Page 90 of The Demon Court

“This dress—”

He interrupted her before she could say anything. He kicked his horse closer, coming at her in a rush that should have spooked her mount, but instead the beast remained docile and quiet. Lust leaned down and captured her chin in his hand. “There is not a single person who would deny how beautiful you are, little moon. Be proud of that beauty. I want them to see you exist, but I also want to show you off. You are mine. And I want them to know it.”

His touch seared her chin. Her face flamed bright red, angry that he’d suggest such a thing but also because... Well. She didn’t know what he wanted.

One moment he was forcing her to strip in front of him, even though she did not want to do that. And the next, he was telling her how beautiful she was and that he wanted his entire kingdom to know it.

How was a woman supposed to survive this kind of attention?

Fanning her face, she glared at him while she decided it wasn’t worth the argument. If he wanted to make her show off her legs to everyone, then she would force herself to be all right with it.

Swinging up onto the back of her mount, she settled into the saddle with a grimace. Leather didn’t feel as good between her legs as she had hoped.

“Fine,” she muttered. “I will endure.”

“You’ll do more than that.” His eyes raked over her body before he bit his lower lip. “You look good on that horse, Selene. It’s too bad we’re busy.”

“Or what?”

The command in her voice must have done something to him. His hands creaked as he gripped his reins and he let out a long breath that sounded like a tortured laugh. “Oh, I won’t let you in on my thoughts that easily.”

She could see his thoughts. The way his entire body clenched at her question let her know just how much power she had over him. He didn’t want her to know that she could make him think of sex with just a throaty tone in her voice, because it let her know how much she controlled him.

And yet... Maybe this could work to her advantage.

Selene gave her horse its head since the creature wanted to follow the other. It figured that he’d given her the most docile horse in his stable, probably because he didn’t want to see how far she could get if he let her run.

They didn’t have far to go, at least. The town surrounding the castle was unlike any other she’d seen before, and she’d only seen glimpses of it when she arrived here. Clean streets, gleaming cobblestones, ridiculously full shops that were brimming with vegetables, art, fabric, and more. All of those had been a snippet of what she had seen.

But now? She was given so much more to look at from the back of this horse. And maybe that was his intent the entire time.

Selene’s eyes ate up the beauty that surrounded them. Every building was built out of white marble with gold accents. There were balconies dotted here and there, with people who leaned out to smile down at Lust and call out his name. Everyone wore good clothing. Nothing threadbare or moth-eaten.

She wished she could say her mother’s ramblings about him at least were true near the Tower. That there were towns hidden from the public eye where poverty plagued the people. And sure, there were some towns who weren’t nearly as wealthy as this. But none of them were abused, hungry, or angry. Not that she’d seen, and she was coming to realize that maybe there wasn’t a town like that in this kingdom.

A group of children ran out in front of their horses, not so close as to be worrisome, but enough that Selene stopped her horse.

Lust did the same, watching them with amusement as they jostled each other. Finally, one of the tallest boys was shoved forward, and he squared his shoulders. The boy stared up at Lust with no fear in his eyes, only confidence.

“My lord,” he said, then swallowed hard. “We’ve got a question for you.”

Lust leaned an elbow on the pommel of his saddle, looking down at the boys as though he were considering their request very thoroughly. “Proceed.”

The tall boy then pointed at her. “We want to know who that is.”

Selene blushed. It was a ridiculous reaction to daring little boys. It wasn’t as if they were nobles who had asked or if it even mattered for children to know that she existed. But she had been quite happy with her position in the shadows. If Lust had let her, she would have stayed in those shadows for good.

He looked her over, his eyes lingering on the smooth planes of her legs and the way her dress nearly hung off her shoulders. Then he responded, “My new consort. Perhaps you can help us in letting everyone know that she’s here.”

“A consort?” The boy’s face scrunched up. “What’s that mean?”

“The closest thing you’ll ever get to a queen.”

The boys let out a little whoop and raced off in different directions. Selene couldn’t tear her eyes away from Lust, though. He stared at her with a hungry look, as though saying those words had reminded him how much he wanted her. How terribly it burned inside him that he couldn’t have her right now.

And an answering bloom unfurled in her own chest. She wanted him.

She knew this wasn’t the right place for it. Nor should she even be thinking about how he’d sank to his knees in front of her and worshiped her body as if she meant something to him. It shouldn’t matter that his tongue was talented when there were so many eyes on her, but once she thought about the memory, it was not so easy to dash aside.

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