I snort. “Get in the bed, woman.”
“Oh, he’s a caveman.” She sends me a sly smile as she slides between the sheets. I walk over to the gas lamp and turn it off. And it’s immediately dark. So dark I have to feel my way along the bed before getting in next to her.
I sigh. Because I’m fucking huge and this bed—
“Just relax, Pell. Think about how nice it was to get a hornjob.”
I almost guffaw. “Trust me. That’s not the answer.”
She turns on her side, which gives me more room, and I settle on my side as well, so we’re facing each other in the dark.
“So this is real, huh?”
“Obviously, it’s not ideal. I get that. But Saint Mark’s isn’t that bad.”
“Says the monster who was lecturing me two days ago about how my entire job here involves breaking your curse.”
“I did say that.” I wish there was more moonlight because I’d like to see her face once more before this night ends. This whole day definitely took a strange turn.
“What are you thinking about?”
“You.”
“Good? Bad? Or ugly?”
“Cute,” I say.
“What?”
“I was wondering earlier if you were slow, stupid, or naïve. And then I just decided on cute.”
“Cute.” She says it like she’s mulling it over. “I don’t think anyone has ever called me cute.”
“Then they don’t know what the fuck they’re talking about.”
She shifts position and her bare leg brushes up against mine. Then she hums out a, “Hmm.”
“Should I ask what that hmm means?”
“Your legs are soft.” She illustrates this by rubbing her thigh against mine.
“Are you trying to pet me?”
A giggle in the dark. “No. Maybe tomorrow though. Tonight…” She yawns. “Tonight, I think I’ll just go to sleep.”
We lie there in the dark. Silent.
Then she says, “Good night, monster.”
And I whisper back, “Good night, Pie.”
She hums a little, then turns over. Pushing her ass right up against me.
And even though I want to flip her over and ravish her like a sex slave—I don’t.
Because I want to take her somewhere tomorrow.
I want to show her that being stuck here with me isn’t all about the curse.
It can be a fun place.
She could be happy here.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN - PIE
Three things go through my mind simultaneously when I wake in the morning.
One. He’s still here. He’s still in my bed.
Two. He’s got his arms around me. Like, we are full-on spooning. And that means his morning wood is pressing right up against my ass.
Three. None of this is terrible.
I mean, he’s half monster. There’s no getting around that. But his monster bits aren’t as scary today as they were earlier in the week. Seeing him come at me that first day—that was like seeing a demon out of Hell. He was terrifying on a level that I wasn’t able to comprehend.
And yes, he was kind of a dick the first couple days. But yesterday he was… well. On a micro-level, he was my hero. He pulled me back from the edge. And OK, I wasn’t in danger of actually jumping, but I was in the middle of a serious struggle and he put me in the Jeep so he could refocus me.
Talking to Jacqueline was the reality check I needed. I hadn’t realized how much I missed her until I heard her voice on the other end of the phone last night. She is my tether to the outside. That’s what Pell did for me last night.
He gave me a tether. He was my hero.
Sure, I’m still stuck in the curse, but we’re stuck here together. It could be worse.
He stirs behind me, but doesn’t wake.
I gently move his arms so I can slip out of the bed, then go downstairs and throw some more wood into the water heater thing. He’s still sleeping when I get back upstairs, so I use the bathroom. When I’m done, I check myself in the mirror as I brush my teeth. My hair is a little wild, but in a sexy way. I splash cold water on my cheeks, apply some of the fancy lip balm I bought in the spa boutique during the shopping spree that cost me my eternal soul, then take a deep breath and step back into the bedroom.
He’s awake, sitting up in bed with his lower half hidden under the covers, and even though the horns kinda ruin the illusion that he is just another man and not really a monster, there is no way to deny that Pell is sexy as fuck. And he’s grinning at me.
I walk over to the closet and pull a light satin robe off the hanger. I bite the tags off with my teeth, then slip it on, suddenly feeling very self-conscious. “Why are you smiling at me like that?”
He grins bigger. But all he says is, “Cute.”
“Right.” I point at him. “Is she slow, stupid, or just naïve?”