Beauty and

Chapter 79 – Asher

Listening to Bailey giggle as she stood in the kitchen of my Beta suite, made my heart pound harder than I think it had done in a long time, but I tried my hardest to ignore it. She looked up at me, through her long dark lashes. “Wow, my hero.” She said with a sarcastic smile, and, despite myself, I smiled right back at her. There is something about her that makes me smile. Something about the way she jokes with me. Her carefree character. Her humor and way she teases me with no thought…

“You want to watch that sarcasm, missy, or else my offer of sharing my chocolate may be withdrawn.” I said with a smirk, and Bailey looked at me open-mouthed, feigning shock, and once again she had me smiling. This girl has had me smiling more since she arrived than I had done in months…

“Oh! How rude! You know that you can’t promise a girl chocolate and then take it back, right? You do that, and, I would just have to let the pack know that their big strong Beta gains his super- strength from chocolate, not working out. Imagine their shock and disappointment in you when your secret is revealed!” She wiggled her eyebrows at me as if to challenge me, and once again I found myself laughing.

“Okay, I think you may have me there. I won’t break my promise.” I nodded. “So, you want a coffee to help that chocolate go down?”

“Coffee? You want me to stop up all night?” she asked, then suddenly, Bailey turned to look at me, biting her lip

uncomfortably. “You want to do me a favor and forget I said

san Vouchers.

that?”

I held back the chuckle that was so close to leaving my lips. She had obviously heard what she said in the same way I had, but no, that was not my intention. Not, in the slightest….

I grinned. “All forgotten. You seem to think so badly of me, Miss West.” I winked at her playfully, and the slight flush to her cheeks made my heart warm, knowing she was embarrassed. “I have soda too, if that is better for Sleeping Beauty?” I added, so she knew she didn’t have to have a coffee.

Now she rolled her eyes at me, before answering. “Soda would be good, thank you. And trust me, I am far from a sleeping. beauty. You so do not want to see me when I wake up!”

I chuckled, as she dropped her head to her hands, as if she had realized what she had just said. She was incredibly sweet when she was embarrassed. “How am managing this?” she muttered.

“I did not think of it in any way but the sweet and innocent way you meant it.” I reassured her, biting my lip to stop myself from smiling. “Though you forget I have seen you in your pajamas.”

Her eyes widened, as if she remembered. “Hmm, I remember.”

“You have curly hair.” I pointed out, slowly reaching out to touch her currently straightened hair that was currently pulled back into a ponytail.

“Yeah, I hate it. Forever been picked on for it. Wild and crazy hair. Like a mane. When you are constantly criticized for something, you kind of end up hating it. Thankfully, I learned how to tame it.” She ran her hand through her ponytail as if to

demonstrate.

“I think the curls suited you for what it was worth.” I said with a shrug, and she looked at me in shock, her cheeks flushed once more. Before, she quickly looked back at the stash of chocolate in the cupboard to avoid my gaze, Okay… maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned that. It just kind of happened…..

I grabbed a couple of cans of soda from the refrigerator, as she picked some chocolate from the cupboard, before I led her through to the lounge of my home. My home that I barely spent any time in… Modestly decorated in modern colors and

furniture. I watched as Bailey’s eyes darted around the room. taking in the room before looking awkwardly at me, like she was unsure if she wanted to be here alone with me or not.

“Sit yourself down.” I said, allowing her the chance to pick where she wanted to sit. I was beginning to question if inviting her here was a little on the too friendly side… this was not me. Not in the slightest…

Bailey nervously sat herself down on the edge of one of the sofas, her big brown eyes looking toward me. “Your home is nice.” She said politely.

I sighed. “Thanks. I moved back here after…” my voice faltered a little. No, I don’t think she needed to know that. I shook my head. “Thanks.”

Bailey smiled at me as I sat down at the opposite end of the sofa. We were almost acting like two nervous teenagers on a date right now, it was ridiculous. I had invited her here so she wasn’t sitting on her own for the night overthinking things with the guy she was missing. I was trying to help her. There is nothing between the two of us. She doesn’t like me. And I don’t

ST 865

11.17

238 Vouchers

like her. There was nothing to be hervous about.

“When your mate died?” she asked quietly.

“Sorry?”

“You started saying when you moved back here after, so I wondered if it was when your mate died.” She looked at her feet, looking a little uncomfortable. “Sorry, maybe I shouldn’t have asked.”

I shrugged. “Why not? Not like I don’t ask you things I shouldn’t. Yeah. When Isla died, I couldn’t go back to the home we had just begun to call ours.”

“You guys weren’t together long?” she asked, her head tilted gently, her face full of compassion as she spoke.

I slowly shook my head, sighing. “No. I don’t know if I was one of the lucky ones now or not. I thought I was at the time.

Meeting my fated mate so soon after coming of age. But, in doing that, it meant she was here when the pack was attacked. When the rogues came…”

I closed my eyes, my fists clenched tight in my lap. Trying hard to calm my breathing. I can’t remember the last time I had spoken about all this… Suddenly I felt a hand over mine, and as I opened my eyes I was surprised to find Bailey had edged along the sofa to sit herself closer to me, and her hand was now holding mine softly…

79.46%