Page 52 of The Demon Court

He’d wanted her. That much was very clear. But she also knew that he wanted everyone and everything he could get his hands on. He was a spirit of lust! As much as she disliked his favorite bedmate, the woman Lara had a point.

Selene was trying to change something that had been around for ages. He was a spirit who couldn’t change, or at least, she didn’t think he could. The price he’d wanted for the answer to her question was a little more than she was willing to give. But in the moment, with those broad, thick hands delving closer and closer to where he’d find her soaking wet...

She felt herself grow slick against his thigh, even at the thought. And damn it, he was pressed against her clit so firmly all it would take was a few wiggles and she’d probably explode against him. That’s all it would take, and that was embarrassing enough.

This man was dangerous. Not just for herself, but for the entire kingdom. She had to remember that. She had to...

He made a soft sound in his sleep and then moved to disentangle himself from her. His thigh shifted first, dragging against her until she had to muffle the sound that came out of her mouth. Then his arm, his palm and fingers sliding over her nipples. Was he awake?

But she looked over her shoulder and saw he was still deeply asleep. His eyes were shut, his blonde hair stuck to his horns in a bird’s nest of tangles that made her want to pick them all apart. And his bare chest moved with deep, slow inhalations. Rising and falling.

Even the sun played on that golden skin. The rays touched him all over, as though the element couldn’t resist itself, and she hated that.

How was she jealous of the sun?

In sleep, his features were much less harsh. She could see how people would find him attractive, even more so than just the legendary Lust who ruled this kingdom. But there were laugh lines around his eyes and mouth, the marks of a man who had found much happiness. His high cheekbones and full lips were vaguely feminine, but his strong jaw made them somehow even more masculine. At least through her eyes. Perhaps if she were a man, she would see it the opposite way.

He was a creature made to tempt. That was certain.

But in this light, he also looked less intimidating. All that tangled hair hanging off his horns, the slackness to his jaw that suggested he might snore on some nights. It was endearing.

Oh, she hated to even think like this. She hated how her hands itched to brush that hair off his forehead.

But why shouldn’t she?

This game they played was dangerous for the both of them. She’d seen the way his face had twisted as he moved his hands over her body, trying desperately not to touch what she’d said was off limits. Almost as though it was physically painful for him to rein himself in.

He’d done it. She was certain that a demon like him wouldn’t be able to keep his hands to himself. But he had. He’d respected her wishes.

Seven kingdoms, she’d wanted him to touch her. And she’d wanted to touch him.

Maybe it was the dreams still lingering. Maybe it was her own madness coming through because she wouldn’t have done it without the perfect circumstances, but she eased his hair off his horns, smoothing the strands back into place.

For a crazed moment, she let her guard down. She had to feel everything, eventually. The lake inside her was filled to the brim, and she feared it would overflow. Or worse, it wouldn’t let her hide any more of her emotions within it.

He was asleep. Surely he couldn’t feel anything. She would open the floodgates all at once, feel everything for a few moments and endure. And then, when the lake was halfway empty, she’d close it again. Ready for whatever Greed might throw at her.

It was a crazy thought, but she still did it. Selene let all those emotions out at the same time, letting them swell over her head and crash down. All the fear, the desire, the heartbreak and homesickness. It came out in a strange sludge, a mixture of emotions that should never be together. Her stomach twisted, vomit rising in her throat and then subsiding as the better emotions overwhelmed the bad.

She’d survived this long with them, she supposed. They lived inside her, likely spreading their poison in a way she could never outrun. But all at once, they were horrible and wonderful, nightmarish and a dream.

Even this was like a dream. Lying beside him, her heart in her throat and desire burning so deeply through her that she couldn’t even think straight.

And then, with the sunlight glittering off the lilac and sapphire chips of his eyes, he blinked awake to stare at her. The lazy haze in his gaze made him appear harmless, a thought she’d never expected to link with the man lying next to her.

“You stayed,” he said, his voice deep and thick with sleep.

She slammed the walls shut so hard she felt the answering ache sear through her body. But she couldn’t let him get even a hint of that power inside her, nor could he know that she wanted him so badly that it made her shake.

Her breath catching in her throat, she watched him for any reaction at all. “Where else would I go?”

“Poor moon,” he whispered, shifting a strand of her hair away from her face. “All alone in this place, with nowhere to go but the bed of a demon.”

“It’s a comfortable bed, at least.”

“It is.” A small frown wrinkled his brow and his lips set in a firm line. “For a moment there I thought I felt—”

Panic made her move. She grabbed his wrist, holding it against her to force his attention back to this moment. “You felt nothing, demon king.”

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