Page 103 of Monster Daddies

He took a perch on the end of the bed, and she noticed his back curved oddly, making for an inhuman posture. She felt a phantom ache in her spine just looking at the way he sat.

“I have a few modern conveniences. Running water comes from a well. I have a septic tank and leach field, and there are solar panels up in the trees.”

“Solar panels? Then why the oil lamp?”

“Partly personal preference, but mostly because the batteries don’t last long. Even up in the trees it’s hard to get enough sun to keep them topped up. I use them for the hot water and to keep my devices charged.”

“Devi—you have aphone?” The idea of Mothman scrolling Insta was just too funny, and giggles started to spill out of her.

He shook his head. “No, but I have a laptop. Cryptids like to stay connected too, Ellie.”

The giggles didn’t stop, if anything they grew more hysterical as she pictured Bigfoot, Mothman, and the Loch Ness Monster texting back and forth in a group chat. She didn’t need to be able to read his expression when his sigh was so loud, but she couldn’t help being amused. Her backwoods cryptid mate had turned out to be a fairly modern dude, all things considered.

“You know when I brought you to my bedroom, I saw this going someplace a little different.”

To be fair, so had she. She still wanted it, but now that she was in his bed, her boldness had vanished. Her emotions were just wild and all over the place. They had been all night, but now she was second guessing herself, and the joking helped.

“Sorry, sorry. I know. It’s just… not what I expected.” Not that anything so far had been what she expected when she’d gotten up that morning. Her life had done a complete pivot.

She wanted him. Her body craved his touch, and she was also desperately curious about what sex with him would be like. She just… needed a few minutes to get her emotions under control. “Would it be okay if I used your shower before we… get the plan back on track?” Between the fear sweats and the running, she probably needed a wash anyway and it would give her time.

He was silent for a moment, but then he shrugged. “Sure, everything you need should be in there. There’s a touch light on the wall just inside the door.”

She slid off the bed and started toward the bathroom, but as she passed him, she paused and turned to bump against his legs. Her hands rested on his shoulders as she leaned in to brush her lips across his. “I won’t be long.”

Maybe he’d been worried that the stalling was because she’d changed her mind, because his shoulders loosened under her fingers. “Take your time. I’ll be waiting.”

The water pressure wasn’t fantastic, but it was good enough. She turned away from the spray and winced as it hit her backside like needles. There was definitely some soreness still lingering there.His hand sure packs a wallop when he’s annoyed.

She couldn’t help reaching back to explore the stinging skin. Her fingers trailed over every spot he’d slapped, as if she could still feel his fingerprints. She couldn’t though. The spanks had overlapped until her whole ass had been covered. Now there was mostly just an even heat. Most likely by morning there would be no sign of the spanking at all.

The thought made her sad.

She took her time in the shower, washing the scent of smoke off her skin, but when she got out, she was left with a problem. She hadn’t realized how dirty her pajamas were, until she went to put them back on.

Soot and dirt streaked the legs, and the hem of the shirt dangled where it had gotten caught on something during her escape attempt. It looked ragged and smelled like sweat and smoke. There was no way she was putting it back on after the nice long shower.

Of course, she could just go out naked or wrapped in a towel. After all, he was waiting for her to join him in bed anyway, but the thought of it made her feel a little too exposed. She pulled the door open a crack. “Lium? Do you have, um, a T-shirt or something I could wear? My clothes are wrecked.”

He didn’t laugh or even question it. He just passed her a shirt through the gap in the door. The soft gray tee was comfortable, if oversized. He was so much taller than her that it nearly reached her knees. When she emerged a minute later, she was wearing that, with her panties underneath.

She’d waffled over wearing them, but she felt too exposed to go out in only his shirt. Exposed, or maybe the word was lewd. She was planning to sleep with a man she’d only knownfor hours, so it shouldn’t have mattered, but it did. And her underwear, at least, were relatively unscathed by the night.

She paused in the doorway, not really trying to make an entrance, just a little nervous, but when his round eyes settled on her they did a slow blink and fixed there with a frightening intensity. “I like seeing you in my shirt.”

He held out a hand to her and she moved closer to take it. “If you’re nervous we don’t need to do this tonight. I will wait for you. I willalwayswait until you’re ready.”

“I appreciate that you’re such a gentleman—gentle…moth? But we don’t need to wait.” She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pressed her mouth to his for a moment, and then whispered, “If you want me to call you Daddy, you’re going to have to earn it though.”

He pushed her back, searching her expression carefully. His eyes began to glow like coals and her body responded with an answering heat. “You’re sure?”

“There are a million things I’m not sure of right now, Lium, but this isn’t one of them. You kidnapped me and I didn’t have any choice about that, but?—”

“It was an acci?—”

“But”—she raised her voice to be heard over his—“I am choosingthis.” Her tone was firm and there was an undercurrent of demand in it. She appreciated how caring he was, but he needed to step it up andbethe Daddy she’d seen in him before.

He didn’t say anything else. It was as though she’d given him all the reassurance he needed, and now he was taking control. His hands ghosted up her thighs, raising the T-shirt with them as they went, until he whisked it over her head and off.