Page 37 of Ruthless Monsters

“Wowee, Blake. Way to turn the mood in the room,”Shade comments.

“There’s no point in sugarcoating it,”I reply.

I sit on one of the wooden chairs at the table, and we spend the next while theorizing how we can get out of this place. When my stomach growls for the third time, I reach over to grab a strange pink fruit, but Alaric immediately snatches it before I can. He sniffs the fruit before taking a small bite, his face scrunched with concentration as he chews and then finally swallows.

“Hey!” I protest. “If you wanted one, you could have just grabbed your own.”

The assassin gives me a funny look, then he holds the fruit out to me. “Here.”

I stare at his bite mark on the pink flesh. “You’re kidding, right?”

Shade hops onto her other leg.“Whoa, did he just check that for poison?”

I blink in surprise. It hadn’t even occurred to me that’s what he was doing. He’s still holding out the fruit, but suddenly, the assassin looks as shocked as I feel. Like he can’t believe what he’s doing, either.Great, so this is weird for both of us.

“So, does this mean you’re not trying to kill me anymore?” I ask, utterly confused.

His face twists into a deep scowl, and when he doesn’t reply, I grin. Taking the fruit, I sink my teeth into it, almost moaning when the tangy juice slides down my throat. It’s so good that I devour the entire thing in no time and it’s not until I’m licking my fingers that I realize all four of my mates are staring at me intensely.

“What?”I ask. “They’re amazing.”

A smile teases Dante’s lips and Nate looks just as amused, but Alaric stares at me with irritation. “Like I said earlier, if you want one, you can just grab your own,” I tell him, and this makes Nate outright snort with laughter.

Dante cracks his knuckles. “All right, I think it’s about time we get some rest. None of us know when Mason will call on us, and I don’t know about the rest of you, but I could use some down time.”

I sigh, knowing he’s right. I haven’t slept since we arrived in this place, and I get the feeling they haven’t either. Standing, I walk over to the beds, and my mates follow me. I stop a few feet away from the closest mattress, hesitating.

“Now, this is why I tried to get us to sort this out earlier,” Nate comments, indicating to the two beds.

“We could push them together,” Dante suggests, and Shade squawks in my head.“That’s what I said!”

I’m considering it when Prince Callan strides past the rest of us and moves to the farthest bed. Without a word, he drops down fully clothed, and he closes his eyes as he rests his head on his hands.

“Or not,”Shade says, disappointed.“It seems our grumpy angel still isn’t keen on the whole having a mate thing.”

I don’t reply, and I try not to think about the sinking feeling in my chest.

“I’ll keep watch,” Alaric growls, going over and positioning himself in the armchair that’s closest to the door.

I want to argue, but something tells me he won’t listen anyway, so I don’t bother.

Dante gives me a seductive smile. “I don’t mind sharing with the shifter.”

I’m sure he means he doesn’t mind sharingmewith Nate, but his comment reminds me of all the other females he’s bedded in Seral, and I jab him hard in the side and move to the bed where Prince Callan is. “Guess it’s settled then,” I say, and Dante and Nate groan. As tempted as I am to squeeze between the shifter and demon, now that I’m level-headed again, I keep reminding myself about Kai and the risk I take every time I’m with them. I’d rather not accidentally kill them when I’ve only just gotten them back.

Prince Callan tenses when I move onto the mattress beside him, but he doesn’t open his eyes.

“Well, that’s fucked,” Nate grumbles, and I swear I see the hint of a smile form on Prince Callan’s face.

Dante’s eyes are bright as he moves to the other bed with Nate, and I close my eyes.

I can’t sleep.No surprise there.Prince Callan’s scent of crisp green apples and bergamot is so good that twice I doze off, only to jolt awake shortly after and find myself drooling. Yep, that’s right, actual spit is soaked into my pillow. I wipe my mouth withmy hand and peer over at where Dante, Nate, and Prince Callan appear to be having no trouble sleeping. They lie still, their breathing steady, and I finally give up on the idea of rest.

Standing, I slide from the bed and move to where Alaric is still sitting in the armchair with his back to us. His gaze is fixed on the door with an intense focus like he believes we might be attacked at any moment. Which is possible, but if the rebels wanted to kill us, surely they would have tried to pick us off during the escape.

“Your turn,” I say, stopping beside the armchair. “I’m not sleeping anyway.”

When he doesn’t immediately respond, I lean down, wondering whether the male is sleeping with his eyes open.Well, that’s super creepy.I go to wave my hand in front of his face, and the next thing I know, he has grabbed me and I’m on his lap with his large arms around me. His gray gaze fixes on my face, and he looks as shocked as I feel. I fully expect the giant to throw me off now that he realizes what he’s done, but then his lips crash to mine and his massive hands roam over my body. The kiss is hard and frantic, and it swallows me, sending warmth burning between my thighs. The tension that has built up since the encounter in the prison pours out of me, and I can’t get enough of my assassin mate.

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