Page 71 of The Monsters We Are

“He likes rope bondage,” Hattie elaborated. “He ties women up in all these fancy, artistic knots. The heroine in my book likes it just fine.” She smoothed a hand down her nun’s habit. “I’m partial to a little bondage myself.”

A grin curved Delilah’s lips. “Getting tied up can make things alotmore interesting.”

“I never tried it,” said Anabel. “I prefer having my hands free.”

The Latina exhaled heavily. “Let me guess, you didn’t trust that any of your partners wouldn’t try to kill you while you were helpless.” She rolled her eyes.

Anabel bristled. “One, I amnevercompletely helpless—I resent that you would imply differently. Two, killersdolike to tie up their victims.”

“Victims they usually kidnap, not date. I assume youweredating these guys who wanted to pull out some rope.”

“Most wanted to use handcuffs. And yes, I was dating them.”

“Then maybe you shouldn’t have been so inclined to believe that they wanted you dead.”

“Just because someone’s your partner doesn’t mean that you’re completely safe with them. Just ask Hattie.”

The old woman frowned. “Ask me what?”

“We’re here,” announced Xavier.

Wynter looked up at the huge open-air arena that made her think of Rome’s Colosseum. It was currently adorned with garlands and strings of ghost lights. Inside, the song “Thriller” played in the background, not overriding the large cacophony of muffled voices.

Ushers were guiding people to spectator rows. In the past, Wynter and her coven sat apart from the Ancients. But as Wynter was now officially Cain’s consort, he’d insisted that she and her coven sit with him. She had no issue with that, so she hadn’t argued. As such, they turned toward the VIP area.

Wynter spotted him instantly. She usually did, no matter where they were. It was as if he was her own personal homing beacon.

Maybe he felt the weight of her stare, because he turned his head, slamming his gaze on hers. His lips curved into a sexy as shit smile that made her body perk up.

“Damn,” breathed Delilah, leaning into her. “I don’t know how your hormones cope with having that much raw sexuality aimed right at you.”

Wynter smiled. “You know, sometimes, neither do I.”

Reaching the VIP level, Wynter and her coven headed along one of the rows toward Cain. All the Ancients were seated, dressed in normal clothing.

Eve, Rima, and Noah were also there. The three Aeons seemed tense and uncomfortable. But then, they hadn’t been properly accepted by all the residents yet. It wasn’t simply because they were Aeons. It made it worse that Eve was once Adam’s consort, just as it exacerbated things that the twins were his grandchildren. No one trusted them as far as they could throw them.

The spot between Wynter’s shoulder blades itched and heated. Someone was glaring at herhard.And she didn’t need to look to know that it was Ishtar. The female Ancient might have ceased playing mind games with her, but Wynter wasn’t taking that as a sign of acceptance.

As she reached Cain, his gaze dropped down her body and darkened. “Should I assume you want to get fucked right here and now in front of all these people?” he asked, his voice low. “Because that’s exactly what I’m tempted to do.”

Wynter smiled. “You’re easy that way. No Halloween outfit? Lame.” But she got it. A huge reason the Ancients wielded so much personal control over Devil’s Cradle was that people feared them; found them so veryotherand unrelatable. That worked for the Ancients, and so they never tried to come across as fun or personable.

She and her coven quickly settled in the five vacant seats near Cain. Anabel instantly pulled down her tray table and cleaned it with one of her antibacterial potions. All seats had such trays attached to their backs, much like on airplanes.

Glancing down at the performance space below, Wynter felt her brows lift at the Halloween “touches”. Hay bales were pressed against the walls. Cobwebs and streamers dangled from wall lanterns. What seemed to behundredsof intricately decorated pumpkins were piled up around the perimeter. Strobe lights in colors of black, orange, and green shone down on the large space.

Resting his hand on her thigh, Cain leaned into her. “I like having you sitting here with me. The last few times we were at the arena, I had to be content with staring at you from afar. And you spent every moment trying to seem unaffected.”

Wynter hiked up a brow. “Who says Iwasn’tunaffected?”

His mouth curved. “I do. You wanted me from the very beginning, sweet witch. You just weren’t comfortable with it.”

At first, no, she hadn’t been. “Well, you’re sort of scary.”

Humor lit his eyes. “You were never afraid of me.”

“I was wary, though.”