(Synn)<br/><br/>A swift grasp of her arm once more and she sucked in all the breath she could muster, fearful of what he might do. Her heart raced in a cadence, marching between horror and anticipation. His hand clutched onto her face and in that moment, she leaned into his hand as she stared up at him. A softness from him she had never experienced before and she became lost in it like stardust in a dream.<br/><br/>She chewed on her bottom lip briefly before he had grabbed her waist and pulled her up against his large frame. She could feel every rippling muscle in his chest and arms as he pressed her up against him. She wanted to touch him as her fingertips curled into the palms of her hands, forcing herself to not make another foolish move. She recalled how he recoiled the last time she had wrapped her nimble fingers around his forearm trying to balance herself.<br/><br/>And then it happened. All so quickly he had pressed his lips to hers in a feverish moment. She had closed her eyes and allowed the kiss to happen as if it was always meant to be. Her heart fluttered as her breath was simply taken from her in that heated moment soon to die a quick death as he pulled from her. Her lips parted to say something but his words stopped any formal communication. She saw the frustration and confusion in his eyes and she wanted nothing but to comfort this thing that held her captive in the attempts to understand why she was even there still breathing and not ripped asunder as many she saw were this night.<br/><br/><i>Humans seemed to be of little importance to these creatures so why was she so special</i>she had wondered. And then her thoughts turned to her brother as he stormed out of the room.<i>No, let's not anger him further</i>she thought, her brother was all that should matter at the present moment. She noted that he had once again not locked the door. She moved towards the door quietly, then pressed her ear to the surface. She could hear his footfalls carrying him down the hallway swiftly as if he was in a rush. She pushed herself off of the smooth wood surface and stood there staring at the handle. She placed her right hand upon it but hesitated in turning the handle.<i>No, no, no Justine, not again</i>she thought to herself as she released the handle.<br/><br/>She stepped away from the door and walked over to one of the bookcases, trying to avert her attention to something that perhaps made more sense then what had just occurred. Most of the books were a foreign language she could not understand until she thumbed her way to one written in English. It was Beauty and the Beast. A book she had read as a child on those nights that her father laid past out on the floor of the living room stone cold drunk. She would read it to her brother almost nightly as he enjoyed listening to the tales of the servants who lived with the beast such as the kettle and the candlestick. She pulled the book from the shelf.<i>You're not supposed to touch anything silly girl</i>she thought as she held it in her hands. It was an old version of it, bound in tight leather and worn gently.<br/><br/>She walked over to the chaise lounge and sat down, getting comfortable as she opened to the first page. She smiled softly as she began to read.