Chapter 59 Swallow Me Whole
Swallow Me Whole
Every nerve ending in me silently begs Shadow to thrust. To fuck me hard and furious, right here. Even with monsters at the party standing mere feet away.
Maybe they’d want to watch?
My inner muscles clench hard at the illicit thought.
I turn my head away from Shadow even as he tries to kiss me. His lips curl upward against my neck.
"You forget, little monster. I can smell you. I know you."
My teeth click in irritation at the truth.
"You want me," he purrs. "Let me take you home. I’ll fuck you for hours, for days. Until you think you’ve had enough, then give you more satisfaction. The pain you crave. Then I’ll feed you, bathe you, and do it all over again.
I’ll let you punish me, use me however you want.
For any and every sick, perverse little fantasy you can possibly imagine. "
His cock nudges harder until he splits my lower lips, holding back just from penetrating.
I gasp, pushing up onto my toes. Even I’m not sure if I’m lining him up to slide in or trying to put distance between us.
Chest constricting with need, my body trembles.
I’m caught between his large, hard body and the edge of the balcony.
"I have one fantasy I haven’t shared," I say hesitantly, swallowing hard over the lump that’s built in my throat.
"Tell me," he whispers, snaking that forked tongue out to curl and caress the length of my neck in that way that drives me wild. He slowly rocks his hips, just enough to brush against my hungry, desperate clit with infuriating pressure.
I turn to meet his gaze.
"In this fantasy, you go fuck yourself." Then using all my power, I push him back.
Normally, Shadow is immovable, but my words must have taken him by surprise, because he stumbles away as I tug my dress down and stride away. I keep my shaking hands loose by my sides, and I don’t pull the fabric away from the clinging dampness between my thighs.
It’s not until I'm comfortably surrounded by an adoring throng that wants to know more about the human world and why my ears are shaped the way they are that I dare to glance at where I left my monster.
No. Not my monster anymore.
Shadow is where I left him. A dark cloud fills the space around him with a fury I’ve only seen in his most violent moments.
I wonder for a moment if I’ve pushed him too hard. Then someone slides a goblet into my hand.
"A drink to our Nexus."
I look down at the red liquid, wondering if it will kill me? Is it wine? Blood?
"Go on," a woman hisses with a snake’s tongue flickering from her mouth even as she urges me. "Drink."
I look up at Shadow.
My arousal is loud, insistent, and it wants. It wants Shadow.
But louder still is the betrayal, sizzling and burning the last pieces of my love for him.
Without breaking our gaze, I throw back the liquid.
A gasp of delighted shock and surprise ripples around me. It burns like liquor and is shockingly sweet, but like no fruit I’ve ever tasted before. The closest comparison I have is maybe a pomegranate.
With a final, anguished look, Shadow turns and strides away, his shadows trailing behind him like a cloak of fury and misery.
Adena approaches me, her milky gaze assessing.
"Is everything alright, Nexus? The Umbral seems to have upset you." Her voice is a silken purr, but there's an undercurrent of disdain when she mentions Shadow.
I force a smile. "Everything is fine. Shadow was just... concerned about my wellbeing."
A ripple of murmurs passes through the crowd. A tall, spindly creature with eggplant-colored skin steps forward. "Forgive my boldness, Nexus, but why do you associate with such a lowly creature? Surely you know he is nothing more than a foot soldier, a brute barely capable of rational thought."
Okay, I may be angry at Shadow, but that’s just wrong.
His words sting, but I lift my chin. "Shadow has protected me for as long as I can remember. He's taken care of me when no one else would."
Adena tilts her head, her expression unreadable. "Be that as it may, he is far beneath you. You are the Nexus, the bridge between worlds. Your companion should reflect your status."
A server approaches, offering me another shimmering goblet.
This one is filled with a liquid that swirls with iridescent hues.
I take it, grateful for the distraction.
This drink is cool and crisp, with a flavor that dances on the edge of familiarity like an unripe peach.
It burns less than the last, though I can still feel my inhibitions melting slightly under its effects.
"Shadow may not be like you," I say after a moment, "but he is loyal and devoted. That counts for something in my world."
"In your world, perhaps," the purple-skinned creature sneers. "But here, in the Nightmare Realm, power and cunning are what matter. Your Shadow is little more than a mindless beast, driven by base instincts."
I bristle at his words.
A tray of strange delicacies floats by, and I pluck a morsel from it. The flavor is rich and complex, unlike anything I've tasted before. It melts on my tongue, leaving a pleasant tingle in its wake.
"You underestimate him," I say finally, meeting the eyes of those around me. "Shadow may be a monster, but he's more than just a foot soldier. He's cunning and resourceful. He's survived in your world and mine."
Adena's lips curve into a smile that doesn't reach her eyes. "Survival is one thing, Nexus. But to truly thrive in our realm, one must have the capacity for higher reasoning. The ability to strategize, to manipulate. These are the qualities we value. Qualities humans take for granted."
They can't see beyond their own prejudices.
Maybe this world isn’t so different from the one where I come from.
The idea Shadow might be damned by his upbringing like I have been has never occurred to me.
I push the complex parallels away. For now.
After all, I’m at a party—a party thrown in my honor. The very first one.
After a couple more hours have passed and my senses turn bright and dizzy from the drink, Adena appears at my side. "It is time, Nexus," she murmurs. "Your subjects wish to hear from you."
"W-what?" My stomach twists with nerves, bile rising in the back of my throat. My buzz quickly recedes.
Adena tilts her head in that alien way. "You give us life. And your words will feed us for years to come."
Adena’s leads me to a raised dais at the front of the ballroom. The crowd quiets as I ascend the steps, their eyes fixed upon me with rapt attention.
Public speaking has never been my forte, and the idea of addressing this otherworldly crowd fills me with dread. But I am the Nexus, and apparently that role comes with certain expectations.
I clear my throat, my mouth dry as cotton. "I want to thank you all for your hospitality," I begin, my voice wavering slightly. "Your realm is... unlike anything I could have imagined."
A murmur of approval ripples through the crowd. Emboldened by the response and those couple of drinks, I continue.
"As much as I have enjoyed my time here, I'm afraid I must return to the human world." A sense of importance swells inside me. "My place is there, to continue being the bridge between our realms."
Just as the words leave my lips, a deafening crash echoes through the ballroom.
Screams erupt as a massive, hulking creature bursts through the far wall, sending debris flying in all directions.
My blood runs cold.
It's the eyeless cyclops. The same kind of monster that attacked me in the pho restaurant. Like the one that put Miguel in the hospital. Its single, gaping eye socket seems to stare directly into my soul, its maw twisted into a grotesque grin.
Before I can react, the creature lunges forward with impossible speed. Its claws wrap around me, yanking me from the dais with a force that knocks the wind from my lungs.
I scream, struggling against its grip, but it's like fighting against a steel trap. The monster pulls me close, and for a horrifying moment, I'm certain it intends to crush me in its grasp.
But instead, it opens its maw impossibly wide and shoves me inside. I'm engulfed in darkness, the stench of decay and rot overwhelming my senses. I gag, the acrid taste of bile coating my tongue.
I feel the creature moving, its massive form lurching and bounding as it carries me away.
Panic seizes me, my lungs burning as I struggle to breathe in the fetid air. I claw at the fleshy interior of the monster, desperate to escape, but the membrane is thick and tough. My nails bend and break against the unyielding tissue, pain lancing through my fingertips.
Where is Shadow? The thought comes unbidden, a desperate plea in the darkness. But there's no sign of him, no whisper of his presence. I'm alone, trapped in the belly of a nightmare.
Fear and despair claw at my mind, threatening to drag me under. Where is this creature taking me? What does it want?
But there are no answers in the suffocating darkness.