Page 60 of Grotesque
“Quint,” he said, letting the name drip like acid from his tongue.
Somehow Quint had managed to grow balls of steel. That’s the only explanation I could come up with for why he stuck out his hand. “And you are?”
“Corban,” the grotesque answered, sliding his palm into Quint’s.
“Quint’s a friend,” I offered.Idiot, Corban knows exactly who Quint is. “We were catching up, but I told him we had to get going.”
“And how do you know Sorcha?” Quint pressed. “I know just about everyone in Bristol and I’ve never seen you before.” He tried to pull his hand back, but Corban wouldn’t let go.
Fuck.
Fuckfuckfuck.
Corban’s grip tightened.“Yes, you have.”
Quint’s brow furrowed. “What?”
“You’ve seen me before. Don’t you remember?” Corban cocked his head to the side so that the dim light of the bar hit his reflective eyes.
I pressed my hand against Corban’s where it wrapped around my hip. “We really should get going.”
He let Quint’s hand go abruptly. Quint jerked it against his chest, flexing his fist as blood rushed back to his fingers.
“What’s the rush, love?” Corban drew his finger up my throat and pressed into my throbbing pulse. “Don’t you want to finish your drink first?” His eyes flicked down to my hand, where a lavender colored cocktail had appeared. I flinched, both of my hands flying up to my chest. Corban snatched the glass out of the air before it could hit the ground.
“Love? Are you her boyfriend?” Quint had the audacity to sound incredulous despite how pale he still looked in Corban’s company.
“No.” “Yes.” We answered at the same time. I curled my hands around the locket to hide their trembling.
“Quint, can you give us a minute?” I snapped. My nerves were shot and being caught between them, one jealous and one murderous, was making it difficult to think clearly. I didn’t give him the opportunity to answer before I spun around, grabbing hold of Corban’s shirt and forcing him backward through the crowd.
He turned fluidly so he was now the one to herd me, forcing me back into a low-lit corner beside the bar. He hunched forward, his hand sliding to the wall beside my head. “Careful,” he growled.
“I think we should go home,” I said.
“Now? When we’re having so much fun?” He leaned farther forward and swiped his tongue over my cheek. “I quite like this defiant side of you, but I’ll warn you, get in between me and that boy again and you’ll not like the way I punish you after.”
“Leave Quint out of this. He doesn’t mean anything, he is no one–”
Corban sucked the back of his teeth. “If he is no one then you’ll not miss him.”
“That’s not the point. I don’t want him to die!”
Corban ran two fingers down my neck, following the line of the chain, past the locket, and pressed them hard where the pulse of my heart was the strongest. “You are mine, Sorcha and there is not anything or anyone that will take you away from me.”
Heat pooled in my stomach. It spread downwards, flooding between my thighs with an intensity only he knew how to drive.
“I have waited far too long for this moment. I will not be bound to Glamis a second longer than I must. I will kill anyone that stands in the way of that by thinking they have access to you. Do you understand me?”
I shouldn’t be enjoying this. My heart should not have sped up the way it did. My breath caught at the pressure of Corban’s fingers when they pushed harder. He wasn’t just threatening Quint, but me. He would destroy everyone around me just to keep me. To win his freedom.
There was a sick part of me that basked in how possessive he was. The danger of it sent heat straight to my core. This was all incredibly fucked up, him threatening another man over me, his deadly interest, the ravenous way he looked at me. Even with his claws hidden they were hooked inside of me, tearing me apart as he liked.
Everything about him was wrong and yet I whispered, “I’m not going anywhere.”
Our faces were so close together our noses touched. He inhaled every time I exhaled. The sound of my pulse overpowered the music and voices in the background. I could smell the fear and excitement within my own sweat.
A wicked smile carved Corban’s face apart. “Good girl.” I hadn’t realized he was still holding onto the cocktail until he slid it into my hand. “Now, finish your drink.”
