Page 86 of Wickedly Yours

luna

Part of me never wanted to leave this bed. Because it felt likeours,and it was the most comfortable thing I’d ever laid on. Except…

“Do you want to learn how your powers work today?” Zain asked, interlacing his fingers through mine. “There’s a field past the back gardens here. I thought we couldexperimentthere.”

“I…” I hesitated. Why did I feel so weak admitting this? “I’m a little scared,” I whispered, doing my best to avoid his gaze as I exposed my deepest shame. “What if I hurt you?”

“You can’t. And besides, did I not tell you I would protect you?” My husband said, his soothing tone doing everything to calm my beating heart. “If that includes from yourself, I will do it.”

“Zain…”

Instead of responding, he brought our lips together in a soft kiss.

“You were born to be mine,” he said, rubbing his nose against mine. “My queen. My equal. I believe that. Andwhatever powers the fates gave you, even if your only parlor trick is iridescent skin, I don’t care. I just want you.”

Nodding, I let my eyes flutter shut. “I know.”

I could feel that.

Now, if only I could figure out exactly how to wield my magic, everything would be perfect.

“Show me what you’ve got,” Zain instructed an hour later, after we’d bathed, had a quick lunch, and re-dressed. The room smelled like sex—our scents mixed, his spicy one overwhelming my senses with need—which was another reason we needed to get outside. We were insatiable, and it didn’t even have to do with the wine anymore. No, that was all him.

I’d pulled on a pair of pants and a loose-fitting blouse—because there was no way I was attempting to use my powers in any of those pretty dresses that hung in my closet. There were more here, all seeming to be perfectly my size. He really had thought of everything.

“You’re thinking too hard,” Zain called, crossing his arms over his chest. He’d thrown on a black, billowy shirt and black pants, and I was trying really hard not to compare him to all the romance heroes—my guilty pleasures.

And yet, Zain won every time.

“Am not,” I protested, though I had to bite back my snarky reply that I was thinking too hard abouthim,and the delicious soreness between my legs was an all-too-constant reminder of how many times he’d taken me last night. We’d fall asleep and then wake up and do it all over again.

I didn’t know if his stamina resulted from the wedding, but I hadn’t complained. Not when I’d lost track of the amount oforgasms he’d given me or from the lightning strikes lighting up our window as he relentlessly poured into me.

Or how I’d begged him to put a baby in me, over and over. I’d never thought I had a breeding kink before, but when a man like him asked you to have his child, why would you ever sayno?

“Luna.”

My cheeks were warm, and I turned away, staring up at the reddish sun.

If I’d ever thought this place was hell, I was truly wrong. Demons lived in a mostly civilized society—though there were still some races that liked to go rogue.Like the ones who’d been in Pleasant Grove that day. I still had nightmares from that night, watching them drag Zain’s lifeless body away from me, dozens of them overpowering him?—

“Sorry. What?” I whipped my head back to meet his gaze.

“We don’t have to do this now, you know. If you’re not ready.”

“I want to be strong enough. To protect myself.” He opened his mouth, and I finished before he could start. “I know you said you’d keep me safe. And I lo—” I stopped myself before the word could slip out. “—appreciate that. But my whole life, someone else has always kept me sheltered. Even Willow gave up her own life for me. So I have to take control of my destiny now.”

I didn’t want to cower in fear if I ever ran into one of those demon monstersagain. Because that was what they were.Monsters. They didn’t have the same cognitive functions as demons like Zain and Damien or the countless other residents of the palace.

“I don’t want to be scared anymore.”

A small grin lit up his face as he saw my resolve. “Then let’s see what you can do.”

I nodded, looking down at my palms. All I’d ever succeeded at doing was making light appear in my hands. How did I do that again?

“Even if you fail, no one’s watching you, Moonbeam. It’s just us out here.” Zain rubbed a hand down my spine in encouragement. “Close your eyes and picture the magic flowing through your veins.”

I did as he said. It was easier after last night, somehow. It felt like I’d awoken a different side of me. Visualizing the pathways in my body that the power flowed through. All I had to do was let it out, right?

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