Page 49 of Daughter of a Monster

I hate him.

I adore him.

I want him.

I hope I never see him again.

My footsteps are clumsy, hitting the creaks and groans of the floorboards, but I don’t care if I wake anyone. I’m too annoyed to care. And too damn turned on. Each time I close my eyes, I see him. The way he just stood there after ripping the door open, his chest heaving, his eyes dark and alluring. They are blue, I know that, but when he looks at me that way they darken to ink.

The faintest stubble covered his jaw. It scratched when he kissed me, contradicting the softness of his full lips. It felt heavenly. Sublime. Instantly, coils of arousal had begun to unwind in the depths of my core. His eyes felt like alternating flames of hot and cold licking my body when his gaze devoured me. It had triggered something within me. Something hungry and desperate. Something filled with longing and need. I didn’t think about his motives, why he would or wouldn’t be kissing me, touching me. I’d only been consumed with thoughts of him and the way he was making me feel.

And then he’d run.

My stomach cramps and I bend over, clutching the wall for support.

The whip lashes over my skin making me cry out in delicious pain. Because that’s what it is. Delicious. Tears prick my eyes, but I don’t tell him to stop. “Again,” I say between cries. “Again.”

Jericho looks down at me splayed over his lap. There’s a faint line of worry pressed between his brows, but the way he’s looking at me, the way his eyes burn, shows me he’s enjoying this sickness as much as I am.

“Berkley?”

My head jerks upwards to find Gideon walking toward me.

“Berkley, are you okay?”

His hand is under my elbow as I straighten myself, face flushed, eyes glazed. “I’m good. I’m fine.”

He looks at me, one eyebrow cocked.

“Honestly,” I insist, pulling away from him. “I’m good.”

I know he doesn’t believe me but he takes a step back and leans against the wall. “What are you doing wandering around here anyway?”

For the first time, I actually notice my surroundings. I have no idea where I am. The passageways are all dark. The doors are shut. I look down the way I’ve come and then forward to the way I’m going.

“I have no idea where I am.”

Gideon laughs. “Just thought you’d go exploring in your bathrobe, huh?”

I pull the material closer.

“Come on.” He jerks his head back the way I’ve come. “I’ll show you back to your room.”

“And why are you wandering around at this time of night?” I ask.

He chuckles, flashing a grin at me over his shoulder. “Just because you’re lost doesn’t mean I am.” He takes a few more steps before opening a door. It leads to the ballroom. The only brightness that creeps into the room is the muted light of the moon, straining through the translucent curtains. It catches the intricate gold trimming of the ceiling and illuminates the blue pattern of the walls. The sight both startles me with its beauty and calms me.

“Sometimes it’s easy to forget how amazing this place is.” I stand in the middle of the room and gaze up at the chandelier. I glance back at Gideon who’s leaning against the wall, arms crossed and watching me. “When you live here, I mean. You almost get used to it a bit, you know? The first time I walked into the dining room I was in awe, and now I dine there every night without a thought. Makes you think how important it is to stop and remember the beauty of a place.”

Gideon’s lips twitch with amusement.

“What?”

He pulls himself off the wall, his smirk firmly still in place and walks toward me. “Nothing. You’re just…” He cocks his head to the side.

“What?” I say again, this time a little more forcefully. “I’m what?”

He just laughs and shakes his head. “Nothing. Never mind.”

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