“Romance,” I breathed. I felt like he could very easily make me float away on a horny cloud. “It’s monster romance. And, well, the males, they …” I bit my lip, forcing myself to meet his eyes. “They always know how to make a woman come.”

His lips parted, his eyes sparkling. “Do they now? And is that not the case with real-life males?”

I’m sure you’d know how to.

I shrugged, feigning nonchalance, even as I pressed my thighs together to try and quench the ache between them. It did nothing.

Damn sexy devil with his sultry voice and his big hard …

“Men in the real world often aren’t all that interested in putting the effort in. At least, not consistently.” I leaned my head against his bicep, tilting my face to look at him. “The males in my books want to please their woman. Multiple times. They’ll go above and beyond to please her. They’re verging on obsessed—like she’s the only female in the world for them.”

His eyes widened slightly, and he cleared his throat. “So, these males can do no wrong in the eyes of their women?”

I giggled. “Oh, they very often get it wrong. It’s called a third-act breakup.”

“A third … what?” His bewilderment was so endearing.

And there was that fluttering right at the base of my ribcage. He was working his way into my …

“It’s a very polarising trope in the romance novel world,” I explained hurriedly before that silly thought could take hold. “Some sort of argument, or misunderstanding, happens—generally the male’s fault—close to the end of the story, that ends their relationship.”

“Forgive me,” he muttered, “but that doesn’t sound very … romantic. I thought these books were supposed to have a happy ending.” His fingers flexed on my waist. I wanted to press into that touch, but I forced myself to stay still.

“Oh, they do end happily!” I squeaked. His lips quirked up at the corners. I tried not to melt. “But it’s the journey back to happiness that’s the fun part. In my books, the males really know how to grovel. A third-act breakup can be satisfying, in my opinion, if the male fucks up big time and then makes the grandest grovelling gesture to make it up to her.”

“And … the monsters do this? In your books?”

I nodded, my own lips curving into a smile. “Oh, they’re the experts at it. And then, of course, there’s the trick dicks.”

His chuckle was low, sinful. It made my pussy clench. I bit back a gasp.

“I believe you’ve mentioned those before. In fact, that conversation is permanently etched into my brain, Mouse. Please, enlighten me on the types of … tricks … these monsters of yours have up their sleeves.”