Page 15 of Zodiac Monsters

“You managed though.” I prodded just slightly, hoping he’d explain. It seemed to be that, under full lunar influence, he’d had more discipline than I did at the hot springs. But then again, he was eight years older than I was, so perhaps he’d simply learned more restraint.

The smug grin that elicited, however, made me immediately regret the subtle compliment. “Come on now. You’re surprised that under the moon of an Air Sign, you, a Fire Sign, had less restraint than an Earth Sign? It’s as if you haven’t been paying any attention at all when I’ve been teaching elemental compatibility. Are you sure it’s Lila who needs the Monstrous ABCs?”

I felt my eyes widen, and I immediately forced them closed.

Right. Obviously. He had a point, even if I wasn’t a fan of the reality. I suppose having never experienced a woman like Lila before, nor having many Hybrid Alphas to compare myself to, those subtle differences from one month to the next were lost on me. Though, as we were coming up on the water-based Pisces, that meant I would have the advantage going forward. “I guess I’m more out of sorts than I realized.” I mumbled. “Regardless, I’ll admit that I’ve been playing with a hotter flame than either of us knew. I’ll be doing my research from here.”

“I just have one more question.” He lifted his chin to put me beneath him. Typical. “Are you going on a date with her just to further this chaotic mess you’ve made, or do you actually care about her as a person?”

That question had me taken aback, and it wasn’t one I was quite prepared to answer. What difference did it make to him, anyway?

“Does it matter?” I deflected, more to give myself time to think on it than anything. I was so entangled in the mystery of the situation, feelings didn’t even factor into my motives. Physical attraction, maybe, but absolutely not some human connection.

He narrowed his gaze. “Of course it matters.”

“Why?” Was I stalling? If I answered that honestly, would he hate me or use it against me? Then again, that all depended on what ‘honest’ actually looked like. I wasn’t falling in love with Lila. She was a tool at best. But did I care about her? Did I want to spend more time with her?

Did I?

… Hmm…

“Because she’s still a person, Marcus. You’re aware that she’s not just some game or pawn for you to play with, right? She’s an actual woman with actual feelings. Even if you found out she was half goddess, that wouldn’t negate the fact that she’s a fragile young lady with complex emotions, a soul, and now all sorts of fresh trauma.”

“Fragile? Lila?” This time I was the one who snorted. “We both know that isn’t true.”

“Stop dodging the question.”

“I don’t dislike her.” I finally relented. “She has quite a few qualities that I enjoy.”

“That’s hardly an endorsement.” He cared way too much about this. “Try to sabotage me all you want, but there’s no reason to target her out of spite. I don’t want you destroying her life over bad intentions.”

“You would know a bit about targeting an innocent party out of spite, I suppose.” The reminder earned me an always coveted eye twitch. I appreciated the irony that a man who spent years pushing me into the fire to satisfy his misplaced teenage angst suddenly was so up in arms about protecting the innocent.

“Exactly. I would know, so don’t make the same mistake I did.” The fact that he was referring to me as his mistake was somehow both endearing and appalling at the same time.

“I can’t tell if that’s supposed to be an apology or an insult.” I raised a brow in his general direction.

“Neither. It’s a statement of credentials.”

I actually laughed at that, neither anger nor taunting in the gesture. The purse of his lips did a poor job of disguising his own accidental amusement. Adrian was as clever as he was cruel and grumpy in brief moments. Maybe we’d be friends one day, yet.

“You shouldn’t think so little of me.” I shook my head to reassure him. “I have a lot of reasons to be interested in her that have nothing to do with you.” It was almost insulting that he thought my obsession with tormenting him was the only reason I was paying her any mind. Well, he wasn’t entirely wrong. It was my primary reason to target her in the first place. But I was slightly more compassionate than that. Slightly.

“Reasons like what? Are they the same as her normal human expectations of a relationship? Is your goal somehow to date, get married, and have a white picket fence with two kids and a dog?” His doubt was thick and palpable and, honestly, quite rude.

“Would that make you jealous?” Oh, I’m so glad we’re going here. I leaned over his desk, reveling in a catlike smirk. “If Lila and I got that sweet, perfect happily ever after? Is dating and dogs what you imagine for me?” I couldn’t help the low chuckle. It was great that he was trying to play the nice guy today, but I wasn’t actually interested in a truce. Whether I was enjoying her company or not, she was still my weapon until I decided otherwise. “Or is that what you imagine having with her one day?” When his eyes narrowed, I took the opportunity to press in harder. “No, that’s not what your picturing at all, is it? You’re an Incubus, after all.”

His whole body language changed, and tension dripped between us again. “That’s enough.”

Not yet.I pushed further. I was done with the banal niceties. “As a shifter, what you really pictured was the image of claiming her by magic, mixing human ritual and a blood pact so she could never get away from you. As an Incubus, you imagined holding her down and fucking her raw, over and over again. until she’s trapped by your seed. And as a hybrid who’s also placed a claim on her skin…” I smirked widely. “Just hearing that little scenario put out into the universe only makes you want to do it to her before I can, now doesn’t it?”

“This conversation is over.” Adrian snapped, any lightness or pretense long gone from his demeanor. He was such an awful liar.

“No.” I shook my head. “It’s very much not.” Though I still sauntered towards the door with a dismissive hand wave. “But I’ll let you sit with that little fantasy until our next session. This weekend should be fun.”

“Don’t you dare—”

I shut the door between us before he could start his lecture, and I shook my head with amusement. He had it so bad for her, and he didn’t even know it. I almost felt guilty weaseling into her heart, knowing I wasn’t capable of true affection for anyone.

If all went well, she would want him just as much, yet wouldn’t be able to give up on the little something special that I’d shown her. Having to share a woman with me, then lose that woman to me, would be a level of Adrian’s personal hell that I’d never dreamed of showing him. I was thrilled to have this lucky opportunity.