Page 9 of The Monster's Mate

I’ve been staring at Maman all night, so he doesn’t look as strange as if I hadn’t seen another. I’m used to the odd eyes, the whites more of a mustard shade. The long, horizontal pupils.

What I’m not used to is the facial tattoo. Sure, River has it, but on her it looks delicate and feminine. And it was done to cover a vicious scar—a six carved into her cheek the day of the whipping. Rumor has it the alien broke her father’s wrist before he could carve the other two sixes.

This guy is rough and brawny and dangerous. And he’s checking me out.

He starts when he sees me staring right back at him.

“Oh, sorry. I thought you were my reflection.”

I raise my brows, able to hear him through the paned glass. We’re totally different colors, he’s male and I’m female, I have two legs and he has eight… but he seriously thought I was his reflection?

“You can get arrested for peeping into windows,” I whisper-shout.

“My apologies, lady of the house.” He takes a bow. “I merely wished to make sure my maman and River and Bella are here and safe.”

“They are.”

“Well, but if you could let me in, that spray of water is getting closer.”

“Yes. In just a few minutes, it ought to spray the back porch.”

He blinks. “Grumpy little miss, aren’t you? Do I really need to sneak around the entire house to look in every window? Can’t you just let me in and see that they’re okay so I can go back home to report to my brothers?”

“Trust me. Just leave and tell them they’re all fine.”

He raises his hairless brow and holds a hand up to where his ear should be. “What?”

Frustrating alien. I know he can hear me.

I open the door the barest amount, enough so we can see each other face to face. “Go away.”

He slides a tentacle into the door and skims it along my ankle.

“Hey!” I jump back and he quickly inserts two more tentacles in the door.

I slam the door on them, which makes him yelp.

Across the street, a dog barks.

He opens the glass door from the outside, and I try to close it. A tentacle winds around my waist and yanks me against him.

“Well, hello, beautiful.”

“Let go of me or I’ll scream.”

As if he hears me, the dog barks louder, and then a second one takes up the same racket.

“No, don’t do that.”

I open my mouth and his pupils flare before his mouth drops to mine.

I freeze and suck in a breath.

To my surprise, the strange man laughs. “Don’t scream for them. This is a covert operation.”

What operation?

My mouth is hovering right below his lips, our breaths mingling like we’re way too familiar.

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