Monster's Heart (Blackthorn Academy for Supernaturals Book 13)

Chapter 7

Amrin

Wasthis what flying felt like? I wondered as Sten sealed his lips to mine. I expected him to be cold. Maybe it was his coloring. I think people tended to associate blue with cold things. Ice. Winter. The sea. The sky.

But he wasn’t cold, like at all. He was hot. Like the electric blue flames you sometimes see on a gas burning stove or grill. Nah. Hotter still as he pulled me tighter to him, crushing me in his arms and delving into my mouth with his wickedly long tongue. So hot, I was burning from the inside out wrapped in his embrace.

I saw a documentary on volcanoes once, one of the many things I did to try to fall asleep when I couldn’t, which was often. Anyway, I recalled part of the episode that talked about magma igniting sulfur dust and causing rare blue flames to erupt as a result. That was the kind of heat I felt as Sten wrapped me up and held me to his hard body.

And I liked it.

Like really, really liked it.

He tasted like smoky spice and forbidden desire. I’d been kissed a time or two, but never like that. His chest rumbled with the force of his growl, and I was so close to fucking swooning. If he wasn’t holding me up, I’d have melted into a puddle at his feet.

There was something about Sten that had always attracted me, but I never considered the possibility he might return that attraction. He was so big, so beautiful. The curves of his muscles pressed against my soft body, and I loved the contrast. Was mesmerized by the steel in his arms, and the softness of his lips as they cherished mine.

His tongue stroked inside my mouth, deep and long, and delicious. My body swelled with need. Moisture pooled between my thighs, and I couldn’t have stopped myself moaning if I tried. Turned out, I didn’t have to worry. Sten seemed to like my moans.

An otherworldly purr built inside his chest, and he slowed the kiss until his plump, impossibly soft lips were brushing across mine. I didn’t know when he’d loosened his hold on me to cup my cheeks with his hands, but it made me tremble inside.

“I’m sorry for what you endured, Luna. And I promise you, never again. You never have to be afraid again,” he whispered, pressing his forehead to mine.

I swallowed and held on, trying to catch my bearings.

Never be afraid again?

If only that were true. To be honest, I felt terrified right then. Scared that I was losing myself to something I couldn’t control.

What kind of hold could a no magic Witch like me have on a Monster like him?

I hated the self-doubts that plagued me. I wanted to be strong and confident and badass, but I was just me. I couldn’t be anything else if I tried. But maybe, for once, that would be enough. Sten dropped one more close-mouthed kiss on my lips before stepping back. That was when I noticed his thick blue tail wrapped around my waist.

Holy. Fuck.

That was so hot.

His tail was thick with a forked spike on the end that I imagined held a purpose other than trapping me against him. Though, I had to say I was pretty fucking fond of that purpose.

His chest rumbled again, and my palms flattened against it as if of their own free will. But really, I just wanted to touch him. Only my brain hadn’t caught up with my body yet, so it was a little bit of a surprise.

“Your thoughts are loud, Luna,” he growled, brushing a finger down my face from my eyebrow to my chin.

“W-why did you kiss me?” I asked, needing to know.

“Did you not like it?”

“I did. You know I did,” I said.

“I did, too,” he replied with a grin that made my heart flutter erratically in my chest. “But I don’t want you to worry. We’ll take it slow, okay? Go at your pace.”

“My pace? Oh, um, you mean, since we’ll be working together on my extra credit project, we should probably, um, take it easy, huh?”

I licked my lips, and his cerulean eyes followed the movement. I clenched my thighs, trying to ease the aching I suddenly felt there. His nostrils flared, and I wondered if he could smell my need, wetting my panties and making me squirm.

I knew Shifters could do that, and certain other supes, but I still didn’t know what Sten was. Hobgoblin, someone said, but I couldn’t be sure. There was a lot I did not know about him, despite my intense attraction. And that was the only reason I stepped back when he loosened his hold.

“We will take it as easy as you like,” he murmured, brushing a few strands of hair back from my face.

I didn’t clean his room anymore after that.

Thank fuck.

I mean, he told me not to. It wasn’t like I was trying to renege on our deal or anything. Sten was sexy and smart, and being with him was exciting and comforting at the same time. But he was still a guy, and guys were all pigs when it came to housecleaning. At least, the ones I knew were. But maybe that was because the women in my family tended to baby the boys.

Sten didn’t look like anyone had ever babied him even when he was an infant. I don’t know if it was the blue skin, horns curling from his head, or the tail, but he looked tough. I’d taken him for a loner from day one, but really, I knew nothing about him. I was curious, but uncertain about what was permitted and what was rude. He’d just had his tongue down my throat, so maybe he’d grant me a little leeway if I overstepped. I wouldn’t know till I tried.

“Are you ready to head back, Luna?” Sten asked, his cerulean gaze never wavering as he waited for my reply.

I nodded my head, taking the hint. I did not want to go. I mean, nothing in the world sounded better to me than staying with Sten, wrapped up in his arms, and tail, and whatever else he wanted because really, I had never felt as special, as safe, and as wanted as I did during the long, hot kiss we’d shared.

Clearing my throat, I excused myself and went into his bathroom to change my shirt. I should have kept it on, I thought, lifting the fabric to my nose one last time before I exited and hung it on the hook by the door.

“Oh, I guess I should toss this in the wash—”

“No! Um, I mean, no, it’s fine. I can do it,” he grumbled, and took the shirt from me, replacing it on the hook.

He seemed flustered, and his cheeks went dark, and I had to grin. His blue skin didn’t turn pink, but he was definitely blushing. The knowledge made me warm all over.

I bit my lips as I exited first, little spikes of nerves and something else I didn’t really recognize were dancing up and down my spine. This was the first time he’d walked me back to my dorm, and I was both nervous and excited.

Cool it.

But no amount of thought could stop me from smiling as I walked beside Sten down the path through the forest we weren’t supposed to be in. Everything about our situation was forbidden and unlikely. I mean, he was a student who lived in the forest no one was supposed to even enter because of how dangerous it was according to the rules at Blackthorn, and I was a Witch with no powers to speak of, in danger of failing. But somehow, we seemed to fit, and that crush on him I’d been denying was now in full bloom.

“So, where are you from?” I asked, and he slowed his pace to stay beside me.

“From the realm of Asgard,” he replied.

“That explains the panty-melting accent,” I muttered.

He stopped, head canted in that sexy confused expression he often wore when I was rambling. Then he barked a laugh, and I felt my face flame.

Shit.

Why did I say that?

I bit my lip, but Sten lifted his hands and tugged it free, smoothing his thumb over my bruised flesh.

“Don’t do that, Luna.”

“Um, can we just forget I said that?”

“A hot as fuck woman says my accent is panty-melting and you want me to forget it? Unfuckinglikely, Luna,” he said, and I gasped, mouth hanging open.

Did Sten just call me hot as fuck?

I gulped.

“But let’s talk about this accent thing,” he said, taking my hand and wrapping it in his big one. “What about you? The way you say tawk and cawfee instead of talk and coffee is fucking adorable. Hell, I practically have to walk bent over whenever you say anything to me,” he said and damn, there I went again.

Swoon.

“Really? Oh, um, well, I grew up in Bergen County, New Jersey. It’s not my fault I have an accent,” I said, grinning unapologetically.

He thinks I’m hot.

And I give him boners.

Oh, my freaking gods.

“Well, my thanks to Bergen County, New Jersey, then. Your accent is incredible.”

“You think my accent is incredible?”

“Oh, yes. I think it suits you, Luna.”

I smiled, pleased for absolutely no reason, but it kind of felt like a compliment when he’d said that. I wasn’t very used to compliments. And though my mother had told me to stay away from the Monsters at Blackthorn when I received my acceptance letter, I had no intention of listening to her. In fact, my gut feeling was that she must have never met a Monster like Sten. If she had, I might never have been born.

Too soon, we arrived at my door, and I noticed a few students in the hallways casting glances at us. I wished I was still wearing his shirt. If I was, that would have made me a thief because I would never return it. It would have been nice, though. Something to remind me of him when we were apart.

“Will I see you tomorrow?”

I hesitated before turning to face him. It was way too soon, too new to feel like this. But my heart squeezed as I clutched the doorknob. Technically, he was not allowed on this floor, but rules and me never got along very well. My heart stuttered in my chest. I didn’t want to leave him.

“What’s your first class?” he asked, his big hand gentle on my hip.

“Oh, I have Care of Magical Creatures with Professor Wright at eight,” I grumbled, hating that early morning class.

“Not a fan of grunglewogs, gardennips, or hairgeezers?” he asked, a smile on his handsome face as he named three particularly gnarly little creatures we’d already studied in class.

“Ugh, no. Especially not the grunglewogs. Those gory little brats tear their prey limb from limb then devour them while they are still screaming,” I said, nose wrinkled in disgust.

“It helps to wear headphones,” he said, a grin quirking up the corner of his sexy mouth.

Geez. I was frigging addicted to those lips already, and he’d only kissed me once. But it was like a thirty-minute long kiss and it was really involved. There were arms and tails and hands and touching and tongues tangling, tasting and teeth nipping.

Fuck.

My breathing changed and my body swelled just thinking about it.

“Not here, Luna,” he whispered, bending that talented mouth to my ears. “Soon,” he mumbled, his tongue darting out and licking my earlobe, sending shivers dancing down my spine.

Sten straightened nonchalantly, and I stood there shivering, panties dripping from a solitary swipe of his tongue. He winked, opening my door for me, and gently nudging me inside.

“Tomorrow,” he said, and his eyes glowed a bit as he pulled the door shut.

I looked through the peephole and saw his face, eyebrow arched as he mouthed lock your door, and so I did. Obeying wasn’t really my thing, but the second he commanded it, I moved. But I never stopped watching him as he melted into the shadows, walking down the long stretch of corridor, getting further away from me with every step.

“Wow,” I said aloud, turning and leaning my back against the door.

My dorm room was standard issued. Gray walls. Two twin beds. One window facing east. But my first roommate graduated early and now that meant I had it all to myself for the second semester. I appreciated that since most nights I stayed up way later than any sane person should. I wondered if Sten was a night owl, er, Hobgoblin too, or if he was an early riser.

I touched my fingertips to my still-tingling lips and smiled. The day had gone nothing like it had started. Failing a class was not something a Cordoza did. Not ever. But all thoughts of professors and grades left my brain as I sat on my bed, gazing out at the darkening skies.

He kissed me.

Sten’s looming figure played over in my mind. The surprising gentleness of his touch. The way his blue eyes bore into mine, and how his hard, muscled body felt so hot, I thought he might burn me alive.

My sex ached, clenching on air, and I wondered for the first time what it might feel like to have a man bring me to orgasm. I mean, I had kissed boys, but that was all. I never went all the way. Never wanted to. But suddenly, I was curious.

Would Sten be as hot all over?

Would his big, blue Monster body fill me to the max?

Stretching me just right as he took my virginity?

I was so damn needy, and wet, just from fantasizing about it. There was no way I would get any sleep that night. All I could think about was him and how good he felt when he was kissing me stupid in his room. My body heated, and I whimpered as I crossed to the window, searching the shadows for any sign of him. At that rate, I was going to burn up with virginal lust just thinking about my big blue Monster.

So hot.

Like sizzling hot.

Ooh, but what a way to go!