle to his bed and fuck her repeatedly.

  “Bennett?” She said uncertainly.

  “Sorry,” he said hoarsely. “You don’t have to do anything.”

  “I want to,” she said. “I was thinking maybe I could do some cleaning for you. This house is huge and I’m sure after eighteen years of sitting empty that it could use a good cleaning. I could come by every day in the morning and – “

  “What will you do for money?” He interrupted. “While you’re paying back your father’s debt, how will you buy groceries and pay your bills?”

  “I – that’s nothing you have to worry about,” she said hurriedly. “I’ll be fine. What do you say, Bennett? I’ll clean your house from top to bottom in exchange for the money my father owes you.”

  He didn’t reply and she took a step closer. “I realize that won’t cover the entire amount but I’ll be starting my new job in a couple of days. I’d be willing to um, do regular housecleaning until you feel the debt is paid off. I could come by once a week as long as you don’t mind me scheduling it around my new job.”

  “Where are you working?”

  “Ella’s stepmother owns a cleaning business. I’m meeting her this afternoon about a job but I’m pretty confident she’ll hire me, and I’ll probably see if I can get some work at the Food Market. I worked there as a cashier when I was a teenager and I’m still pretty friendly with Victor, the owner.”

  He whirled around and glared at her. “How friendly?”

  She blinked at him in surprise. “What?”

  He clenched his hands into fists and swore inwardly at his bear. The damn thing had come roaring forward the moment she mentioned another man’s name and he hadn’t been able to stop his outburst.

  “Nothing. Never mind,” he said. “I don’t need a housekeeper.”

  Her face fell. “Right. Okay, well maybe we could work out a payment plan then? I could give you fifty dollars a week,” she bit at that deliciously full bottom lip before finishing hurriedly, “with interest of course.”

  He shook his head again and she gave him a look of frustration. “Bennett, I can’t afford to pay you back the money in full right now. Please, can’t we just – “

  “Come with me,” he interrupted.

  “Where are we going?”

  “I have something to show you.”

  Belle followed Bennett out of the kitchen and down the long hallway. He turned left down another hallway and then right.

  “Gosh, this place really is a mansion,” she said.

  He shrugged but didn’t say anything. She stared at his broad back. His t-shirt was sticking to him with sweat and she wondered what he would say if she lifted his shirt and licked his back.

  Belle! Knock it off!

  Right, focus. She needed to focus. Still, that look he had given her in the kitchen and the way he had asked what she had in mind… good Lord, if it hadn’t made her panties soaking wet. What was it about him that made her act like a sex fiend?

  Oh, I don’t know. Maybe it’s the fact that he’s like eight feet tall with more muscles than Thor? Maybe it’s the deep voice or those dark eyes, or the way he looks at you like he wants to throw you over his shoulder and carry you to his bed?

  She should be so lucky. She had never once had a man lift her off her feet – they’d probably put their back out if they tried.

  Bennett wouldn’t. He’s strong, remember?

  She remembered. She could still feel the imprint of his arm around her waist, the touch of his hand when he cupped her face. A shiver went down her back and fresh moisture dampened her pussy. What the hell was happening to her?

  They were still walking and she realized she was already hopelessly lost. Ridiculous that someone could get lost in a house but she’d always had a bad sense of direction. She wondered where exactly he was leading her. Any deeper into the house and no one would ever find her again. No one would hear her screams of pleasure as Bennett pushed that large body between her thighs and finally took what was his. She’d be at his mercy, her body his to do whatever he wanted with and –

  Belle!

  Sweet mother of Mary, she was frackin’ losing it. Bennett wasn’t leading her to his bedroom. He wasn’t going to demand sex in exchange for her father’s debt. Technically she’d known him less than twenty-four hours but she knew instinctively he wasn’t dangerous nor would he ever make her do something she didn’t want to do.

  What about something you want to do?

  Shut up!

  Lost in her thoughts, she didn’t realize Bennett had stopped until she ran into his broad back. She squeaked in surprise, her hands gripping his narrow waist as she took a deep breath. He smelled good, like a wood fire and crisp autumn days and she was helpless to stop from burying h
er face into his damp t-shirt and inhaling again.

  “Mirabelle?” His voice was hoarse and his entire body had stiffened against her.

  Her face flaming, she stumbled back. “I’m so sorry.”

  “That’s okay,” he muttered before opening the door. “Hang on a minute.”

  He walked into the room and she blinked when he drew back the heavy curtains and the sunshine came flooding into the room.

  “Oh – oh my God,” she whispered.

  The room was a library – the most magnificent one she’d ever seen. Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves covered every wall and they were crammed full of books. There was a mezzanine, accessible by a narrow, spiral staircase, and more shelves of books lined the second level. The forest green walls and the dark wooden floor gave the room a cozy and secretive feel. A gas fireplace was at one end with a few pieces of furniture, hidden by dusty sheets, in front of it.

  “Bennett, this is – this is amazing,” she whispered.

  He smiled. “My mom collected books. She loved to read – like you.”

  “How many books are in here?” She traced her fingers across the spines of the books closest to her as he shrugged.

  “I don’t know. That’s where you come in.”

  “You want me to count the books?”

  “Sort of. What I’m looking for is someone to catalogue the books in a spreadsheet, as well as assess and research the value of them. Some of these books are old and worth a lot of money and I need an accurate monetary value of the library for insurance purposes.”

  “You’re asking me to go through every one of these books and find out what they’re worth?” She said.

  “Yes, although I imagine there will be some that you’ll know right away aren’t worth anything.”

  “Bennett, this – this will probably take at least a year,” she said.

  “That’s fine.”

  She stared thoughtfully at him. “So, if I do this then we’re even-Steven for the money my dad owes you?”

  “No. There’s more work here than the two grand your father owes me. I’ll pay you an hourly wage. What did you make as a librarian?”

  “I was actually a library assistant and I made fourteen bucks an hour.”