I don't think she's afraid of what you're worried she's afraid of, Beast. If anything, I think she's afraid/nervous about the physical intimacy and her wants/desires in this moment. (Or maybe I am just projecting myself into this too much, because that's what I'd be worried about.)
*bites knuckles* AAAAAAAAAAAUGH THE HEAT OF THIS IS SO INTENSE, AUUUUUUUUGH
(Translation: you are a master storyteller, the slowly building intimacy is carried out more and more in each page, you actually watch them falling, two days a week, closer and closer. I love you in a totally platonic and not entirely joking way.)
...guys, chapters are generally 35-40 pages long, the next update is a Tuesday, splash pages typically go up before the weekend, and if there was any more tension in the story the website would explode.
Tuesday is going to be the final page in this chapter, it's going to be an unimaginable catharsis/bombshell/cliffhanger, and whatever Beauty says next I don't think we're going to make it.
I had not thought of that possibility, but I think that would be the more painful option. If she goes home, she'll come back (granted that part of the Beauty and the Beast story isn't changed). But if she makes a contract, I have a very bad feeling that it could make things a lot worse in the long run/
WHAT? WHAT? WHAT DOES SHE WANT?
OH MY HEART.
HYPERVENTILATES.
*cries the person that until two weeks ago had no idea this comic was a thing and now is dying FOR NEW PAGES*
Okay...my brain finished her sentence with "I want you" and then it moved on and now my mental jukebox is blasting "I WAAAAAAAANT YOU TO WANT ME..." Dangit brain, you're killing the mood!
I'm not much of a romance fan, but I've always liked this fairy tale, so I checked out the comic. I'm glad I did. Your interpretation of it is particularly wonderful. You're quite a talented writer.
Aaaahhh...yeah, this is continuing to up the sensuality of the scene. I am being very reminded of wedding night scenes in all sorts of fiction by their dialogue and their tentativeness with each other here. Fortunately, they are on a balcony right now, and I doubt the Beast would be that crass (I mean, he's had a lover before, but Beauty hasn't), so I can't imagine this will turn into sex--but the seductive elements are definitely there.