Page 23 of Unveiled

“What’s the catch?”

“I’m going with you,” he answers right away, but that still doesn’t seem like enough. I expected him to go with me. It’s not like he would just give up his forced time with me.

“I want to see his parents, too,” I add, wondering if that will deter him.

“I’ll set up a dinner so we can all sit down and spend time together,” he responds, still not fighting me. I eye him with suspicion just before a wicked grin spreads across his face. “There will be rules, though.”

“Fine,” I hurriedly agree, willing to do anything to spend time at my second home. Well, almost anything.

“You’ll wear a dress I approve of,” he starts, and I vigorously nod my head in agreement. That’s not so bad, especially since we’ve never disagreed on my attire before. “You can’t call me the monster in front of them.”

“What am I supposed to call you, then?”

“You can call me Cain or the love of your life, I don’t really have a preference.”

I refuse to do both. I’m sure I can get through a dinner without having to address him at all. Especially since I’ll be there to see Ethan and his parents, not to spend time with the monster.

“What I say goes, little one, understand?”

“Understood,” I agree. He won’t do anything to ruin this for me, at least I hope not. I can follow his rules for just one night.

“Good girl,” he praises me. “Now, you can either go put a shirt on or I can take you back to bed.”

I look down, just now remembering I took my shirt off when he carved into my back. I walked outside without knowing I was half naked. Going to bed with him doesn’t sound the least bit enticing, but neither does putting a shirt over my still burning back. Hopefully, having a bandage on it will keep the shirt from rubbing, but…

“Can I borrow one of your shirts? They’re bigger and a lot easier for me to get into without disturbing my back,” I explain, not wanting him to think I want to wear his clothes for any other reason.

Judging by the smirk on his face, that’s exactly where his thoughts went, despite my explanation. He turns his back to me and walks inside, heading straight for his closet. I follow him in, much slower to allow him time to get the shirt.

When he comes out of the closet, he’s holding one of his typical black t-shirts and a new pair of sweatpants for him.

“I would much rather you walk around like that all day,” he tells me as he hands over the shirt. Gritting my teeth, I slowly pull the shirt on, feeling the pull in my skin as I stretch my arms.

The monster takes his dirty sweatpants off and replaces them with the new ones, and together we walk downstairs. “Why don’t you sit and pick out a movie, I’ll find us something to eat.”

“That’s it? You just want a movie day?”

“No, I wanted to keep training you, but that’s probably not the best idea, considering your current state,” he answers as we reach the living room. We veer apart; me, into the living room, and him, into the kitchen.

By the time I’ve picked some action packed movie that couldn’t possibly give the monster the wrong idea, he comes waltzing back into the living room with two sandwiches on separate plates and a bowl full of popcorn.

“Thanks,” I mumble as he hands a plate to me. I breathe a sigh of relief as he takes the other side of the couch and places the bowl of popcorn between us.

We eat in silence as my eyes stay glued on the TV, refusing to acknowledge the monster beside me. Except, as soon as he finishes his sandwich, he places his plate on the coffee table and takes the place of the popcorn bowl, placing it on his lap instead of on the couch.

“Is this okay?” he asks. I nod and make a sound of acknowledgement, but still refuse to look at him. I don’t want him this close. Having him on the other side of the couch would be easier, or better yet, the other side of the world.

After a few minutes, he moves closer until our thighs are touching. He’s acting like a nervous highschool boy on his first date, trying to figure out how to be cool about putting his arm around me. The thought makes me laugh, and from the corner of my eye, I see him look over at me.

Out of nowhere, or maybe it was built up since I wasn’t really paying attention, two characters on the screen go at it against a wall. Mouths war against each other, clothes go flying, and the tension in this living room thickens until it’s hard to breathe.

Chapter 10

Ainsley

The bowl of popcorn thuds against the coffee table and popcorn goes flying from the top, spreading out along the table and the floor, but the monster doesn’t move to pick any of it up.

“Fuck,” he curses under his breath, drawing my eyes to his face to see what happened. Except, as my eyes track over to him, they don’t stay on his face. They watch as his hand slips down to his sweatpants, grabbing the hard outline of his cock through the fabric.

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