"I'm glad," I said, sighing, running my hand over his damp chest, petting him. "I'm glad you took your pleasure fully. You returned it in much greater fold."

"Mona Lisa." He breathed my name and hugged me to him like something precious.

I knew that my eyes had changed back to their normal brown.

That my beast was gone. "My eyes," I said. "What color were they?"

"Green," Amber answered. "Pale green."

I froze as I felt the beast within me stir, lift up its head, and look at me with pale, shimmering eyes. Soon, it promised. I'll be free soon. Closing its eyes, it returned to its slumber.

I shivered, goose bumps spreading over me as if a ghost had walked over my grave. Pushing myself up, I looked around for my dress and, finding it, pulled it on.

"We should get back to the others." Not that I was eager to, with all those people back there. They would know what had transpired between us the moment they smelled us. That was the problem with such acute senses… you couldn't hide anything from them.

Amber donned his pants, held his big hand out to me. I took it.

Fingers intertwined, our scents intermingled, we headed back.

Chapter Five

A shower was what I wanted. But it didn't look as if I would get it right away. The people—my people now—had cleared out of the house. Nice. Fewer eyes and noses to witness their new Queen's inglorious return. But the few witnesses there were—my little group, and among them, my young, impressionable brother—was bad enough. Horace, the little weaselly steward, hovered anxiously in the background, apart from the others.

"What is he still doing here?" I asked. My hostile tone widened Horace's little eyes.