Page 25 of The Demon Court

A flash of something burned in her eyes. Not quite lust, but the start of a similar emotion, until it fizzled as though she’d snuffed out a candle with her fingers. Curious, but exactly the battle he was looking for.

“What do you need?” she asked.

“You.”

She visibly flinched, but stood her ground as he rolled onto his feet. Lust prowled toward her, knowing the firelight glinted off the skin revealed by his unbuttoned white shirt. He had made certain he was a temptation.

Why was she so easily able to brush him aside? It was maddening.

“Your mother has already made problems for us,” he snarled.

“Oh?”

“She’s told the entire kingdom that I have taken a bride.”

“That was the deal.” She folded her hands primly at her waist. “Unless you wish to make a liar of yourself.”

“You seem to think I always lie.” Lust stalked around her, attacking the pins in her hair. “Now, you are going to help me.”

“My loyalty is to the Tower.”

“If you are to be my bride,” he leaned down and dragged his nose up the side of her neck, inhaling deeply. “Then you are loyal only to me.”

She couldn’t hide her little shiver or the creaking sound of her gloves as she curled her fingers into fists. “And how am I going to do that?”

“Strip.”

Her breath caught in her throat. He’d managed to startle her, at least.

She growled, “What did you say?”

Oh, but he could get used to that sound. The surprise in her voice mixed with a heady combination of indignation and a slight tinge of fear.

“I already told you,” he whispered against her skin. “I am not a monster. I will not force you to do anything you do not desire. But your mother has made a problem for the both of us. We need to remedy this by allowing some of my people to see you, but not the entirety of them.”

“I fail to see how I need to be nude for this.”

He hummed low under his breath. With quick fingers, he plucked the last of her pins and then gathered up the heavy length of her locks. “You have very long hair for a sorceress. I have seen few of your kind who keep their hair as long as yours.”

He knew that a change in subject threw her off her guard. Lust twisted the strands into a long braid, waiting for her answer. She’d soon find he could wait for a very long time.

Finally, she snarled, “I’ve always kept my hair long. It’s a personal choice.”

“I like it.” Finishing the braid that nearly reached her hips, he wrapped it around his fist twice before tugging her head back. Hard. “But your clothing choice offends me, little moon. If you do not remove them, I will.”

She hissed at him like a cat. Teeth bared and eyes flashing, he almost took the warning for what it was. A threat.

Instead, he scooped his hand underneath her chin, tilting her head back even more with the rope he’d made of her hair. “Your choice, Selene.”

The defiance in her eyes threatened that she would never let him forget this. Good. He didn’t want to. Just seeing the long line of her throat bared to him made him hard as a rock while a growl vibrated through his throat.

He released her before he became even more of a liar. He’d never forced a woman before, and he never would. No matter how tempting she was, or how the hate in her eyes made him burn.

Lust strode away from her, heading to his bedroom, where he knew a dress waited. Not for her. For anyone, really. But he suddenly didn’t want to see anyone else wear it ever again.

The sound of heavy fabric hitting the floor filled his ears. A heavy throb between his legs was the only answer to that sound, and for fuck’s sake, he already needed to scream into another pillow.

He needed to call one of his favorites over tonight, he decided. He couldn’t suffer with this pent up feeling any longer.

---