Page 40 of Grotesque Love

“I just want a little taste…she belongs to me.”

“She belongs tous.”

“Wasn’t I promised some sort of ravishment?” I joke.

Resting on my elbows, I watch the exchange with narrowed eyes.

If my shitty subconscious ruins this for me, I am not going to be happy when I wake from whatever fever dream this is.

“This feels a little more like a domestic quarrel than a filthy fantasy.”

Sax grunts, “This disobedient gargoyle needs to learn some manners before I let him claim you.”

“Aren’t you all gargoyles?” I ask, confused. “Why do you keep saying it like that?”

“These fuckers aren’t gargoyles,” the pervy one brags, puffing out his chest. “They’re grotesques. They can’t gargle for shit.”

I have no idea what he’s talking about. I’m just about to open my mouth to say as much when he interrupts me with a growl. “Come here, princess, let me show you what I can do with this mouth.”

“What did I say about calling me princess?” I grumble.

It reminds me too much of him.Carver. And how he treats me.

“Mal, it looks like you’re desperate for another lesson in patience,” Sax warns the impatient, foul-mouthed one who chased me and pinned me to the grass. My cheeks heat as I recall what else he did to me, and I swallow audibly. Who knew I wanted to be ravaged?

Mal’s eyes snap to mine, and the hunger in his gaze isunmistakable. It’s as if he knowsexactlywhat I was just thinking about. My heart races, and I can’t help but feel a tinge of excitement, laced with an edge of fear. I still don’t know what’s going on – this whole scenario isn’t real anyway – but I can’t deny the way it’s making me feel.Alive. Again.

“Maybe you’re right, Sax,” I say, my voice low and uncertain. I scoot back on the bed as the two largest gargoyles…no, the gargoyle and largest grotesque continue to argue.

How does my brain even create this stuff? I don’t think I’ve ever heard the term grotesque before, how did I pluck it out of my subconscious?

A small smirk tugs at Sax’s lips as he meets my eyes.

“As you wish, little love.” Sax pushes down on the back of Mal’s neck with one hand, the other moving over what look like slits in Mal’s back near the ridge of his shoulder blades. It must be where their wings retract and tuck away. Mal shivers as thick fingertips move over the fold of skin. “A lesson will be delivered.”

I nod, trying to keep up, even though I know it’s all a dream. Or a hallucination. But I don’t want to focus on that right now. I want to be blinded by the magic and the mystery of it all. I want to be consumed by this fantasy until everything else just fades away. Just for a little while.

Mal, seethes, fighting against the hold he’s trapped in, only going still when Sax’s fingers push inside the wing fold. His eyes roll back and he groans softly, body melting into my sheets.

“But I’ve been so patient…” He moans, the impatient rage that had been simmering beneath the surface turning into whimpered desperation. “I waited, Sax.”

His eyes lock onto my face, expression softening slightly as he reaches out for me. For a moment, a glimmer of something in his eyes makes my stomach flutter.

Sax grunts but says nothing as he adds another finger to the slit, two fingers teasing the opening, stretching and moving slowly. Mal writhes, making small noises as his hand clasps onto my ankle, gentler this time, his claws appear to have retractedjust like the wings. He seems to use me as an anchor while Sax drives him slowly wild.

The smaller gargoyle – grotesque? – remains silent, his eyes still wide with interest. Where does he fit into this dynamic?

Swallowing hard, there’s a sudden rush of desire coursing through me. This isn’t real, it’s a figment of my imagination but it feels so real. And I find myself wanting it all. I want the fear, the darkness, the need and the desperation. I want to be consumed by these monsters.

“Perhaps a taste, then,” I say, my voice barely above a whisper before injecting a little force into my tone. “But I want you all to remember that this ismyfantasy. I don't belong to you. Any of you.”

And if this is my fantasy, my break from reality, I want to remain in control even if I’m inexperienced.

Mal’s eyes flash, and Sax loosens his hold, allowing him to move upright onto his knees.

“One small taste and then you submit to me,” Sax murmurs against Mal’s neck.

My heart races as I take in the three of them, their eyes fixed on me, their bodies poised for action. This dream, this crazy fever, feels like it’s about to dissolve into a heated reality.

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