Page 31 of Beauty Sleep

My throat is tight, but I can’t help a soft squeak.

Prince chuckles. “Just do it on purpose. Live your dreams at night, and you’ll have more room to discover what your dreams are during the day.”

That sounds… that sounds really nice.

Shit. I’m sleepy again. I can’t hold back another huge yawn.

“And before any of that, you clearly need to sleep,” Prince murmurs, pushing himself to his feet.

“Wait,” I whisper. “Will you come back on Friday?” I lick my lips nervously, and it takes everything I have to force out another word. “Please?”

What if he says no? What if he doesn’t want me that often? Or ever again?

This. Is. The.Worst.

In the darkness, I don’t have a clue what he’s thinking. My whole kink is sitting and stewing and waiting… but I can’t stand another second.

“I know that’s the night of your big break. But you could come before…? Or after, and tell me how it went...? My roommates always go out early for pre-drinks. And they’ll be out all night. So basically, come anytime. I’ll be in bed?—”

Prince takes hold of both my shoulders, gently rolling me onto my back, and then he kisses me.

Ohhhh. Oh, fuck.

This kiss tells me more than a thousand words, or a hundred lingering stares. It’s a promise that blows away all my worries like dust in the wind.

It says:Whenever you need me, I’ll be here.

Prince’s mouth slides softly across mine, gentle yet demanding. He sucks my lower lip until I melt into a thousand little puddles of goo, and then he pushes his tongue between mylips to utterly claim me.Everypart of me, whether it lives in the shadows or the light.

“I’ll come,” Prince promises in a whisper against my lips as he finally pulls away. “And you really are a fast learner, Beauty. I hope you remember that now.”

I swallow hard.

I can’t get over the way he sees all of me. And he might even grow to love it, in time. As long as I let him in… through more than just the window.

Maybe even the front door.

“There’s a lockbox outside,” I whisper, my heart fluttering nervously. “You’ve slain enough dragons to have the castle keys. The code’s 6969.”

Prince’s breath catches. There’s a few long seconds of silence, and then he snorts.

“6969? That’s a terrible code.” Despite the dry tone in his voice, Prince puts his hand on my shoulder for a quick squeeze… like he wants me to know how touched he is.

I giggle as I nuzzle into my pillow. “But you won’t forget it. That makes it a great code.”

“And it’s easy for anyone to guess, which makes it?—”

“A great code, if you havemykink.”

Prince gives up and huffs a soft laugh. “Are you a beautyanda brat?”

“I don’t—” I yawn again. “Mmmnh. I dunno, remember? You’ll have to find out.”

“Oh, I will,” he promises in that warm, raspy whisper that turns me on so much. “But first, you sleep.”

That’s one command I’m happy to obey.

Just as the blackness tugs at me, I hear Prince’s voice one more time. “Beauty?”

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