Page 75 of Married to the Devil

When the crowd moves to enter the conservatory it’s to my bark of laughter, portraying us as the happy newlywed couple they’d have us be.

24

REMY

I’d only meantto take a moment to check my messages, but instead find myself in the questionable position of watching my wife sleep. The chair I’m in next to the wall is well situated for the task even if it looks bland and is rather uncomfortable.

Ben had said she didn’t care to spend time in the bedroom, and I see why. The room is wrong for our firefly. I’d meant to leave it for her to make decisions about the space, but the generic nature of it is beginning to grind. This room is meant to serve as our sanctuary, a place for rest and seduction.

I will remedy this. It’s one thing that I can remedy. After all, I’d succeeded with the workshop.

She’d fallen into bed after we’d returned home last night, exhausted. The self-defense training, her attempts to craft charms against fae magic, and socializing with strangers proved too tiring to address in one day. And that’s without accounting for the sex.

My mouth waters at the memory of her spread before us on the glossy piano, made only glossier by her slick arousal, and I sit back in the chair heavier, annoying my wings.

Stella makes a soft sound, and the sheets rustle before she settles again. The sun is just barely rising now. The light painting her face is soft, not enough to show the fire underneath, the chaos as Ben would surely call it.

It’s her scent that’s making it hard to leave. Nothing more than that. Biology wants me to mate my witch.

I’m not usually one to lie to myself, but this is easier.

The temptation to wake her with my tongue lapping at her nectar is gripping, but I hold back. My discipline suffers around her, but I’m not that far gone yet. She’d accept me, of that, I’m sure. She’d have given over her body to me last night even with the trace of Ben inside her.

But I’d prefer to be sure that Ben won’t disappear once we don’t need him to act as our go-between. I won’t lose my queen’s knight so carelessly.

And there is the small matter of her accepting my ownership. I breathe in her sweetness on the air, greedy for the eventual capitulation.

She inhales deeply, and suddenly we’re watching each other. Her blue eyes are sleepy but quickly focus on me. We stare in silence.

A silent truce until a line forms between her brows.

Her gaze sharpens. “My mom extended her vacation.”

My brows lift at the random seeming detail but nod. I imagine she’s grateful for the reprieve. It would be messy to have Elena return in the midst of the unrest. Our mating is valid, but it still feels like something that can disappear as quickly as smoke. All it would require is a blowing huff from the Council.

To have to manage her mother at the same time would cause Stella stress.

“And it works out well for us,” she echoes my thoughts and continues. “So well, that it’s almost like it was planned, but I don’t know how you would have pulled that off…”

I should smile and say something pithy about not controlling the universe, but not everything needs to be a scheme. And a part of me is tired of holding back my nature from her.

“It was rather simple actually,” I say.

Apprehension fills her face. She didn’t want me to confirm her suspicions. “Tell me.”

“Carl works for me.”

She purses her lips. “And you told him to romance my mom?”

“Of course not.” That would have been an excellent idea, if more calculated than Stella would be able to stomach. “Carl was only directed to watch out for her. When he inquired if he could court her, I gave my permission.”

Stella sighs in relief. “So he does have feelings for her?”

I snort. Since I first put him in place. The suspicion doesn’t leave her face, and my stomach sinks. My firefly is digging for things she may not be ready to know.

She sits up in bed. “That’s the thing though. I’ve known Carl for years. He’s helped me out a few times. Even going to bat for me on a Council issue once.”

She’s not asking a question, so I don’t respond. The silence falls again, but the oncoming disturbance brews until it breaks through.

---