Page 3 of Monster's Naughty List
But before I could get any of my thoughts onto the paper, my apartment shook violently, as if there was an earthquake. I shrieked as I dropped the notebook, and my hands flew to the couch in an attempt to steady myself.
My heart was nearly pounding out of my chest, and when a light began to glow beneath the paper towel on my floor, I thought I was going to pass out from the fear rocketing through me.Was I the unluckiest person alive today, or what?
As if that wasn’t enough, I questioned whether I was losing my damn mind as honest-to-God monsters blinked into existence on top of the area that had been glowing.
The shaking stopped, and my mouth dropped open as I stared, shocked into utter stillness. I would have blamed the spiked eggnog on what I was clearly hallucinating, but I hadn’t been able to drink a single drop before it had spilled all over the floor.
A deep, rumbling voice that caused my skin to pebble with a mixture of fear and desire spoke, “You’ve called us here to help you with a problem. State your issue, so that we may complete this summoning and be gone.”
I’m sorry, what the actual flying fuckity fuck shitballs did he just say?If there was ever a time for cursing like a sailor, now would be it.
Chapter Two
TINSLEY
Ascream ripped from my throat as the panic spurred me from my state of shock. Taking off for my bedroom on a mission to get to the knife I kept in my bedside table, I tried to shoot past the creatures before they could react. It was my only hope. I couldn’t sit here in fear, or I’d never stand a chance.
My knee slammed into my coffee table as I jumped off the couch, but I didn’t feel the pain of what would absolutely be a bruise later, adrenaline and fear spiking through me in massive doses. My body was reacting like this was a life or death situation, and I, for one, preferred to avoid the latter of those options as an outcome.
But luck was absolutely not on my side. As I made it past two of the creatures and began to mentally cheer myself on for my badass reflexes and not having stumbled at all, the third creature’s hand shot out to grip my throat.
The weird part? He didn’t choke me in a way that inferred he wanted to kill me. That would have involved him squeezing my jugular in a strangulation technique—exactly what you would expect a monster that appeared out of nowhere in your home to do to you. Because the creatures were obviously here to kill me.Right?
No, instead, the pads of his fingers pressed into a spot that both gave him control and turned me on. His hold allowed me to breathe, but it left me under no illusions about who allowed me to draw that precious air into my lungs.
It was a fact that my body had immediately turned off its flight or fight mode the second it felt a spark of lust at his touch.
My oxygen was being cut off just enough that I knew I’d feel the swarm of lightheadedness soon as the blood flow to my brain was cut off. It could lead to brain damage—if not death—and yet, I found myself wondering why a man had never choked me in the bedroom before. Or why I’d never asked them to.
And that’s why you’re probably going to die, Tinsley.Was I really so desperate for an orgasmic sexual experience that I was considering this monster to give it to me? I was so fucked, and not in the way I wanted.
His hand on my throat pulled me around until I was fully facing him, and suddenly, all of my fear evaporated, leaving me wanting to climb him like a damn tree. His eyes swirled in a constantly moving kaleidoscope of black and white. It was like I was being fucking hypnotized, which would explain my sudden lack of logic producing brain cells.
I was completely enraptured by this creature and his gaze that promised me more pleasure than I could have ever imagined if I just gave in.
“Ozaman, don’t you think you’re laying it on a little thick?” a distant voice asked, ever so slightly breaking the creature’s intense hold on my mind.
Blinking rapidly, I felt my brain clear of the weird haze that had taken hold. I came to my senses, attempting to pull my throat from his grip. My eyes widened, taking in his features and flicking back and forth between the monsters in my living room.
His shiny black lips widened in a smirk, just a fraction of his pointed white teeth showing on one side as it turned into a lop-sided smile. All of the creatures had pale grey skin, full black lips, and varying colors and patterns for their eyes. I attempted to not lock gazes with any of them after feeling what had happened with the first, but there was an undeniable urge to get lost in the depths of their eyes.
It had to be some form of…magic. But magic wasn’t real.Or was it?There were literal monsters in my living room, so I supposed magic was a viable option.
An hour ago, my biggest issues had been an epically bad date and being soaked from the rain. Suddenly, those problems seemed so miniscule.
The fingers around my throat tightened more when I struggled. As the dizzy rush to my head increased with the lack of oxygen, I relaxed slightly in his grip, my eyes dropping to his exposed and chiseled chest. All three of the monsters had incredible physiques, crafted like the Greek god statues—and not far off in color from some of them.
The one holding me—who I assumed was Ozaman—practically purred his approval as I relaxed, “Such a quick learner, baby girl. Good job.”
His words surprised the ever-loving hell out of me, and I made the idiotic decision to snap my gaze up to his as my mouth parted in shock. Shock at the heat flooding between my legs in response to the pet name and praise he had given me. The lust slammed into me once more, full force.
Baby girl?
They spoke like humans, yet they clearly weren’t. Meaning I should absolutelynotfeel attracted to them. No, they were most definitely creatures from an alternate dimension, if their varying shapes of black horns and their tails that flicked around like an angry house cat were any clue. The tips of the horns were pointed and jagged, like a multitude of lethal black daggers at their disposal.
My heart rate spiked at the precarious position I found myself in. I had to calm down and think rationally, but that was a bit hard to do while they were all eyeing me like I was dinner—and my traitorous body was thinking that wasn’t such a bad idea.
They could absolutely eat me.
