Page 16

Chapter

Sixteen

Syros

H er guilt is palpable and adds another intoxicating layer to her scent.

Erin, my delicate human, kneels over the radio, her hands hovering over its surface like she’s afraid to touch it.

Her eyes dart around the room, betraying her nervousness. I can’t help but feel a pang of annoyance. What is she doing touching my things when I’m not here?

Stranger still, I swear I heard voices just moments ago. Human voices. A male's voice, distinctly, but there’s no way anyone else could be here.

The portal is closed, sealed shut for another six months. Yet, when I approached the room, I heard it—an unfamiliar sound coming from within, faint yet unmistakable. My keen senses pick up on every nuance. My ears never lie.

Unless Erin is somehow able to change her voice to such an extent as to be unrecognizable, then she was speaking to someone else, through that radio.

I briefly wonder if there was some way another Grim had lost their meal and there was another human running amok in our world. But that's highly unlikely. My kind are not known for our clumsiness and we certainly do not wait once we have our prey in hand.

Until me.

We are bloodthirsty and hungry, but we are well-equipped for this world. Killing machines. Clumsiness would give us away and make our hunt less successful. It would also make us more susceptible to the invisible beasts lurking in the trees, ready to pounce.

“I said,” I restate, taking a step toward her, “who are you talking to?”

She swallows and I watch the way her throat works as she struggles to speak.

Erin stares at me, eyes wide and posture stiff, as if I’ve caught her doing something I won’t like. But whether that something is touching my things or trying to plan another way of escaping, I don’t know. And one of those I can forgive. The other will get her killed, either by me or another monster.

I bite down on my jaw and wait for her to answer.

She mirrors me and clamps her mouth shut, glances at the floor, and my irritation briefly switches to… to… I’m not sure. Appreciation, maybe?

Very few would dare stand against an angry Grim.

She is a beautiful creature, even when she’s scheming, and too stubborn for her own good. It takes me off guard how much the emotion strikes me. Yes, beautiful, in a world of pure danger and ruin.

Two pillow soft lips, an oval face, arched dark brows, and a tiny nose… she’s the most stunning human I’ve ever come across during my trips to earth, and I’ve been around a long time.

The attraction should not be there, especially if she is scheming against me.

What are my plans for her, truly?

I wish I could answer that question, but I really don’t know. I don’t think I could eat her now, even if I tried. Thinking about how she feels against me, thinking about the way her pussy grips my cock and milks me… I don’t want to give her up.

But a human in my world puts us both at risk. There aren’t many of my kind left, but other Grims will be able to lock onto her scent. They’ll find her and they won’t be as kind and accommodating as me.

That’s where the gollilock plants come in.

Nearly forgotten, I glance down at the handful I’d gathered from around the swamp. One of the first things I’d done when finally deciding to end my nomadic lifestyle and settle in one place was plant a lot of these. They’re the best tool when wanting to block your scent from other Grims, or nosey creatures who may take a liking to my dwelling and want to steal it for their own.

The fragrance of the gollilock is potent and overwhelming enough to be used as a shield.

For her.

I gathered them for her because, for some reason, having her direct me through the pointless dancing seemed overwhelming. The walls of the hovel started to close in around me, and I had to get out, to do something.

But what devilry did she get into once I left?

When my gaze falls back to Erin, she’s watching me intently. Scared. Trembling slightly as though she has something to hide and does not want to be found out.

“I-I—” she stammers, her voice barely audible. “Syros, I didn’t… I mean, I was just…”

I growl in annoyance. She hasn’t answered my question.

Erin hesitates, then finally speaks, her voice tinged with fake curiosity. “It’s just… I find your collection fascinating. I’m sorry if you didn’t want me touching them. I think it’s kind of cute that you collect them. So I was imagining how it would be to talk to someone else about it.”

Cute?

“ Cute is the very opposite of what I am.” Perhaps she meant it as a nicety, but the word grates against my nerves.

“Okay, not cute, exactly,” she mumbles, dropping her head. “But it’s just not what I expected at all.”

I study her carefully, my eyes locked onto her face. She seems genuine, her curiosity shining through her fear. A part of me softens. Even though humans are weaker creatures, even I can understand the allure of their world. The things they create, the knowledge they possess—it’s all so different, so alien… it can be intriguing.

She’s intriguing.

Maybe she’s just something I want to possess, add to my collection, to look at and do with as I please. It’s one explanation for my fascination with her.

Maybe what I’d heard walking in had been only the static of the radio mixed with the confused buzzings of my own mind. When I sniff the air and find only the familiar scents of my home coupled with her very pungent, very human ones, it confirms no one else is here.

My frayed nerves may have me imagining things that don’t truly exist.

Am I losing my touch? Has this woman really rattled me so much?

It would seem like it.

Her gaze swings to the plants in my hands, and her upper lip turns up in disgust at the pungent odor. “What do you have?” she asks after a moment. “Some kind of…food?”

She sounds hopeful, yet sickened.

I shake my head. “It’s gollilock, but I don’t recommend eating it, no. It’s poisonous if ingested, but it’s efficient at masking scents. It’s something I discovered some time ago and now grow around here to keep Grims and other beasts away.”

Her cheeks pale. “ Other beasts? You’ve mentioned it before but I have no idea what else is lurking in the woods.” Her smile is thin and lackluster.

“My kind aren’t the only monsters in this world, just like in yours.”

She nods. “I know what you mean.”

A stiff silence settles over us, and I set the gollilock on a little ledge and place a second cauldron of water over a low-burning flame. Then, I grab my big metal basin and set it in the middle of the room.

“What–what are you doing?” she stammers, fear rocking her voice.

Her eyes follow me as I dump the hot water into the tub and retrieve more.

“I just told you. The gollilock will mask your scent,” I say as I refill the cauldron and set it back on the fire. “If you bathe with it, rub it on your skin, I’m hoping you’ll become undetectable to things in this realm. There’s more to fear here than just me, little human.”

“Bathe with it?” she repeats. “So this is supposed to be a bathtub?”

She’s staring at the basin with a palpable measure of relief.

“What did you think it was?” I ask carefully.

“I don’t know. Maybe to make me into a stew or something. That this is your cauldron for boiling humans.”

I snort a laugh at the idea. “I don’t waste my time cooking. Your kind tastes better when it’s fresh and dosed in fear and desperation. There is no need for stew .”

Her throat works to swallow, and the movement doesn’t go unnoticed by me. I find myself imagining my tongue running along the curve of her shoulder to her jaw, tasting the salty tang of her skin.

Oh yes, she is certainly delicious, especially when she is a little afraid of what I might do.

My dick jerks awake, nestled in my fur, almost surprising me again. And I know I’m dancing along this dangerous edge of primal hunger and primal sexual need. The two seem to intertwine when it comes to Erin.

I need to stop thinking about her as something to sink my cock into, but it’s proving to be harder than it should be.

So long between meals of both varieties.

Even longer, however, since I’ve found an occasion to slide my cock into another. It has been only my own paw for comfort and then only when I am in dire need of release.

When the basin is halfway full and steam rises up from the water, I move my attention to the gollilock. I use my nail to slice the stems down the middle before squeezing all the clear jelly from the middle into a wood bowl. Then, I grind and mash it down with my knuckles to release more of the pheromones.

The scent fills the room and practically colors the air.

I gesture for Erin to come to the bath I’ve made, and she does, slowly and still unsure of my motives. That’s okay because they’re a little unclear to even myself. I’m not sure what kinds of rituals humans do when they clean themselves, but as long as hers involves rubbing this gollilock on her skin, I really don’t care.

I will take whatever opportunities present themselves to touch her.

“Why don’t I smell anything now?” she asks as she peers over the tub at the water. “There’s nothing, good or bad. How will I know it’s working? It seemed so pungent a moment ago.”

Hmm…that is a good question. One I hadn’t considered before. Then again, nothing about this situation is usual.

“Maybe it has to do with your feeble human sense of smell? The plant itself is very fragrant. Very.” I’ve gotten more used to it from being around it for so long, but it still makes my lungs twinge with every inhale.

“What does it smell like to you?” she asks with a tilt of her head.

I think about it for a moment. I don’t know what flowers and types of nature she has in her world, but to me… “To me, it’s like every flower collided and expanded at the same time.”

“So…a sort of floral smell?” she asks.

“I’d say so.”

Hers is much sweeter, though, especially when combined with the undertone of mint. I would much prefer to smell Erin than the overwhelming gollilock.

She swipes a hand across her forehead and tucks a lock of silver hair behind her ear. “Well, that’s a relief. I was afraid I’d be rubbing something that smelled like baboon ass all over me.”

Baboon ass?

What is a baboon?

Must have been a foul creature by the sheer relief on her face for not having to smell like it.

“Either way, this will help protect you. Just get in the bath and wash with it. Everywhere. Your hair, your arms, your…” My gaze falls on the swell of her breasts, only to glance back up to her face. “Everywhere. You must not leave any part of you untouched. I can help, if you’d like.”

“Got it.” Grabbing the hem of her shirt, she starts to wrench it up her body, exposing her flat naval, and I practically salivate at the sight.

There is something about her physically that draws me in, a hook to my stomach. The delicacy of her figure, the long lines of her, and the slight play of muscles underneath velvety soft skin.

Erin must’ve caught me because she pauses and stops her wriggling to cast a meaningful glance my way.

“You know,” she says, her voice calm but stern, “it would be more polite for you to leave me alone. Give me some privacy. I’m capable of washing on my own.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Privacy? So you can try and run again?” I shake my head. “Absolutely not.”

Whether she answered my question from earlier or not, I know better than to take chances with her.

“I want to live,” she quips. “And I realize now that the only way to do that is to stick with you.”

Wise. Very wise.

But politeness? That’s one of the things I’m not known for. The sooner she understands that we are going to coexist on my terms, the better off we will both be. I’ve made enough concessions for her.

She crosses her arms, her gaze unwavering. “Come on. Surely you know what manners are. Decency. Turn around, Syros.”

I only stare at her, but when she still doesn’t waver, I huff, torn between my curiosity, the insatiable lust I feel around her, and granting her the bit of respect she wants. Finally, I relent and turn to leave her to the bath, busying myself with the fireplace instead.

Much to my distaste.

There must be something wrong with me because in the past, a day ago, I would never have given in so easily.

It’s like the little human is bending me to her will. Or worse, wrapping me around her tiny fingers.