Page 58 of The Demon Court

“I can’t even move in this,” she hissed. “How am I supposed to sit? I’m not putting my bare ass on anything.”

He opened his mouth to tell her that she’d sit just like everyone else, but rather than the sarcastic words, what came out was, “I’ve seen countless beauties throughout my life, but never one who rivaled yours.”

And then that was out in the open. It wasn’t a lie. He wasn’t trying to control her or convince her of anything. All he said was the truth. He didn’t see her as plain anymore. Not like this.

Selene blinked at him, her mouth opening and closing in surprise. Then, she finally replied, “That was rather sweet, Lust.”

“I can be sweet if I wish to be.” He held his arm out for her to take. “You haven’t had the opportunity to see it yet.”

“And why is that?”

The moment her hand slid onto his forearm, he wanted to moan. Her skin against his was an electric pulse that went straight to his cock. Hard, heavy, aching, she made him want nothing more than to throw her back into that room. His brother be damned.

But he had to struggle through this night and ignore Greed’s not too subtle barbs so they could get back to their room. Then he could explore this new emotion further.

Maybe she’d let him touch her again. A trade for information. Maybe she’d be willing to pay the price for her more prying questions.

He sighed and shook his head. “You aren’t very sweet yourself, Selene. Why should I put in all the effort in this relationship?”

She snorted. “Right. Effort. Why do I feel like such a thing is a foreign concept to you?”

“Because it is. I’ve never had to fight so hard for an ounce of attention from a single person. Why is that?”

As he guided her down the hall, she blinked up at him with a soft expression on her face. It almost made him trip over himself.

“Because we don’t like each other, Lust,” she said, her voice as sweet as her expression looked.

“Is that true?” He stroked the back of his fingers over her cheek, watching as the skin underneath his touch burned a pretty pink. “I think you like me more than you wish to admit, sorceress.”

She swallowed hard. And then they were in front of the great hall. He wanted to continue this game. But there were guests to entertain and his brother did not like to be kept waiting.

Giving a slight nod to his servants, the doors opened, and they strode into the hall.

The pools had been filled with glowing yellow orbs that lit the water as though they were molten gold. He’d changed out his banners for golden fabric that looked equally liquid, and already people were tangled in the pools of soft silk. Some of those who had indulged early were his people, others were Greed’s. No one seemed to wish to wait for their indulgence.

With Greed here, there was plenty of food as well. Mounds of it heaped upon tables that were filled with everything from fine bread, to fruit, to tankards of wine that sloshed onto the floor in careless hands. Most of Greed’s people were already well on their way to being drunk, though Lust’s people were less likely to indulge in that way. Whiskey dick was no way to enjoy oneself.

However, Greed’s people seemed to enjoy their drunken escapades, so who was he to question it?

Lust picked his way around a particularly drunk couple, who weaved in front of them. The man tripped over his own feet, his tankard of wine sloshing dangerously close to the pristine white of Selene’s dress.

With a snarl, Lust grabbed the wine and dumped it down the man’s shirt rather than hers. “Watch yourself,” he said, his voice a low rumble. “You are a guest in this house, but I can still tear you limb from limb.”

“Brother!” Greed’s voice rang through the crowd. Laughter erupted from the dais where Lust usually sat. “Go easy on the man! He’s been here for hours while you only just arrived with your... bride.”

He cared little for what Greed thought. Lust turned and ran one of his hands down Selene’s arm, making sure she was all right. Any other woman would have been shaken, or at least appreciative. But not his sorceress.

She surveyed the crowd with nothing but apathy in her expression. Glass-like and smooth, her eyes saw everything and reacted to nothing. But he felt the slightest tremble in her shoulders that made him frown.

Perhaps his ice queen was not quite so unaffected by everything surrounding her.

He laced his fingers through hers and pulled her away from the crowd toward the dais where only a king should sit.

Greed reclined on a throne they’d brought out for him, the entire behemoth clearly just made. Gold coins were stacked on top of each other, some of them still visible where they hadn’t quite melted all the way through to make this golden throne. Two women reclined at his feet, their hands caressing their thighs as he let them drink from his own cup of red wine. One of them had spilled it between her breasts, clearly vying for more of his attention than the other.

Greed looked pleased with the circumstance, but his tail flicked behind him in annoyance. A sign he wasn’t as happy as he appeared.

“Took you long enough,” Greed said, then flicked his fingers at the ladies in front of him. “I thought you wouldn’t mind if I took a few of your women for entertainment while I waited for you.”

---