Belle’s chest squeezed at that—at the quiet love woven into something as simple as a magazine subscription. It was such a Victor thing to do. Thoughtful. Steady. Loyal in big ways and small.
She loved that about him.
God…shelovedhim.
That thought slipped in, but instead of panicking or overanalyzing, like she might have once upon a time…she just let it be.
Because right now, at this moment, everything felt right.
“If it makes you feel better, I read it every month. It feeds my list-loving soul,” she joked.
“Damn,” Victor grumbled. “I didn’t realize I’d been feeding the beast all this time.”
Belle laughed. “Guess it takes one to know one, Beast.” It was the first time she’d said her secret nickname for him aloud.
“You and Pip are both Disney mad. Between her saving to go there and you putting us in the middle of one of those fairy tales…” Victor grimaced, but the mirth in his eyes said he didn’t mind being cast in that story one bit. “Maybe I should change your nickname from Sunshine to Beauty.”
She shook her head. “I love it when you call me Sunshine.”
Victor wrapped his arms around her, giving her a warm hug. “I don’t mind being your beast,” he confessed.
Her gaze lifted to his, and just like that, the air shifted. She ran one of her hands through his hair. God, she was a sucker for his long, thick hair.
Belle tipped her head back, just enough for him to take her mouth. The kiss was deep and slow at first, as if he was savoring it.
Then…it wasn’t slow.
Heat flared in her body as she pressed closer, her hands slipping down to his chest, stroking the muscles and bare skin. She’d never been with a man so physically fit. Victor’s diet and workout regimen were driven by his career. Hockey players needed to be in peak condition, but she suspected he’d be just as dedicated to remaining healthy if he was a businessman.
“Victor,” she whispered against his lips.
“I’ve got you,” he replied, his arms holding her tight against him, his large hands stroking up and down her back.
Hedidhave her. In every possible way that mattered.
Victor drew her sundress over her head again; one tug and she was naked. She wasn’t sure why she felt so comfortable like this with him. With past lovers, there’d been a shyness and even some insecurity. Perhaps that didn’t exist with Victor because there was no need.
One look at his face and she’d never felt so beautiful. He looked at her like…well…like she was perfect. Not like she was too thin, or her breasts were too small, or her ass was too flat.
Victor broke the kiss briefly, reaching down to shrug off his boxers, kicking them away before his hands reappeared. He touched her with an urgency that seemed to say he couldn’t get enough of her.
Belle felt the same way as she caressed his chest, her hands drifting around his waist to stroke his tight, firm ass. His erection brushed against her stomach, and she shivered in desire and a little bit of amazement at the factthat“beast” had fit inside her.
Belle had never felt so full—or fulfilled—as she had when he took her on the couch.
Every touch between them felt like a discovery. Every kiss a confirmation.
Because this wasn’t just an attraction. It was years of wanting, of denying.
Victor pulled away, grasping her hand.
“Take a bath with me.”
His words weren’t a question; they were a command, and not the first one he’d issued tonight.
Belle let him lead her across the bedroom to another room. She’d been impressed by his bedroom, but this room…
It blew her away.
