The pause becomes heavy. I get the strange sense it's as if the Beast is loading a gun, before he’s about to make a fatal shot. "Your father’s life or your hand in marriage." Bang. "And just so we’re clear, should I decide to press charges, your father will spend the rest of his life behind bars. That’s not a threat—it’s a certainty." I blink, my mind struggling to comprehend. He doesn’t want money or apologies. He wants. . .me? Dear fae lord, did I actually hit on his kink?
