Page 47 of Insidious Monsters
“What if it isn’t the right eldritch? What if it’s not the person but just a regular creature?”
“Then it means this Luphin guy was wrong and the man he’s searching for never came through a rift. There are no other unsolved entries.”
I nodded. “Okay. I’m going to get some sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon.”
“I’ll text you the location.”
* * *
Telarion was waitingfor me in my bedroom. Hiding in the gloom as always. He stepped forward as I entered, allowing the moonlight to run its fingers through his dark hair.
I kicked the door closed and locked it. “You’re back.”
“Your observation skills never fail to astound me,” he said dryly.
He was composed tonight, the monstrous part of him buried beneath his human skin, which, in my opinion, made him even more intriguing.
A smile tugged at my lips. “Your sarcasm is truly a comfort.”
He drifted closer and the exhaustion that had me in its grip retreated as if cowed by his presence.
He lifted a tendril of my hair and rubbed it between his fingertips. “I don’t like that he owns you on paper.”
It took me a second to cotton on to what he was saying, due to the blood rushing from my head to other places. “Lothos?”
His eyes narrowed. “Of course Lothos. Unless there’s someone else I need to worry about?” The growl at the end of his sentence made my heart flutter.
“No, Telarion, there is no one else. I don’t want there to be.” The truth sat between us like a banquet waiting for him to dig into.
His jaw ticked and his emerald peepers darkened. My lips parted on a sigh of invitation. Words spoken only with my eyes—please touch me. I want you to.
He obliged, running his knuckles down my cheek and along my jaw, where he paused to press his talon to my chin. I winced as the nail bit into my skin, but I didn’t pull away, confident that he wouldn’t hurt me.
He leaned in, his monster looking out from behind his beautiful eyes.
“Don’t tempt me, August. I won’t warn you again.” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “If Lothos goes back on his word, if he tries to claim what’s mine, I’ll tear out his spine.”
Irritation born of frustration bloomed in my chest. “Hecan’t have me, but you can’t claim me either, huh? That’s the deal?”
He inhaled heavily, and his exhale blew the delicate baby hairs off my brow. “Icanclaim you, August. Ichosenot to. You know why.”
Yes, yes, there were reasons, valid, solid reasons, but when we were like this, chest to chest, breath mingling, heat swirling between us, none of that mattered. It was trivial and insignificant, and all the other words you could pluck out of a thesaurus to describe unimportant and meaningless things.
All that mattered was the kind of connection that ran from my soul to all the erogenous zones of my body to create a circuit of pleasure built for him and me.
“Stop it.” His mouth brushed mine. “Stop thinking your dirty little thoughts.”
I smiled against his lips. “I can’t help it.”
His hand slipped to the base of my throat where my pulse thumped like the bass beat to a particularly raunchy song.
He nudged my nose with the tip of his, inhaling me, chest vibrating dangerously. The control he had… Fuck, it was sexy as hell and frustrating as fuck, and it took everything I had not to tip the scales with a moan, or a touch. Yes, I could push him over the edge, but a deep, dark part of me understood that this, right here, was playing with fire. That primal part of me was awake, watchful, holding the reins as I stood before my monster, ready to give myself, body and soul.
It held me back.
It protected us both.
Telarion finally released me and stepped away, his jaw tight. “Go to bed, August.”
