Beauty Dates the Beast(12)

Her perfect mouth curved in a smile. “You, my succulent little human virgin, are going to go on another date. Several of them, actually.”

Beau must have called and made arrangements early. That made my stomach give a happy flip, but I quelled it. I had to think of Sara, not my hormones. “Mr. Russell is charming, but—”

“You’re not going out with Mr. Russell,” she snapped. “You are done with the Russell clan unless they go through the service and pay the fees.”

My brow wrinkled. “I’m not following—”

“This is a dating service. And you know as well as I do that desired females are very much in demand.”

Giselle stood up, towering over me. “As I said, since last night, I have gotten calls from four very important account holders. They were not aware that we had sanctioned human women available, much less a virgin.” Her lips curved into a smile. “I told them that it was a new offering, of course. And since you have the blessing of a clan leader, not only are you papered and authorized but you are also very desirable.” She strolled around her desk and approached the chair that I huddled in. “You, my dumpling, are going to go out on dates with these men. Or mermen. Or werewolves. Or naga. Or whatever I decide. They are going to pay an extra charge to go out with our sweet human virgin with the pretty blond hair.” Her pitiless mouth curved. “And you are going to keep them interested in my dating service, or you are out on your sweet, virginal ass. Understand?”

Each date meant Sara was in more danger—but I couldn’t afford to lose my job, either. “What exactly do these dates entail?”

“No sex,” she said bluntly. “Most of your appeal is that you are virginal. That’s rare in a full-grown human these days. You play sweet and coy and you blush, and you keep them interested. And then you get to keep your job. You and that little Sara bitch.”

I stood up, liking that when I stood, I was half a foot taller than her. “Don’t call my sister a bitch, Giselle.”

“But isn’t that what she is, Bathsheba? A little bitch.”

I stared at Giselle, my mouth dry. Was she hinting at what I thought she was?

“You and your sister think you are so smart. So smug that you’re keeping a secret from your supe boss.” Her eyes were ice cold. “Nothing goes on in this business that I do not know about. Understand? All it takes is one phone call to the wolf pack and she’s done for. Do you understand?”

She knew. I didn’t know how she knew, but she knew. My legs felt weak. Everything we’d worked so hard at, and Giselle knew exactly what Sara was.

“I understand,” I said numbly.

“Good. Now go and talk to your sister, if you like.” Giselle made a shooing motion in my direction. “See if she wants you to go out on these dates, or if she wants to explore that wild side she’s been suppressing.” Her expression was all sweetness and light. “I’ve heard that the wolf pack is very friendly to females.”

I’d seen—and had—firsthand experience of how friendly. Most of the women who dated a werewolf didn’t date one a second time. They were cliquish, irritable, possessive, and liked to fight. In short, they acted like the wolves they were.

She flicked her hand at me. “We’re done now. Go. Let me know when you’ve made up your mind.”

“Made up my mind?” I laughed bitterly. “We both know what my answer is, Giselle. I’m not going to let anyone touch my sister, including you.”

Her eyes gleamed with avarice. “So … ?”

“If I do this, you can’t tell anyone about Sara’s … problem. If you do, all bets are off.”

Giselle’s smile was wide. “My dear, it’s far more profitable for me to keep her secret. It’s safe with me as long as you play by my rules.”

“I have one additional rule,” I said, thinking fast. “Wolves are a deal breaker,” I said in a hard voice. They’d pick up Sara’s scent immediately and know an unfamiliar werewolf was out there somewhere. Then it wouldn’t take them long to realize it was Sara.

She shrugged. “I don’t see why I’m bargaining with you, but I’ll allow this. We don’t do much business with wolves anyhow.”

I left her office, shutting the door behind me, a sick feeling clenching my stomach. Giselle knew everything. Someone must have told her; she couldn’t have sniffed it out on her own. That meant someone else knew about Sara’s secret and was keeping quiet.

Who else was going to show up and attempt to blackmail us? I felt nauseated at the thought.

Sara waited by my desk, her face white and anxious. Immediately, my resolve strengthened. I’d date whatever bird, cat, or rat shifter Giselle dug up, and do it with a smile. And once I had enough money in the bank account, we’d leave in the middle of the night and start over again.

I couldn’t tell Sara what Giselle knew, though. She’d be paralyzed with fear and completely unable to work. So I gave her a cheerful smile that hid the fact that I felt like crying. “Giselle was mad about Beau, but since it’s set a precedent, she wants me to go out on a few more dates. It’s nothing big.”

“Really? Are you sure?” Her expression was clearly surprised. Then a slow smile spread across her face. “Is it because of Beau? You really liked him. Do you get to go out with him again?”

I waved my hand in a carefree manner. “Maybe so, maybe not. You know just as well as I that it can’t go anywhere.”

She hesitated, clearly confused by my reaction, then swallowed. “What about … you know.” She brushed a finger under her nose, indicating scent.

“We’ll be very, very careful,” I said firmly. “Like we always are.”

The phone rang, interrupting us. “I bet that’s Mr. Russell,” she said. “He called twice while you were in Giselle’s office.”

Of course he had. He wanted to make sure we were on for the rest of the week. Being in heat, he wanted to hedge his bets. I remembered how nice it was to be curled up against him in bed last night, then overlaid that brief, tantalizing thought with Giselle’s cold face and Sara’s pinched, worried one.

It would never work.

I picked up my phone and put on my business voice. “Midnight Liaisons. How can I help you?”

“I’ve been thinking about your ears all morning,” he said, then his voice dropped a little. “Thinking about the sweet curve of your earlobes, and how I’d love to nibble on them again tonight.”

Warmth unfurled in the pit of my stomach. God, he knew just what to say to make me tremble. “I can’t. Working.”

“You’ve been at work since seven a.m. Don’t tell me you’ll be working at, say, eight tonight?”

“I’m pulling a double shift,” I said immediately.

“What time does your shift end?”

Giselle’s red dress flashed in the corner of my eye as she cut across the office. I froze. “If you want to see me again,” I blurted, “you’ll have to schedule it through the dating service.”

“What—”

I hung the phone up before he could finish and buried my face in my hands.

Sara’s safety came before my heart, and if chasing Beau off was what I had to do to keep her safe, I’d do it.

I repeated that to myself over and over again, hoping it would make the ache in my chest go away.


Beau wasn’t the type to give up easily. He showed up at the office a few hours later, an enormous bouquet of flowers in his hand.



I stood up at the sight of him, clenching my hands so I wouldn’t do something girly like straighten my hair. “You shouldn’t be here. I can’t see you unless you go through the service.”

“The service,” Beau drawled, “is exactly why I’m here. Where’s Giselle?”

I frowned and gestured at her office. “Back there.”

Beau nodded and knocked on her door. A moment later, he disappeared inside. I turned, looking for Sara; her supernatural hearing would come in handy for spying on their conversation. But in true fashion, she’d disappeared as soon as she’d seen Beau.

Beau stayed inside Giselle’s office for an hour and a half. Not that I was timing it. Or listening at the door—not that I could hear anything. Quiet, conversational chatter continued the whole time he was in there, muffled by the occasional throaty peal of laughter from Giselle. The sound of Beau’s rumbling bass laugh made my knees weak.

Gee, I was glad they were having such a good time together.

Beau emerged from Giselle’s office without flowers and gave me the lazy, confident smile I was already getting used to. “Hello again,” he said, heading toward my desk, where I tried to look busy. He stood across from me, directly in my line of view.

I got up and grabbed a big stack of filing. “I’m really busy, Beau.”