Academia of the Beast: A Dark Retelling of Beauty and the Beast(9)

Mouth open, she spun around as she looked at the stars above, and the snow that fell like rain. There was a bar in the middle of the empty room, two female bartenders ready to serve.

“Is this another lounge?” Her eyes went to the flowers that lined the circular path that surrounded the bar.

“It is. Beautiful,” Conall said. “Isn’t it?”

There were tables and leather sofas lining the walls, except for one area where the people could step out onto the balcony. It was closed at that moment, but Allyn imagined how wonderful it must be during the warmer seasons.

Nodding her head, Allyn stood before him. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at his face. “Why did you really bring me up here? We could have talked in the VIP lounge, with my friends.”

He took a step forward, making her uneasy by his proximity to her body. “I like beautiful things,” he whispered, his breath warming her neck. “And you are the most beautiful woman I’ve seen in a long time.”

“So,” Allyn said, turning to Conall. “You really think I’m beautiful?”

He grinned, his brows furrowing as he looked down at her. “What kind of question is that? Of course. Don’t you?”

Allyn’s eyes widened. No one had ever asked her that before. “I don’t know,” she whispered. “Only one person has ever told me that. Before you, that is.”

“That is a shame. You deserve to hear those words every day.”

Wow. He is good. Allyn twirled a ringlet of hair as she looked up at him. Too good.

“Who was the other person?”

“My boyfriend,” she said and cringed at her mistake. She sighed and pushed her hair from her face, tucking wild strands behind her ear. “My ex-boyfriend. He left me a few days ago.”

Conall leaned in close. “His loss.”

“I’m sure he thinks otherwise. He has grand thoughts of being a rock star. He doesn’t need a girl like me holding him back.”

“A girl like you? I don’t think you give yourself enough credit. I’ve known you for less than an hour and I can tell you deserve better.”

“Do I deserve a prince?” she asked, batting her eyelashes, a demure smile on her lips.

He gave her an amused look and they laughed. “That remains to be seen.”

She bit her bottom lip and inhaled. Never had the presence of a man stirred her desire so easily. She stepped away and turned her back to him.

“Would you like a drink?”

Allyn nodded. “Sure. I’ll have what you have.”

He walked over to the bar and a tiny bud of hope was buried within her heart that maybe he wasn’t trying to trick her. Maybe he was just as attracted to her as she was to him.

She squeezed her eyes shut. Such thoughts were dangerous. It was too soon. Her heart was still broken by Byron.

Byron—the man that promised her the world and left her with nothing.

She opened her eyes and scowled at the glass. Why should she waste another minute thinking about him? He wasn’t thinking of her. If he had, she wouldn’t be homeless right now.

“We are in the same boat,” Conall said. His hands lifted her hair. “I’m newly single.”

Allyn watched him touch her hair, only wanting him to come closer. “I know,” she said. “I may be new to Central Elastria, but I can read the papers, and the entire kingdom knows about you.”

He stepped to her, his chest an inch from her face. She looked up at him, noting how his face had turned serious, his smile fading, his eyes narrowed. She also noted how alluring he smelled.

He lowered his voice. “What do you think you know about me?”

Allyn swallowed, once again intoxicated by his presence alone. His cologne was mixed with the smell of evergreen, as though he’d hiked through the woods before coming to the Digital Underground.

Her face paled when she realized just how true that could have been. He was a Wolf after all.

“Well,” she began, licking her lips, surprised by how boldly she was speaking to the prince. “Everyone knows about the actress you were dating. And how you broke up with her when she told you she was pregnant.”

Conall laughed. “Do people actually believe those stories?”

Shrugging, she looked up at him and lowered her voice. “I don’t know.”

“Don’t believe everything that you hear,” he said. “I broke up with her for selling stories such as the one you read in the papers. Like you said, she was an actress. A good one.”

Allyn hated to see him frown. She wished she hadn’t made that accusation, but then she might not have seen his candid, vulnerable side.

“I almost believed she was genuine.”

“I’m sorry,” Allyn said. She found herself believing everything he said to her. It was difficult not to. She’d learned the difference between truths and lies in a person’s eyes.

Conall didn’t speak. He tilted her chin with the tips of his fingers and leaned down to kiss her.

Though surprised by his sudden kiss, she didn’t resist. Her body awakened the instant his lips touched hers. Allyn’s eyes fluttered closed as Conall turned her to the window and pressed her body to the glass. With his body pressed against hers, she surrendered to his kiss. He took her bottom lip between his teeth and sucked it, as his hands cupped her face.