How Beauty Met the Beast by Jax Garren Read Free Book Online

spread by the continent. My ancestors saw no reason not to be both strong and smart.” He motioned at himself. “And clean. Cleanest Europeans of the Medieval Era, anyway.”
    She stared at him openly, and he couldn’t read the expression. The wider planes of his chest made the scarring less noticeable there than on his face. Or at least, that’s what he told himself when he looked in the mirror. And with no body hair, his musculature, which he kept up to Army Ranger standards, was easy to see. He could only hope that’s what had Jolie’s pretty green eyes riveted.
    He stepped toward her, and she blushed but didn’t back up. Gods, he knew better than to stop in front of her, he knew better , but his feet stopped anyway. “A look like that could give a man the wrong impression,” he rumbled.
    “Oh. Sorry. I...” Her blush deepened until her skin nearly matched the strawberry in her hair. “You came to me. I didn’t mean to...”
    He nodded behind her. “You’re between me and my closet.”
    “Oh!”
    “I know the birthday suit’s a hit, but you’re gonna have to make a decision here. Step aside, or grab the towel and check out the rest.” He was flirting? He hadn’t flirted in five years.
    Jolie’s hands clenched. Was it possible she would consider going for the towel? Because she wanted to see him? Or because she wanted to gawk at more scars? She looked him over and her eyes settled back onto his, serious. “It doesn’t bother you.”
    His smile faded a bit as he shrugged. “Never was much of a looker. Didn’t matter to me before. What good would it do me to care now?”
    “You have beautiful eyes.”
    The smile came back. “Yeah, the pink in my face sets the color off nicely.”
    She laughed then slapped her hand across her mouth, as if disturbed by her reaction. “You make jokes. That’s so...normal.”
    “The fire burned my sup burnedkin, not my brain. Contrary to popular opinion, the explosion did not blow the human out of me.” Might’ve given him some weird aftereffects, like blackouts and a pain-dar, but under the changes he was the same old Hauk, worshiping old gods, writing bad poetry and swinging a fist when the situation called for it.
    She bit her lower lip and stepped to the side, the blank expression she’d carefully kept most of the morning replaced with a thoughtful one. Again came the stupid but uncontrollable disappointment that he couldn’t have more with her, that last night’s touches were necessarily their last. But he left his Beauty standing in the middle of the room and strode the rest of the way to his closet.
    “I’m gonna use the shower,” she said, but her footsteps didn’t retreat.
    He nodded without turning around.
    “Hauk, I’m so sorry.”
    He pulled out a blue shirt (blue for his eyes? Stupid... ) and started to dress. “For the accident? Unless you happened to be in Afghanistan five years ago, committing arson on a military base, I’m not sure why.”
    “No, for the way I reacted to...” She took a deep breath. “To your scars. I was an idiot.”
    He turned to face her, far more comfortable now that he had a shirt on. “Everyone reacts the same, Jolie. The difference is who sticks around long enough to get past it. Something it sounds like you just did. So, far as I’m concerned, we’re five by five.”
    She dropped her gaze then looked back at him, still so serious. “That’s big of you. Thank you for your understanding. And for saving me last night. I’ll admit, I was a little freaked when I woke up in bed with you. But Catrina was right. You’re a good man.”
    Hauk’s eyes widened in horror. He’d not only taken her to the Underlight (nobody brought strangers home to the Underlight; big community no-no), but he’d dragged her into bed with him? He wasn’t sure which was worse: that he’d effectively kidnapped her or that he’d managed to hold her for eight hours and didn’t remember it . “I’m sorry. I didn’t