Page 6 of Beast
Not her face, not her body—but the way she curled in on herself, like the weight of the world had beaten her down one too many times.That thought had him gripping the handlebars tighter, his knuckles turning white.
The sun was already creeping over the horizon when he finally moved.Without thinking, he rode into town, stopping at an old diner he’d been going to since before he patched into the Sentinels.It smelled like burnt coffee and grease, but it was familiar.Comforting.
The old lady behind the counter recognized him, but she didn’t ask questions.Just handed him two black coffees and a breakfast sandwich wrapped in wax paper.
He drank his coffee to wake himself up, then rode back.When he reached the warehouse again, he expected her to be gone.Maybe it would’ve been better that way, but she was still there.Beast found her crouched beside her pack, rummaging through her things with the kind of tense, focused energy that told him she was used to running.Ready to leave at a moment’s notice.
He stepped inside, his boots echoing against the concrete.Pixie went still.Her body tensed, muscles coiling like a cornered animal, but when she looked up and met his gaze, some of the fear in her eyes dimmed.Just a little.
He grunted and set the food down on a crate beside her.“For you.Figured you were hungry.”
She hesitated, her gaze flicking between him and the sandwich like she was waiting for some kind of catch.Then, cautiously, she reached for it.
Beast leaned against the wall, arms crossed, watching, and that was a mistake.For the first time, he really saw her.The delicate curve of her jaw.The way her dark hair framed her face, messy from sleep.The faint tremble of her fingers as she peeled the wrapper back and lifted the sandwich to her lips.And those lips...
Jesus.He needed to stop looking, but then she did something that almost made him chuckle.She sniffed it first, like she was making sure it wasn’t poisoned.
Then she ate—fast, like she hadn’t had a decent meal in days.She barely stopped to breathe between bites, washing it down with scalding coffee like she didn’t even feel the heat.He wasn’t sure why that got to him, but it did.
Beast wasn’t the type to offer kindness easily.He sure as hell didn’t take in strays.But something about this woman, about the quiet determination in her eyes despite the exhaustion, despite whatever the hell she was running from, made it hard to look away.
“Where you from?”he asked.
Pixie hesitated mid-bite.“Nowhere.”
He raised a brow.“Nowhere, huh?”
She just shrugged, keeping her gaze on the food like it was the most interesting thing in the world.
Beast exhaled through his nose.He wasn’t buying it.She was running.That much was obvious, and maybe he should just let her go.Let her keep moving.Let her be someone else’s problem.
But the idea of her out there, alone and unprotected, didn’t sit right with him.Beast tightened his jaw, and he made a decision he wasn’t sure he’d regret later.
“You’ve got two choices, Pixie,” he said, his voice low and gruff.“You can leave, or you can work for your stay.”
She went still, her fingers curling slightly around the coffee cup.Then, slowly, she lifted her gaze to meet his.“What kind of work?”she asked.
Beast smirked, something dark and knowing flashing in his eyes.“Nothing you can’t handle,” he said.
