Monster raised his chin as Prowler pulled his phone from his pocket and strode toward the door.
Monster turned Carys in his arms. After he kissed her thoroughly, he held her throat in that way he did. “Next time I tell you to stay, you stay.”
“You didn’t tell me to stay, but even if you had, this is my mess and I can’t let you?—”
He shut her up with another bruising kiss. “Ours. Got it? There is no yours or mine, it’s ours. Besides, that fucker is an annoyance, nothing more.”
Carys thought there was a touch of uncertainty in his eyes, but she let it go.
“Come on, Pixie. I don’t think we finished what we started.” He led her back inside and to his bed.
Monster had taken her six ways to Sunday, and she’d taken him. Since only one eye hook was left in the headboard, they made do. She felt so powerful with him restrained and dying to touch her. It wasn’t the cuff that did it. It was how absolutely feral he got when she touched and teased him.
The man could snap his fingers and have any woman he wanted, but he wanted her—her. That was power, one she vowed she’d never abuse.
Carys was awakened from her sex-induced coma to Monster getting dressed. The sun was peeking through the window between the blind slats.
“I’ve got church. After, do you want to grab a bite?”
Stretching, she relished the slight soreness she felt in her muscles. They’d gotten pretty acrobatic last night. She made a mental note to start working out if she had a chance to keep up with him.
“Can’t.” She threw the sheet off. “I wanna go see my mom.”
Monster frowned. “Grab Zach to go with you.”
She rolled her eyes, and Monster got that wicked gleam in his before he grabbed her throat.
“Did you just roll your eyes at me?” he asked with feigned indignation.
It felt good, she couldn’t lie, but she was feeling cheeky.
“Is holding my throat like your wooby or something? Because you seem obsessed with it.”
There it was. That rare Arden smile he was so stingy with. He stared intently at his thumb as is caressed her pulse.
“I can feel your heart here.” He tightened his grip and slowly mimicked the sound of her pulse. “It’s like I’m touching your very essence. It flows under my fingers but eventually returns to your heart. I’m touching your heart and yeah, Pixie, it soothes something inside of me. Ulf too.”
She reared back out of his hold. “Say it.”
“Say what?”
“Say I’m your wooby,” she teased. “I wanna hear it.”
Monster stepped back and shouldered on his cut. “Only if you say you’re my ol’ lady.”
“I’m already your mate.” She turned to her shoulder where her mark seemed to sense Monster near. He stepped up and kissed it, wrenching a moan from her throat.
“Not enough. Say you’re my ol’ lady.”
Carys grabbed him by the cut, pulling herself up on her tiptoes to peer up at him. “You go first.”
He let out a frustrated growl.
“You’re my wooby,” he said through gritted teeth. “Now say it.”
She threw her arms around his neck and spoke with a haughty, bored tone. “Fine, I’m your ol’ lady.” But she felt anything but bored. She was giddy. Monster still hadn’t said the three words she wanted to hear, but he’d said them in other ways. So many ways.
Now I just have to win his club over if I have a shot at that happily ever after. Considering who her father was, that was going to be an uphill battle for sure.
