Page 6 of The Monster’s Obsession (A Monstrous World #5)

Chapter Six

Vivie

T he house is beautiful, grandiose, and spacious. It must qualify as a mansion. Or there might be some other fancy word for it that I don’t know. Even the most luxurious of houses in Faere look nothing like Saber’s modern home.

White and gray tile lines the entryway and continues along the downstairs hallway. We pass by a living room, but Saber doesn’t step inside to give us the tour. Instead, he stomps up the stairs, which are thankfully covered with carpet.

“You can put me down,” I assure Laz, patting the back of his neck.

“Nah, I’ve got you. At least until we make it to wherever we’re going.”

I nod, snuggling closer to his bare chest.

One of my favorite things about Haven is how acceptable it is for monsters to be out and about in their monster form.

“There are two options,” Saber says. “The first is smaller, but it could help if you get the need for a safe, confined space, like shifters do when they go into heat. The second is what I would recommend.” His voice gets farther away, and Laz slithers down the hallway after him.

“This is the main bedroom, but the house came outfitted with a nest. It’s never been touched. ”

I twist in Laz’s hold just in time to see Saber disappear inside a door.

Laz follows him inside, which is a struggle with how big he is in shifted form. “You’ve got this big-ass house, and you’re putting us in your bedroom?” He chuckles. “Are you lonely?”

Saber flips him off over his head, and I try to ignore his impressive muscles as Laz continues to follow him through the bedroom and down another hallway.

Laz is built more like me. He’s tall and extremely slender, with lithe muscles.

Saber is an inch or two shorter than Laz, but still has close to six inches in height on me. His muscles are more pronounced, and he has a thicker build in general.

Don’t even get me started on the black tattoos that line his chest, arms, and back.

If I had to describe each of their vibes, Laz would be the happy-go-lucky golden retriever, while Saber would be the moody, judgmental black cat.

Saber stops in front of a door on the left and pushes it open. “This was here when I moved in, but like I said, I’ve never touched it. I did have the cleaners give it a thorough cleaning, just like the rest of the house. I believe the decorator outfitted it accordingly.” He holds out an arm.

Laz pats my ass. “I might put you on your feet for this. If you feel confident you can keep yourself upright?”

“Yeah,” I agree, though my voice is hoarse. Laz places me on my feet, holding on to my arms until he’s sure I won’t wobble. “Thank you, handsome.”

He and I really need to talk, but I’m not sure how to go about tackling that conversation.

“Go on, check it out. It looks like you’ll be riding out this quickening in style,” Laz says, a naughty little smirk tipping at his lips.

The urge to tackle him washes over me from nowhere, which is a solid sign my quickening is in full control.

Shaking my head to clear away the fog, I step into the nest. It’s not as spacious as the other rooms we passed, but that’s a good thing.

Fae, much like shifters, feel safer in a more confined space while we’re in nesting mode. The floor is plush carpet, and the walls are a warm, dark cream. The ceiling is lower than the one in the hallway.

The first thing I come to is a circular sunken cushion. It has hanging gauzy curtains and small throw pillows tossed around the mattress.

Just past it to the right is a set of five steps, which lead to a den-style nest. A raised king-size bed takes up most of the space. A massive curtain can be pulled to close in the entire den, while additional gauzy curtains hang from the ceiling framing the bed.

It’s nothing like the nests in Faere, but it’s beautiful.

I’m not even sure when I moved from the center of the room and made my way up the stairs, but I lean over, testing the mattress. It’s plush and springy.

“Is it up to your standards?” Saber asks in his low, rumbly tone.

Damn.

I am out of it if I didn’t even notice him following me up the stairs.

“It’s incredible.” I nod, shoving my hair behind my ear. “This is where you want me and Laz to sleep?”

“All three of us are going to be getting quite cozy,” Laz says, laughing.

“I’m going to go check and see what the chef left for dinner.

” Saber clears his throat. “There will be plenty for the three of us.” He focuses on me.

“You, especially, should eat. If you didn’t realize a full day had passed, I’m sure you weren’t coherent enough to feed yourself.

” He smiles tightly. “The bathroom is connected via the door across from where we are now.” With that, he takes off, and I’m left alone with Laz for the first time since our show in the club last night.

My handsome kraken slithers his way onto the mattress after dropping our bags near the wall at the top of the stairs. He stretches out on the bed, still in partially shifted form.

He’s so damn sexy with his shaggy, whitish-blond hair falling over his forehead. “You gonna come talk to me, sweetness?”

My foot dances on the carpet as I stare at my shoes.

How am I ever supposed to make up for what I said and did at the club?

The hard part is that I know Lazarus well enough to understand how he’ll react. He’s the most self-sacrificing man I’ve ever met.

Genuinely a good monster.

And the guilt threatens to eat me alive.

Still, I’ve never been able to deny him anything. Kicking off my shoes, I scramble up the bed.

Laz is lean in human form, and that transfers over to monster form to a certain extent, but his muscles bulge more when he’s at least partially changed.

I crawl over his tentacles and up to sit over his lap.

Kinda.

It’s where his lap would be if he had legs, but I plant my pussy over his cock pocket. If he was in human form, I would be sitting over his pelvis.

Laz plants his hands on my hips and smiles. “I missed the hell out of you today. It’s been a long time since I went an entire twenty-four hours without seeing your face.”

“I missed you too.” My hands land on his bare shoulders, brushing over his warm skin. “I’m so sorry. I panicked. I’m embarrassed and regretful and just so sorry.”

“I know,” he says, giving me a sad smile. “Before my kraken even knocked me out of the driver’s seat, I knew you were just caught up in the moment.”

“No.” I shake my head. “I mean, yes, but it’s complicated.

You’re a lot older than I am. I understand that your kraken is ready to have kids, and I wanted to be able to give him that.

You too.” I sigh as my face heats. My eyes dart everywhere but to meet Laz’s aquamarine stare.

I can still feel the weight of his gaze, though. “And now that the eggs are inside me…”

Fuck… How do I explain this without sounding insane? Maybe it’s a biological response or something? Like a way kraken ensure whoever they plant their eggs in will protect them.

Hell if I know, but I do know one thing…

“They feel like they’re mine,” I whisper. “The thought of letting them degrade makes me physically sick. I have no idea how I’ll cope with being a mother, but I think I want to try.”

“Vivie, I’m not sure that’s something you should do just because you think you want to try,” he says, running his hand over my lower back.

“There’s no pressure. We have an eternity ahead of us.

We can simply enjoy each other for another few centuries and see if your feelings about children change. There’s no rush.”

“I appreciate that…” Pulling my hand from his shoulder, I slide it over my stomach. “I love you, Laz, and I’m pretty sure I love the eggs too. It’s the weirdest thing, but it’s true.”

Laz wraps his hands around my ass, lifting me enough that when he dips his head, our mouths meet. Normally, Laz is playful and teasing, but the kiss betrays every bit of his emotions. It’s slow and deep and intense, like he wants to devour me whole.

I moan, following his lips as he pulls back.

“You told me you loved me once before,” he whispers, smiling against my lips. “But you were also half-delirious from a bunch of orgasms, and I didn’t know if you were telling me or my dick.”

I snort. “Probably both. I’ve had deep feelings for you for a while, I just struggled to verbalize them. My mother…” The weird tightening in my stomach that comes every time I think of her rears its ugly head. “I think all fae struggle to express emotion, but my mother was especially cold.”

“You’ve mentioned that before,” he says calmly. “Want to go a little deeper about your relationship with her?”

“What relationship?” I scoff. “Siren are coveted in Faere. Keeping one as a concubine is considered an ultimate status symbol. My mother had no issues with selling me off to boost her own social standing.”

Laz hisses. “Fucking hell. No wonder you have trauma. I’m here if you want to talk about that some more.”

Saber clears his throat from near the nest doorway.

“So, I have dinner warming, if either of you are interested. When Samson comes in tomorrow, I’ll ask him to prepare a few vegetarian options, but there are fresh fruit and vegetables.

You should probably have something if neither of you has eaten. ”

Laz nods, patting my ass. “Yeah, precious. You know how you get once your heat hits fully.”

Ugh.

I’m not hungry at all, but they’re right.