Page 86 of The Demon Court

But her mind wasn’t so certain. The fear of what life would be like with him ran away with her tongue. “I know that you go to those villages only for the sacrifices they lay out before you. You indulge in their pleasures just as much as they use you for an excuse to behave however they wish. I do not want to be there while you are... are...”

He pulled back to grin down at her, his thumbs stroking over her cheekbones. “My, my, sorceress. It sounds as though you might be jealous.”

“I’m not... I’m not jealous.” But she was. Oh, she really was. Just the idea of those women touching him, stroking their hands up the chest she was touching... It drove her mad. She was jealous, yes, but she also knew they might be more skilled than her. Less complicated. It would be easier for him to be with them, and the tantalizing nature of that ease was surely something that would summon him.

But he wasn’t leaving now. In fact, he was watching her with a rather odd expression on his face. A softening of those sharp features that were both handsome but also something far more than she’d expected.

He ghosted his thumbs over her cheekbones again. “Little moon, let me tell you something very important and I need to know you are listening to me right now. Do we have a deal?”

She nodded.

“When we first met, you said you were something new. You claimed you were capable of changing my world and standing out among all the rest. Those words called to me. They pulled my soul out of that dark place I’ve been resting in for so long and I know without a doubt that you were right. I fought against it. I didn’t want you to be new or different or surprising. But I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that you are all those things and more.” He kissed her again, his hands running down the length of her throat and then down her back. Lust pressed her against him, shoulder to thigh. “I am so very pleased you are here, Selene. It feels so good to be surprised again.”

Oh, well. That was rather nice. She let her cheek rest against his chest, feeling the rise and fall of his breath even as he smoothed his hands down her back. And this was... nice.

“That doesn’t mean I want to travel with you,” she grumbled. “I know what they’re all expecting from you.”

“Trust, remember?” he chuckled. “I have no interest in any other woman than you, Selene. You are more than enough questions for one man to answer.”

She wasn’t questions. She was a woman with needs and desires and thoughts of her own. He had no right to put her in any other category. But... She supposed it was nice to know that he wasn’t looking at anyone else. That he was focused entirely on her and whatever was happening between the two of them.

And though he hadn’t said it in so many words, she had a feeling he was as affected by all this as she was.

“I didn’t know Lust cared about what anyone else feels,” she whispered.

“Ah, of course I do. I want everyone to enjoy every moment. Pleasure is pleasure, whether inside another or not.” He laughed, his chest bouncing with the sound. “But I will admit, I have not laughed so much in a very long time.”

“Laughter is rather frowned upon in the bedroom, I suppose.”

He drew back enough to see her face before he solemnly added, “I believe if it was your laughter, I would endure.”

Shaking her head, she rolled her eyes up to the sky. Perhaps an afternoon with him wouldn’t be so bad, even if he was a fool.

ChapterTwenty-Nine

He’d long since decided she would come with him today. He needed her to be at court and for others to see her. Why? He couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

Lust knew that it had bothered him when half the servants hadn’t realized who he was talking about when he asked where she was. They all knew that he had his own little pet in his room. Some of them even talked about how he’d been so fascinated with this new pet that he’d not even left the room.

And then, when he’d had his butler ask around, he discovered there were others spreading darker rumors. Rumors about how horrible she was. How he hid her because she was ugly, and that he wouldn’t touch her even though the sorceresses wanted him to.

The moment he found out who had spread that particular nasty rumor, he would make sure they spent a few nights in the dungeon.

A dungeon he did not have. Considering they’d already turned it into a dark, damp place where many of his followers enjoyed the torture. But he would figure out that punishment once it came to it.

For now, he wanted her to come with him. To present herself before all his people as the queen they needed. And he refused for that first outing to be anywhere in the castle.

The castle inhabitants were aware of her. The nobles had seen her a few times now, and that impression was a sour one that wouldn’t be easy to fix. He didn't want to throw her to the wolves. They’d tear her apart for judging their chosen antics.

Not that he could blame them. She’d behaved poorly when she walked in on their usual affairs of state, but that would come in time. Eventually, she would realize that his life was led very differently than regular people in his kingdom. She’d learn how to love his ways, he was certain of it.

Waltzing into their room, he had a brand new cloak over each arm to prepare them both for travel. “I hope you’re comfortable riding. I don’t want to bring the carriage with us today. It’s far too nice out to be stuck inside those stuffy walls.”

Really, he just wanted to watch her ride a horse. Those strong thighs would grip down on the saddle, and made him want to bite his knuckles just at the mere thought. Watching her ride would be a torment that he was so incredibly ready for.

Except, when he laid the cloaks out on the bed, he turned to see her ready for their journey and was greeted by a vision in black.

Black. Was she allergic to color?

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