Revealing the Monster (Playing with Monsters #4) by Amelia Hutchins

“He kissed me.” Blue flames soared to life in Lucian’s stare. His hold on my lower back tightened, and his mouth crushed against mine.

It was a kiss of ownership, and hell, if I didn’t crave it from this monster. His tongue pushed past my lips, claiming mine with an urgency that stole a whimper from my lungs. He picked me up and forced my legs around his waist as he sat me on the bar. He slid his fingers through my hair, yanking my head back as he broke the kiss.

“You’re mine, remember that. You claimed me, which means you belong to only me now, Lena. He’s the Devil, not Luc. The moment he gets you to agree to remain with him, he will kill you. I will never lose you again. If it were to happen, which it won’t, but let’s say it did. I’d burn this fucking world you love so much to the ground and go back to mine. I would reanimate you, and you’d live there knowing this world was nothing more than a memory and that everyone here died because you let the Devil get too close to you.”

“Don’t get all bent up. I used Lucifer’s nickname to make him lower his guard. He made me call him Luc on stage because I’m guessing when I screamed your name as he gave me pleasure, it pissed him off a little.” Lucian smirked, and it was a wicked one that sent a shiver of warmth rushing up my spine. “I think he loves Makenna. I think the Devil loves his daughter, and that terrifies me the most.”

“He’s never cared about anything except his own selfish needs.” Lucian cupped my face between his hands, searching my eyes before placing a chaste kiss on my forehead. I shivered, sinking into the heat his body radiated. “He didn’t notice the tracker?”

“The one you pushed into my vagina? No. I didn’t let him fondle me. He didn’t really kiss me. Lucifer just touched me. He couldn’t do anything more than that. The runes worked too, which means we’re closer to figuring out where he’s hiding with Makenna.”

“I’m afraid they didn’t work here. I’ll paint different runes on you tonight, and if Lucifer tries again, you’ll be ready.”

“I still couldn’t get any feel on where we were. It’s an empty room with nothing to identify and a nursery off the back of it. There was only one door inside the room, which led to where Makenna was when I arrived. It was strange, Lucian. He tended to her when she even hinted at crying.”

“Stop humanizing him,” he warned, leaning in to place a kiss against the soft column of my throat. “He’s no more human than I am.”

I shivered at the reminder, pulling away to peer into the galaxies that burned inside his inky depths. Lucian smirked, lifting his hand to lay his palm against my cheek. He didn’t speak, not until the shadows erupted beside us, and Spyder strode out of them.

I slid my gaze to Spyder’s ice-blue eyes, shivering with the intensity I found burning within them. He stepped back, nostrils flaring in warning while remaining focused on me. Then, slowly, he took another step away from me, moving flat against the wall. His chest rose and fell with labored breaths as his shadows slithered across the floor, reaching for me.

“Lucian, we need to talk,” he stated tightly.

My eyes lowered to Spyder’s bare chest, drinking in the sight of his body while heat uncoiled in my belly, rushing through me as a cocky smirk played on his lips. The silkiness of his shadows wrapped around my legs, caressing and promising me pleasure. I moaned, unable to prevent the sultry noise from escaping past my lips.

“Kitty, I’d stop moaning. I’m at the end of my fucking rope. That thread that started in Portland, it’s about to snap.”

“I’m sorry, Spyder,” I sighed, pulling Lucian back for a quick, chaste kiss before I jumped from the bar and headed toward the basement, remodeled to be our bedroom.

“I’m sorry too, pussycat,” Spyder whispered, his words barely registering as I passed Bane, Devlin, Layton, and the rest of Lucian’s men. I’d let them handle whatever was happening without me, so Spyder wouldn’t be forced to leave because of my mere presence.





Chapter Three




The mind is the most dangerous of places. Nightmares await us there, driven by fears and encouraged by the subconscious thoughts of the day. I once believed I’d conquered mine, but they merely bided their time, growing stronger. ~Lena



I sat on a huge, four-poster bed surrounded by crimson silk curtains. I ran my hand over the smooth, black blanket and one of the large pillows, soft as fur, covering the top. It felt like heaven against my heated skin. The bed smelled of Lucian, driving my never-ending hunger for him to new heights. Rich, amber, sandalwood, and dark desire filled my senses, lulling me into a relaxed state of bliss while I waited for Lucian to return to our room.

Luna mewled softly, stretching out before leaping from the bed and padding away to scamper off. Lucian had hidden her here, keeping her safe. Luckily, she’d survived the fallout of Hell colliding with earth. But then he’d claimed her, and she seemed to prefer him to me nowadays.

In the room’s silence, I replayed Lucifer’s words inside my head. Would I take him up on his offer? No. Did I crave to have a child of my own? Yes. Did I think Lucian had done something to secure I would return to him? Absolutely. I feared he’d done something unforgivable and detested that he was keeping it from me.