Beauty and the Bear (Werebear Shifter Billionaire Paranormal Romance Standalone) by Luna Noir

Her first day.
     
    Bella felt a thrill of excitement course through her
body as she smoothed down her dress. Eyeing herself critically in the mirror,
she hoped she would impress her new employer.
     
    A petite young brunette looked back at her with an
expression more calm and self-assured than Bella felt. She had tucked her heavy
dark hair back into a barrette, but a few curls had escaped to frame her
heart-shaped face. Her makeup was even, and her clothing was appropriate,
although – well, with a figure that curved like hers, sometimes even the most
drab clothes seemed inappropriate.
     
    She bit her lip. Her pert 34C breasts strained against
the buttons of her dress and her hips looked a little too inviting, but it was
too late to change now. She hoped her employer would approve.
     
    Her new employer was a mysterious one. Even though
Bella and her father had only moved to this sleepy town a few years before, she
was already well acquainted with the strange story of Baron von Ursus. The late
Baron, her new employer’s father, had been celebrated in town as a great
philanthropist. His charity was well-known and no few theaters and schools in
the nearby countryside bore his name in thanks for a large contribution. He had
been lauded until the day he died.
     
    His son, however, was strangely absent from the
public's gaze even before the old Baron died. Young Arthur had only made a few
appearances in town while his father was alive, and not at all since.
Occasionally folks went to his castle to serve or sell goods, but they were
always very close-lipped about what they found there. Over time, it had become
something of a local hobby to speculate about the living legend of the von
Ursus castle.
     
    As soon as Bella had accepted the job as the Baron’s
new housekeeper, she’d found herself in the middle of many conversations that
died suddenly as the other participants gave each other knowing looks and shook
their heads. When pressed, they would back away and refuse to say more. It was
concerning, but Bella needed the money for her father’s care. And she had
worked for difficult employers before, she reminded herself as she headed out.
How bad could the Baron be?
     
    ~
     
    The castle rose above her, high stone walls nearly
seeming to scrape the sky even as they covered the countryside. She had known
it was a castle, but having seen it in the distance did not to justice to the
sheer size of it. Bella, used to the countryside, was simply overwhelmed.
     
    She had worked for difficult employers before, she had
reminded herself, but she had never worked for a baron .
     
    Taking a deep breath, Bella crossed the small
ornamental bridge before the gate and then knocked at the towering oaken doors.
     
    The knock sounded smaller than the doors, and she
feared for a moment that no one would come. But she had been expected, after
all, and after only a moment, the great doors swung open.
     
    She might have expected it would take several strong
men to open such doors, but when they swung free, only one man stood there. By
his expensive suit and carefully arranged hair, she knew he must be her new
employer. Bella was about to curtsy, ready to take charge of the situation,
when he met her gaze.
     
    And then she nearly dropped her papers in shock.
     
    The Baron was handsome . No, not merely handsome
– he was beautiful in the classical sense, with a strong jaw and a large,
soulful mouth. His dark eyes were distracting in their depths, and his hair,
kept fashionably long, just brushed the tops of his ears in brown waves. And
his suit was so well-cut it left little to the imagination in terms of how well
he was muscled.
     
    She drew in a deep breath, trying to control the sudden
fluttering in her belly and the warmth between her legs. Weren’t rich handsome
men all supposed to be playboys or partiers? Why would a man so young and
handsome keep himself locked away from the world?
     
    Something in his gaze seemed to hint at a