Page 12

Interesting, Ruby remembered him saying.

She gasped as that hand stroked down between her legs, pulling them gently apart.

Something prodded at her entrance, and she tensed. But it wasn’t the impossible stretch of his cock pressing into her. It was his finger, claws thankfully retracted.

“I do not know much about humans,” Slate admitted, sounding oddly hesitant. He pressed his finger shallowly inside. “You will… stretch. Correct?”

Ruby laughed hoarsely. She was shaking, she couldn’t stop it. His finger felt strange but sogoodinside her, pumping lazily as he waited for her response.

“We do,” she whispered. “We do stretch.”

“Good. You will need to.”

His finger disappeared. Something else brushed against her opening instead, so huge that Ruby gasped.

Her clit throbbed. Even as she waited for the pain to start, she couldn’t deny the effect this was having on her. If only he would touch her again. A hand on her back, an arm wrapped underneath her breasts. Fangs on her neck, tail wrapping around her leg, his strange voice panting in her ear?—

But the only touch she got was a clawed hand on her hip, wrapping around almost her entire torso as he pushed inside.

Or tried to.

Ruby couldn’t hide her wince at the blunt intrusion at her entrance. It wasn’t going in, but the pressure stung.

Slate growled. “When does the stretching begin?”

Ruby’s eyes prickled with pained tears. “Any s-second now.”

Slate pushed more insistently. The narrowest point of his cock slipped inside.

Ruby bit her lip to muffle a cry. The heat between her legs was gone, replaced by a shooting pain she had never known.

Her fingers dug into the crumbling stone. She had to take his knot to complete the ritual. But how could she if she couldn’t even take the head?

Suddenly, the painful pressure was gone.

“Why are you weeping?” Slate asked, annoyed. “Are mortals supposed to weep when they mate?”

“No, it’s—” Ruby sniffed, trying to stop the tears from slipping down her cheeks. “I’m fine. You can keep going.”

She dropped her forehead to the stone ward, waiting. But the pressure didn’t come back.

Slate dropped her hip. The soft sting of his claws disappearing felt like failure.

“Wait!” Ruby turned, wiping her wet cheeks. “I can do it! I promise!”

“You cannot,” he said. “Why did you tell me it was possible? And why are you still weeping?”

“What? I’m not! I’m just—” Ruby wiped her face more desperately. “I feel stupid.”

“Why?” Slate frowned. “It is not your fault you are small and weak. Itisyour fault you lied to me. Why bother asking for a ritual you cannot complete?”

Ruby hugged her arms, trying not to feel like such a failure. But it was difficult when she was standing naked in front of a monster who hadn’t even been able to fit his cockhead inside her.

“It’s not just because I’m small. It’s also…” She sighed, bracing herself. “I’ve never done this before.”

Four

Slate opened his mouth to exasperatedly point out that, ofcourse,she had never performed a mating ritual with a Skullstalker. He’d never heard of it happening before in all his long existence.