Page 84 of Their Fierce Little Monster

I burst out laughing instantly because it’s hilarious, and he joins in.

“He’s going to wake up and find her humping him,” he continues.

Or go crazy on me after this morning’s display right in front of her. “How much do you think she really comprehends?”

He shrugs and runs a wet hand through his hair. “I have no clue, but normally not a lot.”

“Corvin should return her,” I suggest, which is selfishly driven by my concern that she’ll see me as competition. Who knows what crazy things she’s capable of or even thinking?

“If all goes well today, we’ll be leaving soon, so he won’t need her.”

I swallow the lump in my throat. Concern flows through me that nothing will be the same again if I let them take me to Grimvale. And will Kazak be safe there?

“I really hate that you and Corvin have grown on me,” I admit, turning my attention to the water around us.

“Hey,” Lian says, reaching out and grabbing my hand. He tugs me toward him, and I crash into him from the momentum, my other palm on his bicep. I’m standing right between his spread thighs, and I tilt my chin up to meet his bronze eyes. He’s in his monster form, all fiery patterns on his body, and still that cut on his chest ruins the perfect lines across it. “What’s that about?”

He draws my hand to his mouth, and those eyes are so intense, piercing right into me.

“Guess I let myself get closer to both of you, yet that was a mistake. And I told Corvin this too, but he insists that I’ll be safe in Grimvale, except I don’t believe it.”

His hand lifts to my cheek. “You’re so tender, so sweet, Dawn. Truth is, our fathers never told us their intention with you, but we carry power in the courts too. There’s no reason they’d send us to collect you if they intended to kill you. Which is why the whole assassin thing is boggling my mind. It tells me that whoever took out your family now wants to finish the job. And it doesn’t matter where you are, as they’ve found you now. So you are safest with us. With me.”

I shake my head at how torn apart I feel, how scared and confused, because he’s right about being found. Moonstone Village won’t accept me, not with the Viscount and the Barons still there, and am I safe living in this city with just Kazak? Maybe for a while, but how long will we be looking over our shoulders?

“I’m not letting you out of my sight,” Lian says. “There’s nothing for us in the city, and you have a home back in Grimvale.”

“I don’t,” I answer. “I remember nothing of my life there. But aren’t you worried about what your father really wants with me?”

He doesn’t even miss a beat or show an ounce of concern. “No. You should have seen how devastated my father had been, how panicked the courts were when your family was killed. Sure, we’re enemies, but to eliminate your royal blood means it could happen to any of us. And as much as the hatred between our courts exists, after that night, the courts, including the Ash Clan leaders, started meeting regularly to ensure it never happened again and to discover who was responsible.”

This is the most sensible I’ve seen Lian since first meeting him. His touch firms as he holds me even tighter. “I overheard my father speaking with his second-in-command about increasing guards for when we return. He has no intention of harming you.”

I chew on my lower lip, a flare of trepidation sinking through me. I hear his words, but I’m still not convinced.

His thumb drags across my jawline. “I can see you’re scared, and fuck, we thought this was a fast job. Get in and return home the same day. But now, I’m so obsessed with you, Dawn, that I’ll fight my own father to keep you safe if needed. All I ask is that you don’t do something dumb like running away. That’s when you’ll be in real danger. All right?”

Indecisiveness fills me, but from what I’ve seen, these monsters can handle themselves, and if I’m safe with anyone, it’s them. “For now, I promise to stick around.”

He draws me closer, and I spill into his arms, which lock around my back. My legs bump into his spread thighs, and something very thick and erect nudges against my stomach.

“Oh,” I say, with no chance of pulling back, given how close he holds me against him.

He grins. “That’s all I ask. Trust me, trust Corvin, which I fucking hate to say, but I think he cares for you too.” Then he winces, a twist of pain traveling across his face, and I draw back as his hold weakens.

We both stare down at his chest.

“Does it hurt?” I ask.

“Just stings a bit, which means it’s healing, right?”

I see how much paler his face has turned, how raspy his breaths have grown. “All right, let’s go get some help now.” I turn away from him, already making my way across the pool.

There’s a swish of water behind me, and suddenly he’s at my back, arms around my middle, lips on my shoulder, and his erection heavily cradled against my lower back. “Don’t go,” he whispers. “I feel better when you’re with me.”

“Thought you were in pain?”

“What I feel for you is much stronger,” he admits, leaving a trail of kisses along the curve of my neck to my ear. I shiver at how incredible he feels against me. “I like this tiny little thing you’re wearing.”