Page 18 of Echo (A Monster’s Prey #2)

The sense of floating interrupted my fucked up dream.

But I was wrapped in a comfortable warmth of what must have been the thickest down blanket. Giant fingers played with my hair, gently massaging my scalp.

Wait.

My eyes popped open, and I laid on the monster’s shadowy chest. We both half floated in water that was unnaturally warm, considering we were still in the forest. But I didn’t recognize where we were, the flowers creeping up the trunks of the trees weren’t ones I’d seen before.

The stars shone down on us, giving the softest light possible. Just enough to get a general sense of my surroundings. I could swear they were even brighter here than at the house.

My pale skin practically glowed in the darkness, making the giant brown patches stand out; bruises. I didn’t remember him holding me that hard. I lifted my arm to look it over. I wanted to say it was from my tumble down the hill, but even in the darkness I could tell it was from a huge hand.

“I thought I’d been careful enough. I’m sorry, Little Rabbit.” He grabbed my arm and dipped it into what I now realized was a hot spring. The movement brought attention to the overall stiffness in my body. “I promise to be more gentle in the future.”

I felt like I’d been hit by a truck, and yet satisfaction seeped deep into my bones. The water was relaxing, and I had been in it long enough that I was beyond pruned.

“I didn’t ask for that promise.” The words left my lips before I thought about them. What the fuck was wrong with me? Was I really in such a hurry for a Mark rerun? No, he wasn’t like Mark.

Mark would hurt me intentionally and never consider apologizing for it. This was an Aurelio rerun, which was a lot more dangerous. Because I knew Mark was bad for me.

Leaving Aurelio had been like quitting heroin. I needed a health crisis, a therapist, and a twelve-step program to walk away. On bad days, I wanted to relapse so much it hurt.

The monster chuckled, and with my ear to his chest, the sound vibrated against everything inside me. When he went silent again, it brought attention to his heart. It sounded heavier than it should have, like it was struggling or his blood was too thick.

Even though he’d hunted me through the woods like I was the fat doe for his dinner, he’d taken better care of me than most men would have.

“I’ve really got to stop waking up with dangerous men,” I said more to myself than to him. These types of men were attracted to me like a magnet. Probably, because I was more than willing to open my arms and legs for a broken soul that ‘just needed a hug’.

Maybe it was because my dad spent so much of my life hunting his enemies, when I needed him.

Maybe it was because my mother hadn’t been there to caution me against the same men she preferred.

Whatever it was, I was vividly aware of what my weakness was and no matter how hard I fought these habits, it wouldn’t go away.

“You’ll never wake up to another again.”

Fight his claim. Don’t let him win. “I decide that.”

“You have a point.” Without looking up at him, I knew there was a monstrous grin on his face that was more a threat than a gesture of amusement. “But if I kill him before you wake up, you technically didn’t wake up with him.”

That was a hard statement to argue, and it sent shivers down my spine.

“You were promised to me three hundred years ago. I will never let you escape.”

I rolled my eyes and sat up, straddling his stomach. He was strong enough to keep us floating. “I never agreed to tolerate you.”

He was indeed grinning, based on the way the edges of his snout lifted. “You look like a goddess of nature begging to be ravished. I’ll risk you smitting me over letting you go any day.”

I opened my mouth to give some witty response that would probably end with me being backhanded, but my brain couldn’t seem to string two words together. My face burned before I finally pressed my lips together in defeat.

That made his twisted grin grow and his eyes glowed more in response.

It took a long silence of us staring at each other for me to get some kind of response together. “You think that flattery will make me forget you’re a murderer?”

“No,” he answered matter of factly. “But that wasn’t my intention.”

“So, what was your intention?” I narrowed my eyes at him and jabbed my finger into his hard chest, hurting myself in the process, but I refused to let that show on my face.

Please give me a reason to shut you out. Anything to help keep you away from me. To give me the will to escape.

“To make sure you know how beautiful you are.”

Nope. Don’t fall for it. “That way, I’m under the illusion that the good outweighs the bad, and I’ll comply and stop running. Right?”

That would explain why he was being so gentle with me. He viciously murdered a cop. He’s possessive and obsessed with who he thought I was. The moment I burst that bubble of illusion was the exact minute he’d destroy me the same way

His eyebrow rose. “Who said I wanted that?”

I stared at him, half in disbelief. “How about you tell me what you want?”

I only needed one half-assed reason to control myself.

“I want you.” His fingers went up my arm, over my shoulder, to wrap his fingers across the back of my neck. “As you are.”

Fuck. That wasn’t what he was supposed to say. Where was the ‘you’ll be perfect if you lose twenty pounds’ or the ‘once you learn to keep your mouth shut’? A mention about how my dog needed to go. Anything that would keep me grounded in reality.

“What if I start running right now?” I asked. Please. Help me.

Between my thighs, something cylindrical grew hard and rubbed against me. “Do whatever you want. You’re still mine.”

“You’re sick.”

But when he thrust his cock between my thighs, my own excitement made the movement smooth and easy. “I’m not the only one.”

He had no clue. My mind went to how he was right there for the taking. All I needed to do was lift up a couple inches and impale myself on him. To let him fill me with twisted desire and fill a hole inside me that was only ever full when a horrible man claimed me.

Fuck it.

Fuck him.

I did just as I’d thought about moments before, and when he slid into me, I threw my head back, letting out the moan that came from the very center of who I was. I put my hand in the middle of his chest for something solid to brace myself on.

After months of unfulfilling sex, he was a breath of toxic air I knew I shouldn’t let myself breathe in. No doubt eventually I’d choke on what a bad idea this really was.

But I needed how desired he made me feel.

Mark chased me because of his pride. This monster chased me because he wanted me so badly, he couldn’t let me go. This monster tasted different and made me want more of what would be a fatal drug.

It took me years to shake off Aurelio, how many would it take to come to my senses with this one?

He grunted as his eyes lazily rolled over me, as if I were the most beautiful sight in this meadow. His hands grabbed my thighs, helping me move. The tips of his nails digging into my flesh and heightening the sensations, like all my nerves wanted this too.

He was right. I should be quivering in fear, begging him not to touch me. Instead I was chasing this feeling of being untouchable from a monster.

I was just as sick as he was.

****

I stepped on a twig when we climbed out of the hot spring, and he swept me into his arms in one swift movement. “You’ll hurt your feet.”

“Where are my shoes?” I asked, putting an arm over his strong shoulders as he went into a run that was oddly smooth.

“Where I caught you, I believe.” His deep voice vibrated along my body as he clutched me to him. As if I were his most prized possession. It made me forget we were strolling through the woods with me butt naked.

I tucked my face into him, soaking in his warmth as the cool air whipped my skin uncomfortably. I must have fallen asleep, because I don’t remember anything about the trip until we cleared the trees to where my car was in the driveway, as if I hadn’t abandoned it a couple miles up the road.

An image of him folding into the tiny car with me and Ranger in the back made me want to laugh. I imagine it would have been quite the sight. Realistically, he probably did whatever it was he did to look like a human, but it was a laugh all the same.

He put me on my feet on the porch. I opened the door with a snick, and Ranger shot out to speed right past the monster to pee in the yard. I raised an eyebrow. “He didn’t try to attack you.”

“Because you don’t see me as a threat anymore.”

“I definitely see you as a threat.” I snorted.

He rested a hand on the top of the awning and leaned until his face was right before me. “No, you’re telling yourself I’m a threat. There’s a difference.”

I rolled my eyes, annoyed that a monster who lives in the woods would make such a clear assessment. “He doesn’t like anyone.”

“Because he reads your energy, and you don’t like anyone.” What an asshole.

“You know, if you are going to attack me like this, the least you can do is tell me your name. Or do you just want me to call you Monster for the duration of your presence?”

He cocked his head to the side. “You imply my presence will end.”

“It always does.”

He chuckled. “My name translates to something like Echo in your language.”

“What’s your mother’s tongue? Demon?”

“Shawnee,” he answered as if he were saying the sky was blue.

My eyebrows shot up in surprise. “You’re human?”

“Once.”

“Color me surprised, my shadow monster.” I stepped in the house and whistled for Ranger.

He grinned. “You called me yours.”

When I realized my mistake I slammed the door shut and locked it, even though the lock clearly wasn’t going to stop him. I yelled. “Don’t let it go to your head.”

“Goodnight, Little Rabbit,” a haunting whisper came from the other side.