Page 27 of Stalked By Pestilence
“Which humans hurt you?” his deep baritone asked emphatically, dangerously low and demanding. Practically a growl for how it rumbled out of his chest.
I hadn’t expected the question, so my breath hitched. “What?”
The way he slinked in close was all animal. The more he leaned into the monster, the more he reminded me of a snake. “Who hurt you, Viper? Give me their fucking names.”
“That’s not the point,” I huffed.
His hand cradled my face. The man who’d smiled only a few minutes ago was nowhere in sight. “It is to me. The most important point. I want their bloody names.”
“Z—”
“Their names, love, or I won’t answer your question,” he commanded in the same voice as the one he’d used on the demon.
I’d never seen so much intensity directed at anyone who’d hurt me, outside of maybe Asha, Dom, and his wife, Alexa. But even they couldn’t come close to how lethal every word sounded out of Zelus’s mouth. Like he’d tear them from limb to limb without batting an eye.
And with what I’d seen, I didn’t doubt he’d make good on it if I surrendered the names of the men who ruined my childhood.
Because one of them was my own father.
I wasn’t sure I wanted his heart torn from his chest. Punished, yes, but dead…probably not. His friend, I’d think about. Though, I’d seen his financial ruin and personal life shredded. That was revenge enough in some ways.
Suddenly worried for a whole new reason, I grabbed his wrist and hardened my stare. “They don’t matter. What matters is what you want with me and if I can trust you.”
The storm that had overtaken his face calmed some. “You can trust me, love. I only want to find whoever has marked you for Hell and make sure they can’t have you.”
“Because?”
His eyes dropped to my mouth. “Because…” As if he hadn’t meant to utter them, the last two words came out as the softest whisper, “You’re mine.”
Heat rose into my face. It was absolutely insane how hot I got at the thought of that one word.Mine. Usually it made me feral when anyone declared any dominion over me, and maybe I’d gone fully crazy after everything, but it was exactly what I craved hearing.
“And you’re mine?” I asked, our mouths close enough that I felt his hot breath on my lips.
I didn’t want to admit how much I craved his kiss. I wanted to feel his tongue piercing move around my mouth. I wanted to nibble the ring circling his lower lip. I wanted to map out his mouth and hear those feral groans of need.
His hold on my face tightened and he dragged me forward, slamming our lips together in a kiss that devoured every bit of my previous worry.
I was in his lap before I could complain about it, tongue sliding around his, coaxing him with a soft moan. But as quickly as it started, I pulled away. “This is a bad idea.”
His hands grabbed my ass and yanked me forward so there wasn’t any space left between us, his interest in me hard and clear in his pants. “Or maybe it’s the best bad idea we’ve had so far, yeah?”
He nipped my chin, then my neck, and I sucked in a violent breath, remembering the promise he made about his fangs.
What could it hurt to do it once more? I’d already fucked a snake monster. Might as well enjoy the perks. Maybe he had two dicks like that one story Asha told me about. The Naga Dark Prince or whatever.
If demons were after me, I definitely didn’t want to miss out on the monster bedroom bits. It wasn’t every day a girl got to ride a sexy snake monster.
“Why not slay this beast before you go out to take care of the rest,” he murmured between kisses down my neck, completely unaware of the plot arc my fantasies had taken.
My eyelids fluttered shut. “Aren’t you meant to be the one doing all the slaying?”
“Good point,” he breathed over my collarbone, his hands slipping under the back of my shirt to unhook my bra. “But devouring my pretty little viper will be my most heroic feat yet.”
“You’re ridiculous,” I chastised between breathless gasps, every stroke a flash of heat and spark of sensation between my legs.
His hands found my breasts and kneaded them under the cover of my shirt. I licked my lips and dipped my head back, and his mouth naturally went to my pulse point, tracing it with his hottongue. The soft metal ball in his tongue dragged sensually across my skin.
“If we do this, you’re showing me the goods,” I demanded on another gasp.