Page 6 of Held

But he didn’t grab her. There was no pouncing. He only knelt there, so huge his bulk blocked out the moonlight streaming in from the mouth of the cave.

Briar frowned.Is he waiting for me?It seemed an incredibly polite thing to do, especially for a monster like him. Maybe Skullstalkers didn’t have sexual urges like humans. Maybe?—

Before she could ponder his urges anymore, another rush of pain swarmed over her and made her cry out.

Wick straightened, his ears pricking up in concern. “Briar?”

“We better get this show on the road,” Briar said, gritting her teeth in a smile. “What are you waiting for, big boy?”

He did not make any acknowledgment of the nickname. Nor did he react when she placed her hand on his strange, pale chest, the highest part of him she could reach.

She shivered. His skin was so cold. But it would have to do if she wanted to survive another day.

She slid a hand down his belly until she reached his loincloth. Still, he did not move, staring down at her with those odd fiery eyes. She could only see half of his face under the skull mask, but she got the feeling he was out of his depth.

She gave him the best smile she could manage despite the pain. “I was kind of expecting you to ravish me, Wick. Time’s a-wasting.”

“Oh,” said Wick, as if just remembering what they were doing. “Yes.”

Then his hands were on her, so huge they encompassed her whole waist. Briar let out a gasp as he dragged her onto her back. The nest was shockingly comfortable. A few feathers poked into her sides, but the fur was heavenly.

He tugged at her belt with a confused frown. It took her a moment to realize what he was confused about.

“Buckle,” she explained, working at it. She would have laughed if she wasn’t stuck between fear and pain—she was lying under a Skullstalker, explaining what a belt buckle was so he could get her pants off andfuckher.

She fought down a wave of nerves as she slipped her shoes off, then her pants. She’d been with some shady characters since the curse—voids, evenbeforeit—but she’d always done her best to make things as good as they could be. Which was fine if he were some drunk who could hardly get it up and was having her out the back of some grimy tavern. But it was trickier when he was a literalmonster, looming over her with those huge fangs and claws.

At least he had a nice mouth. Even with the skull mask above it and the fangs inside it, his mouth was rather beautiful.

“Okay,” Briar said, her voice higher than she intended. “Let me see what we’re working with.”

Wick, at least, understood that. He tugged at his loincloth. It pooled around his knees, and Briar’s mouth fell open.

With shock, of course. But also, with a surprising amount of lust. He was massive, even half-hard, and he was…mostlyhuman. There were a set of thick ridges circling his cock, which perked up under her gaze.

“Wow,” Briar said faintly.

Wick grunted. “I am small for a Skullstalker. I…shouldbe able to fit.”

“I guess we’ll find out,” Briar said, instead of what she really wanted to say, which wasYou’re SMALL? What the fuck do BIG Skullstalkers look like? And why do you sound so unsure?

She tensed against the nest, a pained shudder working through her body. It was almost to her heart; they were running out of time.

“Look,” she said. “I know we’re on a time limit, but I can’t fit that inside me without some warming up.”

“Oh,” Wick said. He paused. Then he reached up and started to rub her arms uncertainly.

Briar laughed so loud it made them both jump. She kept expecting him to go feral on her, whether he wanted to or not. To show her this “blood frenzy” he had mentioned. But he acted like some city gentleman who had never been alone in a room with a woman. She had met many of the sort, usually before stealing something important and slipping out of their lives for good.

She never stayed long enough to get attached. It was better that she kept her heart to herself.

“Not like that. Warming up, like…” She eyed his pretty mouth dubiously. “I would get you to eat me out, but I don’t love the look of those fangs.”

“Eat you…out,” Wick repeated, confused.

It made her wonder just how crude Skullstalker mating was. Did they not even go down on each other? How awful.

“With your tongue,” she explained. “Inside me. But since you have those fangs?—”

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