Chapter 19

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.

“I can’t even move in this,” she hissed. “How am I supposed to sit? I’m not putting my bare ass on anything.”

He opened his mouth to tell her that she’d sit just like everyone else, but rather than the sarcastic words, what came out was, “I’ve seen countless beauties throughout my life, but never one who rivaled yours.”

And then that was out in the open. It wasn’t a lie. He wasn’t trying to control her or convince her of anything. All he said was the truth. He didn’t see her as plain anymore. Not like this.

Selene blinked at him, her mouth opening and closing in surprise. Then, she finally replied, “That was rather sweet, Lust.”

“I can be sweet if I wish to be.” He held his arm out for her to take. “You haven’t had the opportunity to see it yet.”

“And why is that?”

The moment her hand slid onto his forearm, he wanted to moan. Her skin against his was an electric pulse that went straight to his cock. Hard, heavy, aching, she made him want nothing more than to throw her back into that room. His brother be damned.

But he had to struggle through this night and ignore Greed’s not too subtle barbs so they could get back to their room. Then he could explore this new emotion further.

Maybe she’d let him touch her again. A trade for information. Maybe she’d be willing to pay the price for her more prying questions.

He sighed and shook his head. “You aren’t very sweet yourself, Selene. Why should I put in all the effort in this relationship?”

She snorted. “Right. Effort. Why do I feel like such a thing is a foreign concept to you?”

“Because it is. I’ve never had to fight so hard for an ounce of attention from a single person. Why is that?”

As he guided her down the hall, she blinked up at him with a soft expression on her face. It almost made him trip over himself.

“Because we don’t like each other, Lust,” she said, her voice as sweet as her expression looked.

“Is that true?” He stroked the back of his fingers over her cheek, watching as the skin underneath his touch burned a pretty pink. “I think you like me more than you wish to admit, sorceress.”

She swallowed hard. And then they were in front of the great hall. He wanted to continue this game. But there were guests to entertain and his brother did not like to be kept waiting.

Giving a slight nod to his servants, the doors opened, and they strode into the hall.

The pools had been filled with glowing yellow orbs that lit the water as though they were molten gold. He’d changed out his banners for golden fabric that looked equally liquid, and already people were tangled in the pools of soft silk. Some of those who had indulged early were his people, others were Greed’s. No one seemed to wish to wait for their indulgence.

With Greed here, there was plenty of food as well. Mounds of it heaped upon tables that were filled with everything from fine bread, to fruit, to tankards of wine that sloshed onto the floor in careless hands. Most of Greed’s people were already well on their way to being drunk, though Lust’s people were less likely to indulge in that way. Whiskey dick was no way to enjoy oneself.

However, Greed’s people seemed to enjoy their drunken escapades, so who was he to question it?

Lust picked his way around a particularly drunk couple, who weaved in front of them. The man tripped over his own feet, his tankard of wine sloshing dangerously close to the pristine white of Selene’s dress.

With a snarl, Lust grabbed the wine and dumped it down the man’s shirt rather than hers. “Watch yourself,” he said, his voice a low rumble. “You are a guest in this house, but I can still tear you limb from limb.”

“Brother!” Greed’s voice rang through the crowd. Laughter erupted from the dais where Lust usually sat. “Go easy on the man! He’s been here for hours while you only just arrived with your... bride.”

He cared little for what Greed thought. Lust turned and ran one of his hands down Selene’s arm, making sure she was all right. Any other woman would have been shaken, or at least appreciative. But not his sorceress.

She surveyed the crowd with nothing but apathy in her expression. Glass-like and smooth, her eyes saw everything and reacted to nothing. But he felt the slightest tremble in her shoulders that made him frown.

Perhaps his ice queen was not quite so unaffected by everything surrounding her.

He laced his fingers through hers and pulled her away from the crowd toward the dais where only a king should sit.

Greed reclined on a throne they’d brought out for him, the entire behemoth clearly just made. Gold coins were stacked on top of each other, some of them still visible where they hadn’t quite melted all the way through to make this golden throne. Two women reclined at his feet, their hands caressing their thighs as he let them drink from his own cup of red wine. One of them had spilled it between her breasts, clearly vying for more of his attention than the other.

Greed looked pleased with the circumstance, but his tail flicked behind him in annoyance. A sign he wasn’t as happy as he appeared.

“Took you long enough,” Greed said, then flicked his fingers at the ladies in front of him. “I thought you wouldn’t mind if I took a few of your women for entertainment while I waited for you.”

Lust looked them over to make sure they were fine. Though it shouldn’t surprise him that they were, he felt a flicker of discomfort. Greed wasn’t always gentle with his bedmates, but these women looked like they had yet to be touched.

What other plan did Greed have?

Frowning, he sat down on his own throne. “I do not mind if you find yourself entertainment. We are not that late, either.”

“You’re very late. We’ve all been here for hours.”

Selene stood beside him, and he sensed her discomfort. She apparently waited for a chair of her own, but no one would bring her one. And though he could have ordered them to, Lust saw her fingers shake for a brief moment before she curled them together. Still nervous, then. Still uncomfortable.

He reached for her, wrapping his fingers around her wrist and tugging her into his lap. Her eyes widened in surprise, but he didn’t let her go. She was forced to perch on his knee, as far away from him as she could get, all prim and proper and so damned uncomfortable.

Greed snorted into his drink. “I don’t think she likes you, brother.”

He trailed a finger down her spine, watching the bare skin pebble up at his touch. “Oh, she likes me well enough. She just doesn’t know it yet.”

Selene stiffened, but kept her mouth shut. She watched the people around them with cold eyes, and he wondered what was going on in her head. Did she see what he saw? Did she see a room full of people finally released to do what they wanted, or did she see depravity and foolishness?

He leaned back on his throne and enjoyed the view for a while. The next hour passed quickly. They drank, they ate. Greed told him more about his kingdom and how the drought had taken his people low. They were suffering more than he cared to admit, but that was partially a reason why he was here. If Lust could spare the water, he and his people would carry the barrels back. Of course he would, and he had no issues sharing what his kingdom had.

All their conversation was quiet beneath the revelry that grew louder with every drink that passed between hands. Soon there was nothing other than the moans of those enjoying physical touches and the answering groans. Even Greed had started petting the two women at his feet, his fingers caressing their necks, delving down into the shadows between their breasts before stretching up again.

Through it all, Selene remained ramrod straight on his knee. His leg had started to go numb from the hard bones pressing into his muscles. He’d thought she would at least loosen up a bit, but it appeared she only got more and more tense as the night went on.

When there was a lull in his conversation with Greed, he leaned forward. Lust slid his hands down each of her thighs and cupped her knees in his palms, so his arms bracketed her against his chest.

“Is it not up to your standards?”

“This?” she asked, nodding her head toward the writhing bodies. “No, it is not.”

“They enjoy themselves.”

“They could do so in private. Nothing says they have to stay in this room. There are plenty of beds.”

He pressed his lips to the long line of her shoulder, her velvety skin nearly making him groan. “They are allowed to enjoy themselves in public here. And if they want to, why waste the time finding a room?”

“This is not my world, Lust.”

“You judge them.”

“Judgment is not necessary to be uncomfortable. I can recognize they are enjoying themselves at the same time, I know I would never do what they are doing.” Another shiver went through her, but he knew it wasn’t because of his lips. It wasn’t revulsion, either. It was... fear.

His spine stiffened. “Why are you afraid?”

Those dark eyes turned toward him, an endless swirl of emotion, like the night sky on a clear evening. “I don’t want to be here, Lust. You made me come here. You made me watch all this and I endure it because I am expected to. I am here. I am seated before all your people in the most nightmarish room that I’ve ever been in. Your brother and you can talk politics while those two women and I try to pretend we haven’t heard it all, like little dolls for you to play with. What more do you want from me? You’ve taken my dignity tonight, and I fear there is nothing else for me to give.”

But that wasn’t... That wasn’t his intent. He hadn’t wanted to take her dignity or anything else, for that matter. They’d sat on a throne together! His people weren’t even looking at her.

A flash of anger seared his throat before he felt another shiver shake through her, though he’d never have noticed if he wasn’t touching all of her.

Fear had never been his intent. Though he did not understand it, and her fear felt like an insult, he also knew when to admit he was wrong.

He leaned back, trailing his knuckles down her pale back before nodding at his brother. “We’ll talk more tomorrow.”

“Ah, is that the way of it, then?”

Lust didn’t reply. Instead, he stood with Selene, ignoring the pins and needles in the leg she’d sat on for an hour now. He placed his hand on her lower back, ignored the way she tried to flinch away from him, and drew her around the throne.

“Where are we going now?” she asked.

He noted the dark circles under her eyes now that he could see her face. The hollow way she stood before him, like there wasn’t even a soul inside her anymore.

He’d pushed her too far tonight. This was his fault.

“There is another way to get to our bedroom.” Lust scrubbed a hand down his own face, suddenly exhausted as well. “We don’t need to go through the crowd. Come, little moon. Let’s go to bed.”