Page 45 of Guarded By the Phantom

I would respect her like she deserved. No matter if my balls fell off, because every minute spent in her presence made me tingle with horny need.

“A joke,” she said, a rueful smile playing on her lips as she cast her eyes down, her cheeks burning. “Of course. Um, well. Will you stay? Please. You can have my pie if you want.”

She looked up with hope, and I cursed myself again. The doll was desperate for company. Desperate enough to begme.How hadn’t I seen it before?

“Nah, I ate five pieces,” I said truthfully. “I’m a glutton. Don’t enable me, okay? Eat your pie.”

She nodded with a small smile and sat back down at her desk. I dragged a chair closer to her so we could sit side by side.

“So, what have you planned for tomorrow?” I asked, eyeing the big dollop of whipped cream on her spoon. Damn, that pie really was good. Not too sweet, the crumble perfectly crispy—just magic.

“Not much,” she said after she swallowed. “That gala is tomorrow, so I’m guessing my prep team will get here at two to get me ready.”

The gala started at six. I snorted.

“What, you need four hours to get ready for a party?” I asked, shaking my head. “Will they skin you alive and put on a new face or what?”

She grimaced. “Eww. That was gross. And no, not really, but my mother always wants me to look perfect.”

She dug her spoon into the pie with vehemence. A sudden burst of pink in my vision let me know my sick hormones really appreciated how cutesy it was. She was so angry, she murdered that piece of pie.

So fucking cute.

“Perfect? You don’t need four hours for that. Just maybe four seconds,” I said, my infatuated brain making me say mushy things I’d later beg to forget.

She snorted incredulously, rolling her eyes. “Yeah? And what would I do in four seconds?”

I reached out without thinking and wiped a bit of whipped cream from the corner of her lips. Before my brain could kick in, I sucked that finger into my mouth, wrapping my long tongue around the sweetness.

She stared at me with wide eyes, blushing. I shrugged, cursing at myself, yet also pleased. This was allowed, I decided. It was flirting, toeing the line a bit, but it wasn’t like I told her to please hop on my cock, so I could finally be inside her.

Helping her get food off her face was gentlemanly. Yeah.

“I really like that cream,” I said to diffuse the situation. “It’s thick and not too sweet.”

She nodded slowly, piling a big bite of crumble, blueberries, and cream on the spoon.

“Have more then.”

When she offered me the spoon, her eyes questioning, I almost expired on the spot.

“Not a good idea,” I said, backing away. The chair scraped the floor when I pushed too hard.

“What? Why?” She frowned, still holding out the spoon.

“Cause if you feed me like this, you’ll never get rid of me,” I said seriously. “For real. Don’t give me food. I’m like a stray dog. Whoever feeds me will inevitably get fleas.”

She snorted with laughter, bringing the spoon closer to my mouth. “Okay. You can stay.”

Well, that did it. I was officially in love, and Nat would be pissed when the time came for him to fix my broken heart. ‘Cause she would break it. I took a steadying breath and opened my mouth wide in the last attempt to push her away.

Barbara gasped softly, then stilled. I watched her, my bony mouth open wide. I knew what she saw. Just behind my outer teeth, there were thin, flexible membranes, a bit darker than blood. They acted similarly to human lips, letting me form sounds. Now, they were parted, just like my outer teeth, to show the mess within.

The inside of my mouth was blood red, a long tongue nestling between two rows of monstrously sharp teeth. They were viciously long, perfect for tearing chunks of meat off living prey.

She was frozen, staring at my hideous mouth, for a second too long. I lost my patience and shot out my tongue, wrapping it around the spoon. I scooped the food off it and pulled my tongue back, closing my mouth so I could chew.

After a long, tense moment, she put the spoon away with a delicate clink. Then she turned to face me squarely, watching my face with something akin to horror, or maybe fascination. I chewed and swallowed, cocking my head to the side.

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