Page 47 of Fated to Monsters

“Are you mocking me?”

“No.”

“You can answer that, but you can’t admit whether or not you care about me.” I scoot away but he keeps his hold tight on me.

His jaw constricts and his nostrils flare. He lets out a breath. “Is that what you want? For me to say I do?”

I shake my head. “Not if you don’t mean it.”

“It’s just words, Birdie.” Bo skims his hand along my leg. “This,” he whispers and continues moving his touch up until his rough palm is resting against my cheek. “This is…” His fingers spread, encapsulating my entire cheek and dipping into my hair. Bo swirls his thumb gently, so very unlike who he typically is. Bo is harsh, violent, and commanding. The man touching me is everything but.

“What is it, Bo?” I mutter, practically begging him to finish his train of thought.

But as quickly as he became this soft version of himself, he blinks and it’s gone.

“I can’t do this.” He stands and in one swift motion, drops me onto the chair he was in and rushes out the door.

I pinch my eyes shut and bring my hand up to rub my temple. “Great, that went great,” I mutter to no one but myself. The warmth from his body on the chair does nothing to replace what it felt like being that near him.

He was so fucking close to sayingsomething. What stopped him? Why is he so resistant to letting me in? If he truly didn't want me, surely, he would just say it. I can't imagine Bo ever doinganythinghe didn’t want. If it were a no, he would admit it. Unless the only reason it feels like a yes is because of this stupid fucking mark on my neck. What if Bo truly isn’t interested but the mark is what ties him to me?

More reason to remove the thing and free himself for good.

Am I forcing an issue on something he doesn’t want at all?

“You okay in here?” Wes pokes his head into the room. “Saw Bo leave in typical Bo fashion.”

“Yeah,” I lie. “I’m good.” Leaving the chair Bo and I intimately sat in together behind, I stroll over to the edge of the bed and plop down onto the mattress, patting the spot beside me for Wes.

“Those muffins were to die for.” Wes comes over, his body filling the void Bo just created.

I’ve never been the type to need anyone near, but now that I’ve gotten a taste of what it’s like, I can’t stand being without any of these three men for long. Even simply having Dash with me today was a comfort I didn’t realize I desired until I had it.

“They were, weren’t they?” I only meant to bring the one home for Bo, but Cameron was kind enough to send me with a whole batch of them. I offered to repay him somehow, and yet he insisted I take them without anything in return. This world is strange, and with each interaction, it becomes even more bizarre.

Back home, nothing is given without something being taken. It’s a familiar exchange and something I could rely on. Unless it was stolen, there was always a swap of some capacity.

A favor for a favor. A barter of sorts. Everything had a balance.

Here, people do things for others without the need for them to be reciprocal, even if it costs them time, energy, or money. Or at least, that's what it seems—there very well could be a price down the line that one party is unaware of until it comes due.

“What are you thinking about?” Wes asks me.

“This place,” I say. “It’s too good to be true. Don’t you agree?”

Wes drags his bottom lip into his mouth and rakes his teeth over it. “Perhaps we’re used to things being harder than they need to be.”

“A lifetime in Prania and you’re so willing to accept that things can really be this good?”

He shrugs. “Why not? What do we have to lose?”

“What does he think?” I press my hand to his chest.

Wes’s hellhound hasn’t come out since we’ve been in Arthlia. Is it possible he has abandoned us again?

But when Wes’s irises glow, I’m reminded that he’s very much here with us now.

Wes pushes his palm into my hand. “He said he likes it wherever you are.”

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