Page 157 of The Monster and the Masochist

Maybe I could move through this if I had people like Cass and Jerry in my corner.

Maybe I wasn’t as alone as I’d thought.

Theo came home from the range sweaty and smelling like gunpowder. I glanced up at her from where I’d been perched on the couch, working through some emails in an attempt to offset the amount of bullshit I’d need to plow through the following morning.

Like every time Theo entered the room, she effortlessly commanded my attention, and suddenly, whatever email I’d been writing was a footnote in my mind.

I loved it when she came home from doing something physical. The musky, yet somehow feminine, scent of her sweat smelled better than whatever deodorant she wore, and it always had a powerful effect on me.

She was so fucking hot.

And she didn’t even try.

I watched her hungrily as she squirted a mouthful of water into her mouth from her green Gatorade bottle, casually wiping her lips dry with the back of her wrist as she made her way toward the bathroom.

“Hey, princess. It’s hot as fuck out today,” she said conversationally, seemingly unaware that I was unable to tear my gaze away from her as she moved through our home.

The muscles in her forearms were jacked from handling firearms all afternoon, and my mouth watered as I eyed the sexy veins that were currently pumped up and visible under her soft skin.

Her throat was shiny with sweat, and I had a sudden visceral image of what it would feel like to run my tongue up the side of her neck.

I squeezed my thighs together against the throb of heat that was gathering low in my abdomen, and I swallowed.

We hadn’t been intimate together since her concussion, and I suddenly felt like it’d been much too long since I’d last had the privilege of Theo’s taste on my tongue.

“Theo,” I found myself saying, and the tone of my voice caused her to immediately pause.

“Yeah?” she asked, turning to glance back at me, and she took one look at my face and faltered. I gave her what I was sure was a predatory grin and slipped up off the couch.

She swallowed as I stalked toward her, her dark eyes growing adorably wide as I snaked an arm around her waist.

Her t-shirt was damp from spending the afternoon at the outdoor range in the hot sun, and she smelled like sex and summertime.

Burying my face into her throat, I licked a hot path up her neck just the way I’d fantasized about moments before, and the monster in me purred in satisfaction as she quivered against me.

“You look really good right now,” I hummed in her ear, nipping at her lobe before sucking it gently into my hot mouth.

“F-fuck, Cass… I’m all gross and sweaty. Let me at least take a shower.” She laughed nervously, and I squeezed her lithe form tighter against me as a wave of cute aggression rolled through me.

She was so fucking adorable.

We’d been married for almost two months at this point, and she still got nervous and breathy whenever I showed any physical affection toward her. Almost as if she couldn’t believe I actually wanted her like that.

Like she thought it was too good to be true.

“But you taste so good like this…” I hummed against her hot, damp skin. She groaned and tilted her head back as I gave her another soft lick to punctuate my point.

“C’mon, Cass. I’m covered in dust and probably gunpowder and shit. Let me shower right quick, then I’ll let you do whatever you want to me, alright, baby girl?”

Reluctantly, I pulled away, giving her an annoyed pout.

“Fine. But don’t take too long. I missed you while you were gone.”

The surprised look on her face took me aback.

Again, I was struck with the impression that she almost couldn’t believe I was telling her the truth, and as endearing as it was, it frustrated me a little bit.

“Really?” she asked doubtfully, and I frowned.