Page 64 of The Demon Court

When she didn’t answer him right away, she tried to distract him. She shifted her shoulder until the dress slid off the other side as well, buckling fabric revealed her breasts and caught at her elbows.

He had no interest in her tonight. Instead, he squeezed harder. Until he felt her bones creaking inside his fist and her lips parted in a gasp that was not faked for his enjoyment. “The truth.”

She hissed out a long breath, her eyes flashing with anger. “Because you are a demon, Lust. You can take whatever you want, whenever you want, and you should not be ashamed of it.”

Tsking with disappointment, he tossed her wrists away from him. Lara flung herself away from him with the movement, exaggerating how hard he’d tossed her aside while she rubbed the red marks he’d left behind.

“Humans,” he muttered as he turned away from her. “I am not a demon.”

“You are, and that is not something you need to hide from me. I accepted who you are long ago.” She glared at him, though, and he knew her words were a lie. Still, her lust perfumed the air. Even though she thought him a demon, a monster, a creature of nightmares, she wanted him through it all.

“Leave, Lara. I do not wish to argue with you tonight.” He sat down on the edge of the bed, frustrated with the entire evening that had taken place. “Get out.”

She didn’t argue this time, but she did pause before opening the door. Her eyes on the wood, facing away from him, she whispered, “It wasn’t another servant who removed your clothing. Was it?”

“No.” He didn’t hesitate to tell her the truth. “She did. And she will from now on.”

“She doesn’t want you,” Lara replied. “She doesn’t want to be here, or respect your people. All she wants is to change what all of us love.”

And therein laid the problem. The longer she was here, the longer he stayed around her, the more he wondered if any of this was love after all. If any of his people even knew what that meant.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he waved his hand. “Get out, Lara. I won’t say it again.”

The door opened and closed quietly behind her, and then all was still. He could breathe again without the cloying scent of her desire.

When had he thought of lust as cloying? It was the scent he’d craved his entire life. From the moment he’d sparked into existence, he had wanted to feed off it. Encourage it. Cause it to bloom between others and then only for himself when he’d taken a physical form.

Lara was right about one thing. Selene had come here to change everything. And unfortunately, he feared she might have.

“Oh,” the lyrical whisper filled the room. “You’re in here! I looked for you in your bedroom, but Selene is there and you are not. Curious, don’t you think?”

He didn’t stop holding his face. “Affection, I do not have the patience for you tonight.”

“You rarely have the patience for me, and yet, I am still here.” The smokey creature coiled around his ankle and sighed happily. “You’ve never sent me away, and I do believe that is because you like me.”

“I do not.”

“Maybe a little bit.”

“Not even the smallest ounce. You are an annoying creature who refuses to leave this place, no matter how many times I tell you to. All you’re doing is starving yourself in a castle like this.” Though, he could admit to himself that he was fond of the little one. It was nice to have another spirit around. At least Affection knew what it felt like to live as he once had.

The mortals apparently thought he was still a demon, even though he knew he wasn’t. They thought of him as a terrible creature of myth because it made their own emotions seem easier. They were not giving in to the lust they already felt. They were suffering the plaguing effect of a monster.

He opened his eyes and stared into his reflection one more time. And seven kingdoms, he looked tired. There were dark smudges underneath his eyes, his shoulders pulled in toward his chest, as though even the action of staying upright had taken its toll.

He’d never felt tired before in his life. He ruled this kingdom and feasted as necessary.

When was the last time he’d eaten?

Affection hummed. “You are looking rather thin, Lust. I thought you were feeding off Selene?”

“I am not. She does not feel lust.” He scratched the back of his neck, sighing as disappointment flooded through him. “And I am ashamed to admit that others no longer taste the way they had.”

“Disgusted by it, are you?”

“Not disgusted. I can no more be disgusted by lust than I am by myself.” He shook his head for good measure. “My brother terrified her. This kingdom makes her uncomfortable. All of it is not what will make her happy.”

“And you care to make her happy?”

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