Page 61 of The Demon Court

But it took a while to get him unraveled, and she found it was impossible to be gentle. Whoever had laced him into this corset had done so as if they were tying him in for life. This corset was tight. Tighter than she’d ever worn hers, and she was no stranger to making herself thin. Minerva loved a waif-like waist, and Selene had seen some of her sisters test the limits of their own corsets. This one was laced so tightly she feared he hadn’t taken a single deep breath all night.

The act of untying was almost like weaving, and the tension in her shoulders and arms eased. He didn’t say a word as she worked, but she could hear the music still filtering up from the open balcony.

The quiet moment was almost... nice. She could let go of her frustration with him for a few moments to luxuriate in this domestic scene. Selene could almost imagine that they’d just returned from a ball, although she didn’t know many men who wore corsets and knew even less who went to balls. Lust’s kingdom was not a home for such fineries, not without sex somehow involved.

She let the corset fall in front of him, not even attempting to stop it from hitting the floor. “You are free,” she muttered.

“The shirt as well.”

“You can take off your own shirt.”

“Selene, do not argue with me.” The barked order was yet another one she knew she shouldn’t ignore.

Her fingers flexed at her sides. Why could he not undress himself? She knew he was capable of it. He’d done it since he moved her into his own bedroom. The fool was making her feel even worse, and he knew what he was doing.

Did he have to force her into the status of servant along with everything else?

All while grumbling under her breath, she tugged his silk shirt out of his pants and yanked it up over his head. He was much taller than her, and the fabric caught on his horns, but she didn’t care. The delicate silk ripped as she pulled and his head jerked with it. He snarled, the sound inhuman and dangerously deep.

Selene froze just as the maids had. Her body knew the sound of a predator, even if her mind didn’t. Heart hammering in her chest, she watched him for any movement other than the jerk of his neck from her movements, but he remained where he was. Muscles locked in place, bulging where they were far too tense.

Her eyes trailed down his shoulders, only for her breath to catch in her throat. He was beautifully made, she knew that. She’d seen the way his back flexed with his movements and the long tapered shadows that led to his waistband. Selene knew how much she wanted to press her lips against those muscles and feel them move against her.

But she’d never seen the deep red lines left by the corset. The welts already raised on his golden skin, crimson and angry and appearing so painful she couldn’t help herself.

She trailed her fingers over one line, ignoring the faint hiss of air from between his lips. “Lust...”

“If the next words out of your mouth are not ‘fuck me’, then keep your lips closed,” he snarled.

Another way to scare her, and yet she found not an ounce of fear remained. She touched another mark with her other hand, infinitely gentle as she followed the lines down his ribs. “Why do you wear them if they hurt you?”

Some of the tension eased out of his body. He let out a long breath and when he spoke next, he sounded tired once again. “Because I enjoy the pain, Selene.”

“I don’t know anyone who enjoys pain.”

“There is a certain pleasure in torture, and it is not pain that scars or lasts. Perhaps that is why I find myself liking you so much, little moon.”

The words made her stomach seize, and something deep inside her fluttered. “You think being around me is painful?”

He turned, and she had to take a step away from him. Lust was simply so large like this. Overwhelming. His body took up so much room, but it was more than his broad shoulders and all that smooth, golden skin. His eyes glowed with emotion, the blue turning violet almost immediately.

He prowled forward, forcing her to continue backing away until her spine pressed against the door. He flattened his hands on either side of her, caging her with his body. “Yes, being around you is painful. How could it not be? You claim I have taken your dignity by forcing you into a room while our people enjoyed themselves, but you deny what you have done to me. I was happy before you came here, Selene. I knew what the world was and now you have made me question everything.”

Selene flinched as he snarled the last word. But she never took her eyes off his face.

She wouldn’t hide from him, not even when he was like this. If he wanted to yell at her, then he needed to do so while seeing the emotion on her own face. He needed to look into her expression as he screamed.

But he wasn’t screaming. Not really. Every word made his voice deeper, lower, more intense as he stared into her eyes and willed her to see the world the way he did.

She couldn’t, though. They were two very different people who had seen so many different things. He saw humanity as flawed and simplistic, while she knew they were teachable. Those were not opinions that were easy to change.

“Did you not need to question your life?” she asked. “You say you have lived this way for hundreds of years, but in that time, you have become complacent and bored. Don’t you want to experience something new again?”

Pain flared at her question. “There is nothing new left for me to experience, little moon.”

“Is there really not?” She dared to lift a hand between them and skate her fingers along his jaw. “Or are you just afraid to experience it?”

That flash returned to his eyes as he narrowed them at her. “I’ve never been afraid of any experience.”

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