Page 53 of The Monster's Desire

“Ahh, so it is the handsome alpha wolf,” Nan says. “Then, I’m afraid I can’t say any more. Call anytime. I love you more than you know.”

“I love you too,” I assure her, but she’s already hanging up.

The phone clicks as I shove it into the receiver. My eyes dart around, looking for a method of escape. Wolves and their ridiculous super hearing.

Ridge swaggers his way across the kitchen barefoot. My eyes are greedy for the stacked lines of muscle that make up his torso. The top of my head barely reaches his pec, and I’m not short. He’s just unnaturally tall.

“You and I need to talk.” His eyes flash, indicating his wolf is close to the surface. Leaning closer, he rests his hand on the wall above my head. His woodsy scent hits me, and I don’t know what to do withmyhands. They want to feel all over his strong chest or tease the indents of his abs and obliques. They settle for fidgeting awkwardly between us.

I’m not a quirky or anxious person.

I’m generally pretty confident in my skin and my sexuality, but he’s going to want answers. Answers I don’t think I can give, because I don’t even know what the hell happened with Milania.

“That’s okay, I should probably get some rest. What a crazy day, am I right?” I duck under his arm and move to bolt somewhere.

Huge hands cup my hips, pulling my back into his chest as I face away from him. “It’s good to see you’re replenished. We didn’t like seeing you so weak.”

My silly heart races.

I know better, or I should.

Men will say just about anything to get what they want from you. The difference is, it’s usually focused on what they can give you to make themselves more desirable. It’s been a long time since a man was worried about my well-being.

“Where’s Echo?” I ask, trying to ignore how solid and safe I feel leaning against him. The pieces of hair that have fallen from his tie dance over my skin as I look up at him over my shoulder.

“Are you really interested in the vampire? After he used you to break his sire bond?” Ridge’s hands tighten on my hips and lower stomach, but his hold isn’t painful. “Imogen will have to be dealt with. Say you get lucky and survive what the council asked of you—it won’t matter. She’ll never let you live. Echo is her kicked puppy, the most loyal of her progeny because he knows he’s the least favored. He’s probably with her right now, spilling everything that happened.”

My magic has been hiding, but that dirty bitch spills out of my pores at the thought. Light-gray, smoky shadows dance around my frame as my gut wobbles. It’s the tether. There’s no other reason why that would bother me. All his bullshit about being a team is exactly that.

I freaking know better.

My own mother tried to murder me. I’ve gotten very good at trusting no one.

I trust Nan implicitly, but everyone else is a different story. Nan seemed to trust Ridge, or possibly she couldn’t risk interfering in the situation. This is why prophetic magic sucks.

I’m not the seer.

I can’t tell if she would warn me or not, because giving a message could influence future choices I make.

“Echo is free to do as he wishes. I was simply asking a question.” My chin tilts in the air as I spin around to face Ridge.

He smirks, giving me something that manages to be a dubious frown while also accentuating his ridiculously handsome face. His fingers tease up and down my sides as his palms rest on my hip bones.

“What should we do while we wait?” His eyes flash with his wolf.

I take a step backward, spinning to walk away, but he leverages his grip on my hips, pulling me back until we’re chest to chest.

A low growl rumbles out of Ridge, vibrating in the air between us. “I would suggestnotrunning right now, little witch. It’s been a long day, and my instincts are on edge.”

“Oh,” I whisper as my nipples tighten. There is legitimately something wrong with my brain. There has to be. There’s no other reason his words would send a thrill straight to my sex. His nostrils flare in response. He looks surprised for a half a second before that look changes to pure sexual heat. “So, theoretically speaking, if I were to run, what would happen?”

“Are you sure you want to taunt me?” he growls.

My thighs clench. I think I do want that. I nod shakily, licking my lips.

His hand lands on my throat, sliding around into the hair at the base of my skull. He uses the perfect amount of pressure to send a zing through my entire body as he tilts my head back so I’m forced to stare straight into his eyes.

His blond eyebrow quirks as his lips tip up in a playful way.

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