Free The Beauty and the Beast by Leigh Wilder Page A

and she thanked him, pretending she was not having dirty thoughts about his table. She placed her napkin in her lap and waited for an explanation .
    She was surprised he served her salad and soup on his own—not a submissive or pet or slave in sight, and he didn’t really settle into his chair until the main course. Dinner was prime rib— suita ble for the flesh-hungry beast across from her.
    “No doubt my invitation to dinner tonight perplexed you,” he said, not touching his own meal. She had her fork raised to her mouth and stopped, setting it down again, waiting. He continued. “I have a proposition—a proposal, if you will—for you.”
    “I’m listening.”
    “Beauty, will you marry me?”
    She nearly stood up at the table in shock. “ Excuse me?”
    “I love you. I love everything about you. I want you to be my wife.”
    Certain her jaw had fallen on her dinner plate, Kate replied with, “Are you insane?” He didn’t answer, so she answered for him, getting up from the table. “There’s so many things wrong with that statement I don’t even know where to begin!” Her curiosity over the meeting melted away, and she was left with an agitation that would not let her sit still. She paced back and forth along her side of the table, careful not to get too close in case he might bite. “Forget that we’ve never even been alone in the same room before—you’re The Beast.”
    “And you’ re Beauty.”
    She paused before answering. “I don’t see what that has to do with any of this.”
    “We belong together,” he said. “Isn’t it obvious? You and I, we understand each other. We know what it’s like to dominate , to take control. You are the only person I’ve ever met that gets as much joy out of torturing some poor soul as I do.” He stood up too to walk towards her, and she backed away, not frightened by his looming figure, but wary. “And your grace and skill. When you play at the dungeon I can never take my eyes off of you. I’ve never met a domme with such lust and zeal.” He referred to Club Midnight, the local dunge on and swingers club. She was paid to do demonstrations and workshops at the club , and she liked to just play there. She had noticed him many times in the crowd, watching.
    “ That i s your problem,” she couldn’t help pointing out. “I’m a dom . And so are you.”
    “I want my wife to be my equal. I don’t want a sub who needs direction from me every time I turn . I don’t need someone to worship me. I can get that out of any sub. I want a partner. A woman who will fight me when we disagree and love me when we don’t.” He stopped speaking for a moment. “I can see from your expression that you are not pleased.”
    “No, I’m not,” she said. “ I don’t do partners . I’m in it for me and me alone.” Even as she said it she felt a little lonely. She had her clients, she had lovers, but they always left at the end of the night. She couldn’t relax in bed with them wearing sweatpants and watching TV—it would spoi l the allure. She would lose control. Control was important. If things did not go her way, it meant they could go terribly wrong.
    “I understand,” h e said. “I do, because it can be the same way with me. But I’m getting tired of it. Aren’ t you tired of not having anyone who can truly listen and care? Wouldn’t it be a relief to have a man you could turn to in a weak moment?”
    “I don’t have weak moments,” she said, her voice sq ueaking because she was in the middle of one . The situation couldn’t get much more out of control. “Thank you for dinner, and goodnight.”
    She turned to leave but he moved fast , blocking the doorway. “Please , Beauty. Kate. Just hear me out.”
    “What?” she snapped. “Do you think you can dom me into changing my mind?”
    “A wager,” he said. “A bet.”
    “I don’t gamble.”
    “No,” he said with a smile. “I don’t imagine you do. You, Kate, would never let your hair down