Page 28 of Beauty Sleep

It feels too good to be true, but I couldn’t possibly imagine the soft taste of his lips.

Not even in my wildest dreams.

At last, Prince pulls back and rests his forehead against mine.

“You haven’t opened your eyes once.” His words come in short, warm puffs of air that tickle my sensitive lips.

I gulp for breath. “Mmhmm.”

Something is surging between us—something I don’t understand. Part of me wants to look at him, to see for myself who he is. Whether I’m feeling what I think I am.

But I’m afraid it’ll shatter this perfect fantasy.

“It’s… um… it’s hotter that way?” My voice trails off as my cheeks burn.

Ugh. Even I’m not convinced by that answer.

He huffs softly. “And the real reason?”

I don’t know how to say it. But Prince gives me time to think about it. He just waits, quiet and patient and still.

Shit.

I’ve been waiting so long for my prince that I never thought about what to do when he came. I guess it’s time to be honest with him—and with myself.

Chapter

Eleven

BRIAR

I don’t knowwhat to tell Prince.

He hasn’t given me a reason not to trust him… but I’m not sure if I trust my own judgment. Any sane person would look at everything I’ve done over this past week and sayno. Probably with several more expletives. But if I hadn’t done any of it, we wouldn’t be here.

I’m afraid to fill the comfortable night air between us… but I guess I could start there.

“It scares me,” I murmur softly. “Knowing who you are underneath first. And knowing thatyouknow me the same way.” Then I furrow my eyebrows. “If you get what I mean.”

“Yes,” Prince says softly. “There’s the knowing that comes with seeing someone in the light… and the knowing of seeing what’s inside them, and helping bring those things to life.”

“Like what?” I murmur. It’s not just an excuse to hear him talk, either. What he’s saying makes sense.

“Seeing their deepest, most shameful fantasies. Understanding something about them that they might not have admitted even to themselves. Liking them, even growing to love them, despite... no, not despite it.Becauseof it, and everything you understand about them through it.”

Whoa. Did I hear that right?

Is he trying to tell me that he… he might just grow to love me?

My gulp sounds even louder in the darkness. “What does it say about me, then?”

He reaches out and rests a hand on my shoulder. “You obviously want to hide from the light—from seeing and making a choice for yourself. But you’re desperate to be seen.”

Oh my god, kill me now.

I dramatically roll onto my front, hiding my face in the pillow.

Prince laughs softly and rests a hand on my back. “Did you hear me when I said I like you because of it?”

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