Page 57 of To Crave Truly

…Disgusted

I scrambled to a seated position and looked down at Mordecai sprawled out on the bed. Sweet lord, he looked sexy as fuck. Silk pyjama bottoms were slung low on his hips and why the Hell did his torso look like that. All lines and hard planes and I needed to stop staring. Fuck. I’d been snuggling with a monster and liked it.

“Why are you here?” I asked, clutching the sheets to my chest. At least I wasn’t naked this time.

He stretched and arched his back, before rolling over onto his side and propping his head onto one hand. “You wouldn’t let me leave.”

“Bullshit.”

He laughed and it was a dark husky thing wrapped in sleep. “Believe whatever you want but you wrapped yourself around me and wouldn’t let me leave your side.”

I hoped that was because I was taking something from him to help heal me during me sleep than for any other reason.

“Did Iver give you your precious stone?”

His eyes flashed with excitement. “Oh, yes. And now I can move onto the next stage of my plan.”

“And that is?”

“Not for you to know,” he said with a dark chuckle.

Well, that wasn’t surprising. He didn’t seem like the type of villain who was going to spill his secrets for the fun of it. He rolled out of bed and stretched again. I swear the guy was doing it deliberately.

He looked at me over his shoulder and smirked. But I knew things now, thanks to Lucifer, and I was going to wipe that smirk off his fucking face.

“I know about the witches,” I said and enjoyed the feeling of smugness when his face dropped.

“Do you now. And what is it you think you know?” He stalked towards me, a predator homing in on its prey. His muscles rippled as he moved, and I could sense power coiled into every one of them.

“That you’re syphoning their power.”

His jaw ticked. Guess I was right.

“And what do you think I’m doing with this power?” He stepped closer, his thighs brushing the edge of the bed.

“I don’t know,” I breathed. Why did I have to goad the guy?

“Oh, don’t be coy now.” He reached his hand out, but I slapped it away. His other hand moved at lightning speed, grabbing the back of my neck and pulling me towards him. I braced my hands on his chest, trying to keep some distance from him, but he was stronger than me and he didn’t stop until we were nose to nose.

“Mordecai.”

His eyes darkened as he brushed a lock of hair gently out of my eyes, the tender gesture at odds with the harsh grip he had on my neck. “I’ll ask again. What do you think I’m doing with this power?”

“Storing it.”

“Really?”

“Yes. And I know you’ll use it on the Blood Moon.”

His grip tightened on the back of my neck, and I arched backwards, trying to relieve some of the pressure, but he just loomed further over me.

“You seem to know quite a lot, little one,” he snarled, his fangs lengthening. His eyes searched my face, and I could see the cogs turning in his mind. “If I didn’t need your power, I’d kill you. But lucky for you, you’re useful.”

“Whoop de fucking whoop,” I snapped back. “You won’t win, Mordecai.”

His smile was wide and sinister. “Another thing you know, is it?”

I dug my nails into the spot over his heart, relishing in the sight of his dark blood pooling beneath my fingertips. “I’ll overcome whatever this is stopping me from ripping your heart out.”

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