Page 8 of Monster Mate

The sad part was that it’d been his honest reaction. He didn’t pity her. He truly believed everything that had happened in her life had forged her into the incredible woman she clearly was, so he wouldn’t change any of it.

He knew it hadn’t been easy for her. He could see it in her eyes when she spoke of her upbringing. But if anything had happened differently, she wouldn’t be Roxie, the warrior who’d fought off an orc and agreed to a coffee date with a demon.

Humans probably expected sympathy, though. Kind words. Gifts, maybe? He wasn’t sure. He’d have to do some reading and see what he could find out about how human women process past trauma.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake.”

Jarred out of his musings, Riordan looked down at Roxie and followed her gaze to her car’s front, driver’s side tire. It was flat. His gaze sharpened. Not just flat. It’d been stabbed with something. “Someone did this,” he said, trying to control his rage. How dare someone damage her property? The three-headed feral hogs would feast for a week once he tracked down the man—or monster—responsible.

But all his anger fled when Roxie laid a hand on his bicep. Her skin was unfathomably soft. “I can tell you’re raging on the inside,” she said with an eyeroll. “But don’t. This is my fault. The organizers of the Monster Match told me I could park at the manor, but it cost $15 to valet, and I didn’t have the cash, so I parked here instead. This is what I get for parking in an unsecured lot to save a few bucks.”

It pained him that she didn’t have even $15 to valet park her car. It was also troubling that one of her car windows consisted of nothing more than a plastic tarp and duct tape. Was it too early in their friendship to buy her a new, safer car?

“Still,” he grumbled, “it’s not right that someone would do this to you.”

She shrugged. “It was probably just dumb kids screwing around.” She patted his arm before pulling her hand away, and he felt the loss of her touch in his soul. “I’ll use the money I made tonight on tips to have it towed back to my place. I have a spare tire I can put on it there.”

No. Not happening. She was not spending her money on a tow truck. He shook his head. “There’s no need. I can transport you and your vehicle.”

Her smooth brow furrowed. “You drive a big truck or something?”

“No. I can teleport you home. Once I know where you live, I can teleport your car.”

He saw the indecision in her dark eyes. She wanted to believe she could trust him with the location of her home. But experience had taught her she shouldn’t. “Or…we could think of something else,” he said, kicking himself for not being able to come up with an alternate plan that allowed him to make sure she got home safely without having to spend a dime of her hard-earned money.

After what felt like an eternity, she exhaled. “I really don’t understand why I trust you…but I do. OK, if it’s truly not a problem to transport me and my car, I’d appreciate it.”

There was no prize in the entire dimension that he’d value more than her trust. He put a hand over his heart. “I’ll never abuse your trust.”

She bit her lush bottom lip. “I know you won’t. Not intentionally, anyway. I don’t know how I know that, but I do. And I do appreciate what you’ve done for me tonight. I’d hate for you to think I didn’t.”

“I never thought anything of the sort.”

“So, what does this whole teleporting thing feel like?”

He frowned. “I’m not sure. It’s just always something I’ve been able to do. I imagine it might feel slightly disorienting to you? But I’m guessing.”

“But it won’t mess me up, right? Like, on a cellular level?”

That made him smile. “No. Your cells will remain in perfect order.”

True to form, Roxie swallowed her apprehension, squared her shoulders, and said, “OK. How do we do this thing?”

He offered her his hand. “You have to be touching me. Other than that, all you have to do is think of home, and I’ll be able to take you there.”

She reached for his hand but yanked hers back at the last second. “Wait.”

Riordan held his breath. She was rethinking her decision. This was where she’d tell him she didn’t even trust him enough to take his hand, let alone invite him into her home. He braced himself for the rejection. But he knew it wouldn’t matter. It’d still be devastating.

Roxie let out a frustrated growl. “It’s just…don’t judge me based on where I live…or who I live with, OK?”

Were all human women this confusing, or was his queen singular in her confounding nature? “I’m from what you’d call a hell dimension. Why would I judge you?” Then the second part of her statement hit him right between the eyes like a thousand-pound brick. “Do you already have a mate at home?”

He already knew she didn’t love this other person. Roxie didn’t even believe in love. So, he supposed he could kill the man without causing her too much pain. That seemed manipulative, though. And it might make Roxie angry. Or, perhaps he could—

Her snort of laughter surprised him yet again. Full of surprises. That’s what his queen was. “Look, I’ll spare you the long version of the story, but the short version is that I have a roommate-slash-dependent. He’s eighty-two years old and probably the rudest man you’ll ever meet in your life. But he’s the closest thing I’ve ever had to family—which is kind of sad, really, because he truly is awful. I love him, though. And my house is a disaster.” She shoved a hand through her hair. “And my dog is really fat because no matter what diet I put him on, he doesn’t lose any weight. He steals food, too. Lots of it.”

That was…a lot to take in. “And people judge you based on these things?”

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