Page 17 of Monsters Wear Crowns (Crowned Monsters Duet #1)

He smirked, easing his shoulders. “I certainly am, but take it seriously. That is why you decide when and where we do it. If the energy is right and you don’t use the safeword, we won’t do it. As long as I’m fucking you, I don’t care what kink you have.”

My cheeks heated. “So, you’re a sick fuck like me?”

He twisted to look at me, surprise flashing across his expression. “Of course. That’s why I’m so insistent that you be mine.”

“Yours?” I raised a brow. “Like, your girlfriend? ”

His gaze bounced between my eyes and lips before sweeping over my body. “Whatever you want. But no other man touches you. That’s the rule.”

I snorted, glancing out over the city. “Fine. The same goes for you. I cannot allow you to make another woman feel good.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” he murmured.

I turned then, facing him head-on. “Okay, so what is the first thing I can do for you, Rafe?”

“Everything.” The word was soft. “But for now, I have a shipment coming in. Sensitive. Valuable. And I need to know that no one …” his hand lifted, brushing a loose wave from my face “Will touch what belongs to me.”

The air between us turned tense.

“And what happens when someone does?” I whispered.

His smile was slow, wicked, as he brushed another strand of dark hair from my face. “They bleed.”

My throat tightened, though my gaze remained set. I wondered how many men he’d killed. Probably far too many. “You’re asking me to get in bed with a dangerous man, then.”

His eyes darkened. “You already have.”

“Wasn’t technically a bed ,” I huffed, going to turn. But his hand caught my arm when I moved, tugging me back against his perfectly clad body and igniting a sudden fire in my core.

“You’re still starving, little doe,” he whispered against my ear. “Why keep pretending otherwise?”

His breath skimmed my skin, a warm, wicked caress that made my pulse stutter.

I hated that my body reacted before my mind did–the sharp inhale, the way my fingers curled against his chest when I should have shoved him away.

But Rafe had a way of making restraint feel impossible.

This man was truly obsessed with me. Once he had me, he couldn’t stop.

And, well, I couldn’t deny that I felt the exact same.

“I’m not pretending,” I said, my voice low and steady despite the fire beneath it. “But you’re mistaken if you think I’ll be so easily bought.”

Rafe chuckled. “I have no interest in buying you...” His hand skimmed down my wrist, fingers tracing the delicate line of my pulse. “When I plan on taking you.”

The word rippled through me, piercing me somewhere deep. But I didn’t let him see how it landed. “Say I help you,” I said carefully. “What precisely am I protecting on it?”

Rafe’s smile didn’t waver, but something sharpened in his eyes. “Primarily drugs. Ketamine, MDMA. Things your system is more than capable of shielding.”

“And if I say no?”

He leaned in, his voice a whisper against my skin.

“All you need to do is keep prying eyes out of our discussions. You don’t have to physically do anything.

Just do what you’re best at.” His eyes darkened, and for the briefest second, darkness flickered across his face.

“Also, you should know that I don’t destroy the things I intend to keep. ”

His words smacked me hard across my face, momentarily stunning me. How the hell did I just happen across my literal dream man? Tall, dark, handsome, dangerous, powerful, naughty.

“Give me one reason,” I challenged, holding a playful finger up. “One reason I should step into this fire with you.”

Rafe’s eyes blazed as he leaned closer, his lips just a breath from mine. “Because no one else will ever know you the way I do. No one will ever fuck you how I will. And none of these other men would kill for you.”

I clenched my jaw. “Why would you kill for me? You hardly know me.”

He huffed a laugh. “I know quite a bit. And I also know that you’re the woman to want.”

I sighed, finding it nearly impossible to avoid my bubbling attraction. “Fine.”

The slow curve of his mouth made my stomach flip. “Good girl. ”

Heat flooded my veins, pooled low, and a deep ache blossomed.

Rafe saw it all. And when his fingers brushed my jaw, his eyes darkened with unmistakable satisfaction.

Before I could respond, he shifted closer, and every coherent thought I had dissolved.

His body pressed against mine, his heat sinking into my skin.

And when he dipped his head, his breath fanning against my ear, I couldn’t stop the shiver that ran through me.

“Come to the office tomorrow to set everything up,” I said quickly, willing myself to leave. I turned on my heel, ready to walk away from him and put some much-needed distance between myself and the man who was too good at unraveling my composure.

But Rafe’s hand shot out, his fingers wrapping around my wrist with a grip that brooked no argument.

Before I could snap at him, he yanked me back, pulling me into a shadowed stretch of hallway, away from the glittering noise of the party.

My back hit the cool wall, and his body followed–close enough that the heat rolling off him made my breath quicken.

“Tonight,” he said softly, his voice a silk-covered threat, “I'll come back to your apartment. If I’m going to be stressing you out, I think it’s only fair I…ease the tension.”

My heart raced. I forced my expression into cold defiance even though I almost drooled thinking of his cock inside me again. “Is that so?”

His lips curved in a slow, dangerous smile.

He was so close. Too close. His dark and expensive scent curled around me, making my head spin.

I lifted my chin, refusing to let him see how much his presence affected me.

I was powerful. I’d worked too damn hard to be anything else.

But…it was hard to remember my strength when Rafe Vaughan looked at me like he wanted to devour me.

Because there was danger in his eyes. A promise of things I’d only read about, things I’d dreamed about in the dark.

And that twisted part of me wanted to know what it would feel like to let him have his way with me again.

“Let go of my fucking wrist,” I snapped, trying to ignore the heat simmering just beneath my skin.

My ego lashed out as I wasn’t accustomed to people being snippy with me.

I was the snippy one, holding the power people desired.

They needed me to save them. To protect them.

My heart desperately wanted to be ripped out and consumed whole by Rafe, but my logical mind was screaming that he was the worst thing for me.

His grip tightened just enough to make my pulse spike. Not enough to hurt, but enough to remind me exactly how strong he was. “You got it, Dela, ” he said, his voice a mocking purr.

My eyes narrowed. I hated that nickname. “Shut up,” I hissed, trying to ignore how badly I needed him. “Let’s go. Now.”

His smirk deepened, but after a heartbeat, he released me–though his fingers lingered against my skin, a slow drag that made my knees weaken.

By the time we stepped out into the warm summer night, I’d mostly managed to collect myself. But then a sleek black limousine pulled up to the curb, and my stomach dipped.

I shot Rafe a warning look. “Don’t try anything in the car.”

He didn’t answer–not with words, at least. Just opened the door and gestured for me to slide in first. I did, and the moment he followed, the door clicked shut, and the driver’s window slid up with quiet finality.

The vibe shifted.

I glanced at Rafe, and that slow, wicked smile spread across his face.

“My driver knows,” he murmured, his voice like smoke and sin, “to leave you and I alone.”