Page 43 of Guarded By the Nightmare

“I will be waiting for you on your couch,” he announced, and then I felt his presence fade.

I stood over the open drawer. What the fuck did that mean?

Did I . . . want to go find out?

I closed the drawer again, and peeked out of my open door.

“What on earth possessed you to ask that?” he asked, the second he saw my face.

I came out sheepishly. “Okay, just, know that I’m not super proud of myself in this moment...but I wanted to get laid.”

His mouth opened like he was going to say something, but then he didn’t, he just gravely nodded.

“I mean, I don’t want to ifyoudon’t want to, I’m way not like that—but—I saw myself in there with you, Sylas, in Timelandia. It didn’t make you a good person suddenly, but it did help me to understand things with you.”

“Ah, yes, Mina the frail human, suddenly grasping the intricacies of the universe.” His tone was snide, but I was used to him by now, so I didn’t really worry about it.

“I know you’re only helping me for self-serving reasons. It’s still help, though. And—you’re what I have at hand.”

“And isn’t that what every man wants to hear.”

I wiped my sweaty palms on the thighs of my jeans. “You’d be surprised.” That made him snort. “Plus—you’re my last chance at being normal.”

“Normal,” he repeated slowly.

“I’m not saying it makes a ton of sense outside my head, okay? I just wanted to do something safe. With a friend. And I’m pretty sure youcan’t knock me up—we both know I’m not ready to be a time-baby mom.”

“Well, and you’re on your period, besides,” he said drolly, and it took me half-a-second to remember what I’d said earlier in Ella’s room about my nosebleed.

“Also you’re really good at callbacks,” I said. “It’s kind of hot.”

That made him chuckle darkly. “I am not sure what you are good at, except for foolish bravery. But if sex is what you desire, I can certainly play along.”

I bit my lips and took a hesitant step toward him. “You won’t hate it or anything, will you?”

“No, my queen,” he said, his voice slightly more solemn.

I swallowed, closed my eyes, and then opened them again. “All right.” I pulled my top off, and unzipped my jeans, leaving my bra and underwear on, not trying to make things sexy in the least. “Just stay right there. And I might change my mind. I’m sorry if I do; it just is what it is.”

“Whatever you desire,” he said as I walked over to him. I put a knee on either side of his lap on the couch, and my hands against it over his shoulders. My underwear covered the mark the RRP guys left on me the second time through, which was good, because I didn’t want to see it—and I didn’t want to have to explain it to him. “What would you like from me?”

“No penetration—not yet,” I said, and I wished it didn’t sound so clinical, but here we were.

“As you wish,” he agreed, but he also slouched down, jutting his hips up—it took me a moment to parse what he was offering, but he’d pulled enough of himself in so that I could see the outlineof his clothing, and, when my eyes trailed down, I found the promise of something hard between his legs.

It made the parts of me the boys were right about long to answer. The rest of me was not a whore—and no shade to sex workers, having sex as a job sounded amazing—but if my pussy had its way, it wasn’t picky, it’d work with a doorknob.

“You are my queen. Turn my lap into your throne.”

I glared at him. “Why do you have to make things weird?” I complained, and he laughed.

“You’re the one who wants to have sex with the creature thatwillkill you.”

“Not sex, just . . . fucking,” I muttered.

I hadn’t been horny in months—ever since the last time I’d seen Trent in the cellar.

So why now?

---