Rush
BEAUTY AND THE VILLAIN EXCERPT
If angels descended from heaven and graced earth with their majestic presence, their human form would look like her.
Because everything about her reminds me of art that should be displayed in museums, allowing everyone to admire but never touch so no one would taint her magnificent beauty.
Dropping on the bench several feet away, hidden by the large oak tree dangling its branches so low they touch the ground inside the park, I intently watch every move of this creature, too absorbed in her dance to notice anyone or anything else.
Her bare feet soundlessly brush the grass while she performs various ballet pirouettes so gracefully one might be eternally mesmerized by her.
Putting a cigarette in my mouth, I flick the lighter open, shifting my focus briefly on the flaring flame awakening voices inside my head that scream into my ear about agonizing pain, bringing despicable flashbacks one after another.
Each one of them poking the beast living inside me that craves nothing but vengeance and blood for the injustice done to him.
She falls on the grass, yelping in surprise, and pulls my attention back to her, snapping me from the darkness calling my name every second, and after a brief moment, she gets up again, assuming the position and resuming her practice.
A light breeze envelops her form, plastering her skirt over her long legs, as dark clouds gather above us and a rumble of thunder shakes the sky. The lightning flashes while the birds around us fly away as if to find a place to escape the coming storm.
She stays unfazed by nature’s display of power. Instead, a smile curves her lips as she sways to the side, showcasing her beauty under the sunshine streaming through the clouds, making her dark, wavy hair falling down her lower spine glisten.
She jumps high in the air, one leg bent behind her while the other is stretched out, her enticing breasts pushing forward when she arches her back, and then she lands back on her feet, spinning around several times before stopping with her arms up in a finishing pose.
Finally, she opens her eyes outlined by thick, long lashes.
They are blue, just like the ocean during a storm; their depth so mesmerizing that if she possessed enough skill, she could hypnotize anyone into doing what she wanted while still keeping all her secrets intact.
A siren gazing at the horizon and waiting for a fisherman in order to deceive him with her beauty.
Her vivid orbs are a big contrast to her skin, which so easily shows the wild beating of her pulse when something upsets or scares her, giving her enemy easy access to her emotions.
Because nobody taught her how to hide from hideous monsters ready to sink their claws into her tempting flesh. Instead, she lives in an illusion of her family’s creation, treating the world as something extraordinary and safe, where love can cure all.
Na?ve. Too young. Vulnerable.
A temptation every sane man must resist—otherwise, he will forever be consumed by this beauty.
Thankfully, there’s nothing sane about me.
Aileen Scott.
Even tasting her name on my tongue feels so wrong and forbidden; however, it also stirs pleasure rushing through my veins from the anticipation that’s more than a decade in the making.
My pawn on the chessboard that will bring me the king I so crave to destroy.
Because nothing would kill him more than the knowledge of me, a man twice her age and his worst enemy, putting my hands on the princess of the dark castle.
She will be mine.
After all, children always pay for the sins of their father, or so they say.
And her father committed so many sins that his daughter might forever be locked in my cursed castle, paying his dues.