Beautiful Death Read Online Free Page B

wow.
    Tristan almost laughed at the thought until Ash shifted his hair again—you know, that girly little flip—and he noticed the guns nestled in a custom holster. Ash turned and Tristan made a small sound, taking a step back, unable to stop himself. It wasn’t the actual hardware that bothered him, it was more of the idea of the guy carrying concealed in a country where guns were illegal. So was carrying a real katana. Oh man, what’d he get himself into? He knew he should have just left. If he was smart he’d deck the guy—payback for the bloody nose—snatch his car keys and high tail it out of there as fast as his little car could take him.
    Ash scowled at Tristan’s gawking, lips pursed together into a thin line. He tossed the cape aside and pushed past Tristan. “To answer your question will take more time than I can offer at the moment.”
    Tristan’s anger flared up in an instant. His hands were already forming into tight fists. He stomped after Ash down a hallway, towards the back of the house. “What the fuck does that mean?”
    Ash sighed and stopped to face his guest. “It means, Tristan, that after we have both slept, I will be more than happy tell you what you need to know. Neither of us is receptive to a civil conversation at the moment, do you not think?”
    Receptive to a civil conversation? Tristan screwed up his face with a sour expression. “Look, I appreciate you saving me or whatever, but I’m tired, smell like an elephant’s ass and am seriously pissed off. What the hell is going on? What was that back there?”
    Ash couldn’t help but arch an eyebrow wondering if Tristan truly knew what an elephant’s ass smelled like. “I have a room with a private bath prepared for you. My servant will see to it that you have everything you need.”
    “Do you understand English?” Tristan snapped. “I just said I wanted answers. I—” He stopped, looking at the shorter man perplexed.
    “What?” Ash asked, clearly annoyed and growing increasingly impatient.
    “Uh, nothing,” Tristan answered. He’d just noticed that somewhere between the car and here, Ash had lost the silly fangs but his eyes were still purple. “Anyway, who says I want to stay here with you? I don’t even like you.” Bastard did hit him. His nose hurt too now that he thought about it. And his arm where he was grabbed before. Tristan scowled, forcing himself not to touch the sore arm.
    Ash had to hold back an annoyed huff and started to walk away again. “Whether you like me or not has nothing to do with you staying.”
    “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    Almost to the end of the hall, Ash stopped and spun, expression and body language screaming annoyance. Tristan only glared back, like the indignant child he was being right then. A distant bark and the click of nails on hardwood sounded behind Tristan and he spun to find a black and white longhaired dog with no tail and floppy ears running full tilt their way. The dog let out another, more exuberant bark at the same moment Tristan sidestepped it, letting it bound past him. He turned back to Ash with a bit of a start. The guy was smiling a real, warm smile. Though it sure as hell wasn’t for Tristan, but for the happy dog at his feet.
    And here Tristan thought all the guy could do was frown.
    Ash shot him a quick, dry look that Tristan almost missed from behind the curtain of white hair as he gathered the animal into his arms. “Haruka , we have a guest tonight. See to it that Tristan is properly taken care of.”
    Tristan turned and was startled to find a small Japanese woman standing behind him. She was dressed in a fifties-style blue and white dress. The cut was petite, showing how impossibly skinny she was. Her long, silken black hair was free to her waist, much like Ash’s. But where Ash was pallid, washed out colors, this woman was rich and dark, save for her ivory skin. Her deep brown almond eyes never met Tristan’s as he checked her out and liked what he