Page 6 of Fighting Fate (Monsters of London #4)

Vince

I wake alone and with a pleasant soreness that seems to permeate every muscle. Turning on my side, I eye the clock.

It’s only eleven. I groan and bury my face in a pillow— Dax’s pillow—inhaling the earthy scent of him.

We didn’t stop until it started to get light, in the end. So, what, seven in the morning? I can’t help the smile that curves my lips. Dax is… something else entirely. Some kind of sex god, maybe.

I stifle a laugh into the pillow, then flop onto my back, listening for any sounds in the flat. Surely his flatmate will have come back, and though I’m not above sneaking out of a one-night stand’s place, Dax deserves better than that.

Anyway, it’s not like I’m embarrassed . Why would I be? But if the guy is his friend, I don’t want any awkward questions about why I’m leaving so quickly.

It’s too early to worry about things like that. I haul myself out of bed and into the en suite to take care of business quickly. Dax has left a pack of toothbrushes out next to the sink, and I swallow hard before I open them up and brush my teeth.

Okay, so he’s super sweet. And attentive. That doesn’t mean… There’s something wrong with everyone, right? And if I let myself ask him for his number, get closer to him, who’s to say he wouldn’t end up breaking my heart?

I think it’s statistically more likely, really.

That’s if he even wants my number at all. He asked me to stay, but he was right—it was early, and the prospect of hauling my arse home was already exhausting.

I stare at myself in the mirror. There’s a mark on my shoulder, faint bruises on my arms, but nothing too serious. Nothing that could be seen if I had clothes on.

All right. Enough silliness. Time to go.

I go back into the bedroom and find that my clothes are folded neatly on a chair in the corner. I dress quickly, shoving my hair back from my face, then snatch my phone up from where Dax put it on charge before we fell asleep.

Okay. I can do this. I’ve done this—well, maybe not hundreds of times, but still. Enough.

I leave the bedroom, and the scent of food immediately hits me. My stomach rumbles and I sigh. Change of plan, then. Say goodbye to Dax, leave, then go somewhere to get breakfast. I’m not hungover, but after all that activity last night, I’m fucking starving.

Dax looks up when I step into the living room. Well, it’s all one main room, really, with a corridor that leads down to the front door. The bedrooms are off the corridor, so it wouldn’t have been difficult to sneak out of here at all.

Except the smile Dax gives me makes me feel guilty for even thinking that.

“You’re awake,” he says, then blushes as though he shouldn’t have said anything at all.

I clear my throat and take a few more steps into the room until I’m awkwardly standing a few feet from him. “Yeah, I… Look, I had a great time, but I should—”

“Do you want breakfast?” He frowns. “Or lunch, maybe. I don’t know what time it is.”

“Brunch,” I say absently. I really should go. Even if I stay overnight—or someone stays overnight at mine—there’s no chatting the next day.

My stomach growls again and my face flames. Dax’s smile is small, but it’s there as he waits for my answer.

Oh, for fuck’s—I can leave after I’ve eaten. I’m starving, and whatever Dax is making smells fantastic.

“Yeah. I could eat. If that’s okay?”

“I asked you,” Dax says, looking vaguely confused. I want to kiss him.

“Can I… help?”

He glances about. He’s making eggs, from the looks of things, and I can sure as shit smell bacon somewhere here.

“Can you make drinks?”

The kettle is further down the counter, away from the cooker. “Yeah, sure.”

Dax directs me to the mugs and spoons, and I make his tea and my coffee as he plates up brunch. There’s a low table near the sofa, and I follow him over with the drinks, heat curling through me for a second at the memory of him pushing me back into the cushions last night.

He sits next to me, and I take a deep breath, then let it out slowly. This is fine. It’s all fine.

We eat in silence. The fry up is great, cooked just how I like it, and once my stomach is full, some of the nagging in my mind has quieted. Dax leans back when he’s finished, letting out a heavy, contented sigh.

“That was amazing.” I take a sip of my coffee now that it’s not scalding.

“Thanks.”

When I dare to glance at him, there’s a scatter of colour on Dax’s cheeks. Fuck, but he’s cute. And I don’t know that I’d have said that about any of my recent hook-ups, let alone him, at first glance.

“I should get going.” My legs don’t cooperate. I stay where I am, sipping my coffee.

Dax eyes me for a moment. He opens his mouth but hesitates before he says, “You have somewhere to be?”

“No.” I tap my fingernails against the mug. “But I only do one night.”

“Technically…” Dax trails off, and I turn to look at him.

“Technically?”

“We didn’t get back here until after midnight.” He shrugs. “So we haven’t even… had a night, yet.”

My stomach twists in anticipation. He’s not wrong . And I don’t have anywhere to be. I don’t have to work until Tuesday, and the self-defence classes I run take place midweek, too. I need to let my housemates know where I am, but I have my phone, and we didn’t have plans this weekend, so…

I set my cup down on the table. Dax is so still that I’m pretty sure he’s holding his breath.

He relaxes when I lean over and kiss him hard, then clamber into his lap. His hands come around to grab my arse, a decided level of familiarity surrounding the move, but I can’t bring myself to care. I suck on his tongue until he groans and arches up against me.

“Fine,” I say. “Fine. But this is—”

“Whatever you want it to be,” Dax says. Honesty shines through his big brown eyes.

I kiss him again. Whatever I need it to be.

What I want is dangerous.

I can’t have that.