“I don’t understand that reference,” he replies. “Please, make the room dark at least for another night. You wouldn’t like me if I emerged into the light.”
Frustration heats my insides until they sizzle. Why am I even hesitating? I should just shine that light and deal with the consequences. My throat tightens. What if I anger the monster? He hasn’t hurt me… yet.
“Just tell me a little more about yourself,” I say.
“Anything,” he replies. “But please turn off the light.”
“Fine.” I place the phone face-down on the bed but leave the flashlight on. After burying it a little in the comforter, I walk to the front door and flip the light switch.
The room plunges into darkness with only the barest trace of moonlight providing illumination.
I fold my arms across my chest and lean against the wall. “Alright then, show yourself.”
“Step away from the light.”
Resisting the urge to roll my eyes, I walk back to the bed. “Come out, then.”
“I’m right behind you.” Firm fingers knead my shoulders, making my muscles melt.
“Are you touching me with your hands?” I ask, my voice filled with wonder.
“Is that allowed?" he asks back with a touch of amusement.
“That depends on your answer,” I murmur.
The monster runs damp fingertips up and down my neck, sending tingles across my skin. “I thought about you the entire day.”
“What are you?” I ask.
“A man who has finally found his mate.” He threads his fingers through my curls. “May I undress you?”
“Men don’t have tentacles,” I say.
“You seemed to enjoy them yesterday,” he replies with a deep chuckle.
This monster is avoiding my questions, and I’m not standing for this subterfuge. I turn around, only for his hands to disappear and to find him standing at the far wall. Moonlight illuminates his outline, and I can’t help but wonder why he’s so skittish.
“Why did you disappear like that?” I ask.
“Where I come from, it is customary for a male to become compatible with his mate before revealing his true nature.”
My eyes narrow. This just sounds like another excuse to avoid showing his face. “What do you want from me?”
“Pardon?”
“I can’t survive in your dimension, so why are you still here?”
“Your essence changes me from a creature of the darkness to one that is tolerable in the light. The more contact the two of us have, the more compatible I will become to satisfy your needs, but we must acquaint ourselves in the dark.”
This sounded like a pile of BS, and his wording was peculiar. Is he a creature tolerable in the light or a creature that tolerates the light?
He’s probably hiding a mouthful of tentacles or something equally as unacceptable, and he just wants me so addicted to the way he pleasures my body that I overlook his hideous appearance.
The monster takes a step forward.
I raise my palm. “Stop right there.”
He pauses. “You mistrust your mate?”