Page 4 of Beauty Sleep

Shit. I only meant to sip it. But I’m so eager to obey him that I threw the whole glass back until the shot pours across my tongue, sticky-sweet.

It burns my throat and I stifle my cough with a fist, trying desperately to play it cool despite the tears gathering in the corners of my eyes. I set the empty glass back on the counter and muffle another cough, then gulp a few times.

“Well?” He raises an eyebrow.

“Um…” I weakly cough again. “I don’t know. It’s okay?” He sighs at me like he’s disappointed, and I frown at him. “What?”

“Howverytwenty-one,” he sighs, raising his eyes to the ceiling.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I don’t even have to feign indignation.

He glances over and pauses for a moment, like he’s about to say something else entirely. Then he changes his mind, and all of a sudden he wryly smiles at me. “Your tastebuds haven’t developed yet. Give it a decade, you won’t be able to drink that stuff.”

I fold my arms and stare up my nose at him. “Apparently some menareboth. They talk like a prince, and they’ve got the manners of a beast.”

The Daddy stares at me—and then he laughs, loud and genuine, while I grin like the cat who got the cream. “Touché. I’m just a grumpy old fairy who’s tried it all before. You’re only young once, Beauty. Figure out what you want by kissing them all—the princesandthe beasts.”

My friends still aren’t here—there’s no sign of them when I turn and glance over my shoulder—and somehow, it gives me a little more confidence. Maybe… just maybe, I can transform myself from shy, nervous Briar into a brave Beauty.

What would Beauty do?I already know the answer to that, so I clear my throat.

“I’ve never told anyone this... but thereisone thing I know I want.”

This could go well—or very, very badly.

Chapter

Two

BRIAR

I don’t knowhow I went from tongue-tied to spilling my deepest secrets to this Daddy.

Maybe because there’s an energy about him that draws me in. He’s light and layered, complex. If he were a drink, he’d be… aged whisky, I guess. And he’s not wrong: I’m a basic pineapple daiquiri bitch.

Not even that—I’m avirgindaiquiri. I’ve always dreamed of making it to the cocktail page, if you get what I mean. But I’ve never been this excited about flirting with anyone before.

The man doesn’t hesitate to set down his glass, turning to give me his full attention. “Tell me what’s on your mind.”

My heart’s about to pound out of my damn chest. “I—I don’t… um…” I murmur, blushing furiously.

“Listen,” he says when I hesitate, leaning close. “Whatever you’re into, I can guarantee I’ve seen weirder and wilder stuff at Vibes.”

I crack a nervous little smile. “Yeah?” The private parties, crazy club nights, darkrooms… that’s all normal in my friendship group. But my thing is different. They go out there to find fun before they come home in the dawn to sleep.

I want to go home and sleep until fun findsme—and uses me for his every whim, and leaves before dawn can show me his face.

Damn it. Don’t get hard again. That’s the last thing I need.

“M-My friends are going there tonight. They think I’m coming with them… and, um, I-I don’t know if I want to.” My palms are getting sweaty, so I shove them into my pockets. “Because I want to go home alone and… um...” I trail off.

I can barely look away from the eyes piercing me, studying me like a book. And of course it’s turning me on even more, because Iliketo be studied. Perused at leisure, while stretched out naked on my bed in the dark…

Alone isn’t the end of the story for me. It’s the beginning of all my secret fantasies.

“Hey, look!” a familiar voice hollers from the doorway. “The party’s started without us!”

Shit. They’re here.

---