Single mom Selina Sardi would do anything for her 6-year-old son. Eager to turn their new house into a real home for him, she's devastated when she discovers that the monster under his bed is not a figment of his imagination but the real deal.
Elia...
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She lifted her head, touched by the subtle shift in his voice. "Wanna talk about it?" She was merely curious, she told herself. She wasn't offering a shoulder to cry on, was she?
Knowledge was power. It was a good idea to learn as much as she could about this bogeyman, but when he shook his head, he seemed so vulnerable, almost humanly so, that Selina decided not to push it.
After all, she was enjoying their truce and perhaps she was enjoying the feel of a manly chest too. How long had it been?
Ugh! She shook her head, but the thought wouldn't leave her all the same.
It had been too long and this situation was so messed up already that it had to be impossible to mess it up any further. Her hand fisted itself in the ragged shirt that attempted to put some decency over his beastly body. She clung to him with no intention of letting go.
He didn't seem to mind.
His eyes had fluttered shut and his paw continued to stroke her back, slowly, sensually. When he didn't use his claws, his caress was like decadent velvet. Thin hair sprawled across his chest but underneath and in between was creamy, smooth skin. She wondered what it would taste like.
Her lips brushed his pectoral in a featherlight sweep. He wasn't supposed to feel it. He wasn't supposed to be that sensitive, but as the cupid's bow of her lip made contact with his warm flesh, his body shuddered in response and a sigh of longing escaped from his head resting on hers. "Selinah!"
Startled, not in the least by her own impulsive behavior, she muttered, "I'm ... I'm sorry."
"I'm not."
His velveteen knuckle pushed up her chin and he looked at her with the face of a man craving to be touched. Selina's breathing turned ragged at the sight of him. He was a monster, but a splendid one. His eyes pierced her soul and his shoulders were massive, perfect for hugging, cradling, sheltering ...
"Elias?" She didn't know what she was asking in that breathy voice, but Elias leaned down as if he understood. When his plush lips inched closer to hers, a glint of fangs made her shiver, a reminder of the monster he was and the peril she was putting herself in, but it only made her underbelly burn hotter and her insides coil tighter with excitement and want.
"Don't be afraid," he whispered, his husky voice thawing any objection she might have felt.
"I'm not afraid."
"Yes, you are. A little, but you're brave too and you want this."
He was right.
His lips brushed against hers, deliciously decadent and wet. He drew back and watched her, waiting for her next move. The stuff of nightmares whirled around them, but well-fed, the nightmares weren't as menacing as they'd been before. Now, they made her feel included as if a ride-or-die legion of warriors protected her from the outside world.
