Page 104 of Of Rime and Ruin
He slinks from his cage in my mind and slips into my extremities, transforming me one scale at a time. The change is inevitable, now. As soon as I hit water, I’ll be gone. Already, the aching impulse in my limbs screams at me, propelling me to find the shore.
But she already knows this. Somehow, Nahla has puzzled me out. Her soft lips on mine obscure her quiet calculations, her espionage. She fucking knows. For how long? Did she know mysecret on the Frosted Plains? When I fucked her in my furs?Did she already know when she first arrived?
Ice crawls up my arms and legs as the blue scales ripple.
She breaks the kiss and gasps for air. “That’s it,” she coos. Her fingers curl around the shell of my ears, holding me fast. “Come play. Take me for a swim.”
I shake my head, as my ability to resist her rapidly thins. “You don’t want that. You don’t wanthim, do you?”
“Yes, Aethan,” she whispers. “I wantyou. All of you.”
Pleasure courses through me, desperate and needy.
My hands lurch. Grab. I snare her waist. Lift her from the chair. Sling her over my shoulder. I carry her from the dining room, charging toward the front door. Her body bounces on my shoulder, soft and supple. My hand curls around the meat of her perfect thigh, securing her.
I shouldn’t be doing this. I should focus on my calming techniques—heat, bran, and darkness. Inhale and count to a thousand. Anything to keep her safe from the Beast bursting inside of me.
Instead, I open the front gate. Low tide spreads before us, the rocky beach lit by the fading rays of sunset. Waves wake and crash against the stones, frothing at the mouth of the Rime.
“I’m a monster, Nahla.”
She grips my hair at the base of my neck. “I don’t care.”
Fuck.
Would it be so bad to lose control? To let her see? What if itworks? What if I’m wrong about everything?
I would never hurt her. Never.
The Beast’s conscience rises within me, growling in agreement.Sunfish said come. I will come.
Fuck. It’s dangerous. I can’t put her in harm’s way, for the sake of a fucking experiment.
Nahla clears her throat, a soft defiant sound, and then she’s singing again. Her Voice pierces my mind and enters with a force of warmth. She’s everywhere, expanding, filling, absorbing. Understanding. My eyes flutter, heart speeding at the intimacy of her touch.
I will come.
I jab at the rising Beast, pushing him into his cage. But he wrestles me for control, fighting with a force I’ve never seen. With a hard shove, he squashes me. My body turns to ice, and he seizes control.
My knees buckle. Nahla hiccups, twisting in my arms as we tumble into the water, both of us helpless to the will of the Beast.
Chapter forty-four
Beast
Sopretty.
So perfect.
Somine.
Nahla clings to my chest.
Hands tangle in my hair.
Golden scales spread.
Her legs morph into a soft, flowing tail.
