The Beast of Napa

15 - Spinning

"I've never seen you have any fun," she continued. "When the city locked your reputation up in the Beast of Napa, did you lock your heart up in the tower as well?"

He swallowed, watching her. Her hair was swirling around her face once more, and he felt his fingertips itch.

"There's no music," he replied without thinking.

She put her hand on his chest, his heartbeat underneath her palm. "Here. I found a rhythm."

He felt his pulse quicken by her touch, unable to hold back a shocked laugh.

"The moon really changes you, doesn't it?" he asked, amused. "You're not at all the timid girl I see in the daylight."

Her deep eyes met his, a bitter smile coming to her lips.

"I'm not allowed to be myself, you know," she said. "They won't let me."

"Who's they?"

"The Americans."

Her lighthearted demeanor suddenly shifted with the wind. Griffin's hands came to her shoulders to steady her, feeling that she was about to unravel.

"They said that real Americans don't drink," she continued. "So I stopped. I stopped drinking. I changed my accent. I did everything I could to make America my home... but I couldn't."

She leaned her forehead against his chest and he held her to it, his fingers finding their way deep into her hair to comfort her.

"They haven't been kind to anyone," he said, "American-born or foreigner alike. The Prohibition was an attempt to separate people from their own evil, and it only divided people from each other."

"The Americans think we're demonic because alcohol is part of our culture."

He nodded. "The Prohibitionists don't understand real demons. They'd lock Jesus Himself behind bars for turning water to wine."

"I thought if I stayed away from it - if I was good, and kind, and worked hard - that they wouldn't treat me like a demon. But it seems no matter what I do - guilty or innocent - I get punished."

"That's because God punishes the wicked, and the innocent punish each other."

She leaned away from his shoulder to look up at him, the moonlight bringing out the lighter strands of brown in her eyes.

"That's why I admire you, Nathaniel," she said.

He swallowed at the sound of his name.

"You're always yourself, no matter what they say about you." She smiled and admired his face. "You carry your darkness and light with you with a strong spine."

He dropped his head back to look at the sky and chuckled ironically.

"You have no idea how deep the darkness goes, Catriona," he said.

She reached up and pulled his head back down to look at her. His eyes couldn't help but take in the light of her eyes, the rounded slope of her nose, and the curves of her lips as she looked up at him.

"Maybe..." she agreed. "But since day one... you've never been a beast to me. The way you protect your home, the way you stand up for your beliefs, the way you refuse to let me be weak... You're not a beast, Nathaniel. You're my hero."

She rose off her heels and gently pressed her lips to his. His hand came to her hair to steady himself from the surprise, not intending to accept but also not rejecting it. At the feeling of her warm lips on his, he returned the kiss, but only for a moment.

Until he remembered that he was her employer.

Until he remembered that he was just offered a marriage proposal by someone else.

And - most importantly - because he now realized that her lips had traces of strong liquor on them.

He pulled back. She slowly opened her eyes to look at him. Now that the spell was broken, he could smell the alcohol on her breath. How had he missed that before?

"Catriona..." he said sternly. "Where did you go with Patrick tonight?"

She cocked her head to the side. "Patrick...? Oh, Patrick. He took me to a club of his, I think."

"Club?"

"There were lots of people there. They were so much fun to talk to and drink with..."

Griffin let out a frustrated grunt. "The bastard took you to a speakeasy?"

"Is that what it's called?"

"And you just followed him inside, no questions asked?"

As the sound of his strong tone, she unwrapped her arms around him and stumbled back.

"I had no reason not to..." she started.

"I've given you plenty of reasons," Griffin returned. "I've warned you about him multiple times. He's a wolf, Catriona. He'll devour you in a moment if you're not careful. So will many others if you don't learn to read people. Trust me, I've made the same mistakes –"

"Patrick has been one of the few people to treat me decently since I came here," Catriona said. "Besides, what kind of employer tells an employee who she can spend her time with after hours?"

"I'm not telling you to avoid him as your employer."

She searched his eyes for a moment. "Then what are you telling me as?"

He didn't answer. At his silence, her shoulders slumped as her jaw locked. She picked up her heels to walk past him, but he caught her elbow with his hand to stop her.

"I'm tired," she said flatly. "Let me go to bed."

Griffin slowly uncurled his fingers from her arm. Catriona walked away, leaving Griffin to wonder why it had been so hard for him to let her go.