Beast's Castle Read online

  Contents

  Summary

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Epilogue

  Also by Ella Goode

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  Artist Kale is renowned for two things: his hermit-like existence and his massive iron works that sit in museums around the world. He doesn’t care that the people in town call him the Beast of Smithsville. He is a beast. He has the scars of a beast and the temperament of one. When his sister hires a new beautiful housekeeper, he roars in anger like one because Summer threatens his peace of mind. From the moment he sees her in the store window as he’s driving through town, he wants her but a beast is destined to live alone.

  1

  Kale

  “When I get my hands on Tina, I’m going to wring her scrawny little neck.” I squeeze the steering wheel tight enough the leather seam is going to be imprinted on my palm.

  Even through the double pane glass of the ShopMart, I can tell Summer is beautiful. Her hair is long and thick, forming a golden around her oval face. I can’t tell what color her eyes are, but they’re big and fringed with long lashes. She’d look hot as fuck on her knees staring up at me through that veil. I grind the back of my teeth together and slam the truck into gear.

  As I’m speeding toward home, I get my sister on speed dial. “What the fuck, Tina?”

  “Hello to you, too, big brother. I’m fine, thanks for asking. The whole situation with the peeping Tom turned out to be Don, so you don’t have to have another sleepless night worrying about little old me.” Tina’s sarcasm is hard to miss even through the phone and I’m in no mood for it, especially after the stunt she just pulled.

  “The hell are you going on about? That problem was a month ago, and Chief Erickson called me the day your dumbfuck boyfriend confessed.”

  “What has crawled up your backside and bitten you in the nuts, Kale?”

  “I just saw the new housekeeper you hired at the ShopMart.”

  “Oh.”

  “Yeah.”

  I allow the grim silence to hang between us until Tina caves. “You don’t think she’s pretty?” she asks in a small voice.

  I spare a glance down at the bulge in my jeans. “What do you think?”

  “You’re all alone out there and you never come into town except to pick up the occasional package at the post office that requires a signature so how else will you meet someone nice?”

  I release a long, frustrated exhale. “I don’t want to meet anyone nice. How many times do we have to have this damn conversation? I’m satisfied with my life.”

  “See! You said you were satisfied!” she cries. “This is why I hired Summer, because I want you to be happy, not just satisfied.”

  “Happiness is for losers.” I jab my finger against the phone screen and end the call. The big iron gate to my property slowly swings open as I approach. I punch the gas and the black metal misses the side mirror by a whisker as I speed through and kicks up a boatload of dust, nearly scratching the paint on my baby blue pickup, and slamming the door shut does nothing to reduce my frustration.

  I toss my hat and keys on the counter, toe off my boots, and head straight for the shower, leaving the stupid fucking package I just had to go and sign for in the back of the pickup. New steel cutters can’t hold my interest right now. My dick is raging.

  I put the cold on full blast and step inside without even taking off my clothes, but the frigid water doesn’t temper my erection. As the water sluices over my face and makes the denim and cotton stick to my skin, I think of Summer’s beauty.

  How in the hell am I going to be able to survive with her in my house, shaking her ass and bouncing her titties all over my space? She looks like she smells like a goddamned bouquet and she probably tastes like the best pie in the county. If I ever got my tongue between her legs, it’d be over for me. I know it, and it fucking sucks.

  I rip open my jeans and fist my aching cock. Tina can go to hell for this, putting this kind of torment right under my nose. Every day I’m going to be watching the clock, waiting for that girl to get out of her bed. I’m going to sneak into her room and bury my nose in her sheets. I’m going to steal her panties and use them to choke my fuckstick every night as I jack off thinking about her bending over to pick up a tissue she’s dropped. I’ll probably get wood getting a glass of water because she’ll have been at that sink with the water splashing up and wetting her shirt until it sticks to her tits and her nipples just against the fabric, trying to poke a hole through it.

  I twist my shaft harder and rougher. I’m already imagining bending her over the kitchen table and fucking her until the thing collapses beneath us. I wouldn’t stop there. I’d pick her up and take her over the back of the sofa and on the stairs. I’d finish her in the bedroom, pulling her hair back, making her choke on my dick with her hands tied behind her back, and then I’d pull out and spend all over her face and chest until she’s painted with my seed. I’d rub that into her skin like a moisturizer so when she went to town other men would smell me on her and they would stay away.

  That’s what I’d do if she were here in my house, which is why she can’t come here. I can’t have her even get through the gates because if she does, how the hell am I going to hold back? I’ll probably end up attacking her in the driveway, kneeling on the concrete, tearing off her clothes and diving between her legs before she can even get a glimpse of me. I jerk my meat harder and harder, twisting and rubbing until the orgasm has me grunting out my half-baked pleasure.

  I wash off and shut down the water. I let my sodden clothes drop to the floor and leave the bathroom quickly but not before I catch a glimpse of my scarred face and back. Her not seeing me is the only way I’d be able to touch her--in the dark where she can’t lay eyes on the beast I’ve become.

  2

  Summer

  “You sure about this?” Eden asks me for the tenth time as she shuts the trunk of my car. We finally stuffed the last box in there. It feels as though we’ve been loading it up for days instead of hours.

  “I don’t really have much of a choice.” I look to Colby, who is sitting on the porch playing with his remote control car. He doesn't really understand what’s happening. We’re moving again and I know change can be frightening sometimes. He’s such a sweet, innocent boy. One that doesn’t deserve the hand he was dealt.

  “God, I hate your mom so much.”

  “The feeling is mutual.” I both hate her and feel sorry for her. Our lives all changed two years ago when a semi blew through a red light, plowing into my parents’ car. Dad died instantly. Mom spent a few months in the ICU but by some miracle, Colby didn't have one scratch on him.

  “She might not come back. Then you could just stay here.” She motions to the house. My mom rented it a year ago after she lost our childhood home to the bank. I didn't know what was happening until it was too late. She had been pouring all her money into pain pills. She couldn't deal with the loss of my dad. They had been high school sweethearts and so in love. Once he died, she fell to pieces. No matter how much she tried, she could never pick them all up. She
might as well have died that day with him.

  I find myself getting angry at her more often than feeling compassion for her these days. Not understanding how she could be so careless with Colby.

  “No, I thought that last time. Then I woke up to a strange man being in the house that she brought home.” My stomach turns thinking about it. “Plus, with this job I can save all my money. I won’t have a house to keep up. These lawyer bills are not going to be cheap if I’m going for custody. Colby will have as normal of a life as I can give him. I’ll make sure of it.”

  “She may not fight you.”

  “I can’t risk it. Either way I need to be ready for whatever it is she does.”

  “Okay, now remember you can’t make eye contact with the beast. You’ll turn to stone.” I snorted a laugh. She’s being ridiculous. She always gets caught up in these little town stories.

  “Isn't that Medusa?”

  “I don’t know.” Eden leans up against the car next to me. “Heard so many stories over the years about that place. It’s haunted.” I roll my eyes.

  “Then it’s the most beautiful haunted house I’ve ever seen. I’ve always wanted to see inside of it.” The place looks like a castle.

  “That’s right. You’re into the rustic hippie thing.” I nudge her with my elbow. “It’s true.” She looks me up and down. “Your name is Summer. It was bound to happen.” Maybe it was. She’s right, though. My hair is down with a small flowered headband in it. It matches the flowers on my flowy dress.

  She wraps an arm around me. “Don’t be a stranger.”

  “Don’t act like you're not going to be blowing up my phone.”

  “Oh, it’s happening. I’m sneaking in that place.”

  “You’re not getting me fired.”

  “Yeah. Kale is an asshole or so I hear.”

  “From who?”

  “Tina.”

  “Well I don’t think Tina would be sending me out there if there was something to really worry about. I’ll stay out of his way and I’m sure he’ll stay out of mine.” Eden tugs on the end of my hair.

  “Yeah, I’m sure. The boys always stay out of your way.”

  I roll my eyes. “Not in the market for a boy.”

  “A man?”

  “That sounds better, but still no.”

  “Colby come over here and gave me hugs,” Eden says.

  I head back up to the porch, checking the locks before I put the key under the rock. I have no idea if or when my mom will be back. Rent’s due in a few weeks and I won’t be paying it. I already let the landlord; Samson know. Today starts a new life for Colby and me.

  “You ready?”

  “We’re going to live in a castle,” he informs Eden.

  “Does that make you a prince?”

  He scrunches his little nose, looking to me for the answer.

  “Of course.” I open the back door for him.

  “Princes get horses.” He’s become obsessed with horses over the past few months. I haven’t told him that there are some on the property where we are going. I want him to be surprised.

  “We’ll have to see about that.” I smile, just happy he's on board with this.

  “Call me when you get there.” Eden pulls me in for another hug.

  “It’s not that far. I’ll be back.” I laugh. She kisses me on the cheek. I toss my purse into the passenger seat on top of one of the boxes. I can’t believe everything Colby and I own fit in the car. Tina said our living area would be furnished. All we really needed were the essentials, clothes and a few boxes of toys for Colby. I didn't want my mom saying I’d stolen from her or something crazy. When she runs out of money she’ll come back.

  I look in the rearview mirror and watch Colby slide his sunglasses on. I grab my matching pair off the dashboard and put them on too.

  “All right, autobots.” I look back at Colby.

  “Roll out,” he says as I put the car into drive—hoping this road in front of us is a whole lot easier than the last.

  3

  Kale

  A kid? Am I seeing that right? I rub my eyes and readjust the binoculars, but no matter how fuzzy or how clear the image, it is still a kid. I didn’t see the snot-nosed terror in the store, but I guess that makes sense since I only really saw the woman from the waist up. The checkout counter was blocking the rest of it—and the kid.

  I toss the binoculars onto the bed and pick up my phone. Tina’s not going to answer when she sees it's me, so I vent my frustration in a text.

  Me: theres a mtrfcking kid in my driveway

  Tina: carport! how many times do I have to tell you it’s carport. Old Man Winchester’s place is wasted on you. It’s so nice and grand and you live in a tiny wing shut up in the corner of the house.

  Clearly, texting my sister is a mistake. I throw down the phone and grab the binoculars again. The woman has a box in her arms and is marching toward the side door. When she gets to the door, she realizes she can’t ring the doorbell and hold the box at the same time. She jerks her head toward the sunglasses-wearing kid. They appear to be talking. I turn the audio on.

  “Colby honey, can you come and ring the doorbell?”

  “Where is it?”

  “Should be a button next to the door.”

  “I don’t see anything. Wait. There’s a black pad here. Do you think that is it?”

  “Could be. Why don’t you try it?”

  Colby presses a hand against the panel.

  “There’s an intruder at the door,” intones the security system in the sickly sweet voice of Catriona, as it likes to be called.

  “Gee, really, I can’t tell,” I bite out. One of these days, I’m going to get rid of that voice and get a robotic one like it should be. That’s the natural order of things. Robots should sound like robots and humans should sound like humans.

  “There’s an intruder at the door,” the stupid thing repeats.

  I open my phone app and turn off the alarm notifications. I can see what’s going on. I don’t need the robot to narrate this for me.

  “It’s not working, Summer,” the boy says.

  Summer. I can’t believe that’s her name and that she’s wearing a ridiculous floral dress that reveals more than it conceals. It clings to her frame in a way that should be illegal, showing off her voluptuous, curvy body. Who in the hell decided that it was okay to sell a dress like this? Someone who is a sadist obviously because that dress is designed to drive a man out of his fucking mind.

  My cock jumps excitedly. “You dumb fuck, stay down,” I order. “You aren’t getting any action except from my hand so you might as well deflate. That woman isn’t coming near us.”

  If she was uglier, maybe I’d be able to pay her enough to ride my cock.

  A housekeeper can’t be running around in floaty dresses and floral headbands. I make a note to order a uniform—gray and drab with the thick white nursing shoes to match because those are ugly as sin. I should make her wear a cap, too. One of those white mushroom shaped caps that old women in movies wear. I wonder if I could make her wear a gray wig, too.

  “Maybe it’s on the other side?” Summer shifts and the box slips.

  I slam my hand down on the speaker and bark out a command. “Put that damn thing down before you drop it.”

  She jumps. Colby ducks behind her.

  “W-who is there?” she stammers out, craning her neck to see the person behind the disembodied voice.

  “Put. The. Box. Down.” I snap out each word with careful precision so there is no misunderstanding. The infernal woman is going to break her toe or the contents of the box or both.

  Summer’s eyes narrow and her back straightens. “I will when I get inside. I’m the new housekeeper and I was told to come to the side entrance.”

  “The instructions did not say to unload your damn car so put the box down. I’ll unlock the door when you do.”

  “I’d like to carry my own boxes in and who are you anyway?”

  “I’m t
he owner and if you can’t follow a simple order like the one I just issued then you can take your kid and leave.”

  She tilts her head and tightens her jaw, not liking what she’s hearing and for a hot, terrifying second, I think she’s going to flee, but I don’t back down because if I lose this battle, I’m not going to last a day with her inside my house. I have to be tough and mean and a complete bastard so that she both hates me and fears me. I can’t have any of that summer sweetness directed toward me. Like a true asshole, I’m banking on the hope I’m her last ditch opportunity. Who else would move to this tiny town in the middle of nowhere to work for a man with a specific set of rules? Stay out of the East wing at all times except on Tuesdays when you are allowed to clean all parts of it except for the bedroom. That’s off limits. No venturing into the warehouse in the back. That’s also off limits. Don’t look directly at the owner of the house. Don’t speak to him without being spoken to first. Don’t be shocked if he has no lights on even at the dinner table. Learn to enjoy candlelight at all times.

  Those are weird fucking rules, and only the truly desperate would agree to abide by them. When she heaves a deep sigh and pastes a plastic smile on her face, I see the truth. She is desperate. Just how desperate is she? My cock swells in eagerness. Hopefully, it thinks, really fucking desperate.

  I’m a degenerate and an asshole. I slam the unlock button and the door slides open. Come into my web, says the spider to the fly.