Page 54 of Grotesque
I had considered that my human costume might be more appealing to Sorcha when she awoke, but I’d wanted to know if she’d been honest when she’d fucked me like this the evening before. Whether she could face what I really was, in the cold light of day.
Whatever Sorcha was thinking she hid it well. She took her time in surveying me. The slight tremor in her fingers sharpened my teeth as she reached out tentatively to my wing.
I let out an involuntary sigh when her warm fingers brushed the thin membrane. “Sorry,” I murmured when she flinched. I tipped my head back, my eyes half lidded as she touched me again. “I have not been touched in this form in a long while and your heat is a comfort.”
That must have emboldened her because she splayed the entirety of her small hand against the leathery surface. Slowlyshe explored the rest of my wing. She sat up to get a better look at the talon that curved over the top.
“I didn’t know anything like you could exist,” she said softly.
I chuckled. “That is something I love about you.”
She looked up at me, her round cheeks tinged a pretty pink. “What’s that?”
“That you take control of your fear. Oh no, it’s quite alright. You should be afraid of me. But I absolutely adore seeing you struggle with it – as it goes to war with the desire and curiosity you have for me.” I stroked her cheek, which turned a shade darker. “I have waited a long time to find someone like you.”
“What about me is different from the others?”
I blinked slowly, savoring her delectable features. The perfect arch of her brows, the soft thrum of her heartbeat. How her lips had a permanent pout to them but puckered whenever she was thinking hard about something. The way her body curved and met my hand with plush softness. “Everything,” I said, and meant it.
She hadn’t run like the others when they’d finally seen what I really was.Desired above all things,I thought bitterly. Desire only got you so far with women who lacked… vision.Looking at Sorcha in the morning light, its honeyed glow leaving feathered shadows on her cheek, I realized I couldn’t leave her here. I’d be a fool to leave something so precious behind.
I’d had every intention of switching places with her, of making her the new haunt of Glamis Manor. But as she continued to explore my body and I relished the memory of the way she had grabbed hold of my horns while she fucked me, I knew that I could not abandon her entirely. There had to be some way to gain my freedom and keep her as well.
No one had ever admired me the way she did. Not even a creature of my own realm, when one had been bold enough to touch me, had done so with the hunger and wonder that spooledfrom her fingertips. While I relished her fear of me, I thirsted more for the way she battled with it, that she sought to be its master.
“What are you?” she blurted. Heat spread across her cheeks again, like blood dripping into clear water. “Please don’t keep me guessing.”
I ran my fingers through her long hair.I loved the dark contrast of it against my grey skin. I reveled in darkness. How convenient that all the best parts of her were made of it.
“Are you a demon?” she whispered.
I chuckled. The red stain on her face deepened. Color looked just as beautiful on her as the shadows. “Close,” I whispered back, teasing her. I suppose it didn’t matter if she knew the truth now. I shifted to the side, lounging my weight on one arm so I could trail down her body with my free hand. “I’m a grotesque.”
Her brows furrowed as her heart fluttered quickly. The familiar delectable scent of her fear spiked. “What’s a grotesque?” she asked.
“We are similar to gargoyles but our appetites tend to be much more…. Sinful.” I traced a claw around her wide areolas, one and then the other. I was keenly aware of how perfectly she fit against me, how warm and soft she was beneath my hardened body. “We hunger for flesh while the gargoyles are meant to protect it. We desire the taste of you to satisfy our stomachs and cocks.”
All of that beautiful color leeched from her skin. “You eat people?” she squeaked.
“Oh don’t worry, Sorcha. The only feast I’ll partake of you is that delicious cunt between your legs.” I tweaked one of her hardened nipples. Fresh sweat burst across her skin, glistening like morning dew. She was an absolute treasure.
Her back arched. “Are there more of you?”
“Plenty.” Gods I could watch her squirm for hours and not grow bored. I was going to give her body the chance to rest after how long we had fucked last night, but the way shewrithedbeneath me tempted me to do otherwise.
“Are you…from here?” One of her hands slinked its way across my chest.
My head tipped back as I savored the way her fingers trembled. Now was as good of a time as any to tell her about my world. It might make it easier for me to bring her over that final threshold. If she was prepared, she would be less likely to be rejected by the gateway. Hopefully.
I’d hate to have it deny her the way it had Rosaline. When it became apparent Under would not accept her, she had snapped. The gate remained sealed no matter how hard she raged her fists against it. As if the mirror would break through sheer will alone. If she’d only known how many times I had done the same.
I’d had no use for her after that. I’d needed to get rid of her so someone new could take her place and I’d have the opportunity to try again.
Sweet, foolish Rosaline. She hadn’t listened. She had given me almost everything, but some corner of her heart still loved her husband. Of course, I couldn’t let her lack of faith in theangelgo unpunished.
At the barest hint of my suggestion, she’d killed him. Poor thing hadn’t understood what she was doing until she’d slipped the noose around her own neck afterwards.
As much as I had fumed, I was glad it hadn’t been Rosaline that saved me. I wouldn’t have Sorcha. Sorcha, with her glorious perfume of fear and desire. Of possibility and opportunity.
