The Beast And The Blessed

One Hundred Three: Natalie

Natalie's P.O.V.

Killian seemed highly amused by me as we ate our lunch together. I would find him staring at me with a small smile or chuckling to himself while I was nibbling on my food.

I was happy my mother was here, and she was safe. But the bigger part of my mind was stuck on whether my father had returned with her. Did she tell him about me? Did he want to meet me?

"You have barely touched your food, my love. Did I not do a good enough job to help you work up an appetite?’ His words sent a wave of warmth to my core, and I shifted as I picked up half of my sandwich and took a dramatically large bite out of it. He had absolutely done his job to work up my appetite, but it was still tempting to tease him and tell him no. Maybe then he would ensure I was thoroughly ravished and christen the study like he suggested. "You're distracted."

I shook my head as I swallowed, not wanting to talk about it on our date. He was right that I had been distracted, and I didn't want to bring him down when he had taken time out of his busy day to have a lunch date with me. It had been sweet, and, at least to me, it had been needed. Just time for the two of us to be together and alone without interruptions. Even if we sat in silence, having him near me was like having my soul recharged.

"I didn't mean to be distracted by other things. I'll go down and visit my mother after our date. Right now, it is just you and me." I insisted, wiping my fingers on the napkin and reaching for my glass of wine. The bitter yet satisfying liquid was delicious, and Killian immediately refilled my glass once I placed it back down.

We had it once before, and his remembering that I loved it made me incredibly happy.

"You have every reason to have your mind occupied." He said before gesturing with his head toward the door. "Do you want me to come with you to meet him?"

I bit my lip, debating if I wanted an audience to this. "No, that's okay. I know you have a lot of work to do. Do you... Have you ever met him before?"

soothingly. "Yes. You have nothing

had other questions. Questions that I needed to ask

I had seen, Killian's respect was hard to come by, and I

moved to grab another grape, popping it into his mouth as he smiled at me with his heart-stopping grin. "I know you are dying to go

this over with, so I could know the truth. "I changed my mind. I think it would

to his feet and holding a handout for me. I appreciated that he didn't give me a hard time or

swirling what little I ate around my stomach. "We haven't even

disbelief. ’You aren't even eating, and there is no time like the present. Let's do this now so it won't hang

happened to my grumpy, bossy mate? Where did

front of him but jumped when he smacked

the first floor, but the doors were still open to the

My mother's voice was low but easy to pick up with my wolf hearing. She sounded very concerned but firm. It was interesting how she voiced

almost relieved to have us join them. I wanted to ask what they were talking about, what Joselin saw that had been bothering her. But the man standing by the fireplace immediately had my interest. He stepped toward us as he stared at me, and I felt myself moving closer to Killian as we entered

with a raised eyebrow of curiosity, but I had no idea where to start. Seeing him drop into a bow was the last thing I expected, and an uncomfortable laugh

rushed

out at her, happy to see it made her smile, but I quickly collected myself when the man moved forward again. My arms wrapped around my mother, and she held me tighter for a minute

should be asking you that." I said, holding her elbows as she pulled away and scanning her over. Her injuries