Page 62 of The Monsters We Are

Wynter tensed.

“Seven hours we were without you. We had no clue where you were. We only knew you were alive because we can touch your soul. But we had no way of getting to you. We were fucking stuckhere.”

Her chest ached at the torture and helplessness that gleamed in his eyes and left a jagged edge to his voice.

“My monster was a mess the whole time. I was no better. And though you’re back and it can see that you’re fine, it mentally still isn’t in a good place. Neither am I, so I don’t have enough control to firmly subdue it right now. It knows that; it would take advantage. It wants to lay claim to you in the only way that it can. You need to give me some physical space.”

Maybe. But she didn’t want to. Not simply because his sexual warning sounded rather intriguing, but because he needed a little comfort. She had no way to give it to him unless she touched him. “Would it hurt? The bite?”

His pupils dilated, and he took in a long breath . . . as if just having the conversation was too much for his libido at present. “Wynter.” It was a warning, pure and simple.

“You can at least tell me if I need to brace myself for pain.”

He studied her expression. “You’d let my monster bite you?”

Well, it would take three bites to perform the binding, so one little bite here and now wouldn’t do any harm. Although . . . “Not if it’s gonna take a chunk out of me. Is that what it would do?”

“No. It wouldn’t purposely hurt you, but it wouldn’t be careful with you. There wouldn’t be anything gentle about how it touched or fucked you.”

She swallowed. “And its venom?”

“It supposedly burns a little, though only for a few moments.”

She wasn’t exactly comforted by that, since Cain had a way of downplaying just how much his little brands hurt. “I don’t need you or your monster to be careful with me. I can handle whatever you’ve both got.”

Cain stared at her, his heart pounding, his dick excruciatingly hard. He wanted so badly to take her at her word. He needed the feel of her skin under his hands, the taste of her in his mouth, the hot slick grip of her inner muscles quaking around his cock. He needed to reclaim every part of her as his own. But his control would inevitably crumble at some point, his monster would then lay its own claim, and Cain worried it would frighten her. Possibly even frighten her away. More, he feared she’d later regret allowing it to bite her.

“Why are you still hesitating?” Her lips thinned. “You’d better not have it in your head that your creature might scare me off.”

His little witch read him too well at times.

“After all the things you’ve told me, I’m still here. I think I’ve proven that I’m not easily spooked. Plus, I’ve met your monster before.”

“It was calm, then. It isn’t now. And make no mistake about it, baby, it will fuck you like an animal.”

“I’m still not seeing the problem.”

He inwardly swore as his cock jerked and his creature pushed urgently against his skin. Cain gripped her jaw. “Be sure, Wynter. Be very, very sure.”

She winged up a brow. “Does it look like I’m not?”

“No. It looks like you’re raring to fuck.” Which only made his balls ache. He dropped his hand and took a step back. “Take the shirt off.”

She complied, letting it slip off her shoulders and fall to the floor. The sight of her naked was always the best kind of punch to his gut. When she was nakedandaroused, the view was even better. Her pupils were blown. Her skin was flushed. Her nipples were tight little points. Her thigh muscles bunched and flexed . . . like she was squeezing them to get some much-needed friction.

Pure male satisfaction filled him. This beautiful creature belonged to him, all the way down to her soul. “Remember you were warned,” he said, his tone clipped. “Turn around. Grab the bedpost.”

Again, she complied without complaint.

“Good girl.” Admiring the sleek line of her back and her perfect little ass, Cain shed his own clothes. Naked, he swept his palm up her spine and then pressed his front to her back. He dragged his teeth over her nape hard enough to mark, wondering if she could sense the feral energy that hummed beneath his skin and urged him to violently ram his dick inside her with no thought to whether or not she’d like it.

He delivered a stinging smack to her soul. She jolted with a gasp, her back arching. He did it again. And again. And again. Increasing the “weight” of the smacks each time.

Knowing the combination of gentle and rough would muddle with her mental equilibrium, he also softly stroked her back and trailed light kisses along her neck and shoulders. He loved the taste of her skin. Loved the spice of magick that flavored it.

She pushed her ass against his cock in invitation. He didn’t take it. Instead, he flayed her soul with light taps, hard spanks, and full on thwacks.

He crouched behind her so he could lick and nip the globes of her ass, intent on leaving plenty of his own marks before his creature took over. It currently pressed against Cain’s skin, wanting at her. The only thing that kept it from pushing him too hard was the knowledge that itwouldget to have her soon; get to bite and claim her.