La Belle Bête (A Fairytale Retelling) (Adult Perspective Watty 2012)

A/N: That hunky man with the really great hair to the side is my Beast. Played by Will Yun Lee, I find him both really good looking and a really good actor :D

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There was an eerie sinking feeling in Emerald’s gut as Hunter directed her to stop the truck outside of this industrial warehouse looking building. The seed of her worry had been planted when her brother had come over and told her to change; she was wearing completely the wrong thing. At the time she’d been wearing jeans, a tank top and her always present sweater, and since she hadn’t been planning on hanging out in the club afterwards, her clothes shouldn’t have mattered. But she didn’t argue and instead allowed her brother to pull out an outfit he felt was more appropriate. Since that just allowed him to insult her tragic lack of fashion, she’d tuned him out and never actually listened to his impassioned ramble about club attire.

Her worry had only grown as she started to pay attention to the area the club was housed in. All the other dance clubs and discos were the other way, located in the heart of the downtown metropolis. This club was farther south, a good distance away from the crowds she expected to find. Even at six pm there were usually light crowds hunting for restaurants and booze, but this was no party district.

By now Emi was convinced she was going to be murdered or ravaged as soon as she walked through the doors and was on her way to skipping this meeting with the sexy voiced Gryphon and let her brother handle it. As soon as that thought occurred to her, she also visualized how that would go over and shuddered. It was by far preferable to get murdered and turned into a Hannibal Lecter style meal than let her brother try his version of diplomacy. In fact he’d probably tried that last night which would explain both the fire and the fight. Hunter was not what any rational human being called subtle. Emi didn’t know what would have been more ominous; a loud, hollow echo after knocking or the silent thump they heard. It disturbed her to know that the building they were entering was soundproofed and it just added to her anxiety. It made sense to soundproof a club but being aware of it gave her the heebie jeebies.  

Hunter had used some kind of secret knock bullshit that made Emi wonder how exclusive this club was. Gone were her fears that this was a horror movie in the making, with her luck it was a strip joint! God I hope not… Emerald prayed silently, knowing that if this were the case, she’d stick out like the proverbial elephant in the room around all those slender babes-on-sticks. If that was going to happen, she’d smack Hunter up the back of his head and sick their parents on him. It sounded childish but he was the one insisting on acting like a child.

The door opened and Emerald felt a sarcastic smile stretch on her face as a sexy young blond in a leather corset appeared. Hunter was going to be sleeping on ice after she was done knocking some sense into him. “You must be Hunter and Emerald Block. Please come in. I’m Lilith, Master Gryphon asked me to offer you both refreshments and an apology. He’s running a little behind schedule but should be here in about ten minutes.”

Emerald accepted both a soda and a seat while they waited. Looking around Cursed, it was nothing like she expected the inside of a club to look like. Actually, she knew just by scanning it that this was no strip club. There was a stage, without a pole, and seating but no audience area. Instead the seats were all set into nooks with curtains. Some of the nooks had tables, most booths, a few couches and even a handful of beds. A stairway curved around the side of the bar, disappearing from view and Emi spied a second level hidden in the darkness. The part of the bar that had been damaged by fire was covered from view behind velvet curtains but Emerald flinched away from the sheer size of it. Looking at the expensive design that the rest of the club sported, it was going to cost a lot more than Emi had first guessed to fix. That sinking feeling in her tummy crept lower when she did the math and realized that there was no way for Hunter to cover the costs.

Her stomach made its final migration to her feet ten minutes later when Gryphon Isles finally came down from the hidden upper level. This is just wonderful; I have to beg the indulgence of a man who looks like he’ll haunt my more pleasurable dreams for the next month. Emi groused to herself. The man she’d jokingly dubbed Beast was anything but hard on the eyes. He was clearly Asian but he didn’t have the delicate look she normally associated with Asian guys. No, Gryphon Isles did not for a moment evoke a feeling of fragility, he actually seemed utterly masculine; even with his gorgeous hair longer than normal.