I gingerly felt around the flesh, wincing at the pain.
Forcing myself forward, I went the opposite direction from slamming into the rock. I lifted my dress to wrap it around my hands so my skin wouldn’t connect with the cold wall. Goose bumps rose on my exposed legs.
Was that light? I angled toward it, and a beam of illumination broke through the top of the high, uneven ceiling of a small alcove. The space measured nothing longer than twenty feet long and eight feet wide, and the rugged walls curved toward the slit at the top in a jagged imitation of a dome. In the farthest section of the space lay a bundle of bristly-looking material.
I halted halfway across the space, my fingers itching to touch it. Maybe I shouldn’t, but the curiosity won, so I tugged on the thin coarse material and stretched it out. It was cool to the touch, but not the uncomfortable cold like the walls. It warmed the longer I held my palm to it. I enveloped myself in it by pulling it over my shoulders. Wrapped in the blanket, I became aware of the cavern’s ungodly freezing temperature.
My stomach growled, and I moistened my lips. It hadn’t been too long since I’d eaten but discomfort swirled in my stomach.
I rubbed my face, and a clicking brought my attention downward.
A bug-like thing crawled right by my foot, the size of a tire withmultiplelegs. Like an overgrown circle beetle.
A scream ripped from my throat as I took off at a sprint into the dark. The thing was after me. I took a sharp turn out of that long room.
My panting breaths echoed off the walls as I replayed images of the thing I’d run away from.
A blue glow shone from the corner of my eye, breaking into the darkness, and I careened toward the demon. He spun, staring at me as I zoomed toward him like a missile.
Without a second thought, I tossed myself onto his torso and used my legs to climb up his body until my arms hooked around his neck and my legs fastened around his waist. The material I’d held onto for dear life puddled at his feet.
Oh God, it’d skidded near my ankles! A shiver trembled down my spine as I tightened my cold thighs around leathery flesh. The muscles beneath my legs flexed, and runes flashed bright, causing me to squint at the onslaught.
What was I doing? I shook my head, loosening my grip.
A skittering reached my ears.
Fuck no! I tightened my hold, hoisting myself higher on his cold body even though my dress tangled with my legs.
My breasts heaved against his torso, and his blank features surveyed me. The brightened orbs of his eyes blared into mine, sending me into a blinking frenzy as I avoided the overwhelming brightness.
I shouldn’t be holding onto a literal monster, but I couldn’t bring myself to let go. Instead, my muscles spasmed, locking me closer.
As weird as it was, he’d become my solace. Although a part of me knew he could end my life, I couldn’t help but cling to him.
FIVE
TENEBROUS
She clung with a tight grip,her small fingers pressed into my shoulders. Heat flamed from each point of contact with her skin. Her human eyes flicked side to side, avoiding me.
A foreign burning scent stung my nose and settled on my tongue. My nostrils flared from the taste as I peered down at the frightened human. She should run from me, yet her body shook against mine.
Her legs flexed around my waist. Was she seeking comfort ... from me?
Unsettling creature.
Humans ran from what they did not understand. They attacked without remorse, and she should do the same.
Why was she running toward me? Why was she holding onto me?
The human upended every reaction I’d ever encountered. Her peculiar face tipped up toward me.
That burning scent trickled away, replaced by another scent. Sweeter and mouthwatering. Were there different levels to a human’s fear?
It may pay off keeping her alive a few cycles, just to absorb that scent. It coiled through my frame, filling me with a euphoric sensation I’d not encountered. A delectable little morsel she was.
My breeding member lifted and pressed to my stomach until the tip of it nudged into her soft bottom. My visceral reaction stemmed from my intention to devour her.
