Page 57 of The Demon Court

She was insulted on his behalf? When she was the one maligned?

Selene curtseyed and turned away from him. “I will be ready for dinner when you call on me.”

And Lust didn’t know what to say to stop her from walking away.

ChapterNineteen

This is a terrible idea. He knew it. Lust had never thought for a second that he could have his brothers around with a favorite pet, let alone a woman who was rumored to become his wife.

And Greed was the best of them to be around her, which made his skin itch. His brother was only likely to kidnap her. To keep her in a golden cage for all to look at in his realm. The Bride of Lust. A novelty for his people to come and gawk at. The others? They’d do much worse if they ever found out about her.

Considering Greed already knew, he could only imagine the others would soon contact him.

He didn’t understand why any of this bothered him. Selene was little more than a new toy. She was fleeting in the long years of their lives, and she would disappear into a realm of death where he could not follow. It was no use getting attached to people like her. Lust had done so early in his years, getting soft around another young woman or man who enchanted him.

They were the true firsts. They were the people who had surprised him with their talents, their wants, their needs. He’d become enamored with their newness and how lovely it felt to experience the world through their eyes.

But he’d already suffered through the best and the worst that humanity had to offer. No one surprised him anymore, not even Selene. So why did this bother him as much as it did?

Sighing, he ran his fingers through his hair and stood in front of her door. Steeling himself for whatever feelings would burst the moment he saw her in the doorway. His brother had insisted on a party, and Lust was never one to back down from a request such as that. His castle could throw together a party with the best of them, and Greed would be satisfied.

Usually he enjoyed the rush of planning something so last minute. He got high off the lust that built in the nobility, even now he could feel it swelling through the castle. Two parties in such a short amount of time? They would soon glut themselves on each other’s bodies, and he would grow bloated with power from their emotions.

Except... He didn’t want to. All he wanted was a quiet night in his bedroom with the strange creature who had captivated him. He wanted to stroke her skin, see if she would let him touch more of her this time. To listen to her soft intakes of breath when he skated over particularly sensitive parts of her arms, her sides, her breasts.

Lust wanted to talk with her, too. He wanted to discover what made her tick and why, for the love of all that was holy, why was she the way she was? How did she resist him? And his brother?

Was she not human? Was she something that they had yet to encounter, but that threatened the very status of all their kingdoms?

He had too many questions, and he knew he would get no answers from her. Selene was, and always would be, a locked chest of knowledge that he wasn’t privy to.

He lifted his hand and knocked on her door, smoothing a hand down the steel boning of his corset. He had dressed as everyone expected the ruler of this kingdom to dress. The dark black corset ran down his ribs, flattening his waist and torso into a smooth line that broadened his shoulders even more. A wine colored silk shirt underneath the corset billowed from his shoulders, leaving his collarbone free for eyes to trace. Black pants hugged tight to his legs, hiding nothing and everything from the imagination.

As tradition, his horns were dusted tonight as well as his eyelids. The silver sparkle caught in the torchlight any time they flickered, and he knew it gave him an otherworldly appearance. He was a creature who had stepped out of male and female dreams, both masculine and feminine. Both soft and hard.

It was a blessing and a curse to be so attractive to both sexes. Right now, he could only hope that he stole her breath.

Her door opened a mere inch. “Lust?”

“We’re late,” he reminded.

“Are you sure this is what you want me to wear? It’s a little...”

“Opulent?” Lust leaned against the wall beside her door, grinning down at his nails as he filled in the words he knew she didn’t want to hear. “Beautiful? Seductive? I bet it’s delicious on that pale skin of yours.”

“I was going to say revealing,” she growled. “Hardly appropriate for an official event.”

“You live in my kingdom, little moon. If I wanted to parade you in front of my nobles wearing nothing but my hand around your throat, they would think it divine.” Lust leaned his head back against the wall and made a little hum in the back of his throat. “And what a lovely picture that paints. It’s not too late to change your mind, you know. We could give this kingdom a spectacle they’d never forget.”

“This is fine,” she rushed to interrupt him and the door opened up to reveal the dress she complained about.

Lust tried to control his laughter at her words, so he was grinning when he looked up and saw her. The smile on his face fell immediately.

The white gown was one he’d never seen before. A high lacy neckline wrapped around her throat, cut away at her shoulders so it appeared only as a small necklace where all the silk was attached. Strands of white draped over her breasts and were woven into a pattern at her hips, the intricate weaving threaded with braided fabric cords. Her entire torso was nearly bared to his view, from collarbone to naval, her breasts only hidden by strips of fabric. She wore a delicate chain, a single strand extending from the hollow of her throat to join with others that wrapped around her ribs. More fabric fell from her hips to the floor, though her long legs were entirely visible to his hungry eyes.

He forgot how to breathe. How to think. They’d left her hair unbound and as she shifted in discomfort, he could smell peppermint floating through the air. And damn it, he wanted to kiss her.

He hadn’t kissed anyone in hundreds of years. The intimate act was too personal, but he wanted to know what her lips tasted like. He wanted to see if he could get them to ease beneath his, rather than be stuck in that tight line. As if she knew what he was thinking, she pressed them together even harder.

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