Page 31 of Grotesque
A slow breath escaped his flared nostrils and he ran a hand through his hair. His tongue darted between his lips as he mulled over what to say next, but eventually, he just settled on looking into my eyes, his expression defeated.
This time when I walked away from him, he didn’t try to stop me. I tried to ignore the fact that he was still standing in the place I’d left him on the sidewalk when I drove past. I didn’t dare look at my phone in case he’d texted me as a last-ditch effort.
By the time the iron gates of Glamis Manor rose before me, I was awash with so many emotions I didn’t know which to tackle first. Anger had wedged itself in my side like an iron poker, stoking the heat of my indignation as Quint and Jeremy’s conversation replayed in my head. Guilt was next to wound me, when I thought of what I had allowed the stranger to do to my body.
Maybe Iwasa little crazy. No one in their right mind would have permitted that. I told myself I hadn’t fought back because I was worried for Quint (fuck him) but truthfully, I hadn’t wanted to fight. The monster in the shadows had called to me and I had answered willingly.
Somewhere beneath the flurry of emotion, fear still lurked. I was terrified of being alone. But I wasn’t sure what scared me more: that the monster would pay me another visit, or that he was gone for good.
I grabbed a glass and bottle of wine to join me and my new book in bed for the evening.Whatever came from tonight, I wouldn’t be awake to deal with it for much longer.
Ididn’t intend to leave Sorcha alone for as long as I had, but our night together had drained me more than I expected. I’d retained some of her energy through the blood I’d consumed, but it had not been enough to ground me in the mortal world.
I’d been irked that she had been gone most of the day, but when her car pulled up the long drive, my pulse fluttered with anticipation. Something like relief washed over me – relief that she had returned at all. Fear was a foreign feeling to me, but I pondered whether that is what I felt skittering in my blood as I worried that she had left Glamis Manor, me, and the glamour I had built behind.
There were a few hours of daylight left but I felt stronger than I had in a long while when she opened the front door and then slammed it, hard. I wanted to leap down to her, have my fill ofher – but then I saw the sparkle in her eyes and the firm press of her lips.
What is this?I loomed over the banister to get a better look as she walked into the foyer, her breath coming up short and ragged. Was Sorcha crying?
I lapped at the air as she passed beneath me. Those were not tears of sadness.
Anger simmered in my belly. I was the only one that had the right to Sorcha’s anger, to the tears that welled behind her eyes but never fell. My claws dug into the wood-paneled walls of the house as I forced my way inside them, moving along the manor’s bones as I trailed her.
She didn’t even notice when I slunk up the stairs right on her tail. I cocked my head as she turned into her bedroom. Could she not feel a predator stalking her? I doubted she would notice me in this form, but I was still peeved she hadn’t evenlookedfor me.
That wouldn’t do. Surely Sorcha had not forgotten me so easily.
I coiled myself around the banister and perched atop the railing, where I waited impatiently for night to fall. Each tick of the second hand was agony.
As the splash of wine hit the bottom of her wine glass for a fourth time, my jaw clenched. At this rate, she would be passed out by the time I got my hands on her. I flicked my gaze to the window where the sky had paled to a soft pink. She took a large gulp before setting the glass on her bedside table, where it sloshed over the rim.
The sheets rustled as she sank lower into them, her eyes fluttering as she turned a page in her book.
Patience was a virtue, but I had no virtues. I’d likely have to return earlier in the night to my post, anyway, so I couldn’t wait a moment longer. I needed her. Needed to touch and kiss her and chase away whatever was bothering her.
The curse that bound me lashed like lightning across my skin as I pulled myself free from the house. My claws ripped through wood and stone, one limb, and then another, and another, until finally I jerked free and fell into a heap on the floor. I rose quickly, shaking off the dust in case she came out to investigate the heavy thump.
I paused indulgently and frowned when she did no such thing.
Sorcha’s head was tipped back on her pillow, her flushed face relaxed with the first signs of sleep. I leaned forward until my lips were just over her ear.
“Sorcha,” I said. “Wake up, my dove.”
A little moan came from her lips.
“That’s right,” I encouraged.
“Nmm…what,” she slurred.
“I’ve come to lick up your tears and eat your anger.” I kept my face next to hers and gently stroked the side of her cheek with my thumb. “Will you let me give you pleasure?”
The quickening pitter-patter of her heart was music to my ears. I squeezed her bicep gently, trying to coax her back to the edge of awareness. She was so soft. Her skin smooth like healing flesh. I pressed my lips to her temple and let my fingers on her cheek drift down to stroke the hollow of her throat.
In that same moment I smelled the change in her scent. It had turned hot and sweet with need. I could not keep the smile, nor the feral beast within me at bay as I silently gloated.She wants me,cravesmy darkness. Well, let her have it.
“I’m tired,” she moaned. She tried to sit up, but her arm slipped out from under her.
“Hush,” I crooned. “It’s okay. You can sleep. Allow me to please you in your dreams.”
