Page 92 of The Demon Crown

That snake wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for him. He had been the one to feed the desert all those years ago, waking up those creatures that slumbered deep underneath the sands. They only woke when the scent of blood grew so strong that they could smell it. Miles underneath the sands. That was a lot of blood, and he knew from experience just how much it took to wake them.

Hissing out another angry breath at himself, at her, at the world they lived in, he kicked his mount into movement. Faster. The nuckelavee could move faster and his own personal mount would keep up.

Gluttony’s angry shout chased them, but his brother had never been as good at riding the beasts. Let his brother find his way back to the castle on his own. Greed didn’t care.

He wasn’t supposed to be a babysitter, anyway. If Gluttony got himself in trouble, Wrath could deal with him. Their brother in the underworld should have taken care of this himself.

He needed to have a conversation with a little troublemaker who needed to understand where her place was. And that was beneath him. On top of him. Sideways. Upside down. Whatever position he wanted her to be in.

Now that he’d gotten a taste, he wasn’t willing to give it up so easily again. She was his, and she’d admitted it. She didn’t get to take that away from him.

Varya had made a vow, and now he would remind her exactly what that meant.

They arrived at his home in record time. The servants and guards had seen him in the distance, so the gate stood open and ready as he thundered into his home. The nuckelavee raced past countless people who had prepared themselves to be useful, but he didn’t need them. Not right now.

Greed urged the beast as close to the stairs that led to his private quarters as it could get, and then he leapt from its back.

“Greed,” Varya tried again, her eyes wide with shock or fear. He didn’t know. He didn’t care.

In response, he hooked his arm around her waist and deposited her onto his shoulder. He could barely feel her tiny weight as he turned them from the beast and up the stairs. And perhaps it was dramatic, but he swore the oasis shuddered with his movements, as though it feared what he might do to the lovely pale flower that had wandered through its leaves.

She said nothing. Smart. Just dangled over his shoulder until they reached his rooms, where he placed her on her feet and then stalked past her. His mind was on one thing, and one thing only. He needed to prove to her why she wanted to stay. That she wanted to stay. That all they had discovered together, their pleasure, the blinding ache that had built in his chest with every peak they’d crashed over together. It was worth giving up her life for. She could stay here. Safe. He would keep her safe.

His chest rose and fell with anger, or rage, or... fear. He didn’t know. Greed barely even recognized that his breath was too quick, that his tail hadn’t stopped flicking since they’d gotten into the room, or that little growls were still rumbling through each of his exhales.

He couldn’t get control of himself. He didn’t think he wanted to.

“Greed,” Varya said a third time, this time with a bit harder tone. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I cannot help unless you tell me what is running through that mind of yours.”

“We have not resolved this.” Greed stalked to the back of the room and threw open a standing wardrobe. He’d given her time to indulge herself and explore his body. He knew what she wanted, but now she should know what he wanted.

All of her. Every inch. Every ounce of pleasure and pain and all the emotions she could give him. And he wouldn’t rest until he had been gifted all of that.

The wardrobe held sex toys of all shapes and sizes. Gags, bars to hold her legs open, cuffs that would suspend her from his wall or tie her down onto his bed. Soft cushions, bolsters for underneath her hips so he could hold her exactly where he wanted her. His favorite were the floggers, one in particular that was thick, sharp leather straps that left lovely little marks all over the skin. But she wasn’t ready for that one. Not yet.

Instead, he chose the one with the strips that had been softened into a buttery texture. They felt lovely to drag over his hands, and the soft scent of leather filled his lungs. The scent provided the slightest moment to settle himself.

He’d never hit her in anger. That he had promised himself years ago when he’d realized just how good it felt to leave a mark on his partner’s skin. He would never forget the red handprint that had started it all, or the claw marks above. Tiny pinpricks, not enough to bleed, but they were still there.

Proof that they were his. And Varya had said she was. She’d vowed that she was his and his alone.

He turned to her then, seeing the wariness in her eyes and how she watched him like he was the predator and she the prey. That was right, he supposed. He was going to devour her whole if she let him.

“What do you have there?” she asked, her voice low and calm.

“Need I remind you what you said?” He dragged the flogger over his palm again, letting the little strands play through his fingers. “I said tell me what you want. You said you wanted me. I asked you whose you were, and you said you were mine.”

The lovely line of her throat bobbed. “I did.”

“Were you lying, treasure?”

Again, a swallow. Perhaps more of a gulp. Her eyes flicked to the door. “I was not.”

“So you offered yourself to me for one night only? I told you, I don’t do that. Once you are mine, I keep you. Those are the rules, Varya. Rules that you have now ignored.”

“Rules I didn’t agree to. I will tell you again, Greed. I am my own person, and you cannot control where I go or what I do.”

She was right. He knew that. Even Gluttony could see that she was her own person and that he couldn’t just expect to order her around and have her follow every damn order.

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