Monster in my Closet

By Abby Knox

Kit

The lucid dream comes, just like it always does.

First, light leaks around the closet door. Then, the door creaks open slowly. With heavy, slow steps, the presence enters the room and sits on the edge of my bed, watching me. It doesn't speak. It doesn't touch me. I can feel it sitting down. The bedsprings squeak. The shape is large…so terrifyingly large. 

Tonight, the dream adds more details. A spicy, warm scent fills the room. It's the thing that watches me. Watches over me.

The presence stirs up a wanting that I've never felt before. It's alarming, but also…exciting.

 

Nyx

 

I'm not supposed to want to keep my human. The sad, brave little charge is entrusted to me. 

It's so wrong that the human entices me. And yet, here I am, so incandescent with lust that my aura has corrupted her and made her feel things she doesn't understand. Kit has been nothing more than a responsibility for years. I should remember that and keep my distance. Yet tonight, my emotions are growing too intense to deny, and our shared passion respects now sensible boundaries.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Author Abby Knox, LLC
• Release date: Dec 21, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223181538

Abby Knox

Abby Knox writes feel-good, high-heat romance that she herself would want to read. Readers have described her stories as quirky, sexy, adorable, and hilarious. All of that adds up to Abby’s overall goal in life: to be kind and to have fun! Abby’s favorite tropes include: Forced proximity, opposites attract, grumpy/sunshine, age gap, boss/employee, fated mates/insta-love, and more. Abby is heavily influenced by Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Gilmore Girls, and LOST. But don't worry, she won’t ever make you suffer like Luke & Lorelai. If any or all of that connects with you, then you came to the right place.

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

Kit

The Sold sign on the front lawn outside my bedroom window tilts in the brisk autumn wind.

My teeth chew my bottom lip so hard it may bruise, but I need the physical pain to distract me from the emotional turmoil.

Everything packed?

I jump, then turn toward the voice. My sister, Tara, leans in the doorway, grinning from ear to ear in her sexy kitten costume. She’s framed on either side by tall stacks of boxes, and one false move could result in her being trapped under a book box avalanche.

I nod bravely, but Tara catches my reluctance.

Kit, everything’s going to be alright, she tells me.

Will it? Something feels wrong about this.

Tara speaks to me gently. We stayed through Halloween, just like you asked me to.

The agent had pushed Tara to bump up the closing date, but my sister stood firm by my request. She knows how much I love passing out candy to all the familiar faces of the neighborhood.

And I appreciate that. I’m just feeling off tonight.

She claws the air, her sparkly faux claws glinting. Well, perk up, buttercup! It’s your favorite night of the year, and the kids will hit the streets any minute now.

Right, I say, my throat dry. Do you think we’ll ever see trick-or-treaters at the new place? It’s so far out in the country.

Tara’s painted-on whiskers move when she winces. I don’t know, honey. But we’ll make new memories. New traditions.

We’re both quiet for a moment, both of us knowing what she really means. We’re running away from the bad memories associated with this house and starting over fresh.

And we’re still planning on chickens? I ask.

As promised, Tara says with a confident smile. The place is ours to do with what we want, for as long as we want.

All of that sounds wonderful, and yet…

I glance over at my closet door, which stands ajar. 

It looks like an ordinary closet, which housed all my clothes and shoes until I packed them in anticipation of the move. 

But something else looms in there. Invisible. Silent. But real. Not a ghost, I think. But something made of flesh and blood and a heart. 

And I’m afraid that when we move, that steady presence will vanish.

Tara laughs. I saw that. Haha, you can take your imaginary friend, don’t worry! We’ve got room. She winks and then waves goodbye, headed off to the annual Halloween keg party down the street.

We say our goodbyes for the night, and my attention returns to my closet.

The paper-thin walls vibrate at Tara’s shutting of the back door. She’s gone now, and I’m alone for the evening.

Well, I’m not truly