Beauty in Autumn Page 3

  My clothes snag on something and I pause. "Wait. I'm stuck." I release his hand and run my fingers down my skirts, then pull back with a hiss when I encounter a thorny branch. A faint scent touches me - roses. "Oh. I think I must have walked into this rosebush."

  "Mmm," is all Ruari says.

  The scent is deep with floral notes, sweet and fragile all at once. I free my skirt and then slip my hand into his waiting one once more. We continue on a few more feet, until my skirts snag in another bush. This rose has a heavier, darker scent, thick but still lovely. "Your roses smell wonderful," I tell him. "What's this one called?"

  "Moira," he says flatly. "And the one before it was Caitlin. Further up the path will be Dorcha."

  I go silent. Moira...that was the girl chosen at the Harvest Stone last year. I seem to remember a Dorcha from years ago, but the Caitlin name is new to me. "Are there...are there more roses?"

  "Dozens and dozens," he says in a sad, sad voice.

  "What happened to them?" I whisper.

  "The curse."

  "How...how do we stop it?"

  He laughs, a broken, hollow sound. "If I knew that, I would have done it already and spared these girls their fate." He pauses. "And you."

  Oh. I feel a little sick to my stomach. "What can we do?"

  "We can hope that the curse is lifted after the three days." His tone is abrupt. "Now. Come. We approach the castle."

  There is no lovely greeting for me at the castle. The interior is cold and musty, and Ruari casually mentions that he builds no fires, for he never has visitors. His hand is warm and gentle as he guides me down the echoing, empty halls and up the stairs to the chamber that is to be mine.

  For three days at least.

  "You will be safe here," he tells me abruptly. "Food will be brought for you if you wish it."

  "I have food," I tell him, holding my bag close. The room feels large, based on the way my voice sounds, and I wish I could explore it, but I'm too afraid to take my blindfold off. Even after Ruari departs, his heavy form thudding and clicking back down the stairs, I don't remove the blindfold.

  I can't stop thinking about those roses.

  Or the fact that I only have three days.

  3

  WILLOW

  "Why are you here?"

  Even in my dreams, the beast sounds sexy. Commanding. I catch my breath, letting the autumn leaves swirl around my skirt. I'm blindfolded and in the forest once more. And there are no wolves this time. We're alone. Completely and utterly alone.

  He's waiting for my answer. Even though I can't see him, I can feel that the air between us is fraught with tension. My nipples are hard and I'm full of excitement and anticipation. I want to run my hands up the bodice of my dress and cup them, but I force myself to stay still for now. "I want..." to break your curse is what goes through my mind, but what comes out is "you".

  I hear him suck in a breath. Clearly he's as astonished with my response as I am. But the moment it comes out, it feels right. There's an attraction between us, him and I, and it doesn't matter that I can't see his face or that he's a beast or that I'm some poor, uneducated peasant girl who's never been further than her village. My skin tingles with his nearness.

  Ruari approaches, and I can feel the brush of his fur against my skin as he comes nearer. His hand glides up and down my arm, and I can feel the bite of his claws through my chemise. "You want me to touch you?" he asks in that smoky voice of his that gives me goosebumps. "You do not fear the beast?"

  "I know you're just a person, just like me. You weren't born a beast."

  "Maybe the beast is who I've become." He grabs at the neck of my dress and the fabric tears. It rips away from my body, revealing my heaving breasts. "Maybe that's who you want after all."

  And I should be frightened, but I'm aroused by the thought of him seeing my body like this. I can't see his face, can't see what he's thinking, but I know he wants to touch me desperately. I can feel it in him, as much as I feel how tight my nipples are, how they strain to be caressed. Why am I so attracted to this stranger? Is it because of what he represents? Am I fascinated by the beast?

  Or is it because I sense a kindred spirit under that mantle? That maybe he's as lonely and restless as I am...

  "Shall I touch you?" he asks, and his voice is in my ear. "Or shall you touch yourself?"

  My hands slide up and cup my breasts...

  I wake up with a gasp and a surge of disappointment. Why did I wake up just then? It seems cruel. I wanted to see where the dream was heading. I wanted to see what it'd be like to have the beast - Ruari - touch me. To feel his hands on my skin. To see what he wanted to do next.

  A little frustrated moan escapes my throat and I put a hand over the blindfold I'm wearing even for bedtime. I want to rip it off in frustration, but I don't dare. Instead, I kick the heavy blankets off of my body and lie flat on the bed, unable to go back to sleep. Not with my body throbbing with unfulfilled need.

  After a moment's hesitation, I hitch up the skirt of my nightgown and spread my legs atop the quilts. I'm still thinking about Ruari as I slide a hand between my thighs and touch myself. I'm slippery with arousal, my pussy hot and wet from the dream. My breath catches as I begin to stroke myself, moving my fingers up and down my folds before sliding deeper to caress the sensitive skin around my clit. I moan at the sensation; it feels like my entire body is vibrating with erotic tension. I've never been this turned on before when I touched myself. Never. My fingers move faster, swirling around the nub of my clit, dragging my juices over it back and forth in a delicious torture.

  As I stroke my flesh, I hear a low, animalistic groan.

  I go still, resisting the urge to snap my thighs together. Somehow, I'm not surprised to hear the beast, not after the dream I had. "Are you watching me touch myself?" I whisper to the darkness.

  "Why?"

  He asks one simple word, the sound ragged and beastlike.

  I swallow hard, feeling both naughty and desirable all at once. If he was disgusted, he would have turned away without a sound. But he doesn't sound disgusted. In fact, he sounds like anything but. I begin to stroke myself again, my fingers drifting through my wet folds. "Because I dreamed of you," I say in a soft voice. "I dreamed of you and it made me wet."

  Ruari growls low again. "Dreamed of the beast?"

  "Of you, actually." I rub my clit again, arching my back with how good it feels. "You're never quite beast or man in my dreams. You're both, and neither." I glide a finger down to my core and dip it into my heat. A ragged little breath escapes me.

  Panting fills the room. I realize after a moment that it's not mine, but his. He's not leaving. He's...aroused by watching me. That makes me even wetter, and I stroke myself a little quicker, picturing the show I'm putting on for him. "Are you touching yourself?" I ask him.

  He makes a sound like a snarl.

  "That's not a no," I tease, and then my breath catches as I continue to rub my clit and pleasure bursts through me. My toes curl into the blankets and I arch my hips. I'm so close to coming already, but it seems unfair, especially if he's touching himself while watching me. We just got started. I don't want this to end already.

  "Take the mask off and find out for yourself," he commands me. His breathing is rapid, fierce.

  I'm not going to do that, though. No matter how badly I want to see his face - and to see what he's stroking. I bite my lip and ignore him, focusing in on myself. I want to come, and that need is pushing past all others at the moment. I decide to put on a bit of a show, even though my cheeks are scorching hot with embarrassment. I ignore it, though - who is here to see but Ruari? Who will ever know but Ruari?

  If I'm to die by the curse, I'm going to live freely these last few days. I have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

  So I push my legs apart boldly. I spread them wide and with one hand, I hold the lips of my pussy apart and stroke myself with my other hand. I want him to see everything. Let him look at how wet I am, how pin
k and soft.

  "Take. Off. Your. Mask." Ruari growls each word out in a fierce demand. He's losing control himself, as if the sight of me is making him even wilder. That turns me on more than I could even imagine, and I arch my hips as I rub myself, imagining him and all the naughty things he might be doing to himself. Is he stroking his cock? Is it big and beastly like his form? Or as perfect - and human - as his hand was in mine?

  Do I have the courage to ask?

  But then my orgasm surges through me and I cry out, rubbing myself hard as I'm lost to my own pleasure. I gasp and shudder on the bed, wringing it out for as long as I can. His voice is in my mind, his hoarse breathing, the sound of his hand slapping against his own flesh. I hear him come with a growl a scant second later, and then something hot spatters across my hand.

  Is he...is he that close to my bed? Close enough to touch? I lift my hand from my pussy, reaching out--

  But he gives a feral snarl and in the next moment, he's gone.

  Despite the fact that I only have three days to break this curse, Ruari leaves me alone all day the next day. I'm both angry and frustrated, because how is this helping anything if he ignores me? Does he not want to break the curse?

  It's almost like he's angry at me.

  I'm not really sure I understand why. Does he want this to fail? Is he finding life as the beast preferable to freedom from his curse? Or is he revolted by my rather wanton display last night? He seemed like he enjoyed it but how can I know for sure?

  It's frustrating, and I feel hampered by the blindfold. With it on, I can't exactly explore the castle looking for him. It's a cursed castle, so any number of things could happen - I could fall out of a window into the moat. I could accidentally walk myself into the dungeon. I could fall down the stairs and snap my neck.

  So I sit in my quiet, quiet room and wait for him to come back. I want to talk to him, to see what he's thinking. I want to know if he's having the same dreams I am. More than anything, I want to know if he even likes me. Sometimes I think he hates me - like right now, when he's abandoned me - but then I remember that he was spying on me while I slept. And he touched himself when I did. Those aren't the actions of someone who despises me.

  I don't know what to think.

  The day wears on and I explore my room. There's a shelf full of books - but I couldn't read them even if I didn't have a blindfold on. There's a basket of sewing materials - but I can't see. There's my large bed, the door that leads to the rest of the castle, and then my exploring fingers discover a large window and wooden shutters. I push them open, and a breeze wafts in, turning my cool room colder. Outside, though, I can hear the sounds of the forest of birds and leaves and the wind. I find a stool and pull it closer, turning my face to the outdoors. I can't see things, but hearing the sounds of the season outside helps me think. The wind on my cheeks makes me feel less isolated.

  And since I have nothing to do all day, I think.

  Ruari wants to ignore me. Perhaps he has been hurt so many times by the curse that he will put me away and try not to think about me until I am gone. He cannot hurt if he does not become attached, I think.

  Well then, I must make myself impossible to ignore.

  4

  WILLOW

  Later that night, when it grows colder and the crickets begin to chirp, I reluctantly shut my window and return to my bed. It has been a long, quiet day of blindness, and I touch my blindfold once more to ensure that it's firmly in place. Once I've reassured myself that it is, I pull my nightgown over my head and toss it to the floor, crawling under the blankets. I'm going to make sure he notices every little thing I do to myself tonight, even if he doesn't want to.

  I suspect he'll be back again. Even if he doesn't want to talk to me, I don't think he'll be able to resist watching me. For all I know, he's been quietly watching me all day.

  The thought of him watching me even now makes me quiver. I slide a hand under the blankets, cupping my breast. Does he see this? Has he been watching as I undressed? Wondering at my actions?

  "Ruari?" I say softly, pushing the blankets down with my other hand so he can see my breasts. "Are you there?"

  It's utterly silent. But that doesn't mean anything. That just means I haven't caught him off guard enough.

  "I think you are," I say quietly. "I think if you only have a guest for a few days out of the year, you're going to come and watch her even if you don't want to. I think you won't be able to stay away."

  There's no response.

  I start to wonder if I'm wrong. Maybe he's not here watching me. Maybe he's not interested in me at all. It won't matter if Leta thinks I can break the curse if he isn't interested in me in the slightest. I slide my hands over my breasts and rub my nipples, tilting my head as if he's there and I'm speaking to him anyhow. "Do you want to watch me touch myself again tonight? Because I'm going to."

  "Why do you do this?" His thick voice rasps after a moment. It sounds fiercer than before, more bestial. "Do you seek to torture me?"

  "Not at all." I slide a hand down my belly. "Why can't I touch myself? Get what pleasure I want before my time is up?"

  Footsteps. When he speaks next, he sounds a lot closer to my bed. "You wear your blindfold yet."

  "I do." It's securely in place and I can't see a thing. I feel a little stab of regret that I can't see his face. I want to know what he looks like. I want to know everything about him. I want to see his eyes, because I want to know what he's thinking.

  RIght now I'm just having to go on faith.

  "Do you not wish to look upon the beast?" he asks me.

  More than anything, I think to myself, but I continue to run my hands over my naked skin, touching myself. "Does it matter what you look like? It changes nothing about any of this."

  "You might be horrified to see what I am truly like."

  "You could be the ugliest creature in the world, and I am still here to become your bride," I tell him, softening the severity of my words with a smile. "We are both trapped in this, you and I. So I'd just prefer to let our minds meet for a while and let the rest work itself out."

  Ruari pauses again. "You are...different from the others."

  "I'm going to take that as a compliment." I move my hand down my thigh. "And you must like it or you wouldn't be back."

  He makes the broken gravel sound, and I realize he's laughing. I like that. I lie back in the pillows again and arch my back, thrusting my breasts into the air. It feels sensuous and I'm getting turned on at the idea of him watching me. There's something freeing about the blindfold despite it limiting my vision. I don't have to worry about looking foolish when I writhe on the bed because who is there to see? Who will care except me and Ruari? It gives me a bit more courage to do as I like.

  "It makes no difference if I like it - or you. None of this will matter in two days. You will just be another rose for me to lament over."

  His words strike a note of fear in my heart, but I choose to ignore it. I'm going to have faith in what Leta told me. I recline on my side and slide a hand over my hip. "Then why do you care if you like me or not? Why not enjoy ourselves for the time we have?" I move my hand between my thighs and cup my pussy. "Want to see me touch myself again?"

  "More than anything." His breathing is raspy, and I feel his presence at the side of my bed.

  I grow bolder at hearing his excitement. I'm wet already, and my nipples feel tight and hard with excitement. "Then you have to give me something, too," I tell him. I slip a finger between my folds and rub my clit, just a little, just enough to make a gasp escape my throat.

  Ruari growls. "Name it."

  "I want you to touch yourself."

  "I shall give that freely. Take off your mask so you can watch." I like how raspy his breath is, as if the very thought drives him wild.

  With a little shake of my head, I continue to play with my pussy. "The mask must stay on."

  "Then how do you expect to see me touch myself?"

  "I'll experience it wit
h my hands."

  He growls again. "You...want to touch me?"

  "More than anything," I whisper. The thought is a deliciously naughty one. Touching the beast? Putting my hands on him while he pleasures himself? It's not done. Not at all. Maybe that's why I want it so very badly. There's so much to experience and I have to cram it into these last two days...

  Just in case Leta is wrong. Just in case.

  "Very well," he tells me. "But you must go first."

  "I planned on it," I tell him softly, and run my fingertip over my clit, just like I always do when I touch myself.

  Ruari lets out a choked sound. "Do that again."

  I bite my lip and do just that, sliding my finger through my wet folds and then circling against my clit. The little nub is tingling with every touch, and I feel my nipples grow tighter in response. The hollow ache begins in my belly and a sigh escapes me. It feels good, and yet I want so much more.

  "Spread your legs for me," he murmurs, voice low. Something hot fans over my skin and I think it's his breath. Oh. Is he that close?

  I do as he asks, letting my fingers explore my pussy before gliding back up to my clit again. Normally when I touch myself, I go straight for my clit and don't stop until I've come. But with him watching, it makes me want to take my time, to play a little more. To hear his reactions as I pleasure myself. "Are you...are you going to touch me?" The thought makes my legs jerk, as if I'm about to come. I like it far too much.

  "You want the beast to touch you? To stroke your sweetness?"

  "I want you to touch me, Ruari." The thought is so exciting I'm practically coming off the bed. I wait, panting with anticipation. Is he going to do it? Or is he going to leave me wanting?

  After what feels like an excruciating amount of time, I feel a hand on my stomach. His skin feels hot against mine, but he still feels completely and utterly human. Strange -- and wonderful. I moan at the small touch, and my thighs automatically begin to close as I feel a bit of shyness creep in.