Chapter 4 Ezra #2
The three of them sit around a high-top table.
Eve and Thane laugh wildly, lost in a shared joke, while the woman I’m here for stares off into the distance, lost in her mind.
It’s obvious she’s somewhere far away. Her dreamy expression—her complete lack of attention—gives me the opportunity to study her more closely.
Through the dim lighting, I take in her sharp, dainty nose, eyes so dark green they might as well be black, long, beautiful copper-colored hair, a dusting of freckles across her cheeks and nose, and full, delicious lips.
Christ, those lips would look stunning wrapped around my cock. Her mouth tight and wet, her lips bruising as she fights to take more.
I want to fuck her throat raw, then kiss her chapped, cracked lips like they’re hallowed.
The thought makes my Umbraeth waver.
Shit.
I can’t let myself get distracted. This isn’t me. I should leave. I should go home, find someone to take this aggression out on, and then move on with my fucking life.
Except I can’t.
Once my Umbraeth stabilizes, I float closer to the table, thankful for the shadows cast by the dim lighting of the bar.
In theory, no one can see me, but I almost shifted into my L?kkda a second ago, lost in a daydream about her.
The extra cover can’t hurt.
Nearing the table, I notice how they laugh with their whole bodies, like nothing in the world can touch them.
I’ve spent lifetimes pretending to be human.
But this part? I’ve only ever watched from the outside.
And yet she slides into it with ease.
Even lost in thought, my little human still answers when someone speaks to her. She’s gentle. Polite. Like she belongs there. Like she could belong everywhere.
A sharp pain gouges a strange part of my brain when I think about Thane being anywhere near her, the word mine clawing its way into my head.
Swallowing it down, I force it into the deepest part of my chest.
I hide among the shadows surrounding their table, listening as Thane and Eve discuss their respective businesses.
“I have to know. How creepy is Mr. Aster? Are any of the rumors true?” Eve leans over the table, pushing her ample cleavage higher. Thane’s eyes drift down the pixie’s body, making his plans for the night crystal clear.
But also, fuck Eve.
I know I’m aloof, but I never thought of myself as creepy. Mysterious, dark, brooding—all the good Jane Austen descriptors—but never creepy.
Then again, I’m not a human. I’m a monster masquerading as one. Most humans feel uncomfortable around me, no matter how civil I am.
They don’t know why they feel unsettled, but I do. They’re prey, and when I’m within reach, their dumb little fish-brains fucking know it.
Okay, fine, maybe I am creepy.
But why do I suddenly care what humans think?
It’s her. It always comes back to her.
Thankfully, Thane comes to my rescue, meaning I won’t have to murder him tonight while he pumps into Eve.
“Nah, Ezra’s an amazing boss. He can be intense, and there’s something about him I can’t quite figure out, but he treats me well and pays me even better. Especially after I opened the online bookstore.”
The copper-haired goddess’s eyes snap back into focus as she turns toward Thane and Eve.
“You guys have an online shop? Maybe I could pick your brain sometime about how you set everything up. I’m trying to get Eve to do the same, but she’s resisting.
” Her sweet lips turn down into a fake pout, and a quiet groan rumbles through my Umbraeth.
I want to take that bottom lip between my teeth and bite down until she fucking bleeds.
“I’m not resisting to be a bitch, Aurora,” Eve says, her voice softer than before. “I just want to take my time and make sure it’s right for my business. But honestly, after hearing how well Thane’s online shop is doing, I think it’d be a great idea for you two to talk.”
“Great!” Thane says, holding up his glass of soda. “Now, let’s stop talking about work. I want to hear more about that dark fantasy Eve mentioned earlier.”
Thane flashes her a wicked grin, and Eve blushes but doesn’t shy away as their discussion turns obscenely sexual.
So, my little human’s name is Aurora.
I suppose it suits her—a hopeful light in the malevolent dark, living beauty bright against the death of winter.
Shadows can’t exist without light, and this little beacon is mine.
The thought of Aurora and Thane close, heads bent over marketing plans and profit projections, makes my imaginary eye twitch.
Still, they are meeting at my shop tomorrow.
Perhaps a certain ancient shadow monster could be there to make her acquaintance.
If I can find a way to get her alone, maybe I could slake this fucking thirst.
As Thane and Eve flirt over the table, Aurora sighs and opens her phone.
I weave a thread of my Umbraeth up one of her legs, skimming the fabric, careful not to press too hard.
Her scent washes over me. Honeysuckle and sunshine, warm and deliriously sweet, laced with something untamed just beneath the surface.
My formless self curls in her lap, slipping beneath the table where the light doesn’t reach.
Here, I can be still. I can listen.
I believe in privacy—yes, even monsters believe in things like that—but I’m curious about what’s got her so damn captivated.
It only takes a moment to realize this little vixen is reading a book on her phone. I recognize the familiar cadence of a fantasy romance novel—words flowing, tension building, the inevitable unraveling.
She’s on book five of this particular series. It’s by far the best one. I should know. I’ve read the series. Twice.
What? Don’t look at me like that.
Fantasy romance gets mocked, but let’s be honest. Some of the best-crafted worlds and most ruthless characters are hiding between those smutty pages.
Even a man-eating monster can appreciate that.
As she flips through the pages in this loud bar, I question just how innocent my little lupine really is.
Fingers sliding into wet heat.
Lips wrapped around aching cocks.
Savage, brutal fucking.
Her scent shifts, then darkens. And I swear I can feel it in every wisp of my Umbraeth.
Fuck.
She smells like honey and want, thick with something wild. I want to chase it to the source, bury my mouth between her thighs, and taste what’s mine.
She shifts in her seat, thighs pressing together, trying to drown the fire licking through her veins.
She doesn’t know I’m here. Doesn’t know I’m watching. But she feels me. Heat radiates off her skin, a delicious contrast to the cool darkness I inhabit.
My shadow coils around her waist, barely there. She tenses as a breath catches in her throat.
My non-existent fingers itch to trace the curve of her hip, to press, to take. I could slide through her warmth like smoke, wrap around her throat, and press until she gasps something I’d never give back.
But I don’t.
I fucking can’t.
Instead, I let my Umbraeth rise, curling over her collarbone, a breath against her frantic pulse.
I don’t touch. I don’t take.
But it’s so easy to imagine pressing deeper.
To imagine what she would do if I did.
She shivers anyway, an unconscious action, and I swear to every god I don’t believe in—if I break, I’ll drag the whole goddamn world down with me. I’m holding on by a fucking thread.
I curl around her shoulders, matching the rhythm of her breath. My shadows tighten, just enough to tease, to warn her she’s not alone. The goddess stiffens, her fingers tightening around her phone.
The tension between us, the tension she doesn’t even understand, is razor-thin. One slip and blood will spill, seeping into my skin, sinking into my veins, staining my very fucking soul.
Her soft moan is barely audible, but I hear it. I feel it.
The sound licks through me like wildfire.
Fuck yes, little lupine.
Moan for your dark monster.
You don’t even know I’m here, and you’re already reacting to me. Already mine.
I could break. I won’t. But, fuck, I love the way she shivers.
I brush my shadow against the shell of her ear, the closest I’ll allow myself to anything real right now.
My voice drifts into her subconscious, a secret that will carve itself into her bones, lingering there like a ghost she can’t shake.
“I’ll see you soon, little lupine.”