Chapter 10-Amrin
We walked a little bit longer in silence.
“So, let’s talk about this accent thing,” Sten said, amusement roughening his already devastating voice as he squeezed my hand in his.
Gods.
His hands were just enormous.
Warm.
Strong enough to break things.
Strong enough to hold me carefully.
The contrast nearly short-circuited my brain.
His fingers wrapped around mine possessively as we walked the narrow forest path cutting through the restricted woods surrounding the Asgarheim Runevald Institute.
Moonlight filtered through black branches overhead while the auroras above the realm shimmered silver-green against the night sky.
Everything about this felt surreal.
Forbidden.
Wonderful.
“What about you?” he continued, thumb brushing lazily across my knuckles. “The way you say tawk and cawfee instead of talk and coffee is fucking adorable.”
Heat rushed straight to my face.
“H-Hey! Not like I can help it.”
“Hell,” he went on, entirely too pleased with himself now, “Luna, who wants you to help it? It’s fucking hot. Half the time I can barely focus when you speak to me. I practically have to walk bent over.”
I choked.
Actually choked.
Sten’s low laugh rumbled beside me, dark and satisfied, and gods help me—I swooned a little.
Internally.
Mostly.
“Really?” I asked weakly.
“Really.”
“Oh my gods!”
His grin widened.
And wow.
That should have been illegal.
“I grew up in Bergen County, New Jersey,” I defended, trying and failing to sound dignified. “It’s not my fault I have an accent.”
I was talking, responding, saying all the right things. But inside?
All I could think was, Sten thinks I’m hot.
And apparently my voice made his cock hard.
Holy shit.
“Well,” Sten said thoughtfully, squeezing my hand once, “my thanks to Bergen County, New Jersey, then.”
I laughed softly.
“Your accent is incredible, Luna.”
“You really think that?”
“Oh, yes.” His glowing cerulean gaze slid slowly over me. “I think everything about you is incredible.”
The way he said it—slow. Certain.
Like he genuinely meant it.
Warmth spread through my chest so suddenly it almost hurt.
I wasn’t used to compliments.
Not real ones.
Not the kind given without expectation or mockery attached.
Most of my life, compliments from my family came carefully packaged with conditions.
You’d be so pretty if you lost weight.
You’d be stunning if you dressed differently.
You’d have potential if your magic ever manifested properly.
Even my mother’s approval always felt earned rather than freely given.
But Sten?
Sten looked at me like there was already something worth wanting.
And gods—that was dangerous.
Because the more time I spent around him, the easier it became to imagine impossible things.
Things like maybe a Monster could actually want me.
Maybe I could belong somewhere.
Maybe I could belong to someone.
The thought settled deep in my chest and bloomed there, warm and aching and terrifying.
My mother had warned me to stay away from Monsters before I ever arrived at Runevald.
Her exact words had been, “Powerful creatures do not mix well with desperate, vulnerable women.”
At the time, I’d assumed she meant danger.
Violence.
Manipulation.
But standing beside Sten now beneath the glowing skies of Asgarheim?
I had a sudden, deeply inconvenient thought.
Maybe my mother had simply never met a Monster like him.
Because if she had—I wasn’t entirely convinced she would have married my father instead.
The realization almost made me laugh.
Too soon, we reached the graduate dormitories.
I slowed automatically.
Truth was I didn’t want this to end.
Warm light spilled from the gothic windows lining the old stone building while students moved through the hallways inside, several pausing openly when they spotted us approaching together.
And okay.
Maybe I stood a little taller beside him.
Maybe I liked the looks.
Sue me.
Because Sten beside me looked less like a student and more like some terrifyingly gorgeous dark prince escorting his chosen companion home.
Huge body.
Horns glinting faintly beneath moonlight.
Tail swaying lazily behind him.
All dangerous celestial beauty wrapped in black clothes and shadows.
And he was holding my hand.
Mine.
I wished suddenly that I was still wearing his shirt.
Not just because it smelled like him.
Because I wanted something of his with me when we were apart.
Something selfish and possessive twisted low in my stomach at the thought.
“What?” Sten asked quietly.
I blinked.
“Nothing.”
“You’re a terrible liar, Luna.”
Gods.
The smug amusement in his voice made heat flare straight between my thighs.
By the time we reached my door, my pulse was racing again.
Too fast.
Too hard.
Like my body already recognized leaving him as a mistake.
“Will I see you tomorrow?” he asked.
The question sounded casual.
But something deeper pulsed beneath it.
Need.
Hope.
And that realization made my heart squeeze painfully.
I turned toward him slowly, fingers tightening around the doorknob.
It was too soon to feel like this.
Way too soon.
But the idea of not seeing him tomorrow already felt wrong.
“What’s your first class?” he asked, stepping closer.
His hand settled gently against my hip.
Possessive enough to make me shiver.
Careful enough to make me melt.
“Oh,” I muttered weakly, trying to remember how language worked, “Care of Magical Nocturnal Creatures with Professor Wright at eight.”
His expression shifted instantly to sympathy.
“Not a fan of grunglewogs, gardennips, or womblybats?”
I groaned dramatically.
“No. Especially not the grunglewogs. Those little psychopaths tear things apart while they’re screaming bloody murder.”
“Well, they’re efficient.”
“They’re horrifying.”
“They’re misunderstood.”
“They eat interns, Sten.”
He barked out a laugh.
Gods.
I was addicted to that sound already.
The deep, rough warmth of it slid through me like expensive whiskey.
And then my brain betrayed me completely.
Because suddenly all I could think about was kissing him.
Again.
That slow, thorough, devastating kiss in his quarters replayed in perfect detail through my head.
His hands.
His tail.
His mouth.
The way his tongue stroked against mine while his growls vibrated through my entire body.
My thighs clenched painfully.
Heat rushed low through my stomach so intensely I nearly whimpered.
Oh no.
Not here.
Not in the hallway.
“Luna,” he said softly.
The sound of my nickname in that voice almost finished me off.
My breathing changed immediately.
And judging by the sudden flare of his nostrils—he noticed.
Of course, he noticed.
Monster senses.
Fantastic.
“Not here,” he whispered, lowering his mouth close to my ear.
His breath brushed my skin.
Warm.
Dangerous.
“When?”
“Soon.”
Then his tongue flicked lightly across my earlobe.
I shivered so hard my knees nearly buckled.
Holy.
Fuck.
One touch.
One tiny swipe of his tongue.
And my panties were ruined.
Sten straightened slowly afterward like he hadn’t just absolutely destroyed my nervous system.
Meanwhile, I stood frozen against the dormitory door, trying not to combust.
His glowing eyes dragged slowly over my face before he reached past me and opened the door himself.
Gentle.
Controlled.
Like he knew exactly how overwhelmed I was becoming.
“Tomorrow,” he murmured.
Gods.
The promise in that single word.
I nodded mutely.
Because speaking no longer seemed possible.
He nudged me softly inside before pulling the door closed behind me.
I immediately pressed my eye to the peephole like an insane person.
Sten stood there, waiting.
One brow lifted knowingly.
Then his lips moved silently:
Lock your door.
And, like an absolute traitor to my own personality—I obeyed.
Instantly.
The second the lock clicked, I looked through the peephole and saw his expression soften with visible satisfaction.
Possessive Monster.
Cool cool cool.
Definitely normal.
I watched him walk away down the dim corridor, shadows curling around him almost lovingly as he disappeared farther into darkness with every step.
And gods.
The ache that opened inside my chest watching him leave caught me completely off guard.
“Wow,” I whispered aloud once he vanished.
I leaned back against the door slowly, pressing trembling fingers to my mouth.
My room looked painfully ordinary after his.
Gray walls.
Two narrow beds.
One tall gothic window overlooking the eastern cliffs of Asgarheim.
My former roommate had graduated early last semester, leaving me alone in the space.
Usually, I appreciated the solitude.
Tonight?
Tonight it felt too quiet.
Too empty.
I crossed slowly toward the window, unable to stop smiling.
He kissed me.
The realization hit me over and over like waves crashing against the shore.
Sten kissed me.
Not out of pity.
Not out of obligation.
He kissed me because he wanted to.
The memory played vividly inside my head.
His massive body wrapped around mine.
The heat of his skin.
The shocking gentleness beneath all that terrifying strength.
My thighs clenched again.
Gods.
I was so unbelievably turned on.
And maybe that should have embarrassed me more.
But all I could think about was him.
How hot he felt.
How his mouth tasted.
How safe I’d felt in his arms despite every logical reason I should have been terrified.
Monster.
The word no longer sounded frightening inside my head.
It sounded tempting.
Because if Sten was a Monster—maybe Monsters weren’t the problem.
Maybe loneliness was.
Maybe never being truly wanted was.
My pulse quickened as dangerous thoughts spiraled lower.
What would it feel like if he touched me everywhere?
Would he still be gentle?
Or would that growling possessiveness finally snap?
Heat pooled low and heavy between my thighs.
I wasn’t some untouched girl clutching romance novels beneath the covers.
I was thirty years old.
I’d kissed men before.
Dated.
Made mistakes.