His hair is black and plaited to the side, exposing pointed ears. His left ear is pierced with what looks like a bone, and fangs poke over his plump lips. His face is similar to that of a human’s, but more angular and sharp. It’s hard to tell anything about his body, but he’s definitely male, and he’s watching me as if he’s starving. When his lips part, flashing those huge fangs, I burst into action.
Kicking him back, I grab my stuff and race from the ruined building. His laughter chases me, almost halting me with the teasing lilt of it. The deep, masculine sound reverberates around my body, almost calling to me like a siren’s song, urging me to go back and give myself to him. I shake the urge from my head and run faster. I can’t see where I’m going in the dark, so I stumble and fall but get back up and move faster once I do.
His laughter chases me the whole way. Water and mud splashes across my body, my slamming heart louder than my footsteps, but I can still hear him. It’s as if he’s keeping pace with me in the dark. That mocking laughter makes me grit my teeth as I veer left to try and lose him and those creepy, red glowing eyes and fangs.
I see the wooden bridge before my feet hit it. It’s old and rickety, and it creaks as I race across it, but just as I think I’m safe, there’s a crack that breaks through the night. I skid to a stop in horror and glance down just in time to see the wood splinter and snap beneath me. There’s no time to move. I swallow my scream as I plummet to the water below, some sense telling me not to give away my position to every monster in the vicinity.
The icy black water I crash into steals my breath and my fear. When it closes over my head, I can’t even tell which way is up or down. I kick and swim, trying to reach the surface, my lungs screaming for air. Panic makes me inhale as the water swirls around me, alerting me that I’m not alone. Something slimy and rough slides against my legs, and my mouth opens on a scream, forcing water into my lungs just as I burst through the surface—only to see that red-eyed, blue monster crouching on the edge of the bridge, grinning mockingly at me. His hand is held out toward me as I cough up the water I accidently inhaled.
“Take it if you don’t want to be eaten alive, human.” He nods behind me, and I turn to see the water churning as something that looks like fins breaches the surface. Without another thought, I swim over and put my hand in his.
The warmth of his palm surprises me, and when I look up, my hand clenched in his, I know I’ve made a terrible mistake.
ChapterSix
He hauls me from the river, the weight of the water almost dragging my dress off me, but he doesn’t put me down on my feet once I’m clear. With one hand, he effortlessly tosses me over his shoulder and begins to run. My body bounces on his shoulder, and for a moment, I just freeze in shock before I start to kick and punch.
I slap his back and dig my nails into his skin, attacking him any way I can. He just laughs, but when I manage to kick his groin, he grunts, slides to a stop, and flings me down on the ground. I scramble to my feet, breathing heavily. My hair hangs around my shoulders in wet tendrils, and I’m sure I look like a drowned rat. Blinking away the water from my lashes, I back away from him, unwilling to turn my back on the clear threat.
He bares his fangs at me. “That wasn’t nice,” he hisses. His voice is smoky, deep, and sexy. Just the sound of it has my nipples hardening and my legs clenching. It has to be some sort of magic.
It has to be.
He notices, and those mocking red eyes narrow as he chuckles. “Your dress is see-through, human,” he points out, and I look down, my cheeks blooming red as I wrap my arms across my chest to hide my breasts. “No, don’t hide on my account. I was enjoying the view,” he drawls, his voice sliding across me as he prowls after me.
I walk backward as he walks forward, eyeing him warily. I notice his fangs seem to have grown and his eyes appear to be glowing now.
“You want to run again, Goldie. I can see it in your eyes.” The grin on his face shouldn’t be attractive.
“Goldie?” I rasp out, my voice cracking from the water.
He tilts his head like an animal as he watches me hungrily, no doubt imagining eating me. “Your hair, Goldie. You can run, but it didn’t work out so well for you last time, and I would just chase you again.” He shrugs like it doesn’t matter to him what I do or say. He’s almost nonchalant. Is he teasing me?
I think he is.
That blue bastard.
He hasn’t attacked or eaten me yet though, but that doesn’t mean he won’t. He’s definitely not what I expected. I expected mindless, ravenous monsters, not smooth-talking blue men who are well-built. His chest is bare, and his thick legs are encased in leather pants which are tucked into boots, but his arms and chest are broad, the ridges of his abs a darker blue with dark hair leading to the low-slung pants. His arms bulge with muscles, and something glints through a midnight blue nipple…something metal.
“Keep looking at me like that, human, and when I catch you, I won’t just drain you, I’ll fuck you,” he warns, and that gets me moving with a squeak. I turn and race into the darkness. The sky is lightening enough to allow me to see, but it’s still not enough to consider it day.
His mocking laughter sounds behind me again. “Run, little human, run swiftly on your feet, for when I catch you, I’ll eat you like the tastiest treat.”
He lets me run. I feel him chasing close behind, his breaths wafting across my hair, but he never catches me. No doubt this is all just a game to him. He’s teasing me, since I know he could easily catch me, and yet I keep running, even as the sky lightens enough for me to see the end of the marshland up ahead. I put on a burst of speed and skid onto solid ground, stopping with my hands on my thighs as I pant, unable to run anymore. When I look up, he’s standing before me, staring at me with his lips twisted in anger.
I jerk back, but he doesn’t reach for me or attack, so I relax a little. Reaching out, I finally see it. There’s a barely perceptible barrier standing between us. Magic? Probably. This place is filled with it, and this monster doesn’t seem to be able to cross the barrier.
“You don’t want to stay in there, Goldie. Come back, and I’ll keep you safe,” he purrs, prowling along the barrier as he tosses me a salacious wink. “You’ll die over there. In here, I won’t let them hurt you.”
“Sure, you’ll just eat me,” I scoff.
“Oh, but you’ll like it,” he promises, licking his lips as he eyes me. “You’ll like it a whole lot. You might even thank me.”
“Screw you, Blue.” I flip him off and, ignoring his taunts, turn and walk away from the fanged blue man.
I know I’m not safe anywhere, but with him, I’m definitely not safe—not my organs or my body, since he seems to want both.
“I’ll see you soon, Goldie!” His voice carries to me, and I shiver at the promise in his words.
