The momentary relief over the cat’s safety is short-lived.
Just as the monster turns its attention back to me, the mass of shadow behind the creature opens its eyes, ruby red with murderous rage stamped in them.
Shadow’s darkness swallows the monster whole, so I barely see what’s happening except for the odd kicking spider-like limb. Growls and screeches come from within the pitch-black cloud. Cold sweat coats my skin as I shake against the far wall, helpless except to watch.
I try to control my panicked breathing, but it comes out in rapid gasps.
A bone chilling crack silences the commotion. The darkness falls away, leaving Shadow holding the monster by a horn—the neck now angled at an unnatural degree—as if it were nothing more than a full bag of trash needing to be chucked.
Shadow’s eyes have returned to a misty white as he regards me. "Evie. You’re hurt," he says.
I can’t stop my body from trembling. Shadow releases the creature, and it clatters on the ground in a heap. Warm velvety tendrils wrap around me as I’m lifted from the ground into Shadow’s arms.
"Wha—what was that?" I ask through chattering teeth.
Shadow makes a low raspy sound I recognize as a soothing shush. He carries me to the bed where he lays me down before wrapping his body around mine.
Enveloped in his darkness, I shut my eyes tight. Despite the fear and shock still rocketing through my body, I want to soak in every moment of his presence, his touch.
Once I’m swaddled in soothing dark tentacles, Shadow lowers his head to my arm. Bright red blood oozes from the slash there. I have a little less than a dozen on my arms and legs from being caught in the crossfire of the cat and the monster.
I’ll need to splurge on a bigger can of tuna for the cat and give it extra scritches in thanks the next time I see it.
Small, shallow cuts litter my skin, each one stinging with a sharp prickle. Under Shadow’s intense gaze, they seem to prickle even more, sending waves of discomfort through my body. But then, his long, purple, forked tongue slithers out of his blurred face to delicately lap at one of my cuts.
The unexpected sensation causes me to jerk. Shivers rattle down my spine. I swallow hard against the intimate touch. He continues his slow licking, moving up to the cut on my shoulder and repeating the motion with careful precision. Each swipe of his moist tongue is a soothing balm, calming the sting and bringing a strange sense of comfort.
I have no idea if this is for my benefit or if he simply has a taste for blood, but I keep my mouth shut. The way he holds me is painfully intimate, and I’m terrified that if I move, he’ll stop.
A few scars appear as the wounds begin to close and my heart stutters in my chest.
It continues that way, him smoothing that long purple tongue along my wounds until he lowers himself down to my legs.
The tip of his long tongue flames across my skin like a firebrand, leaving its searing imprint. I’m hypnotized by the sensation as molten heat builds inside me. I think about how the forked appendage would feel dancing in other places. Forbidden pleasure floods through me as I fight the urge to squirm under him.
Yet again when the horror finds me, my monster comes. And when he does, he shields me from the sharpest edges of pain.
Slowly moving back up, his last stop is my upper leg. The edges of my shorts have crawled up until they are little more than a frame against my aching center. I shudder violently as his tongue slides up my bloody thigh. My control snaps. I gasp and arch into his ministration.
His velvet tentacles move with me, always surrounding me. Liquid desire fills me even though the corpse of an unknown monster lays a few feet away.
Then, sick fuck that I am, the knowledge that he’d kill for me only fuels my obsession—a selfish hunger that tightens its grip when I admit how much I crave it.
That he would break a neck for me. For a girl who never belonged to any place or anyone, the feeling is intoxicating, overwhelming, and almost more than I can stand.
Red trickles down to the apex of my legs from one of my cuts. Shadow’s serpentine tongue follows the trail under the hem of my shorts, brushing the sensitive skin there. My breath hitches, and I can’t help but whimper at the sensation as my body shakes with a thrill of pleasure.
I know it’s wrong, but I want more. I need more. I need him.
A fire alarm blares violently, breaking the moment and causing my heart to jettison out of my chest.
The burning stench of charred food fills the air, mixing with the sharp, acrid smell of wires overheating. Angry fists pound at the wall as Elijah yells at me to turn off the goddamn alarm.
In a flash, I’m up and in my kitchen. pulling the smoking, ruined pot of burnt SpaghettiOs off the hot plate. Yanking the power cord from the wall, I’m left bracing myself on the counter, flushed with heat and panting.
Turning back to the bedroom, I find it empty of monsters, dead or otherwise. As if none of it ever happened.
My heart squeezes painfully even as the fire alarm falls silent.
