Page 93 of Our Little Monster
Mickey gave me a wry smile.“For someone who tries to keep a low profile, you’re pretty easy to keep tabs on, you know? Hunters have their ways.”
“Hunters…”I mused, the word trailing off as understanding dawned on me.“A certain someone’s been talking, haven’t they?”I knew it was Sam. She’d been so worried since Dad died.
“Maybe,”she admitted with a twinkle in her eye.
“Right,”I said, trying to ground myself in the present.“What now? The diner…”Just the thought made my heart ache.
“I have good insurance; it’ll be rebuilt in no time.”She sounded optimistic, but there was a lingering sadness between us.
“That place had so many memories, though,”I murmured, trying to hold down my emotions. I never made it back inside to save all the things under the glass at the booth. Just another piece of my life gone…
“It was just a building, Serina,”Mickey interjected firmly.“And buildings can be rebuilt. Memories, though…”she trailed off, her eyes locking onto mine with an intensity that made my breath hitch.“Those stay with you forever. What matters is the people you made memories with, the moments you had, and that can never be taken from you.”
I let out a shaky breath, my eyes stinging with unshed tears. The diner was more than bricks and mortar; it was a special place, a part of the family.
“You’re strong,”Mickey added, pulling me into another hug.“You’ll get through this.”
Her words weren’t just about the diner, I knew. They encompassed everything—the loss, the mission, the weight of carrying on when parts of my world crumbled away.
She pulled back, nodding toward the door the guys had exited through.“I feel better knowing you have help.”
“Help that happens to be…”I started, unable to finish the sentence.
“Vampires?”Mickey quipped, a playful edge to her voice.“Serina, I don’t care what they are. It’s who they are that matters. And those guys out there,”—she jerked her thumb toward the door—“they love you. That much is clear.”
Love. The word hung in the air, heavy and undeniable. I’d skirted around it, but hearing it from Mickey laid bare the truth of my own heart.
“Anyway, I’ve got a ton of paperwork to deal with,”Mickey said briskly, standing up and throwing on her jacket, the smell of campfire still clinging to the fabric.“Thanks for saving my ass back there, kid. I’ll see you around, Serina,”she called over her shoulder as she walked out of the room.
As silence settled around me, I allowed myself a moment to breathe, to feel. And then Bastian, Nox, and Thorne sauntered in, and I wanted to not only tell them how I felt.
I wanted to show them. All of them, together.
They all walked over to the bed, Bastian on my right, Nox and Thorne to my left.
“Serina, love, how are you feeling—” I cut off Bastian’s words by reaching for him and pulling him into an earth-shattering kiss. He grabbed for me, cradling me in his arms effortlessly, moving me onto his lap.
I gripped onto him, and his lips crashed against mine. Reminding me so much of that first kiss on the porch. But this time, the kiss was raging with passion and need with a promise of everything I wanted before but wouldn’t allow myself to have.
I would have it now.
I wrapped my legs around him, and he pulled back.
“Serina, are you—”
“Shut up,” I panted.
The next moment, he was on top of me in the bed—his bed.
I bucked my hips against the weight of him above me with a moan, grinding against his hard cock that strained against his pants.
He ran a hand up my shirt, easily tossing it off me before he leaned back and took his off too. His mouth crashed against mine again.
My hands skimmed down his body, quickly undoing the button on his pants, and he did the same with mine. I could feel Thorne and Nox’s eyes searing hot against my skin, only making me more desperate.
We both wiggled out of our pants until were both completely naked. Bastian kissed down my neck.
I glanced over to Nox, seeing his eyes darken with need as he watched us. Both him and Thorne were like animals in a cage waiting their turn. I was about to invite them to join.
