Blood of My Monster (Monster Trilogy #1 ) by Rina Kent

“Kirill,” she murmurs in a gentle tone that vibrates through my chest, then shoots straight to my dick, and my heart jolts.

Maybe I need to have Nadia and her husband look at it in case I have an internal injury. Or maybe I should stop having a front-row seat to Aleksandra’s side tit.

I flip a page as if I’ve been reading this classical book all along. “Don’t be a flirt.”

“You’re the one who told me to do it more naturally.” She crosses her arms and then winces when she probably triggers the pain in her injury. “Make up your mind.”

“If we were at camp, you’d be punished for that.”

“But we aren’t.”

“Watch it.”

“Pretty sure a husband doesn’t talk to his wife in that tone.”

“I do.”

“You…are you married?”

“I am.”

Her lips part, and she slowly lets her hands fall to either side of her. I can almost taste the dramatic shift of her mood in the air. Interesting.

“To you, remember?” I add in the same casual manner I’ve been speaking with.

I’m almost sure I spot some form of relief, but it vanishes when she starts to get up. “I should probably go help Nadia with something.”

She stumbles in her attempts to stand, and I reach her in a few steps and then support her from behind, one hand on her arm and the other grabbing her wrist.

Aleksandra starts to push me away. “I can stand on my own.”

“You don’t even have the strength to breathe properly.”

“I’m fine.” She attempts to wiggle free of my hold, but I tighten my grip on her.

“Quit being stubborn.”

Her body’s still rigid, but she doesn’t fight anymore. Once she’s calmed down a little, I release her and reach for the velvet robe Nadia placed on the foot of the bed.

I gently pull it over her injured side, and she groans but quickly mutes the sound. I’m starting to realize that she hates showing weakness more than anything. That’s probably why she didn’t want me to help just now.

That’s also why she looked horrified when Nadia told her I carried her all the way here. Or maybe that had to do with how she called me her husband a couple of times.

“Now, put in the other hand.”

She begrudgingly complies. “I can do it on my own.”

“I know.”

“Then why are you insisting on helping?”

I pull up the strap of the nightgown that’s been subtly teasing me for the past twenty minutes.

Goosebumps erupt on her skin, and she goes still. She even stops breathing for a second too long.

A devilish thought sparks my mind. I wonder if she’ll tremble if my hand innocently touches her breast.

I only have a side view of her face, but the more my hand lingers on her skin, the longer she holds her breath.

After a quick thought, I remove my hand.

While it’s fun to toy with her, the way she’s holding her breath may cause complications.

Slowly, her chest rises and falls in a harsh rhythm as she snatches the belt of the robe and ties it around her waist.

“Are you mad about something, Sasha?”

She whirls around and stares at me with that stupefied expression. “Why are you calling me that?”

“Everyone in the unit does. I assume it’s your way of relating to your true name more, yes?”

“I never said you could use it.”

“Never said I couldn’t.”

She narrows her eyes as if I’m next on her shit list, which wouldn’t be a surprise, considering all the whiplash I must’ve been giving her.

Sasha hasn’t been with me long enough to know that my actions turn unpredictable when I’m in a situation that I haven’t anticipated.

“You might want to control your expression. Our hosts are already suspicious of you, and we don’t want them to kick us out in the middle of a storm, now, do we?”

She opens her mouth to say something, but she quickly thinks better of it and clamps it shut.

When she slowly walks to the door, I block her way. She subtly pushes back, but I can see the slight jerk in her shoulders before she schools the movement.

“Now what?” she asks in a careful tone.

“Now, I need you to be natural. No jerking or acting uncomfortable. Remember your favorite married couple and act like them.”

She pauses for a moment, then nods once.

“I mean it, Sasha. If we’re kicked out of here, I might be able to get through the storm on my own, but you won’t survive.”

“Got it. Natural.”

It’s far from a good sign that she even needs to say it out loud, but if there’s anything I trust about her, it’s her strong determination to survive.

Someone else would’ve lost the battle during the time it took me to get here.

She didn’t.

Despite the fever, she held on to life with everything in her.

We leave the room side by side, and although she attempts to seem strong, Sasha walks slowly.

I grab her by the elbow for support, and she starts to wiggle free, but I shake my head.

Her struggle wanes, but she breaks eye contact. Almost as if she’s avoiding me.

Well, well, well.

Once we arrive in the living room, Sasha stops to inspect our surroundings.