A Beast's Tale

Chapter 81

If looks could kill, Gilbert and I would have both died then and there.

He at least had the decency to wait for me to open the door instead of barging in, but I didn't want to see him, and the feeling was mutual. His smile was more akin to a beast baring its teeth than an expression of a pleasant emotion. I supposed I should have felt some gratitude that he'd given us as much time together as he had before knocking. He'd probably followed me here and been sitting right outside the door, counting the minutes I'd been alone with Ivetta until the jealousy eating him alive was too much to bear. A detached, rational part of me found that commendable. It was a step up from simple possessiveness. He was developing compassion for her.

A much larger part of me was considering slamming the door in his face.

"I think I've given you enough time," he said, his blood-red eye slipping past me to Ivetta. "It's my turn."

"Prince Gilbert?" she asked, looking up from straightening her dress, already flustered and blushing. Wide green eyes darted from me to Gilbert and back again.

"If you want me to make him leave, I will," I told her.

"That hurts." Gilbert's brows drew together, and his lips pulled down in a wounded expression. "The little dove is my friend. It's bad enough that I haven't been able to spend much time with her the last two days. Now, when something upsetting has happened to her, I don't even get to comfort her? That isn't very fair, Chevalier."

"I can't let you leave until two or three o'clock, and I'm not leaving you alone during that time, which means you have two options," I continued speaking to her, ignoring Gilbert. "I can stay with you, or you can go with him."

She bit her lip and glanced between us. "There isn't a third option where I can go back to work and pretend nothing happened?"

"No," Gilbert and I said in unison.

She sighed, and her shoulders slumped. "Well, I guess it's true that I haven't spent much time with Prince Gilbert recently..."

"No, you haven't, and I'm hungry," he said, breaking out into a triumphant grin as he stepped toward her.

"E-excuse me?"

He chuckled and reached out to tuck her hair behind her ear, then trailed his finger down her neck. "For cookies. What were you thinking about?"

She swallowed and swatted his hand away. "O-oh, n-nothing. Y-you want cookies? Now?"

"Isn't that a good late-night snack? Milk and cookies?"

"Yes, it is. I can go check the kitchens for—"

"No. I want cookies you've made. And I have to warn you, little dove, I'm in a very foul mood. So foul that I might just kill somebody if I have nothing to eat soon. A certain baron comes to mind..."

"No, no, I can make cookies," she hastened to say. "There's no need to hurt anyone."

"He he. You're so sweet." The corner of his eye crinkled as he took her hand, intertwining his fingers with hers. "And don't worry about Chevalier. He won't object. I'll even allow him to post your guard dogs outside the kitchen, so long as nobody else is in the room with us. You'll be perfectly safe. But if you really want to make him happy, you can promise to stab me if I misbehave. A kitchen is full of weapons that even a little dove can use."

She shook her head. "Don't even joke about something like that! I could never—"

He kissed her cheek. She froze. I clenched my jaw and crossed my arms over my chest rather than reach for my sword. I'd known he would tease her more if I were here, but I wanted to know exactly how he intended to occupy her time before I left. When he shot me a sideways smirk, I met his gaze without blinking and kept my face smooth and impassive.