Page 102 of Their Pretty Little Monster

“He calls me to do things… and he’s been starved for you since you arrived.” His eyes glint with lust, with hunger.

“I’ve decided I hate surprises,” I snap, the pounding of my heart loud in my ears. “Especially the kind that involves being terrified half to death.”

Nyko laughs, a sound that rumbles through the semidarkness of the room, making the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

“But you have to admit, being a bit scared is exciting, isn’t it? The thrill? The adrenaline?” His fingers trail the side of my face, this touch cool, and my skin’s charged, electric.

That small touch sends currents through me, the kind that leaves me struggling to keep my head straight as lust curls deep in my gut.

“Exciting?” My response wobbles because here I am, clenching my thighs with my mind already in the gutter.

“You’re mine, Sage, and tonight, I’m going to prove that we belong together.” The possessiveness in his voice is sharp.

My stomach flutters at his promise.

“No, it’s okay. You don’t need to do anything to prove that.”

The corners of his eyes crinkle again, telling me he’s doing that evil grin because he’ll do as he pleases anyway, won’t he? Hell!

The room feels smaller, his presence enveloping every inch of space. There’s a part of me that wants to lean into that darkness, to explore the depth he’s promising. Though with the way he stares at me, I’m starting to suspect he might not give me an option.

“You can pull back now,” I say, lifting my chin, not letting him see how strongly he impacts me.

“I’m ready to play.” His words are a whisper now, a promise or a threat, I can’t tell, but they have me trembling.

“No,” I answer abruptly, sending him into more laughter. He leans into me, closer and closer.

“You’re so dangerous for me, princess,” he warns, his shadowy lips tracing a path up to my ear, his cold breath tickling me. “You can make a Shadowfen like me lose control easily.”

“M-maybe you shouldn’t exert yourself. You’re still healing. And I’m no princess.”

He’s making a tsking sound in my ear, his hands skipping down to my waist before he rips away the towel around me.

“You’re my princess.”

I whimper, an automatic sound that comes when I’m around these monsters, which makes me wonder if my body does it on purpose… show these huge beasts that I’m a wounded deer… Total betrayal by my own body.

“You smell like dessert,” he purrs, his lips grazing my neck, then dipping over my collarbone, and I’m buzzing all over. “I’d love another taste of your sweetness.” His words send another wave of shivers down my spine, but this time, it comes with a sharp pang of realization.

“Wait, another taste?” I repeat, my voice hitching as the pieces click together of when the first time had been… The memory of that dreamlike encounter in Wolfe’s room flares in my thoughts, where every touch in my sleep seemed too intimate to be just a dream. Now, it pulses to the surface of my mind.

“That was you in Wolfe’s place while I slept? I thought I was dreaming.”

He purrs, a sound that vibrates deep in his throat, resonating with a primal part of me. His mouth lifts from just above the valley between my breasts, and he raises his gaze to me.

“Very little can hold a Shadowfen back from an impossible attraction of his intended mate. Did you enjoy it, princess?”

The thumping flare deep between my thighs heightens, yet his admission stirs a knot of frustration in my gut. I’m damn drawn to him, intensely so, but he doesn’t seem to be someone who has boundaries. That both worries and slightly arouses me; the unknown shouldn’t excite me, yet it does. I’ve never met anyone like him before. Someone who brings out the darkness inside of me. Perhaps I’ve been on my best behavior for so long in the village of Nightingale that now I’m curious to explore the dark things that will bring me closer to Nyko.

His mouth finds mine, his lips pressing against me in a kiss that’s both a promise and a provocation to fill that emptiness I feel inside me. My head spins with lust, slick pooling in my core as I kiss him back impatiently, unable to control myself.

Cool to the touch, his mouth claims me with a possessiveness that has a purr rolling over my throat. I’ve never made that sound before, but around him, my body responds with primal hunger.

By some miracle, I find my sanity, and this time, I muster the strength to push him back, my hands hard against his chest, ripping from his kiss. I use that moment to slip free from the wall. I should feel emboldened that I’m standing up to this powerful monster, yet my insides are burning up, craving his touch. Adrenaline thumps with my growing neediness.

“You’re mine, Sage. I told you that already. Are you scared of me? Is this why you pull away?” he whispers the words, only adding to the whole Nyko vibe.

“I’m not afraid of you,” I answer with clipped words, lifting my chin.

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