Page 205 of Monsters in Love

I heaved a sigh. There was only one way this was going to work, and it meant getting up close and personal with this strange being. “I’m going to straddle you,” I said, coughing awkwardly. “Is that okay?”

“Just get it out,” he barked, wincing in more pain. “I don’t care how.”

Fine, if that was how he felt.

I flung one leg over him and sat on his hip, planting my feet on either side. I sure as hell couldn’t kneel; he was too broad for that. He was such a solid build beneath me, larger than any man I’d gotten this close to before. Hard, rigid with muscles and strength. I ran one hand along the wound. His skin was hot, firm, but buttery soft too. I didn’t let my thoughts linger on the lines of his muscles but planted one hand firmly, grabbed the end of the thorn with my other hand and pulled.

The extra leverage, the pressure on the skin around his wound, it all helped. The spine shifted, slowly at first, before slipping free with a gross, sucking sound, followed by a massive bellow from Kavi as I yanked it free.

I threw it across the room, panting, planting both hands on Kavi’s torso to centre myself. A thin trickle of blood oozed from the wound and I pressed my shirt against it, hoping to stem the flow.

Kavi exhaled. His body relaxed beneath me now that the spine was out. For such an enormous creature, he looked helpless now. He was bleeding in several places, weak from the fight. Poisoned, too, if his words were true, and he had no reason to lie.

“Do I need to wash the wounds?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said. His words were weaker now. The bite from before had gone.

I bit my lip, knowing that right now I had the upper hand. “If I help you, will you lead me out of this place?” I asked.

“Whatever you want,” he said, his eyes fluttering closed. “Help me, please.”

“Promise.”

He moaned but forced his eyes open and flicked his gaze to me. Those amber orbs seemed to burn through me, burn through my defences. “I promise.” He said it with such force that I knew I could trust him.

Kavi

Tamara. I rolled the name around in my mind. The feel of it like a promise in itself.

“I promise, on my life.” I hoped she knew I meant it. I had shed blood for her, risked my own life. There was no way I would bring her harm now, though I wasn’t sure I could let her leave this place either. Not now that she was right here with me, the feel of her hands on my body stirring my lust, despite the pain gripping my body.

I wanted to roll, turn my body so that I was flat beneath her. The thought of that did nothing to quell my desire, and I didn’t want to cause her fear at the swelling of my cock, so I gestured for her to get off me, and dragged myself back to a seated position. My bulge was at least a little less obvious now.

Tamara stood up, wiping her hands on her pants. She wouldn’t get clean that way, but I understood the urge. There was so much gore on me, my own and the beasts. I needed to get to the healing waters below.

“Can you walk?” she asked, as if sensing my thoughts.

“I will have to,” I said, a slight smile tugging at my lips. She was small compared to me. No way could she carry me anywhere. I forced myself to stand, wincing at the pain. I would not double over. I would not die here. Not like this. Not in front of her. My breath was heavy, hard to come by, so I leaned against the wall waiting for the spinning in my head to stop, for the pain to subside, just a little.

It washed over me in waves.

“How far do we need to go?” she asked.

“Down,” was all I could force out. I could feel the poison from the beast leeching into my system, slowing me down even more. “Flowers,” I said again. Tamara scrambled for more, even though she could not possibly understand my need. She passed them to me, and I crushed them up, pressing them into my wounds as best I could, letting the juices from them start their work. “This way.”

I dragged myself along the wall, ignoring the scraping against my skin. It would be okay soon, as long as I got to the pool.

Tamara took a few halting steps. I could practically smell her trepidation, but then she moved alongside me, slipped under my arm and took some of my weight. Her skin against mine was enough to drive my thoughts to other things, but I had to stay focused. I wanted to claim her in all senses, but I could not do that if I was dead.

“Is this okay?” Her voice was quiet, and she didn’t glance at me. It was like she was keeping all of her focus on moving, one foot in front of the other.

“It is good,” I said. “Thank you.”

She paused then glanced up. The light from her torch didn’t illuminate her face, but I could still see the glistening in her eyes. “Thank you. I’d be dead if you hadn’t come along.”

“And I would have died if you had not saved me. This is right.” I nodded once, hoping that she understood that I meant she owed me nothing. We were equals. The slate was clear. What I would not say was that I wanted her in my bed more than anything, but not because she thought she owed it to me.

We shuffled down halls until I could smell the water below. I could have walked there in my sleep, in the pitch black, but I was grateful she had light enough for her. Our pace was glacial, and the speed with which the venom moved through my body was faster. We reached the top of the stairs and I removed my arm from around her shoulder.

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