Page 90 of Monster Daddies

“Yeah, about that… listen, I’ll put you down, but first I need you to promise you’re not going to freak out and scream.”

“I’malreadyfreaked out. I was snatched out of my yard and brought to some weird little cabin. Do you know how manyhorror movies start that way?” That she was brave enough to be snarky was a little bit of a surprise. It seemed like she should be more scared, but somehow, she just wasn’t.

“Nope. How many?”

She frowned and tried to tilt her head back to see if he was serious, but the grip at the back of her neck tightened and held her there. “Well, I don’t know, but probably a lot.”

“I’m not going to harm you. You’re safe with me.”

“That sounds like something a kidnapper would say to get me to cooperate, but I don’t know who you are. Or why you stole my clothes and made them into a quilt. How can I trust you when you won’t even let me see you?” The words came out in a rush, with barely a pause between them.”

He let out a long sigh. “Fair enough. I’ll put you down. Just try to stay calm if I appear… odd.”

Odd?If he had big glowing eyes, he was going to look more than odd. He set her down on the sofa and took a step back, but she didn’t look up immediately. She took a deep breath, preparing herself and then slowly raised her head.

And blinked. “Uh, you look normal?”

She tilted her head, narrowed her eyes, and gave him a long once-over. Actually he looked better than normal. He was hot. He was pretty close to the kind of guy she’d expect to find on a book cover. Tall, dark hair, blue eyes, and the way he filled out the plaid shirt he was wearing… well, he clearly had some muscles under there. He checked practically every box for sexy.

“I do?” His shoulders softened. “Good. I wasn’t sure what you’d see. This will make things a little easier.”

“Easier? Wait, what did you expect me to see?” Something wasn’t right about this. Maybe she’d imagined the red eyes, probably she had. But his silhouette was wrong. This wasn’t the hulking shadow shape she’d seen in her yard.

“Me.” He examined her for a few seconds, and then grabbed the stool and pulled it over in front of her. “This is going to take some time.”

Chapter Five

He settled on the stool, his knees almost touching hers. It felt so intimate, and Ellie’s anxiety rose from having him so close, though oddly enough her fear didn’t. The situation had been terrifying, but the moment he’d appeared, she’d felt… safe. Maybe it was because he’d saved her life.

Her glance slid over to the fireplace, and she shuddered, thinking about what would have happened if he hadn’t caught her.

“Before I start, maybe we could exchange names? I’m Galium, but most people call me Lium.”

She turned her attention back to him. “Galium? I’ve never met anyone named that before. Is it Latin? Greek?”

“It’s—I’m not actually sure. It’s a plant. Around here we mostly go for natural names. Andyourname?”

Ellie started to answer and then stopped. Should she really be telling this guy her name? He already knew more about her than she was comfortable with, including her bra size. And even though she wasn’t panicking in his presence, she couldn’t really forget about the fact that hehadkidnapped her.

On the other hand, refusing to answer could cause problems. He might not be as safe as he seemed to be. Lying seemed like a fair compromise. “It’s Rose.”

His eyebrows went up. “Rose? Really? I wouldn’t have thought they’d have named you after your aunt.” There was a note of surprise in his voice, and maybe a little skepticism.

“Yeah, I—wait. You knew my aunt?” Ellie narrowed her eyes and tilted her head. Every word out of his mouth raised more questions in her mind.

“No, well, not really. I knewabouther. Our community is small enough that you hear about everyone. Even the ones who disperse, but we’re getting off track. This isn’t the best place to start the story.” He took a deep breath. “How about I just call you Rose for now, and then, if it turns out you made a mistake”—deep blue eyes narrowed at her—“you can correct it later.”

So… not fooled then.

She shouldn’t have felt guilt over lying. She had every reason to keep the truth from him, and she wasn’t going to admit it now, so she folded her arms over her chest and lifted her chin. “So, about this long story? I’m really hoping some of it explains why you stole my clothes and then kidnapped me.”

“It does.” He sighed and rolled his shoulders. “I’m just not sure where to start. I have a feeling you don’t even know the basics, and if I start there, we’ll be at this for hours.”

Ellie stared at him. None of it made sense. What basics? What was she supposed to know? An inarticulate growl of frustration filled her throat, and then, “Just tell me!” burst from her.

“You’re cute when you’re annoyed,” he said, as his mouth curved into a slight smirk.

She was still trying to decide if she was mad about being called cute, when he began to tell her the weirdest story she’d ever heard. It fully topped the most insane mystery gangcartoons and there wasn’t even a dog involved. All she could do was stare as he talked, and he didn’t get very far before she realized he was absolutely insane.