Page 74 of Forgotten Monsters
“I want it darker.”
Cole slides his hands down my bound arms to the buttons at the front of my dress, working it open. “I’m going to make you beg for forgiveness, Earthly King.”
“I’d never beg a Fae King,” I answer in jest.
“Is that a challenge?” He pulls his shirt over his head, and the shape of his bare shoulders sends a hot flash of desire through me.
“Do we have time?” I bite my bottom lip, calculating what leeway we have before Helena wants us both dead.
“It’s our party. We can be fashionably late.”
My gaze dips to his abs and the v-shaped groove of his adonis belt. “I’ll make you a deal.”
“A deal? Are you sure?” He glides his hands to the back of my thighs and pulls the skirt of my dress above my hip.
“We’re going to hunt down the hollowsandthe Unseelie—starting with the one that hurt you.Together.”
He boosts me up, allowing me to wrap my legs around him. The tip of his nose glides along the slope of my neck as he works open his belt. “Alright.”
The softswishof fabric echoes deep in my belly.
“Yeah?”
He squeezes the nape of my neck. “By the Dark Gods, I swear it.”
He plants a long, sensual kiss on my lips as he enters me. Every slow thrust flattens my back to the cold glass, my core dripping with fire, and I know immortality will not be long enough to quench my thirst for him.
27
QUEEN
After our unplanned tryst, we smooth down our hair and clothes and descend the stairs to join our guests in the ballroom. Music seeps through a large crowd, the atmosphere allowing for conversations and cocktails more than dancing. The checkered floor gleams under the light of large, tiki torches.
“Every Fae Lord and Lady is in attendance,” Cole whispers in my ear.
I watch the crowd for a familiar face but there are simply too many Fae courtiers. “Aren’t some of them conspiring against you?”
His lips quirk. “A few, but that will change tonight if I can help it. I made a point to ask my mother to behave, so she shouldn’t give us any grief.”
Celeste Draco. Ugh.The ex-headmistress already tried to have me killed and expelled, so I’d rather not have to exchange pleasantries with her tonight.
Helena opens her arms in greeting. “Welcome to your back-from-the-dead party.” A purple satin dress hugs her voluptuous curves, and a long, flashy shawl is wrapped around her elbows. A big, mischievous grin twists her face as she pecks us both on the cheek. “Do you like it?”
The flippant and macabre theme showcases shades of black, green, and purple. A multitude of caskets hang from the ceiling, as though we are actually buried underground.
A waiter dressed in an over-the-top zombie costume hands me a champagne flute, and I try not to gawk as I pick it up.
Cole clicks his tongue. “I asked you to keep it simple.”
“When have I ever planned somethingsimple? I figured we should embrace the creepiness of the situation. Don’t worry, I have planned the boring and cliché royal wave from the balcony and asked the guests to show up in their best styles. This isn’t some cheap, zombie party. It’s a voodoofête.” She raises her arms to the sky, and a throng of red, gold, and purple feathers trickle down from the ceiling.
“It’s memorable, that’s for sure,” I grumble, taking a sip of champagne.
“You see? She likes it.”
Cole shakes his head, eyes shining with humor. “That’s not what she said.”
Helena sticks her tongue out. “Gratitude is a virtue, little brother. Now, come and chat with my friends.”
