AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I try to shake off the sensation as I open the fridge and lean in so that the view is blocked from me, though the scent of monster blood wafts through the air. I deliberately don't turn around when I hear Tesq scold her before someone hauls up the body of the two dead tooths.
Staring at the minimal contents of the fridge, I realize there's no good meat to be found in there right now. Not unless moldy chicken is on the menu. We're going to have to eat that tooth I killed and brought back.
"Tesq, can you strip the skin from—" I cut off my sentence as the smell of roasting meat fills the room.
I turn to see the two monsters slung over Tesq's broad shoulders cooking, just because of his magma-hot touch.
Well, that's efficient.
A slight charcoal dusting appears on the skin of one of them.
"Shit. Put them down! You'll burn them!" I say as I run forward.
Without thinking, I reach for one of the bodies as Tesq is setting it down, and my fingertips brush Tesq's arm, right over one of those neon-orange lava veins.
He jerks back, eyes wide and worried.
I give a tiny gasp and stare at my fingertips. But they don't blacken like the dead monsters did. I wiggle them, surprised to find them healthy and whole. Untouched.
I shoot my gaze over to Tesq, and my jaw drops like it did the first time I tasted maple syrup. Shock and delight roll over me. Because there are tiny blue lines ghosting over Tesq's arm, dimming the glow of his lava veins.
"I can touch you," I whisper, and then I look to the floor.
I'm strangely shy and giddy about it. I can touch Tesq even when no one else can.
It feels like the one good thing to come out of this disastrous series of revelations. This beautiful little diamond in a mine full of blackness and coal dust.
I glance at him from under my lashes, uncertain what he thinks of this discovery. He's so damn quiet it's hard to tell.
Tesq's brow is furrowed as he stares at his huge forearm and the striated stone skin there. We watch in silence as the blue tone fades, and so does the orange, his body restored to his former glory. But then he peeks over and gives me his signature shy grin.
"Hug?" he asks in a whisper.
Inside, I twinkle as much as the Christmas lights flickering in the room. Mate bond or not, monster or not, Tesq is the most selfless, caring person I've ever come across.
I launch myself at him and wrap my legs around his torso, arms twining around his neck. His own massive arms curl around me, his palms grazing over my clothes and encasing me. Making me feel safe.
I've never known a person who was both so hard and so gentle. I'm certainly not. My thighs are attempting to squeeze the life out of him, but they're not making much headway. Not that I mind. I don't want to hurt him. I've just got a fierce case of cute aggression when it comes to Tesq. My gentle giant.
Behind me, Dev growls, and Empty curses, both complaining.
I tune them out and nuzzle into Tesq's neck. But what should be an adorable moment ends up with my face covered in ashy grime.
Ew.
I pull back and glance at Tesq and then over at the other two. Dev's hair is matted from sweat, and his body is covered in green blood that I assume is from the monsters he killed rather than his own. Empty, in Chase's body… Well… Let’s just say that our slithering trip down a slimy sandworm and through a dirt tunnel didn't do him any favors. I probably look pretty disastrous since I did the exact same thing.
In short, we're all disgusting.
"We need a bath," I declare.
On the word bath, Creep materializes in the corner of the room. "Can't find— Oh, you're here," he states, spotting Tesq in my embrace. "Are we cuddling?"
Without missing a beat, he switches gears and heads over, pushing past Dev and opening his blue arms. Creep’s bark-like skin rubs against my shirt as he engulfs both Tesq and me in a massive hug.
But then he pulls back, and his nose scrunches. "All right, no offense, you two. But you reek."
"Agreed," I tell him. "Know anywhere we can go wash off?"
