Page 113 of Monsters in Love: Lost in the Underworld

“How long do I have before they’re stuck in hell forever?”

“I don’t know.” She squeezes my hand. “You don’t have to do this with me.”

“I want to.” I kiss her again. “I’ve dreamed of so many spells to be with you. Bringing you back, making you physical… time travel.”

I laugh at how absurd that idea had been.

“I don’t want it to be like this. I don’t want to have to rush this with you.” I don’t want it to be “for” someone else.

Julia kisses my throat. “If we make it through hell and back, we can take that time.”

She doesn’t remind me this is a mess of my own making. She just kisses me again.

But I can’t make another mistake if it could take even more from us.

“What does the actual translation say? What do I have to do?”

Julia goes back to the book and places both hands on the page. When I move to stand behind her, I see the original words… but I can’t read them.

“It’s not Latin.”

“No. Babylonian.” She glances at me. “Your grandmothers have neglected your education.”

She reads over the words, eyes narrowing before she says, “The spell works by using a living orgasm brought about by a being who’s partially in hell.”

“Part of you is in hell?”

She nods. “But it means that you could use either of the two downstairs if you’d prefer.”

“Ew, no. Not even if they were conscious and could consent to it.” I shudder at the idea. “I want you.”

It’s not simply that I’d prefer her over them. I want her.

This isn’t how I imagined having her, but… I slip my fingers in hers and look down at the book once more.

Say the words, kiss her lips, find the pleasure amid her hips.

“It translates for language and intention?”

Julia sighs. “If we manage this and get back in one piece, you and I are going to have to fill some of the gaps in your knowledge. For your own safety.”

Taking a deep breath, I take off my coat and toss it onto the settee, letting my phone clunk heavily against the old padding. I’m not going to need that in hell.

I cleaned the mattress in this room months ago and brought my own sheets so that I could sleep here if I ever lingered too late—or was simply too tired to be bothered to trek back across the field.

I’m grateful for that now.

I sit on the mattress and the springs creak.

“I think it will be best if I perform cunnilingus to achieve your orgasm.”

The formality of the words reminds me that she’s been around a lot longer than I tend to think about.

“If you’re sure,” I say, unzipping my boots and setting them aside.

She nods. “The spell only requires that you come… I’m not even sure I can anymore.”

I pull her to me, kissing her and wishing we had the time to find out. Her fingers caress my stomach, and she slips the zipper at my hip downward.

---