Page 123 of Monsters Wear Crowns
“Stop.” His voice was quiet but firm.
I froze, blinking up at him with an odd look. “What?”
He leaned against the end of the bed, arms crossed, his icy eyes slicing into me like a blade honed just for me. “I know I’ve been gone a lot lately,” he murmured, his voice lower now. “And when I get back, you’re usually asleep.”
I stayed still, watching him.
“I love coming home to you,” he said, his voice rawer now, more unguarded. “Knowing my girlfriend is waiting for me in our warm bed.”
My breath caught.
Girlfriend. Our bed.
It wasn’t the first time he had said it, but each time, it hit me like a slow burn, melting into my skin and settling deep beneath my ribs. I smiled, my heart swelling. “Come here.”
I expected him to climb into bed, to pull me against him, to finally get some much-needed sleep. Instead–
“Read to me.”
I blinked. “What?”
The corner of his mouth lifted slightly, something dangerous and playful curling in his gaze. “Open to your favorite erotic scene. Read it out loud.”
I scoffed, heat flaring across my face. “You’re insane.”
He arched a brow. “Humor me. I just spent my entire night wishing I was between your pretty thighs.”
My heart hammered, but I hesitated only a second before flipping through the book. The pages were soft beneath my fingertips, worn from too much rereading.
Fuck.
I settled on a specific chapter, licking my lips before glancing at him. He looked so damn smug. I inhaled, and then I began reading.“His mouth traced the curve of her throat, his hands pushing her dress up, rough and impatient. She arched into him, breathless, her fingers tangling in his hair–”
I stilled. Rafe had moved. Beneath the covers, he was crawling up the bed like a predator. My fingers tightened on the book. I inhaled sharply when he reached me, his warmth pressing into my legs. One hand curled into my silk shorts, dragging them down with an excruciating slowness.
His breath brushed my skin. “Keep reading, baby.”
I let out a shaky exhale, and I did.“He lifted her onto the desk, his fingers sliding under her–”
A sharp gasp left me when I felt his gentle, hot tongue slide up my clit. My hands shook around the book. He slipped a finger inside of me, and I couldn’t hold back the whimper.
Rafe’s lips and fingers did terrible, sinful things.
My voice wavered, the words tangling on my tongue.“She–she moaned, gripping the edge of the–”Another breathless sound escaped me.
He chuckled against my skin, low and dark. “Keep reading, love.”
I nodded,but fuck,I could barely get the words out.
“Keep reading, Adela.” Rafe’s voice was morecommanding, yet amused at my unraveling.
I barely had control over my own breath, let alone the words in front of me, but I did as he asked, voice trembling.“His hands roamed her body, gripping her thighs, yanking her to the edge of–”
Oh, fuck.
I was burning.
What an experience this was–reading something I’d once only dared to whisper into the silence of my own room, nowspeakingthose words aloud as he touched me, worshipped me.
