Page 13 of Taken by the Ripper (Time for Monsters #9)

A shaky exhale escaped her mouth. “The side on which he looks at me with such tenderness in his eyes.”

His claws curled as he lifted his hand and caressed the back of his fingers over her cheek, almost like the whisper of a breeze on her skin.

“Is it too much to hope for,” he murmured with the faintest exhale, “that you might accept a kiss from a ghoul?”

Clara’s heart pounded as she gazed back into the yellow of his eyes.

Her pulse thrummed at her neck, at her wrists, in her ears.

Heat flashed across her body. He was a ghoul.

A creature of the night. A formidable monster lurking in the shadows.

But he was also gentle. He protected her from threats. He saw her in a way no one else did.

Perhaps she might feel a little tenderness, too.

“Would I be entirely unhinged if I didn’t outright refuse?” she whispered, taking the smallest step forward and bracing her hand against his solid chest.

“Perhaps a little bit,” he jested, but he wasted no more time as his fingers curled around her head. There was the briefest pause like the quiet before a clap of thunder. And then he closed the distance between them.

Their lips touched in a scalding kiss as hot as a forest fire, as if the lightning brewing between them had struck the ground and started an inferno.

The flames were wild. Untamed. Full of life and vigor and strength.

It was as if his key unlocked something within her with the faintest click .

And she knew. She knew . The ghoul was correct.

There was something between them she couldn’t quite explain.

Something heavy. Significant. And overall right.

As his arms moved down to circle her waist, inspiring warmth and happiness she never thought possible, she believed him. She believed she could be his mate, no matter how ludicrous that sounded. Perhaps she was so desperate for love that she would accept it even from a monster.

Or perhaps…

Perhaps this was where she was meant to be all along. All those years alone. All those years brushed off because of her profession, because of her sister. They were worth it just for this moment.

With a ghoul of all people.

Only a short time ago, she hadn’t known they’d existed. And now?

And now, her hands smoothed over the muscles of his chest, the strength of his shoulders, the burliness of his arms. His embrace tightened around her, and the sigh that escaped him weakened her knees enough for her to have to rely on his strength to keep her from losing her balance entirely.

What a fool she was.

But for once, she enjoyed playing the fool. Because nothing could be better than his kiss, than his arms holding her safe and tight.

“I will never let you get hurt,” he whispered against her lips, kissing her again and again until it was all she could do just to remain on her feet. “I will protect you with my every breath.”

“That’s a hefty promise,” she said in a gasping voice as his lips moved to her jaw, her throat, and then back to her lips, “for someone who burns in the sunlight.”

A deep chuckle resounded in his chest, and in response, his tail wrapped around her, holding her closer still. “I am not a vampire, love.”

“Then what happens to you?”

His lips skimmed over her ear, and a delightful shiver ran through her body when she felt his sharp yet gentle teeth brush against her neck. She wanted more. So much more. If the fool was now her guide, then she would wholeheartedly play the role to her best ability.

“I sleep,” he answered. “A heavy sleep. I cannot fight it.”

He hovered over her mouth, tantalizingly close. She desperately wanted to close the gap between them, but he was far too tall, especially when holding himself at bay.

“Then how did you witness the incident in the drawing room?”

He chuckled again. “My sleep is not always so heavy.”

There was so much to learn about him, so much to discover. But rather than asking more questions, rather than kissing him well into the night until the dawn made its appearance in the sky, they froze when the sound of a window opening threatened to expose their position in the yard.

The ghoul took her hand and quietly guided her to the side of the estate where they hid in the shadows. Disappointment dropped her heart to her stomach when, instead of kissing her again, he spoke in a low, rushed whisper.

“I need your help. I wouldn’t ask this of you if there was any other way.”

She nodded mutely, rather distracted by the pleasant tingling sensation on her lips.

He continued, “The man who was killed in your home… The police will undoubtedly trace him back to me. They’ll search harder.

It will put them in danger. It will put me in danger.

” The deep breath he released shifted loose strands of hair around her face.

“I need the police report destroyed. It won’t stop the investigation, but it will hinder it.

Long enough for me to put a dent in the vampire coven. ”

When his words finally sank past the haze created from his kiss alone, she blinked several times and bit her lip. “You cannot go after these vampires. They are dangerous.”

“I know.” He sighed. “But they still have vials left of my blood. They must be stopped.”

Shaking her head, she tried to wrap her mind around the danger. Especially after what she’d witnessed in the alleyway. “Why not destroy the documents yourself?”

“I would if I could. Believe me, I would never ask this of you otherwise.” He lifted a strand of her hair with one of his claws and delicately brought it to his nose, inhaling what must be her scent.

Her cheeks warmed at the thought. “Like vampires, I can only prowl the night, and they are expecting me to do this. They are expecting me to go after the documents. The police station is surrounded. It would be an ambush.” He lifted his gaze to meet her eye. “But you… You can go during the day.”

She quickly shook her head. “But I don’t have a way in—” Her words ceased suddenly, and her eyes widened when she realized that wasn’t true. “You want me to abuse my connection with the detective.”

“I wouldn’t ask otherwise,” he repeated, running a claw up and down her arm.

The sensation of warmth and tingles were far too pleasant to resist, and she couldn’t help but lean into his touch. At the same time, she wondered what was wrong with her. He was a ghoul. A monster. This wasn’t supposed to be something a sane person enjoyed.

“The detective is a good man,” she accused. “I cannot trick him like this.”

“I’m sure he would understand.”

“I don’t think he would. This is his livelihood on the line.”

“He is hunting me. He would be walking into something even he cannot handle. Choosing between his livelihood and his life… What do you think he would pick if he truly understood?”

She stared at the ground with a troubled expression when she realized the ghoul was right. Claude La Cour would be walking straight into a dangerous situation, and she wasn’t sure she would be able to make him listen long enough to stop him, the stubborn man that he was.

Especially if she told him she’d received all her information from a very convincing ghoul.

“At least tell me your name,” she whispered, realizing she had no idea what to call him.

His sharp, toothy grin lifted at the corner of his lips. “For now, just call me Jack.”

The name sent a chilling thrill down her spine when she realized he referred to his “stage name.” But then she internally scoffed at the idea. Jack was trying to do something good. It was only a shame no one truly understood.

He left her with a lingering parting kiss, enough for her knees to grow weak and her lungs to become breathless. And then she watched as he slipped into the shadows and disappeared from sight.

After a moment, she brought her fingers to her lips where his kiss still tingled in a pleasant manner. And then she realized something entirely mad and nutty.

She liked Jack the Ripper far more than she should.