Page 78 of Hunted By Fear

Except it never comes…

Seconds tick by into minutes, and I give in to the curiosity and confusion enough that I crack an eye open to look around, only to almost swallow my fucking tongue as I choke on a scream.

I’d dared to dream the snake was gone, but it’s still very much here, only a breath away.

I can’t possibly look away, not with it right here, but as I stand looking at this massive creature, I can’t help but feel like something about it is almost familiar.

Its scales are dark, and the light in the room isn’t great, only candles in the tall candelabras in the corners of the room, but I swear its scales look almost green. There’s no mistaking the green of its eyes, so bright they almost look radioactive as they seem to look through me.

My breath catches as I realize why I know them, where I’ve seen eyes that color before. The monster-sized reptile chooses that moment to stick his tongue out, and it ghosts over my cheek.

Kai, this beast is Kai.

I don’t know how I know it, but I’d bet my life on it. I can feel it.

“Kai?” My voice is embarrassingly quiet, the panic clear as I try and swallow down the fear that threatens to choke me.

I’d never been a fan of snakes. I didn’t hate them, but I was never one to seek them out, and I’ve never been this close to one of any size. Though I’m not sure if it would have helped if I had been, does anything in life prepare you to be the center of attention to a fifty-foot snake?

Despite the fear that keeps my feet glued to the floor, my hand seems to have a mind of its own as I slowly, so fucking slowly as to not startle him, reach toward him.

I want to feel his scales.

Do they feel the same as his wings?

That night drifts back to me, the way he was near feral when I touched his wings, fucking me into the mattress, into a dreamless sleep, only to wake deliciously sore the next day.

His tongue flicks out again, and I swear the slits of his eyes narrow even further.

Oh shit, don’t tell me his damn snake can smell me too!

These demons are going to be the death of me, and not in the way one would think.

Something touches my ankle, and I jump. The hand that I’d been reaching out with flies to my chest as I try and keep my heart from escaping.

His tail moves behind me, nudging my ankle, and damn, his scales are cool on my overheated body.

It shouldn’t be calming, but somehow it is, until it begins to wind its way up my leg, higher and higher…

With every inch, my heart beats faster, and I feel like I’m on fire. No, that’s not quite right. It’s more like fire flows through my veins, warming me from the inside out.

I think I’m about to have a panic attack or something.

The door slams open, and Talian stands there, eyes wild as he takes in the scene before him.

For a moment, he looks confused, and I can’t say I blame him. It only lasts a moment, though, before he shakes himself and is across the room, moving to stand between me and Kai.

“Go.” He pushes Kai’s head away, pointing toward the door before shooing him, and to my utter surprise, he goes.

His tail uncoils from my leg slowly as he moves away, and I can’t help but watch him go. It feels like it takes forever as his body continues to be pulled from the bath, and again, I’m left wondering how I didn’t know he was there to begin with.

The second his tail passes over the threshold, Talian flicks his wrist, and the door slams closed before whirling around to stare at me. He reaches out, lifting one arm and then the other before spinning me around, and I feel his eyes roam over me, but not in a sexual way.

“Talian?”

I’m not sure what I’m asking, but somehow he seems to.

Reaching out slowly as if not to startle me, his fingers gently wrap around my wrist, coaxing me forward, back toward the bath.