He was tracking her with his eyes again. Belle felt his heated gaze caressing her back and going on to linger lower. She quickened her footsteps, her tiny feet making a hurried pit-pat noise as she walked along the cobblestone. The last time she and Gaston had had a conversation she had become so frustrated with him that it took her almost three hours to calm down. He was just so damned infuriating! He truly believed that she belonged to him. She huffed in annoyance. What an arrogant man. Before she could let out any other noise of irritation for her stalker, her arm jerked back and she was whirled around. A groan escaped her involuntarily.

"Gaston."

"Belle," he drawled. "I've missed you."

"Gaston, let go of me."

Gaston did the exact opposite of what she said and chose, instead, to draw her in closer.

Here we go again. He was always disregarding her thoughts and requests. In his mind he was the only one allowed to make decisions. Belle was standing so close to him that her breasts brushed the rough chambray of his shirt and the hem of her skirt danced the along the front of shiny, black boots. In her opinion they were entirely too close but she knew better than to struggle. That would only result in exciting him which would be the absolute last thing she wanted to do. She blew out an exasperated breath, disturbing the bangs on her forehead and making them billow out like silk before they settled back onto her forehead.

"Why would I let you go? You belong to me."

"I belong to no one! I'm my own person."

He frowned. "Look darling, people have begun to talk. They're starting to wonder about you and me."

"There is no you and me."

His countenance darkened and a frown etched itself between his eyebrows. "God, I hate it when you talk to me like that."

She hissed in pain as the fingers still holding onto her arm tightened. There would be bruises later. This! This was one of the things that she hated about him. He was annoyingly arrogant, demanding and always too violent. And sometimes that violent streak within him had the ability to scare her.

"Please, you're hurting me."

His perfect white teeth snapped together in irritation and his fingers dug into her arm as if he hadn't heard her cry. Icy blue eyes captured hers and she shivered at the darkness lurking in them. If the eyes were mirrors to the soul then Belle was very afraid of what she saw in Gaston's. What lurked there was something unholy that ached to reach out and swallow her whole. A tremble ran though her body. His big body loomed over hers threateningly until she was forced to crane her neck just to keep his face in view.

"Never deny us, Belle for one day you will be mine." And with that he dropped his hand from her arm and stepped back. "Make no mistake about that," he sneered.