“You really are a monster,” I rasp, like I just swallowed a thorny seed that’s stuck in my throat. Choking me. He rakes my face with his glacial gaze, settling on the thorned tips of my ears. “Your monster,” he whispers, and I draw a staggered breath. Hold it. Leaning close, his icy exhale pours over me, fingers threading through my hair, tugging me close, fitting me against him so perfectly—as though we’re bound together by something greater than ourselves. “Just yours.”
