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Teizel pulls my face toward his. I try to fight the movement, but he’s far stronger than me, so I end up with my forehead pressed to his. As much as I hate to admit it, past the initial shock, the searing heat of his skin against mine is soothing, like stepping in a near-boiling bath and letting the water warm your chilled bones. His non-clawed thumb strokes across my cheekbone and I shiver.
“Because I know you’ve got it in you to win the game. In all this time, I’ve never felt anything this deeply in my core.” He whispers the words, like the admission pains him.
Fire burns in his irises, and I don’t know why that gives me faith he’s not lying. “I’m not so certain myself.”
He tsk’s and smiles that wicked grin of his. “None of that, little one. I need you to bring out that fire I know you’ve got, and channel it into the task at hand.”
“The only reason it comes out with you, is because I hate you, and you make me lose control.”
Teizel’s human hand snakes from my cheek to my neck. He wraps his fingers around my nape and presses, forcing my face higher until our mouths are a touch apart. “Is that a challenge? All I need to do is vex you into anger? Don’t tempt me with a good time…”
His breath ghosts over my lips, smelling of incense and leather, and I instinctively lick them clean. He tracks my movements like a predator seizing up their prey.
And he strikes.
Heat explodes through my core when his incendiary lips crash on mine. Without thinking, I moan and open for him. His tongue wastes no time finding mine, fighting for dominance. I match him stroke for stroke. My hand reaches for his neck, pulling him to me. His holds me still despite my urge to squirm.
His teeth sharpening to fangs in my mouth, nipping at my tender skin, clear out the haze of his kiss. I’m making out with a monster.
A monster who’s been deceiving me for weeks, one who could very well be the reason for my untimely death.
I pull his bottom lip between my teeth. With a growl, he lets me. And I bite.
Hard.
Teizel snaps, fingers reaching for his mouth. A dark bead blooms on his pale finger when he pulls it away. More thick blood coats his swollen lip. I’ve split it open.
In a remote part of my brain, I’m aware that I should feel bad about hurting him, but the guilt never comes. I’m… proud. And worrisomely turned on.
Teizel smiles, proving his feelings are at least as fucked up as mine. “Good girl.”
My eyebrows climb my forehead. “You’re praising me for hurting you?”
His laugh is unexpected, unbridled and full-bodied. When he’s done, he pushes a stray hair behind my ear. My reflexes are quicker this time, the adrenaline pulsing through my body, and I swat his hand.
“I think you’ll find my tolerance for pain is very different from a human’s. I wouldn’t call what you did hurting me.” He leans closer, wicked grin on his blood-stained lips. “In fact, I’d avoid doing it again if you don’t want to end up spread on this couch with my cock deep inside you.”
I’m still fired up, because while I’d never describe myself as a violent person, I don’t resist the urge to shove him square in the chest.
“That will never happen. If I’ve got two months left to live, I don’t plan to waste a single second getting caught up with you.” Then, with my voice lowered, I add, “you bring out the worst in me.”
Teizel drapes his arm across the back of the couch and lifts a brow. “Do I? Or do I make you act on instinct, and you’re afraid of where your instincts might lead you?”
Everything Àvia’s ever taught me hammers in my head. “Instincts get people in trouble. There’s a reason being impulsive is not considered a positive personality trait.”
Teizel scoffs. “Yes, because you humans live with a constant mask attached to your face.”
“This, from the literal monster in disguise.”
He leans closer again, pressing off the couch. “Would you like me to drop my glamour, little one? Just say the word. I’d love to shed this dismissive skin.” He runs a hand down his chest, poking his own stomach, which doesn’t budge. “It’s far too soft and tender for my taste.”
If he thinks that’s soft…
No. Not going there. I’m not willing to explore why my core tingles at the thought of his true form. I need to return this conversation to safer territory. “I mean that it’s hypocritical to say we wear a mask, when you’re literally hiding your true form.”
“I do it to avoid causing mass hysteria. Do you have any idea what would happen if people realized monsters and spirits roam freely?”
I do, actually. The jeers and laughs of my fifth-grade classmates play in my head like a broken tape. Maybe they’d have been less quick to dismiss my claim if I’d had a true monster to show for it. Just a few years too late for that, Teizel.
