Page 48 of Mated to the Monster Under my Bed
That made her laugh, but it was a nervous giggle. Her fingers swirled restlessly in my fur, like she didn’t quite know what to do with her hands.
“But… why?” she asked. “Why do you want to do that so badly?”
“Two reasons.” I cupped her cheek and stroked my thumb beneath her eye.
She looked up at me, waiting.
“First, because I want to give you pleasure. I want to watch you fall apart under my tongue. I want to know what you taste like when you’re happy, when you’re mine,” I told her.
Her breath caught, her cheeks flushing deeper.
“And second…” I hesitated, then let the truth fall between us like a stone in a still pond. “Because the more we connect—physically and emotionally—the closer I come to being real for you. Not just here. Not just in the dark. But in the light too.”
She frowned, brows drawing together.
“Real like… outside the cottage?”
I nodded slowly.
“Maybe. I’m not sure how far it can go yet, but I feel it. Every time you touch me. Every time you see me… I solidify. Become more than just shadow and memory.”
She sat up a little, propping her chin on her hand, staring at me like I was a puzzle she wanted to solve.
“What would happen if you tried to leave the cottage now?” she asked. “I mean, we’ve been, er, intimate in several ways. Would you be solid enough to go out?”
I sighed and looked toward the darkened window where night clung like a curtain beyond the glass.
“I might be,” I admitted. “But I’m not willing to risk it. Not yet. I think the cottage grounds are part of my boundary. If I push it too far before I’m ready…”
“What?” she whispered. “What would happen?”
“I might disappear.” I said it quietly, watching her eyes widen.
“You mean… for good?”
I nodded.
“If I step outside and I’m not anchored enough—if the bond isn’t strong enough—I might fade before I can come back.”
Danni’s eyes grew wide with fear.
“I don’t want to lose you!” she said quickly, pressing closer to me. “I just found you again.”
Her words and the way she was looking at me made me feel like she was holding my heart in her soft little hand.
“You won’t lose me,” I promised her. “Not if you keep letting me in. Not if you let me love you.”
She swallowed hard.
“Is that what this is? What we’re doing together—making you real? Making you solid?”
I touched her face again.
“It’s the beginning.”
Silence settled between us like a soft blanket. Outside, the wind stirred the golden leaves and made them whisper against the cottage walls.
Then, after a long moment, Danni gave me a shy, crooked smile.
