Page 81 of The Demon Court

“Restraint.” He smiled at her, and those dimples flashed. As though he were utterly pleased with himself. “I’m not interested in rushing this, Selene. For the first time in my life, I’m enjoying that there is no hurry. I will give you all that you desire in time.” And then he winked before heading to the door. “But I will make you beg for it.”

ChapterTwenty-Seven

Lust practically waltzed to meet with his brother. He found it strange how light he felt after spending the night with her, but he also realized there was no other way he could have felt.

Something new, after all these years.

He’d been so caught up in the repetition of life. He would go to the villages, find a lovely young woman, continue the myth that he was grand and adventurous and more than any other could possibly be. He stayed to himself in the castle with those who knew him well, so he didn’t really need to live.

All of those had been done to keep himself safe. And he was. Safe, that is. Living life in a bubble of his own creation without ever looking outside of it.

Now? She was there. On the outside of the bubble, daring him to look through the glass orb and see her for what she was.

A woman unlike any other he’d ever met.

No, that wasn’t right. He sidestepped a servant who walked past him with a shocked expression on her face. Selene wasn’t any different from any of the others, and maybe that was what made her so unique. He’d met a hundred women who looked just like her. At least fifty of them had smelled like peppermint or had eyes the color of caramel when they got angry. He’d probably made someone so angry that they couldn’t think straight on many occasions.

But none of those people had been her. And therein lay the strangeness to the entire situation.

It didn’t matter that she wasn’t entirely unique or a unicorn who had crawled out of the mist to bring him good luck. She was a woman with real wants and needs and desires, and he was obsessed with her. Entirely. Utterly.

Just thinking about the sounds she’d made when he had licked between her legs was enough to make him turn right around and join her in bed again. Was she still there?

He made to turn before forcing himself to stop. No, there was time. Like he’d said. He wanted to take his time with her, to learn what she liked, what she didn’t like. He wanted to hear every sound she made, even if those sounds were in frustration.

Whistling a tune he hadn’t heard in years, he walked into his study where Greed was waiting for him this morning.

His brother stood by the windows, hands clasped behind his back and tail angrily flicking behind him. “Finally. You should know there is no security in your castle to speak of. I’m disappointed, brother. You should at least have guards at the castle gate.”

“There is no need for guards while I am in the castle.” Nor did he care to argue about that this morning. He poured himself a cup of coffee from the tray one of his servants had left out and sipped at it. “Are you enjoying your visit?”

“Not in the slightest. I came here to talk some sense into you, and instead I find you wrapped up in a woman who couldn't care less about your existence.”

Lust waited until Greed turned around and then grinned.

His brother rolled his eyes, but let out a long, exhausted sigh. “Ah, well nevermind then. She’s finally given in?”

“I wouldn’t call it given in as much as finally accepting what she needs.” He took another long sip of his coffee. “It’s different with her. I don’t know how to describe it. She’s...”

Greed’s eyes narrowed. “She’s...”

“Different.”

“Yes, you already said that. I don’t understand why you think saying it twice will explain it any better.”

A mist pooled underneath the door and then rolled toward them. Affection gathered itself up, almost to his knee in height now, shockingly. The spirit hadn’t grown in ages and yet here it was, larger than it had been since the first time he met it.

Lust looked down as his jaw dropped open. “What are you doing here?”

“Of course, this is different!” The spirit almost shouted. “This is the first time he’s had to work at getting a woman to like him.”

The loud snort that echoed from Greed broke the silence that followed those words. His brother shook his head, clearly trying to hide a smile. “Well, you would be right about that one. Women fall at Lust’s feet when he wants them to. Literally.”

“And I tried with this one many times, but she had no interest in falling at my feet.” And considering the evening he had, and the morning reception he’d gotten, he added with a grumble, “I still don’t think she has any plans to do so.”

Greed and Affection made eye contact before they both burst into laughter. His brother pointed at the spirit while saying, “I like this one. Where did you get it?”

“I didn’t get it anywhere. Affection has been with me since the beginning.”

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