Page 22 of Love & Monsters
“Then you’ve chosen to die.” I lunged and my sword arched through the air. In one graceful strike, the head of the middle guard soared through the air clean from his body, followed by a glorious spray of blood.
Mina screamed, but I couldn’t hear it through the blood pumping through my ears and the ensuing sound of battle. To fight and kill was a deep-rooted instinct for my kind, and I was very good at it. If this was what I needed to do to get out of here, then I had no qualms in taking their lives.
The fight was over quickly. All five guards lay dead on the smooth stone flooring, their blood spreading in a pool. A servant would find them in the morning, but we would be long gone by then.
I cleaned my blade on the clothing of one corpse before sliding it back into the scabbard at my hip. Breathing hard and trying to soothe the turmoil in my blood, I turned back to find my little human.
Mina was cowering in a dark corner not far away. Her face was in her hands, and I quickly picked up on the shaking in her shoulders as she cried. I didn’t fully understand her reaction, or why she was so terrified.
Fighting and killing in my realm was a part of life, I’d told her that the other night as we shared information about or worlds. Perhaps hearing it and seeing it were different for the human. Either way, I couldn’t linger on her fear when we needed to leave.
“Come, Mina.” I didn’t wait for her response. As soon as she peeled her hands from her tear-stained face, I bent down to scoop her into my arms once more.
Her body was so tense, and tremors wracked her frame as I carried her out the delivery doors. But she’d stopped sobbing in my embrace, and that was good enough for now.
A wagon full of crates waited for us. There was a tarp pulled back, revealing the small space where they expected me to curl up and hide, to be spirited away from the city.
“Really? You couldn’t have gotten a bigger wagon?” I groaned at Knox.
“Sorry, I don’t think making it obvious I’m sneaking your big ass out of the city is a good idea,” he snapped back. “Now get in the wagon with your new pet so we can go.”
Internally, I cringed at hearing Mina called a pet. Though it made sense, it didn’t feel right. Not with her.
Mina didn’t speak or fight me as I set her down on the edge of the wagon. Glancing up at the driver, I recognized one of my men in disguise. Mewlan was someone trustworthy that I’d asked for, good.
But now there was the issue of fitting in the minimal space between the full crates with Mina. I’d have to hold her for the ride through the mountains.
“I’ll meet you there in a few days after I finish wrapping up everything here.” Knox slapped my shoulder, stealing my attention from the human. “Will you give this to Ilya for me?”
“Of course, I will.” I took the folded slip of paper and tucked it away. Knox and I locked eyes, and I nodded at him. We didn’t need to say any more, not after a lifetime of friendship.
“Alright, little one, we’re going to leave the city under cover. I’ll need to hold you because the space is small. Let’s go.” When I reached for her, Mina nodded and leaned into my touch. It took some maneuvering, but I wedged myself into the cramped space in the middle of the crowded wagon, and Mina settled herself between my legs.
Knox pulled the tarp over the back of the wagon, and darkness blanketed us. Then it jolted around us as the wagon lurched onto the cobblestone road. Minor relief flooded through me that the plan made it this far.
However, my blood was still pumping through me, and my heart was racing from the thrill of a fight and the sight of blood. It didn’t help that I was acutely aware of Mina’s tight, soft body pressed against me, and so was my cock.
Thirteen
My mind was racing as the red sky vanished and the tarp over the wagon left us in pitch darkness. Images of what I’d just witnessed flicking over and over in my mind. I’d never seen so much blood in my life.
The sudden shock of waking up to the pale demon urging Vadric to leave was still replaying behind my eyes. But the fact he hadn’t left without me made it so that my heart refused to stop pounding against my ribs. Our escape had been daring and thrilling and terribly frightening.
I knew Vadric was a monster but seeing him growl with the ferocity of a beast and tear apart those guards as if they were butter was horrifying. At no time in my life had I ever been a fighter or witnessed such brutality with my own eyes.
Yet, I felt so safe laying across his chest now. Maybe it was the tender way he held me tight as the wagon rocked around us, or maybe it was the warmth of him and the night air after so long in a freezing dungeon. His thick arms caged me against his body, and I could feel the quick beating of his heart within his chest.
Vadric was leaning back on a stack of crates, and I straddled his lap, squished against his chest. My cheek rested directly over his thumping heart, and the sound of it soothed me. Even if it beat erratically fast. It matched the tempo of my palpitating heart and the sound of my blood coursing through my ears.
His claws could tear someone’s head from their body. I’d witnessed that for myself, and somehow, he was holding me so gingerly. Each massive palm cradling me carefully, aware of his claws as he rested them on my back.
I could smell the wood of the crate and the dust motes within the wagon. Stronger than that, I could smell the heady masculine and spice scent of Vadric beneath me. The soft sound of his swishing tail and the wagon clambering along the cobblestone road broke up the heavy, tense silence.
There was so much I wanted to ask, but I couldn’t get anything out. Because the obvious hardness of Vadric between my thighs broke up my already scattered thoughts. He was breathing hard, and I rose and fell with each steady breath he took. It rocked me against him every time the wagon bumped or twisted from the uneven road.
Since there wasn’t enough room in the back of the wagon, I resigned myself to straddling his lap. Thankfully, in the dark with my face down, he couldn’t see the maddening blush on my cheeks at our close contact. The knowledge he was fully erect against my pussy made it worse.
The wagon suddenly listed to one side, and it forced me to dig my fingers into his leather top with a grunt escaping my lips. His arms tightened around me, and I felt the rumbling in his chest. Tilting my head back, I looked up at Vadric and the unreadable expression on his face. My eyes couldn’t fully adjust to this level of darkness, but I thought it looked like he was clenching his jaw.
