Page 81 of Land of Monsters

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Voices dragged me from sleep, my lashes lifting to reveal a figure standing by the window. My body instantly reacted at seeing Ash’s naked physique, his gorgeous profile. The man’s plump, firm ass was on display, demanding to be bitten into like a juicy apple. Bruises, bites, and claw marks from last night’s pursuits decorated his skin, showcasing my endless hunger for him.

Standing there, he stole my breath and caused a kaleidoscope of sensations to flutter in my stomach. It curved through me, the connection I felt to him, the blooming in my chest I had never felt before, not even remotely with Wyatt. I stopped breathing at the intensity of emotion, at what it all meant.

Last night, when he demanded words from my obscurer, pulled forth my beast, and saw only me, there was a final line I walked right over and fell.

“Look, Master Mushroom, your fun-girl is awake.” A small voice popped my attention to the figure standing on the bednext to me. The same brownie and imp I saw at the bike club. “Get it?” The brownie snickered, the dice skirt around his hips swaying under his large belly clicking together. “Fungirl, instead of fung—”

“Opie, shut up,” Ash replied, his voice monotone, not even looking back.

Chirp!

“Right? You’d think he’d be in a much better mood with all the gardening he did last night, planting his seed until all hours of the night!”

Chirp!

“I wasn’t watching! I just assumed.”

Chirp! Chirp!The imp’s fingers flew in the air.

“Well, I didn’t purposely watch!”

Chirp!

“That is a total misunderstanding!”

“I don’t understand.” I pulled the sheet up to my chest, sitting up. “Why are you guys here? I thought you lived at the biker club.”

“Live in a biker club?” The brownie sucked in, his hand going to his chest, his voice rising. “Do I look like someone who lives in a biker club?!”

Chirpchirpchirp!I had no doubt the imp was definitely flipping me off.

“They belong to my friend,” Ash inserted. “I have to babysit sometimes.”

“Babysit!” Opie exclaimed. His dice skirt swung and showed off all his bits and pieces. “How many times have we saved your behind, tree fairy?” He put his hands on his hips. “If anyone is babysitting, it is us! Why do you think we are even here?”

Chip! Chirp!

“You are free to go back to Budapest anytime,” Ash muttered, his mood pensive, but it only called to me. Climbingout of bed, I grabbed a shirt left for me. I tugged it on, padding to where he stood.

“You okay?” I couldn’t fully disguise my nerves, terrified he would say this was all a mistake. Or maybe I was scared he wouldn’t. We both had been hurt so much before, and to feel this deep connection terrified me. Yet I couldn’t stop the need to be near him. Touch him.

“See for yourself.” He flicked his chin out the window, taking my focus with it. It took me a moment to understand what I was looking at. The branches from the trees reached for each other, tangling, twining together almost seductively.

“Are they…?”

“Knotted together?” He glanced over at me. “Yes.”

“Holy shit… did we…” I swallowed. “Did we do that?”

“Yes.”

“You should see what you did to the trees outside the window of the last place.” Opie chuckled, strolling to the end of the bed. “You guys are just knotting limbs everywhere you go.”

“What?” My mouth hung open, a panic speeding up my pulse. “We did this before?”

“Taking the being knotty to a whole new level.” Opie tipped back his head, his hand on his belly as he laughed. “Get it?”

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