Page 19 of Grotesque

T he shrill screech of the alarm wrenched me free from the undertow of sleep that had me in its grip. I groaned, reaching across for the tenth time to shut it up, but the offensive sound cut off before I even touched it.

“Did you set this for me?”

I bolted upright, my eyes wide as they struggled to adjust to the darkness. The moon was high tonight, so everything was generously illuminated. Everything but the stranger who evaded me.

“I’ll be honest, I’m a bit flattered by this. But I’ve never really been a big fan of toys in the bedroom.”

I reached under my pillow feeling for the knife that wasn’t there.

He had the knife.

Oh God, I was fucked.

I heard it clatter to the floor.

Huh, silver linings.

“Before I allow you to see me, I want us to play another game.” He was somewhere behind me, at the edge of the bed, hovering just outside of my peripheral. I wanted badly to see him, but not so badly that I was game to disobey him.

“Which one is it tonight?”

I could practically hear the grin in his voice. “Truth or dare… with a twist.”

I swallowed thickly. “Ok.” I had a long list of ideas of what the dares could involve, and this time I had the good sense to be worried.

“Good girl,” he purred. The words vibrated through my bones, tickling something at the back of my mind when he finished the sound with the soft click of his teeth snapping together. “Get out of bed,” he said softly.

I clenched the bedspread before doing as he said. The night air brought chills to my bare legs. I wrapped my arms around myself as I waited for his next command.

“Turn around, Sorcha.” His voice circled closer.

I turned slowly and looked upon the most beautiful man I had ever seen.

He was the same man that had chased me up the stairs the other night, but gone were the red eyes.

Now, they were a pale green, slanted and angular.

His face had more color in it than I remembered; some imitation of life blooming beneath the ashen skin.

He was taller than I remembered too, and his muscles more defined. He was big. Everything about him looked big and powerful. Just like in the distorted video.

His dark hair was shorter, and looked as if it had been recently cut. Stray strands feathered at the nape of his neck and across his brow. The lines of his face were somehow as striking as they were fine, as if a sculptor had taken great care in crafting him.

I licked my lips as I struggled to find words.

At least the books got it right, vampires were hot .

Insanely hot. But the stranger wasn’t just hot, he was ethereally, unnaturally, beautiful.

Everything about him, from the breadth of his shoulders to the slant of his luminous eyes, marked him as a predator. Captivating and deadly.

“What’s the twist?” I finally asked.

Those eyes worked their way slowly up my body as he approached, unhurried, until he was standing directly in front of me. Every muscle of his that I could see was taut, like he was going to burst, or pounce. Fear’s good sense nudged me to take a step back.

“For every truth you answer you must take off a piece of clothing.” An elegant smile fluttered over his face. The curve of his mouth was as dangerous as the rest of him, it only made him more alluring. “If you refuse, your truth defaults to a dare.”

My eyes narrowed, earning me another smile that might have been charming if he wasn’t so fucking terrifying. This was a lose-lose situation. He would strip me bare and if I refused, I had no doubt his dares would be even worse.

“How do I win?”

He cocked his head. “You don’t.”

I swallowed. Of course. Because this wasn’t about me. This was about him being in control, and me being at his mercy.

“You promise you aren’t here to kill me?”

He ran a finger down my arm. No claws… yet. “Would you like to use that as your first question?”

Shit. We were starting now? I guess that was fine, since I had a million questions I wanted to ask. I nodded.

The stranger stepped back and toed off both of his boots.

I swallowed again, my blood pounding as I looked down to my clothes.

A T-shirt, shorts, socks, and underwear.

He had on far more clothing than I did, and it wasn’t going to take him very long to strip me down.

I’d have to refuse, and take a dare instead.

“I’m not going to kill you,” he said smoothly. “That would spoil all of the fun we’re having.”

I could work with that. The very hot, wicked, man-shaped-creature wasn’t going to kill me, he was just a psycho who was going to do goodness knows what else. My toes curled as I remembered the feel of his head between my thighs.

“Have you been thinking about the way my tongue felt inside of you?”

Which time , I wanted to ask. My face burned at the idea of answering him. I clamped my mouth shut.

“Really?” He chuckled. “You’d refuse so soon?” His tongue clicked against the back of his teeth. “I dare you to climb on the bed and touch yourself.”

I should have just taken off my pants. But then that would have given him an even better view. I clenched my fists at my side, trying to be defiant but failing when he took a step forward and I moved back.

“Play the game,” he whispered.

I didn’t take my eyes off him as I shakily moved back. He didn’t follow me as I scooted my butt back on the bed, my legs dangling over the edge.

I slid my hand over my chest, my palm grazing my erect nipples. I hated the way my body betrayed me despite how hard I was trying to rationalize with it.

“Not there,” he said. “Like you did when you watched your little film the other night. Like you did in the kitchen this morning. Oh yes,” he chuckled. “I could hear you.”

Chills raced down my arms, immediately cooling the flush of embarrassment. “You didn’t specify,” I said through gritted teeth, but my mind flew to the question of whether he was a vampire or not. If he could be awake, and close enough to hear me in the daylight, he must be something else.

His jaw clenched, eyes flashing. They dragged to my other breast as I palmed that one next.

I knew this was wrong but the way he was looking at me… I’d never had anyone look at me that way in my life. Like he wanted to devour me. To worship me. The way his pupils dilated made me just as hungry.

There was a distinct bulge in the front of his pants that told me he was already hard. Was he going to try and fuck me?

I licked my lips, not missing the way his eyes caught the small movement. I had so many questions but if I played my cards right, I would have plenty of time to ask them. “Who are you?”

His long fingers worked down the buttons of his shirt. Popping one after the other until his muscular chest was exposed. I audibly swallowed as he rolled his shoulders back to relieve himself of the material.

He looked like he had been carved from stone. His muscles were defined– too defined – he couldn’t possibly be real. With every slight movement, his pale flesh rippled over the ridges and shadows of what lay beneath. Rippled in a very real sense of the word.

Holy shit.

“I’m Corban,” he said, drawing my stare back up to his face. His eyes were heated, the pupils bigger than they had been before.

I nodded, trying to gain some control over what was happening. This could be worse. It could have been an ugly psycho that had eaten out my pussy, giving me what I could only describe as a heavenly experience as I came all over his tongue.

Fuck. Is it getting hotter in here?

His eyes dropped down.

My hand had unwittingly moved between my legs. I jerked my hand away, laying it flat on the bed.A tinge of embarrassment warmed the back of my neck.

“What do you like?”

My face twisted. “What do you mean?”

“What do you like, sexually?” The last word came out as a purr.

I bit the inside of my lip. Answer his question or submit to another one of his commands.

“I like…. it a little rough. Not painful but…” Why the fuck was I telling him that? Lie! I should have lied. I reached down and fingered off my socks.

His eyes tracked every inch of my movement. “You and I are going to get along just fine.”

That answered my earlier question of whether he planned to fuck me or not. That must be game over.

“Why are you here? What do you want?”

Corban didn’t move. He arched a thin, perfect brow.

He was giving me the opportunity to demand something of him. I could end this. I could tellhim to leave and by rules of the game he would have to… for tonight. I knew he would come back. Or I could keep playing and see what happened next.

I clamped my thighs together. He noticed that too. There wasn’t anything that escaped his predatory gaze.

“Fine,” I breathed. “I dare you… to let me see your teeth.”

Corban’s brow furrowed. Was he frowning? He stepped forward slowly and pulled back his lips. I sat forward for a better look. None of them looked sharp.

I grabbed his chin. “Open,” I said.

He was practically vibrating beneath my touch as he opened his mouth. Normal, human teeth. Every single one. He wasn’t a vampire.

“What are you looking for?”

“Fangs,” I whispered. Because while I didn’t see any sharp teeth, I did see the shape of his tongue as it moved. It was forked.

And then to my horror, his upper lip peeled back higher to reveal two little slits from which twin fangs slid free, settling perfectly over his normal teeth.

I lurched back on the bed. “I don’t want to play anymore.”

“You don’t have that option,” Corban said with a tilt of his head. He thrust his chin out. “Remove your shorts.”Before I could bite back, he added slyly, “That was truth.”

“That’s not– ” I started to protest.

He shrugged. “That’s the game. Take them off,” he said. Commanded.

I made to slide off the bed to do so when he stepped to its edge. “You can stay there.” He held out his hand expectantly.

As quickly as I could I ripped them off and crossed my legs, placing my hands over my center.Corban caught my shorts with a grin when I threw them at him.