Page 18 of Abdominal Snowman

Bruised and Soren

Soren listened to the human woman steal his chair from the bedroom and rolled his eyes as she jammed it under the doorknob.

Like that would stop him. But if it helped her feel safe… whatever.

Soren wasn’t into hurting anyone.

It was why he’d spent most of his time in the garage. Being around the human made her nervous, he could tell in the way her pulse raced whenever he came into view. Even showing her his human form hadn’t seemed to help, because he’d heard her heart rate quicken at the sight of him. Or maybe that was because he’d startled her while she was being nosy?

It had bothered him more than he let on that she’d been looking in his parents’ room. Hehadn’t even looked in there in… years, probably.

With a grumble, Soren grabbed the remote and turned up the television, the latest episode of his favorite hero show filling the empty space with its dialogue.

The space heaters also hummed in the background, and the television helped with that problem. He kind of hated them, but they did their job of keeping the garage warm enough for the electronics to function, but cold enough for him to relax in.

And now it was helping him block out the sounds of the human woman inside his home.

Well… the place where his bed resided. This little garage felt more like home than the cabin did. It wasn’t so big and empty, and he could tinker away on anything he wanted, whenever he wanted.

And tinker he did. For hours. Until he got bored of ignoring the texts that kept buzzing the human’s phone. Sage.

Soren grumbled. He’d wanted to learn her name organically, not because he found it in her phone, and it was annoying how well the name fit her.

He bided his time and fiddled around until he muted the television for a moment and focused on the cabin. A steady pulse thumped quietly, evenly, and he sighed. She must finally be asleep.

It was dark in the way only the forest could get when he finally made his way back inside. The fire embers crackled quietly, and the television droned on in the background. She was a lot closer than he expected, and Soren rounded the fireplace silently with a frown.

He’d been correct.

Bundled up in one of the fuzzy blankets, she was fast asleep on the damned couch with one hand tucked under her cheek, the blanket pulled up as high as it could go.

With a soft chuckle, he approached her, studying the soft curve of her cheek and the gentle peak of her eyebrows. Her dark hair was pretty and long, and he bet it would glow in the sunlight as it cut through the trees on a cold winter morning—

What are you thinking?

Shaking his head, Soren cleared his mind of those thoughts and lifted his face to the ceiling.

Don’t be a weirdo.

His gaze landed on the railing that made up the loft bedroom. Soren remembered telling her he would sleep where she didn’t, but it didn’t feel right taking the bed while this injured woman slept on the couch. Though maybe it was warmer by the fire for her.

Soren chewed his lip as he racked his mind for a decision. With a sigh, he backed away quietly, deciding it would be best to leave her alone, regardless of where she slept. As he placed one foot behind the other, disturbing the air, he caught her scent.

But it wasn’t just her scent. It was her scent covered in his scent, in the soaps he used in the shower. She must have used his products, and it was doing something weird to his brain.

She shifted in her sleep, snuggling farther into the couch, and Soren slinked farther away. She pulled the blanket closer, revealing something beside her head. He frowned as he stared closer.

A lipstick tube? Why would she be on the couch with lipstick?

Suspicion cut through him, and he leaned forward and lifted the tube carefully.

It was heavier than it looked, and he popped the cap off.

He felt his cheeks heat with embarrassment and a little bit of annoyance as two metal prongs stared back at him from where the makeup product usually sat.

A taser.

He huffed. Here he was agonizing over whether to make her more comfortable, and she was planning to tase him! Honestly, he didn’t understand humans. He hadn’t done anything to hurt her, and… okay sure, he was a creature most people thought was a myth, but he wasn’t that bad!