Page 65 of The Demon Crown

“You think very highly of yourself, Greed. Do you really believe you’re such a temptation that I would give up all that I am?”

“Yes, because I want all that you are.” He trailed his nose up her neck, the scratchy texture of his beard raising goosebumps up and down her body. “I want your pain, your relief, your happiness, your grief. All of it. I want it and I want to be the only person who gets it.”

“And what do I get in return?”

“You get me.” He leaned back slightly and licked his lips.

“All of you?” she asked, because she had to know this was an even trade. She wouldn’t give him everything if he wouldn’t give her the same.

And yet... When had her mind changed to this? She shouldn’t even consider saying yes to him!

“There’s not much to give.” A shadow passed in front of his eyes, one that she recognized very well. A shadow of doubt. The fear that he wasn’t good enough and never would be. “But what I have is yours.”

“I don’t want what you have.” Varya leaned up and ghosted her lips over his, so close she could feel his breath and heat. Her abs burned with the movement, but she needed him to understand her. “I just want you.”

A low groan echoed in his chest and he kissed her. He kissed like a starving man, trying to devour her whole as if that would somehow satisfy a need he had no name for.

She wanted to claw her way inside him. She wanted to hide from the voices whispering in her ear about what they would do to her and how she was nothing but a sleeve for them to use when they saw fit.

No one took this from her. No one took her right to enjoy using her body as she saw fit and she would not listen to those devious voices of men who had not deserved an ounce of her attention.

Gritting her teeth, she felt the cool wave of fabric part over one of her thighs. Without thought, she swept her bare leg behind his and shoved.

Greed’s eyes snapped open in shock as he suddenly tumbled. He was quick on his feet, though. He landed on his bottom rather than his back, bracing himself as he stared up at her with wide eyes and mouth slightly open.

“What was that for—”

He shut up when she followed him down. Varya whisked the long skirts out of her way and straddled him as she sank onto his lap. Control, that was what she needed. He couldn’t tell her what to do and he wouldn’t order her around. Never.

“I have told you,” she said as she palmed his shoulders and shoved him again. “I am no one’s object. No one’s toy to play with.”

“I don’t want to make you a toy.”

“No, but you want to play,” Varya whispered as she lowered him flat. “And I’m afraid you’ll never be able to see past that. So do you understand what I’m saying, Greed? I cannot give you all of me. Nor do I want to.”

She trailed her own lips down his neck, pressing soft kisses to his overheated skin. He arched into her, his breath already faltering and turning rapid.

“Then we cannot do this,” he argued, seemingly with himself more than with her. “I will not have you if I cannot have... have...”

Her fingers danced down his chest as she ground against him. He was already hard and throbbing between her legs, and she knew that this was her choice to make. He wouldn’t push her. Greed wasn’t those men in the cave.

He’d made it very clear that he wanted her, and he’d also shown he was a man of honor. As much as a demon could have honor, she supposed.

Varya slid down his body, the metal sheen of her dress pooling over his lap as she moved. Flicking her gaze up to him, she waited until he looked down at her. All those freckles stood out against the red tinge of his skin. His cheekbones were blushed with need and his pupils were so dilated his eyes looked entirely black. Like the demon he was.

She smiled, slow and coy. “Are you sure you cannot make an exception? Just this once?”

Varya knew what she asked. She would not beg for him to change his rules just for her, just so she could taste him and know what it felt like to have a demon inside her, but... Some part of her had hope he would agree. That he would let her, for a few moments, indulge herself.

It was almost like he felt the spark in her. The greed that made her even say the words because she wanted to take something for herself right now. Just to see if she still could. To see if those idiots in that cave had broken something inside her.

That hard jaw clenched. The muscles on either side bunching as he ground his teeth and stared at her, watching her eyes as though she could tell him what she was thinking without ever saying a word. That bright gold gaze flashed, and he nodded. The cords of his neck stood out in stark relief as he battled with himself.

“Aye, for you treasure,” he finally said, swallowing hard. “I suppose I could.”

Oh, that shouldn’t give her butterflies. That shouldn’t make her mouth water with the plans of what she would do to him. And it certainly shouldn’t make her mind whirl with all the possibilities.

Varya knew what she wanted to do most. And that was prove to this demon king, this embodiment of greed, this monster who had ruled her kingdom, that a single mortal woman could bring him to his knees. She wanted him to know that she had more control over him than he’d ever dreamed.

---