The memory of her trembling in my study tugged at something deep inside me. It was angry, aching, andstarved.
I knew I should send her away. Send her to safety. But I was still too selfish. Too focused on myself to be able to free her.
I finally reached the dining room and forced myself to breathe evenly. For days, I had prepared for this new hire, my sanity slowly leaving me like a thread unraveling, the longer I went without a milkmaid to service me.
"Send dinner to the new maid," I growled at Fifi, the scullery maid who cowered in the corner of the room. "And when you're done, you can bring a plate to my rooms. I'll dine there."
She curtsied before rushing from the room to do my bidding, leaving me alone with my ever-frangible thoughts.
Thoughts of claiming her. Forcing her to submit to me. On her knees. With my cock rammed deep into the back of her throat.
"No!" I growled, gripping the back of a chair until it creaked under my strength.
I might be too selfish to send her away, but I would not use her up like a toy, only to be discarded once I broke her.
It simply would not do.
The temptation gnawed at me all the same.
I could still smell her, her sweetness drifting faintly through the halls, settling in the air. The beast inside me prowled beneath my skin, restless, hungry, and whispering to me all the filthy things it would do to Jolie.
I sank into the chair I'd nearly broken, nails digging into the wood as I forced a slow breath through my nose.
No.
I would not touch her.
My curse had stolen everything from me. My body. My magic. My freedom. I would not let it take the last scrap of my decency.
But even as I told myself no, her face flushed in my mind.
She truly was a flower. And goddess help me, I wanted to be the one she reached for.
I pushed away from the table and stormed out of the room before my thoughts could twist any darker. The floor trembled under my hooves as I made for the corridors that lead to my chambers.
Tomorrow would be here soon enough. I would see if she was brave enough to face me for breakfast.
AndthenI'd be brave enough to see if she would stay once I told her what she was needed for.
CHAPTER FOUR
JOLIE
Idressed slowly the next morning, my hands clumsy from lack of sleep and... other things.
Some nerves. Some embarrassment. And maybe I wasslightlyturned on by the monster that had chased me off to my room the previous night.
Who could blame a girl for helping herself out a bit to the image of that bull having his way with her?
The uniform Beatrice had provided was simple but well-made. A soft, navy dress with buttons down the front, a crisp white apron, and a modest neckline. I tied my hair back with a ribbon, then hesitated before the mirror.
I almost didn't look. But curiosity won out in the end.
My reflection stared back at me. Familiar yet foreign in this new setting. The ribbon and the pins I normally stuck in it barely contained my dark hair, which normally fell in loose waves. My hazel eyes, set too wide, made me look younger than I was. Everyone always said so. My skin was pale from years of indoor work, my mouth was too full, and my freckles too light to count as charming. And my figure...
I smoothed my hands over my hips. Too soft. Too round for my length.
A knock startled me so hard I nearly tripped over my own shoes as I went to answer it.
