Page 35 of Hunting Her
If it were only those three, it wouldn’t matter. They’ve seen me messy like this before—they all had a hand in turning me into this needy creature.
But they’re not the only ones present.
A group of ten or more men stand behind them, gazes narrowed in on me. They look hungry. Eager. Like I’m a dessert they’ve been waiting hours for.
“What the fuck is going on?” I demand.
Damek chuckles. “They’ve come to meet their queen.”
“It couldn’twait?”
“Tradition, Fire,” Izoran explains. “We’re the Underworld dukes, all of us your willing consorts if you choose to have us. Weneed to witness the ceremony, so we know you’ve been claimed according to custom.”
Great. They all just watched me come while stuffed full of demon king knot.
“What if I don’t want you?” I ask.
Brellan jumps in with more details on their customs. “Any one of us that you’ve engaged in intimacy with must stay chaste even if you cast us aside, in case you want us again. For the others, you’re free to decline them as your consorts. They’ll stay your advisors and be able to take their own wives and break their vows of chastity.”
Vows of… chastity?“Are you telling me you’re all virgins?”
A smattering of nods from the demon dukes.
“Except us, of course,” Iz says, gesturing between the three men I’ve already been with. “We’ve touched you, so we’re yours forever.”
All of them are clearly pleased by that fact. Lorcan has a smirk curving his lips, and Brellan’s gaze darts down to my ass while a glint lights his eyes. My hole pulses in remembrance.
“But I can decline the others,” I confirm.
“Yes.” Damek grabs my chin and turns me back to face him. “You control the court now, love. There’s just one more part of the ritual we have to observe.”
I get the sense it’s going to be as strange as the rest of the ritual has been, but I’m in too deep to refuse now. I sigh. “And what’s that?”
“Your chosen consorts and I are to clean you up and put you to bed.”
My shoulders slump in relief. “Oh, thank fuck.”
His knot is still locking us together, and I have no idea how long that’s going to last. I’m just glad that I don’t have to do anything else after his cock slips out. Every part of me aches withexhaustion. I’m going to be fighting back yawns as soon as the adrenaline high fades.
“Would you like to choose any new consorts?” Damek asks.
“Absolutely not.” I glance back at the dukes, noting a look of disappointment on some of their faces. There’s no way I need more than three consorts and the king, but if this is their custom… “I’ll meet them another time, if that’s alright,” I concede. “Don’t consider that to be me declining all of them.”
I sense the relief from some as they all nod, filing out the door.
I couldn’t pay much attention to my surroundings while dealing with my large audience, but now it’s obvious that this suite is massive. The bed we’re perched on is fit for ten people or more, crisply made with a pile of pillows. It sits in the middle of a large room that has black walls adorned with crown moulding and patterns made with decorative trim.
Off to one side is a large vanity table with a mirror, positioned so that you could see yourself reflected in the glass from the very centre of the bed. On the other side are a few doors, one opening into a candlelit, tiled bathroom, and another closed up tight.
The air smells of fall spices and is as warm as a mid-summer day, even though I don’t see a fireplace anywhere near.
Maybe they’ve got electricity in the Underworld, who knows. This certainly seems like too high of a temperature to intentionally heat the air to, though.
“This is your suite,” Damek says when the door shuts behind the final duke, leaving only the four men I spent the night with. “It’s set up to be somewhere you entertain your consorts, but you’re welcome to keep it to yourself and use our suites. Except tonight, of course.”
“Is it tradition for you to sleep in here with me, too?”
“Not strictly.” He doesn’t elaborate.
