Page 4 of Monster Mate

That was the last thing he saw before rage overtook him and his vision went red.

Blood red.

CHAPTER 3

The giant monster was facing away from her as he reached down, snagged the orc off the ground by his throat, and tossed him so hard and so far into the air that Roxie lost sight of him. She waited for the bastard’s body to drop…and waited, and waited, and waited…but it never did.

Jesus, how strong was he?

Her self-defense skills were top tier. But something told her the odds weren’t in her favor if she had to fight this dude. She wanted to run, but her feet weren’t cooperating.

Roxie shoved a hand in her pocket and wrapped her fingers around the pepper spray canister as she began backing away slowly, eyes glued to the gothic nightmare of a monster in front of her.

That’s when he turned around, and she stopped dead in her tracks.

She’d never seen anything scarier in her life. Or more beautiful.

There weren’t too many men—monster or human—who made her feel delicate and dainty, but the monster who’d just yeeted her attacker to the moon (presumably) accomplished that with many, many inches to spare. He had to be over 6’9”, and probably outweighed her by a hundred pounds, which would make him somewhere around two eighty.

His violently red skin was stretched over giant slabs of lean muscle, but weirdly, Roxie found herself wondering if it was as soft as it looked. Not that she was going to touch him. That’d be stupid. But she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t intrigued.

He apparently wasn’t shy, either. He was half naked and didn’t seem inclined to cover up. The pants he was wearing looked to be made of soft, supple leather, molded to his thick thighs and impressive…

She gave herself a sharp slap mental across the face. Do not admire the monster’s package!

But the pants were all he was wearing. His giant, muscle-y chest was completely bare. And other than the red skin, it was a very human-looking chest.

She forced herself to glance up—and up and up and up—to see his face.

The bastard was handsome. Not enough that she wouldn’t pepper spray him if he tried anything funny, but handsome, nonetheless.

He had the kind of square-jawed, pouty-lipped, messy dark-haired good looks and scalpel-sharp cheekbones that would give a supermodel an inferiority complex. But it was his eyes that really did a number on Roxie.

They were gold. Shiny, eerie, stunningly gorgeous gold.

His eyes were beautiful enough that she almost missed the horns.

Yep. Horns. Two of ‘em. Giant, hooked, black horns sprouted from his forehead and curled over the back of his skull.

Then she caught movement behind him and let out a little gasp. Was that a…tail?

Yep again. That was for sure a 4’ long tail with a spade shaped spike at the end.

She thought she’d seen every type of monster in Sanity Falls. She’d been wrong.

He raised his hands in the universal don’t-pepper-spray-me gesture. “Are you unharmed, Roxie Rowe?”

First of all, how the hell did he know her name? And second of all…phew. That was some voice he had. Deep and grumbly and growly. He could narrate audiobooks and make a fortune.

Which was so not the point! Focus, Roxie!

She took a step back and turned her body to the side, making herself a smaller target. “How do you know my name?”

His thick black brows lowered a fraction. “I was at the Monster Match. I heard you introduce yourself to the other human woman. The one married to…”

He seemed at a loss for words. Roxie understood. Lucy’s husband really was hard to describe. “Who are you?”

“I am Riordan Merrick.” He sketched a little bow. The old time-y gesture almost brought a smile to her lips. “I am at your service.”

---