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?"

nodded, his eyes never leaving mine as he rested his hand on my thigh, rubbing it soothingly. "Yes. You have nothing to worry about. He is a good leader, one

I needed

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

as he smiled at me with his heart-stopping grin. "I know you are dying to go see them. You

so I could know

of his food before getting to his feet and holding a handout for me. I appreciated that he didn't give me a hard time or question my decision. He simply supported me,

asked, my nerves swirling what little I

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

too positive now. What happened to my grumpy, bossy mate? Where did

narrowed my eyes at him as he pulled me in front of

the private sitting room on the first floor, but the doors were still open to the hallway, letting the sound carry

hearing. She sounded

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

to the man 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 was

from her seat next to Joselin. She rushed toward me, her long black hair

mother's shoulder in a 'now you know how I felt' look. I stuck my tongue out at her, happy to see it made her smile, but I

fine. I should be asking you that." I said, holding her elbows as she pulled away and scanning her over. Her injuries seemed to be gone, but maybe she was just really good at