Page 19 of Beautiful Beasts

“What do you mean?” I ask, not being able to hide my curiosity.

“You are not the first woman he has brought home. The others didn’t last very long. I hope you last longer than they did.”

My heart stops and sinks with his words. I tilt my head to the side, looking at his face and then into his eyes. “I think I am different,” I confess confidently.

I have seen the truth in Dante’s eyes. He has never shared himself with anyone as he has done with me. The others he fucked, but with me, it is making love. It is his way of loving me. There is no way that I am just another woman in his bed. I refuse to fucking believe it.

Gus smiles and shakes his head before he turns back and looks at the roses. “They all thought they were different, baby. They weren’t,” he says in a low, dark voice. His voice sends chills down my spine. I hate the confidence in his voice.

He slowly stands up. “Harley and Dante asked me to watch over you while they are taking care of some business in the office. I will be on the other side of the yard if you need me, Bella,” he says calmly as if we just had the most normal conversation in the world. There is concern yet coldness in his voice.

“Thank you, Gus,” I say as calmly as possible. I don’t want him to know that even though I don’t believe his words, they still fucking hurt.

“Just watch yourself. Dante means well, but remember, baby, he is the King, and kings don’t settle with just one queen.”

Before I could respond, he turned around and started to walk back the way he came. I wrap my arms around myself tightly as I look down at the roses while Gus’ words echo inside my head.

It’s moments like this I wish he wasn’t so fucking blunt.

Dante was with women before me, that much I know, and I can’t hold that against him. Gus is warning me, and I am grateful, but he doesn’t know Dante like I do. He hasn’t seen us together when it is just us.

When Dante holds me, whispers into my ear as he makes love to me, and washes my body with such care and determination.

Gus might think he knows about Dante and me, but the truth is he doesn’t; no one does.

Dante hasn’t lied to me, and he hasn’t raped or beat me. If anything, he has given me my freedom in more ways than I can explain in words, and I owe it to him to trust him. I owe him my loyalty.

Even if Gus thinks I shouldn’t.

13

Dante

I look out my office window and see Bella watering and tending to the white roses. She has been going outside almost every day since I asked her to watch over my mother’s roses. Seeing her water the roses as the rain continues to come down makes me chuckle, but it gives her something to do to distract her from her thoughts.

I know having her stay on the property and inside the house is going to drive her insane eventually, but her safety is my priority. Even though her being outside puts me on edge, it is good for her, and tending to the roses gives her something to do.

I want so fucking badly to get a list of the men that harmed her over the years from her, but so far, the only information I get about what Griffin put her through is when she has nightmares. Her nightmares scare the living shit out of me, make me see red, and leave me feeling completely fucking helpless. She doesn’t remember them; sometimes, she only screams out a first name. But if I had to guess, she probably doesn’t even know their last names. So first names will have to do for now, even if it makes the hunt harder.

I have been trying to fucking focus on the jobs I must do to ensure I keep my seat at the top, but Bella has consumed every fucking thought I have. I can see why it is making others nervous. Harley has done a good job keeping their worries down, but I know they have questions, and to be honest, so do I.

I honestly don’t know what my plan is anymore because I think about her before I do anything. Our relationship is complicated, but not for the reasons you may think. She doesn’t ask questions; she has just accepted who I am and what I am. But she deserves to have answers to those questions. I want her to fear me, to protect her from me, but her love is so fucking pure, just like her soul. She is all in and doesn’t second-guess anything.

I rest my hands on either side of the window and continue to watch her closely. Gus is standing a few feet away from her, keeping his eyes on her, but it puts me on edge. He better be careful of his thoughts of her. I have no issue putting a fucking bullet in his head for having unholy thoughts about her. He has been watching over her as Harley asked him to do, but he even watches her when I am with her. In the end, all that matters is the more people watching over her, the safer she is. It doesn’t make my jealousy and possessiveness go away; if anything, it makes it fucking worse.

Bella sets down the water container, turns, and starts to walk back towards the front of the house. She has trusted me to keep her safe, but I can feel she needs more from me. She needs me to give her the one thing I haven’t given to anyone else before: my heart. I can see it in her eyes; she sometimes questions my feelings for her. The look doesn’t stay in her eyes long, but I feel the sting in my chest seeing her question my love for her, even for just a second.

The only way I know how to show her is by physically showing her my love. It is just the way I am. Sexual connection is my way of showing her that I am hers, just like she is mine. It is time I show her pieces of my darkness. I know she isn’t ready for all of it yet, but I can show her enough to let her know my feelings are real, and I am letting her in. I have been begging, fucking pleading for her to let me in, for her to share her darkness with me, but if I want that from her, then I have to be willing to do the same.

Bella doesn’t care about words; with her, it’s all about actions. All the men in her life have done nothing but use her, and I need to show and prove to her that I am fucking different because I fucking am.

I don’t mind proving it to her if that is what she needs from me. I will do whatever it takes to show her how different she is to me.

I enter the room, and the bathroom door is cracked, letting the steam escape. I don’t know if she will ever be able to feel as if she is clean, but I want to help her move past whatever is going on inside her head. I just don’t know how to make her feel clean again. I will never be able to take back what they have done to her, but I can fucking replace them, and I fucking will.

I quickly remove my pants, boxers, boots, socks, and shirt, leaving a trail behind me. On my way to the bathroom, I grab my handcuffs from the top dresser drawer and stop in front of the bathroom door. I want to show her that you can have sex, that you can be intimate with someone, and that it can be pleasurable and painful at the same time.

I will teach her that the sexual experiences she has had are not how it is supposed to be. Those men only wanted to harm her for their pleasure; everything they did was about what they wanted. I want to show her love and that I love her, and this is the only way I know how to do it. I fucking know she needs more from me, and she needs to hear the fucking words along with my actions. They can’t stay in my fucking head.

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