“Don’t hurt him,” I blurted out.
The Lord of Bones seemed to falter, taken aback by my request. “You care for him?”
“Why wouldn’t I care about someone who’s trying to help me? I don’t know what you did to Holga, but she tried to help Catherine, didn’t she? She cared about her, and now she can barely stand to speak her name. Whatever you did to her, don’t do it to Belial.”
A low growl rumbled in the monster’s chest. “You should be more worried about what I’m going to do with you when my crown is on your head.”
I craned my neck, my mouth going dry at the way he loomed over me, the blood moon suspended ominously between his horns. “What are you going to do to me?”
It was a dangerous question, but one that had all my insides heating.
The monster brushed the back of his knuckles over my cheek. His touch was so soft and reverent—it didn’t make sense. This wasn’t the cruel monster that had shucked out Mark’s spine a few days ago.
It was an act. It had to be. He was trying to get into my head.
His hand smoothed over the dip in my waist, gently pulling me closer until my chest was flush with his abdominal muscles.
Fuck.And it was working.
“I’m going to do what I love doing most to you,” he said, peering down at me with those flickering flames that burned me up. “I’m going to make you feel…”
His other hand curved over my ass, bringing me snug against him so my exposed flesh pressed flush against his.
His meaning was clear. He was going to make me feel him.Allof him.
As a loner goth girl who never really had much of a connection with humans, I’d always loved movie monsters and monster romance books. Anything dark and gothic and strange. You’d think I’d be jumping at the chance to be the queen of the dead.
But this creature was evil, mean. He wanted to hurt me and draw pleasure from my pain.
I shouldn’t have wanted that.
The prospect of wanting to be this brutal male’s queen in any capacity was way scarier than any carnivorous tree or giant snake monster.
I thrashed as hard as I could in his grip, and he was holding me so gently, I managed to squirm loose. His claws snagged in my dress, and it was so torn it shredded right off my body. I turned, sprinting away as fast as I could in nothing but my boots.
Behind me, the Lord of Bones’ footsteps charged after me. His laugh filled the air. “Go ahead, run. Scurry through my maze like the little mouse you are. But once I catch you, and I will catch you, I’m marking you.”
He was going to cut me again.
My boots slapped hard against the stone path, falling in sync with my heart as it crashed against my ribcage.
“I’ve watched you shiver in terror, Rayven,” he called out from behind me. “I’ve watched your body be tattered and torn, your muscles trembling from exhaustion. Yet your spirit has grown all the stronger. Your soul is one of the purest I’ve ever seen, and I will own it.”
The faster I ran, the louder his voice became, and it boomed from all around. There was no outrunning the god of this realm.
No sooner had the last thought left my mind, a flash of blue exploded in front of me and a magical doorway opened up, revealing the Lord of Bones. I crashed right into him and he captured my wrist, stretching my arm so high over my head my toes barely touched the ground.
“Let me go!”
“You will endure me, my beautiful little Rayven.” The monster’s voice was deep and silken, like smoke and black velvet. “And in time, you shall come to love me.”
“Just like Catherine came to love you?” I spat, my voice full of venom.
His fingers tightened around my wrist, squeezing a pained moan from my lips.
“You are nothing like Catherine. She was a fool’s hope. A spark of something that never took flame. My lust for life and nothing more.” He pulled my wrist closer, though his gaze never left mine. “You are so much more. You will be my mate, my Queen. You will know my body as she never did. My love as she never would.”
“Why me?” I sobbed, hot tears burning the corners of my eyes.
