While You Were Creeping - Poppy Rhys Page 0,6

have to be pretty stupid to break into this place. Three of my cousins were weight-lifting champs and enjoyed knocking people around for fun.

Clip-clip-creak.

I froze. The creak of a floorboard easily recognizable, but whatever that other noise was, I couldn’t identify.

I scrunched my nose, a strange odor wafting toward me. Cool citrus and peppermint.

What the—

Just beyond the light, something rushed me.

“AHH!” I screamed and swung my bat, the hairy giant in front of me getting a solid thump.

It grunted, rubbing its arm and blocking my next swing. My heart beat in my throat, choking me, and I swallowed hard.

The low light played across its face and I immediately knew it was a he.

I backtracked, half frozen but unable to turn my back to the intruder.

“W-who are you?!” I tugged on my bat to no avail. His grip was so tight I feared he’d crush the thing, but I couldn’t let it go. It was the only weapon I had. “I’ll call the police. Leave! Now!”

His glare was piercing as he took a step forward.

I took another step back, swearing under my breath that I’d given this intruder more room.

I didn’t know what he was. Not human, I knew that much. He stepped farther into the light, his bone-colored horns illuminated and larger than I imagined.

He was larger than I imagined. So much of him had been hidden in the shadows. Not anymore.

No sir.

Gray and white fur covered just about every inch of his massive frame, but I could still see dips and valleys along his thick arms, legs, and torso that spoke of muscle.

This guy could easily knock someone’s head off.

Knock my head off.

And I’d just threatened to call the police.

But why was he naked?

My stomach knotted.

“I won’t go down easy if you’re thinking of using—” my eyes inadvertently dipped down to his cock, hanging there in all its monstrous glory among the shorter fur. “I’ll kick you so hard, you’ll be coughing up your balls.”

He let go of the bat and I stumbled back into the wall. Hadn’t realized I’d been pulling on it so hard.

“I won’t hurt you, witch.”

He spoke. He understood everything I said.

...Did he just call me witch?

Excuse me?

“Witch?” Triggered, I held the bat aloft, ready to swing again, uncaring if he caught it or not. “You break into my home, scare my Skully, and then insult me?”

I swung the bat again, getting in a wallop on his leg. “I’ll take out your knees, motherfucker!”

He growled—growled!—at me, barely flinching.

This wasn’t the day. I’d been doing good. I’d hung a snowflake up for elves-sake! I decorated for Christmas!

An insulting intruder wasn’t on my advent calendar, dammit!

“Help!” I shrieked, attempting to hit him again, hoping semi-deaf aunt Helen across the hall would hear. “Someone he—”

I went flying.

Flying to the floor.

And I wasn’t alone.

The intruder landed on top of me, hand over my mouth, and the air flattened out of my body under his weight.

I couldn’t scream for help if I tried. It was a struggle to just breathe.

“Yer smuff-catim mmm!”

“Shh!” he hushed me, and I scowled so fucking hard I wasn’t sure my forehead would ever be the same.

His grip over my mouth tightened, but his weight eased up enough that I could finally take a much-needed breath. His pointed, suede-like ears twitched as if listening.

Nothing but pure silence.

Aunt Helen hadn’t heard me. Nor anyone else for that matter.

Whoever this guy was, he burned like a furnace. His incredibly soft, thick fur brushed against my skin like buttery down. I imagined he’d feel so good to smoosh up against on the coldest winter nights.

I noticed it a little too much right now. My deep breaths pushed my chest against his, and I’d removed my bra long ago. Only my flimsy cami separated my nipples from this alien.

My nipples that were suddenly rock hard and scraping against his chest with every pull of air I took.

Fuck my life.

He even smelled fantastic. Like oranges and candy canes and warm fur.

I groaned, hating myself, and he peered down at me.

Shit.

“Geeet uff mmm.”

“What?”

I exaggeratedly darted my eyeballs down toward his hand on my mouth then back up at him.

He grunted and, if I wasn’t mistaken, a hint of apology flashed in his red flecked turquoise eyes.

Thing was, he only removed his hand. He was still on top of me.

The uncomfortable seconds ticked as he stared at me and I stared back, my newly shallow breaths the only sound flooding my ears aside from my whooshing blood.

“Do you mind?”

“Right,” he uttered, finally rising