It was amazing. It was a shame I hadn’t trusted the process, so I could have enjoyed the experience more.
My hands shook, yet my mind was steady. When I turned, I found him staring at me like he couldn’t believe I’d actually done it.
Stupid human I was.
“You should come back to the nest. It’s safer for you,” he told me.
I pushed past him to start a fire in the pit. “No.”
He glared when I went back to my hammock. Part of him kicked himself for pushing me away from the nest. His mouth opened to say something, but his jaw snapped together to stop himself.Please.
“As you wish,” he snarled instead, lying on the ground outside the sage patch with a loud huff. It was almost comical to see him belly down there like an enormous guard gator.
The calm silence was awkward and made me squirm.
Where was the conflict?
“I’m going to start calling you Snuggle Bunny.” The words left my lips before even thinking about it. Was I trying to start a fight? I bit my lip once I realized what I’d done. No man or beast worth his salt would let me call him that. Especially not the ferocious Lizardman.
Especially not someone who’d already responded less than favorably when I asked for their real name.
He froze with shock, and searing heat filled my face. It was mortifying.
After a long moment, he chuckled but didn’t open his eyes. I could swear in the crackle of the fire that there was a grin on his face. “Good night, Talia.”
No rage. No insistence that he was a monster, and Rot was a good name for a swamp monster that would kill you from the inside out with one bite. Instead, there was a calm I couldn’t wrap my brain around.
“Good night, Snuggle Bunny.” The words sounded bemused even to my ears, but instead of evaluating what happened, I closed my eyes.
Sleeping was a much better option than whatever nonsense this was.
Would he be there when I woke up?
Why did he come back to me?
The idea that he would stay made my nerves soothe and ache at the same time.
Whether he stayed or left, his hand was wrapped around my throat, ready to choke me the moment I made the wrong move.
Chapter 23:
Handsareonme,gentle and soft, and yet I burn like I’m being torn to shreds.
I trusted him.
He promised to keep me safe.
His wife said no one would hurt me anymore.
It was all a lie.
Stupid little girl. How could you fall into such a trap?
Everything was in the shadows of my pretty and perfect bedroom. The one they’d made to make the stray feel at home. So I’d never feel the pink walls closing in and suffocating me against the matching sheets. I should be grateful that they made it so comfortable.
Meanwhile, he broke something deep inside me that I would never recover.
His muffled grunts were the only sound in the darkness. The bed shook in a controlled rhythm as a heavy weight pressed down on me. But I refused to think about what he was doing.
