Page 29 of Monster Mate

The point was that everything was as it should be. Roxie was opening up to him more and more, telling him about her childhood (he wished he’d been the one to reap her parents’ souls when they died years after abandoning their baby girl), her teen years (a few of her bullies might still die if he ever crossed paths with them), the time she spent living in a group home for young wards of the state (which was, strangely, not nearly as horrible as he would’ve expected), her martial arts training (she was a black belt in Taekwondo and Karate, and had completed more self-defense courses than Riordan knew existed) and the years she spent working multiple jobs to pay for her nurse’s assistant training.

He imagined he now knew more about her than anyone else in the world—even Winston. She was still reluctant to speak about her dating history, or the mysterious ex who had run her out of her previous hometown. But he felt confident she eventually would.

Then there was the sex.

He wasn’t sure he’d ever felt anything as electrifying, as monumental, or as satisfying on a soul-deep level as sinking into the welcoming heat of Roxie’s body. Bringing her pleasure, hearing the sounds she made when she was on the brink of coming apart in his arms, was the greatest joy he’d ever known.

He'd never say it aloud because she’d most likely scoff at him for being so fanciful, but he was starting to feel like bringing her pleasure was his job, his purpose in this world.

And when he eventually died, he could only hope he’d be fortunate enough to do it while making love to his soulmate. Could there be a better way to go? He thought not.

What he hadn’t taken into account, though, was that when everything was going perfectly, there was really only one way for things to go from there.

Straight. Fucking. Down.

It was inevitable. Like gravity.

Gravity hit later that day.

Because of-fucking-course it did.

* * *

Roxie wasn’t proud of the screech that tore its way out of her throat when a brick hit the stained-glass window in the reading nook. She dove to the floor like a grenade had been lobbed into the room, hands covering her head to escape the glass that rained down from above.

Riordan had been coming in the back door after trying to convince Waldo to go potty (it was raining, and Waldo very vocally objected to having to pee in the rain) when it happened. He materialized half a second after she screamed and scooped her up off the floor, unmindful of the glass crunching beneath his bare feet.

“Keep Waldo downstairs!” she cried, burying her face against his chest. “He’ll hurt himself.”

Riordan set her on her feet at the bottom of the spiral staircase, his eyes moving over her wildly, searching for injury. “What the hell happened?”

“B-brick. It was a brick. Through the window.”

“Are you hurt?”

His voice was downright guttural with barely contained rage. She shook her head as she groped in her sweatshirt’s pocket for her phone. “I’ll call the cops.”

“No need,” he hissed through clenched teeth, then disappeared.

Roxie spent the next five minutes choking back tears, hands shaking as she went back upstairs and cleaned up the remnants of what had been a century-old window. And it was her fault. She just knew it.

He’d found her.

Which meant it was time to go. She wouldn’t risk anything else happening to Riordan’s home—or to Riordan himself.

Winston poked his head around the corner. “What the fuck happened up here? Was it—”

She nodded grimly. “I think so. I mean, who else would be crazy enough to do something like this?”

Winston rubbed the back of his neck. “Monster hater maybe?”

“In Sanity Falls? No way. Residents here might not always be friendly, but they don’t try to run anyone out. Local authorities wouldn’t stand for it.”

And they wouldn’t. Monsters were a protected class, especially here. Their mayor was a Yeti, for Christ’s sake.

“We don’t know it’s him,” Winston said quietly. “And even if it is, Riordan would protect you. Clearly, the restraining order is a piece of shit. But having a demon at your beck and call…”

That was exactly how they’d ended up in the mess. Letting herself get too close to someone. It was weakness. And now her weakness was putting Riordan in danger. She wouldn’t stand for it. She couldn’t. If anything ever happened to him…

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