Page 110 of Mated to Monsters
He does not seem gentle.
I feel like such a fool for not answering him when he gave me the opportunity to speak up. It’s the calmest I’ve ever seen him, and when he asked if I’d like to wash up, I should have crawled out from under the bed and told him that yes, I would like that very much. I could have taken a relaxing soak on my own, and maybe even started to feel human again.
Instead, I feel like a damn animal being tossed into the scalding water. I gasp as I’m dunked under the surface, and the demon releases me long enough to roll his sleeves up.
I’m still in my clothes, and before I can make any kind of protest, half drowning as the demon jostles me around, he seems to notice that the thin, gray fabric is not my actual skin. He grasps my shirt, ripping it off me without strain, and he tosses the ruined top aside as he grabs a bar of soap and a brush.
I shrink away from him, opening my mouth as I prepare to tell him that I am perfectly capable of cleaning myself, but he snatches my arm and jerks me forward. Water splashes my face, and I sputter as he sets about scrubbing me.
My cheeks burn as he scours my shoulders and down my arms. He grabs my limbs without hesitation, wrenching them this way and that so that he can get every inch of me. When he starts on my chest, I try to get out of his hold, but there is no use. He’s too strong for me, and I have to swallow my embarrassment as he scrubs my breasts without pretense.
He works his way down my body, and I have to admit it does feel nice to be clean again. I almost forgot what it felt like not to itch constantly from the dirt clinging to me.
I don’t even protest as he pulls the flimsy shorts off my body. Even if I am still bright red, from the scalding water, I’m almost willing to submit to his handling. It’s such a simple thing, and yet, this simple bath feels like such a luxury after everything I’ve been through.
I almost sigh as he works down my thighs, but when his hand grasps my knee and goes to jerk it open, I stiffen, shooting up so that I’m in a half crouch, partially sitting on the lip of the tub. “Not there!”
The demon freezes, his hand still outstretched as he reaches for me. Slowly, his dark gaze lifts to mine, and his smooth brow furrows. “You can talk?”
Surprise colors his expression, and I don’t know how to respond. Did he truly think I couldn’t talk? Did he not just see that I was terrified of him?
I realize that’s why he was cleaning me with such precision. He didn’t think I could clean myself. He must have thought me little more than an animal, silent and scurrying about, and I almost feel ashamed that I led him to that conclusion. Not as much as I do that he tried to reach between my legs, but still.
I swallow hard, tears burning my eyes again. I’m overwhelmed. I’m starving, embarrassed, and terrified. My skin stings from how rough he’s been with me, and while I’m glad that I am finally clean, I hate the manner at which I arrived here.
Fighting not to let the tears fall, I finally break down and answer his question as his hands drop to the side of the tub, no longer threatening to grab me.
“I thought you were going to hurt me if I said anything.”
He blinks again. It seems that he cannot process my words or reactions anymore than I can his. “Why would I do such a thing when I asked you a question?” His jaw clenches, and dark blue magic flares in his eyes.
I force the next words out. “I thought that’s how demons are. The guards, they- punished us for asking anything.” I gulp. “I only feared you’d treat me the same.”
My legs tremble as I lower my body deeper in the water. I wrap my arms around my chest, wanting to sink into the water and drown under his scrutiny.
The demon’s hands curl around the lip of the tub, and I see the telltale sign of sparks dancing around his fingers. He keeps his tone neutral as he speaks, giving away none of the anger that seems to be tightening his body, but his words are not what I expect.
“I would never strike you.” His tone takes on a harsher edge, and I recoil from the sparks bursting from his hands. “Do you think I am such an insensitive beast like the trolvor?”
His anger strikes fear deep in me, and I pull back further. I try to form an answer, but as I stare at his darkening expression, the words die on my lips. I’m too afraid to move in his presence, much less speak, and though I know it isn’t wise, I fall quiet.
It only seems to make the demon angrier, and as he stares at me, my heart leaps to my throat. Despite having reassured me that he won’t strike me, I can’t help the fear rising, and I duck my head down, protecting my face behind my arms.
The stiff brush he was using clatters to the floor. The lip of the tub groans in his tight grip, and the lights above us start to flicker as his magic lashes out in heavy waves.
With a harsh exhale, he whips around, storming out of the washroom, and he doesn’t quite make it out before his anger unleashes in full force. The lights above me surge and falter, the sound of crackling electricity turning into a sharp buzzing until they snap out.
He crosses through my bedroom as I’m left in the dark, and as the door slams closed, I realize the water around me has become frigid. He’s sucked the heat out of the entire room, and now, I’m left in muddy and cold bathwater in the dark.
My mind is at war. I’m not sure what I’ve done to upset him, but I’m relieved he’s gone. I did feel like we were getting somewhere, but once his anger started to grow, I remembered why I had been avoiding him in the first place.
He can offer me a bed and a bath, but that doesn’t make him anything more than a demon. His kind stole me from my home, and we both know what is expected of me. The King has instructed him to bed me, to make use of me.
Just the memory of him prying my knees apart makes the sob that has been building in my chest burst free. I press my forehead against my knees, letting the tears fall, and when I can’t take it any longer, I drain the water.
My tears keep flowing as I run fresh, warm water, cleaning myself this time. I scrub at my hair as the sobs escape me, and I let them. I’m too exhausted from all that I’ve been forced to suffer.
I mourn the life I was given. Honestly, to lose it would be a relief, and having no option but to continue forward has been nothing but torment. I fear what awaits me in this home, almost more than I did under those jackal headed demons- the trolvor, he called them.