Chapter 23

ChapterTwenty-Three

He leaned against his bedroom door, grinning from ear to ear.

Lust had known it. He had been certain she wasn’t cold to him and now he had the proof. How was she hiding it? He had no idea. Nor did he care. He was so elated that she felt the same all-consuming desire that he did. Who cared how she was hiding herself or even resisting him or his brother?

Jabbing the air with his fist in celebration, he tucked his hands into his pockets and meandered down the hall. He had a brother to entertain today, after all.

Perhaps he’d inform Greed that the situation had resolved itself. Greed thought that Lust was lesser for not convincing this woman to fall into his bed, and Lust wouldn’t let that stand.

He didn’t need to convince her to want him. He didn’t need to do anything, apparently, other than be himself.

The new information was rather surprising. Women wanted things from him. They wanted an evening between his sheets. Perhaps they wanted permission to be uninhibited from someone who wouldn’t judge them for their needs or wants. He was all too willing to be that person for them.

Selene wanted none of that. And the thought made him trip in the hall.

When had he forgotten why she was here? He’d gotten so lost in the idea of seducing her and making her admit that she wanted him, that he’d forgotten she did want something from him. She wanted her mother and her sisters in this castle with their fingers in everything he’d worked so hard to build.

Ah, that made everything a little murkier.

He had gotten lost in the taste of her for a bit and forgotten that she wasn’t just some woman who had disregarded his power. She wasn’t just an enigma he’d found on the streets somewhere and brought back here. For all that their story might align with that, it wasn’t their story at all. She was still the daughter of the High Sorceress and a dangerous woman in her own right. Even if she wanted to pretend that she wasn’t.

Sighing, he ground his teeth together until he heard a creak. Why couldn’t all of this have been easier? Why couldn’t he forget where she’d come from and then he could focus instead on seducing her even further? He’d join her in bed again, stroke his hands down her sides and wait for her hand to wrap around his wrist the same way she’d done before.

He could still feel her grip on him. How she’d hesitated because she wanted to draw his hand down farther. Closer to where he desperately wanted to touch, if only to see how she would quiver beneath him.

Damn it. He had to stop thinking about her like this or he’d forget she wasn’t a normal woman again. She was more than that. Selene had layers to her, more than he liked, and that turned this entire endeavor upside down and inside out.

Huffing out a breath, he stalked into the great hall, where he knew his brother waited for him. His mood had gone from elated to downright horrid in the matter of a few seconds.

And his brother’s people made that mood even worse, as they were all hungover and draped about on his floor. A few of them clutched their heads or some foul smelling drink in their hands, others were apparently pretending they weren’t alive. Quite a few of them had pillows over their eyes, as though the sun hurt them.

Good. They should all question why they felt the need to come to his kingdom, drink all his alcohol, and then fuck his people into the wee hours of the morning. They could do that in their own land and not bother him with the nuisance.

Though most of the people in the great hall were clearly in pain, his brother was not. Greed sat on the same throne where Lust had left him, although this time he was alone. No women at his knees. None of his own people at his sides. Not even the giant twins who had glared at everyone who looked at Greed.

Lust stalked up to his own throne, sitting down on it as he waited for breakfast to arrive. His servants would have known to wait until he was ready, although they might hesitate at the missing woman who usually came down with Lust.

None of them seemed to know how to act around her. Was she a favored of Lust’s bedmates? Should they wait on her hand and foot? He had never clarified why she was here.

Should he? Perhaps he’d been remiss in not taking the time to sit them all down and tell them exactly who she was, rather than rely on rumors to do the speaking for him.

And then he realized Greed had said nothing since he’d sat down. His brother, the man who never seemed to shut up, hadn’t said a word.

That did not bode well for him. Frowning, Lust glanced over to see Greed was pulling on his bottom lip and staring off into space. It seemed like his brother hadn’t even noticed he’d sat down, which was wrong all on its own as well.

Sighing, Lust hooked a leg over the arm of his throne and cleared his throat. Loudly.

Greed flinched and then glared at him. “What was that for?”

“You’re here to visit me, are you not?”

“I am allowed to keep quiet thoughts to myself.”

“If you want to do that, then go back to your own kingdom.” Lust nodded at a servant, who looked at him with a questioning glance. They could bring breakfast out. He’d return to Selene later with a plate of food and a bottle of maple syrup. Maybe she’d let him play now that they both knew how she felt.

His thoughts turned wicked. He needed to distract himself before he joined his brother, staring off into the distance, wondering what it would be like to lick syrup from between those beautiful breasts of hers. He’d only touched a small amount of her, and now his hands itched for more.

Greed’s voice interrupted those thoughts, and he found it almost impossible to think of licking Selene’s velvet skin when his brother was rambling.

“What if she’s more than a sorceress?” Greed asked.

“There are only sorceresses in my kingdom. Are you suggesting she’s a witch? They’re the same thing.” He waved a hand when another servant held out a jug of wine. As if he needed more of that. “She already showed you her power, brother. It’s not much, but it’s enough to label her as one of them.”

“I’m suggesting that she has more than one power.”

Impossible. The thought made Lust snort. “Sorceresses have been the same for centuries. They are not all that interesting, Greed. They have one power they are born with. Their parents toss them to the Tower because magic is frowned upon even these days, and then the girls grow up there. They can do paltry tricks and spells that take ages to cast, that’s all.”

“What if she has two powers?” Greed looked at him then, those golden eyes slicing through every ounce of certainty Lust felt.

“I have not seen such a thing before.”

“There’s a first time for everything. We’ve felt the warning signs. Even Pride has admitted there’s a change in the air.”

Lust rolled his eyes. “I’ll believe it when Wrath agrees.”

“He has.”

Silence stretched between them. If Wrath admitted something had changed, that the world felt different, then they all had to believe it. Their brother in the depths lived with the ancients who had shaped this world. He would know more than any of them.

Uncomfortable now, he ran a thumb along his lower lip. “What would you propose, then?”

“I have no interest in knowing what you do with the girl. I only see that you are growing weaker while she seems to be growing stronger. Perhaps she is like us. Perhaps more spirits have taken mortal form.”

He snorted again. “Oh, it’s not that.”

“What would you suggest it is, then?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised to find out she has another power. But she’s let me taste her now, and I will not let that go so easily.”

Greed’s eyebrows rose and reached for a plate a servant held near his elbow. “Well, that explains why you’re so energetic this morning.”

“Ah, not in the way you’re thinking.” Another servant appeared beside him, and Lust took the offered plate that was full of bread, cheese, and fruit. “She let something slip. I could feel her lust this morning, taste it in the air like a wave. Like she’d been bottling it up somehow.”

“I dislike the unknown,” Greed muttered.

“Yes, you are as greedy with information as you are with everything else. You don’t need to remind me.”

But his brother had brought up a good point. He knew nothing of Selene’s history. Who she was. Where she came from. What if she was something else entirely? Not a sorceress or a witch, but a creature they had yet to discover?

The thought lingered a little too long, and suddenly he had to know the answer.

Standing, he balanced the plate in one hand while grabbing another.

“Where are you going?” Greed asked.

“To seek the truth.”

“Ah, a word of advice, brother. If I may.”

Lust had no interest in the advice from someone like Greed. But he had to endure this visit, so he paused. He eyed Greed, who looked a little too pleased with himself.

Greed’s tail flicked side to side, the tuft at the end a little ragged this morning. “Fuck her, brother. And quickly. We do not know if she is using your powers herself, or what she is doing to you. But you are weak. I can feel it. My people can feel it. You are not as you once were, and you need to remedy that.”

A flare of anger burned in his chest. “I will do with her as I wish, in my own time.”

“You may not have as much time as you think.” Greed’s brows furrowed with worry before his eyes flared brightly again. “But if you die, I will fight to absorb your kingdom. I suppose that would be a good consolation prize for you not listening to me.”

Seven kingdoms, he hated his brother sometimes.

Teeth bared in a snarl, Lust turned away with both plates in his hands. Let his brother play the bastard. He didn’t care. There was a woman waiting for him, and she was starving. In more ways than one.

His heart skipped a beat, and every muscle in his body clenched at the thought. He needed to get answers from her, not do as his brother wished for him to do, but... Maybe he could do both.

Lust planned out their meeting on his way to their room. It would take a bit to convince her, but he was certain that he could have a repeat of the night before. Only this time, he’d convince her to touch him when she answered questions. Surely she wanted to touch him. He could feel the lust rolling off of her the moment she’d seen him.

He knocked again, not waiting for her to respond to him before opening the door.

“I brought you breakfast,” he said, trying to sound happy and not so fucking horny that he couldn’t think. “I assumed after last night with Greed you wouldn’t want to eat with…”

He forgot how to speak.

A bronze tub was now in the middle of his bedroom. His servants had likely carried it up for her, or perhaps it had been in her room. He didn’t know. All he saw was the condensation running down the sides from the hot water inside. Selene sat within, bubbles covering the top of the water, but not quite enough so he couldn’t see the rise and fall of her breasts as she stared at him.

Her dark hair was slicked back from her face, though a bead of water slid down her temple, catching on her jaw that was slightly open in shock. One leg was still gracefully lifted out of the water, hooked over the side of the tub as though she was too hot.

And oh, she looked so lovely he wasn’t even certain he was breathing.

“Lust,” she murmured.

He’d give her anything if she spoke to him in that tone again. Did she want the kingdom? Certainly. He’d hand it to her on a silver platter if she’d say another word in that throaty voice.

“Yes?”

“You’re going to drop those plates. Maybe you should set them down.”

Right. He had food in his hands and if he wasn’t careful, he’d dump that food onto the floor like an idiot. But still, he couldn’t remember feeling like this in a very long time. She captivated him. Him. He’d been so bored for years on end because everyone was like the rest and this woman somehow had broken that mold.

It was unsettling.

He set the two plates down on the nightstand before walking over to the bath.

Her eyes grew rounder with every step. “What are you doing?”

“Joining you.”

“You’re absolutely not getting in this bath with me.”

He’d already started unbuttoning his shirt, but paused at her tone. “Why not?”

“Because I don’t want you to.”

Lust finished his movements, letting the shirt fall open. And there it was. The same lovely taste that flooded through his mouth, a tempting mixture of honey, whiskey, and peppermint. “You’re lying.”

“I’m not lying.”

“I can taste that you want me.” He tilted his head to the side, frowning down at her. “But you’re still fighting it. Why?”

She sank lower in the tub until the bubbles touched her chin. “You don’t need to know the answer to everything, Lust. You’re not getting in the bath with me. Thank you for breakfast. You may leave now.”

Oh, he would not do that, but he was very curious about what was going on. She acted like this was a horrific thing to happen. Him finding her in the bath. And here he was, straining to touch her, his cock so hard in his pants that he worried it might burst.

But she was troubled. She was fighting against this thing between them when she shouldn’t. He already knew that she felt lust, so why...

Sighing, he knelt beside the tub and rested an arm against the warm metal. “Where did you come from?”

She blinked at him. “The Tower.”

“Yes, yes. The White Tower of Silver Thread. Home to the Eternal Sisters, Wives of the Night Sky.” He crossed his eyes for good measure. “That isn’t where you came from, it’s where you were placed. So, what is your real story?”

Amusement softened her features. Perhaps she enjoyed his foolishness, because at least she sat up a little more in the tub. Though she did gather some of the bubbles closer to her chest. “I’m told I was from Harpswell.”

“Is that so? It’s a very pretty area.” He had fond memories of the place, though it was rare to find families who had any magical abilities whatsoever. “And your family gave you to Minerva?”

“They didn’t want me.” She shrugged, but he felt all that lust disappear in an instant. “They left me out in the snow to die. Minerva found me, and it was by her grace that I live. She could have ignored me. Such a death is not pleasant but not, perhaps, the worst.”

His heart broke to hear her say those words. “I’m sure your family wanted you. It is tradition to leave magical children with the Tower.”

Her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes, and then she shook her head. “No. Minerva was very specific. They didn’t want me.”

Something in his chest cracked open at the words. A feeling he’d never felt suddenly swam to the surface. He didn’t have a name for it, but it made him move.

Slowly, so he didn’t startle her, Lust smoothed the backs of his fingers down her cheek. “I can’t imagine anyone not wanting you.”

He met her gaze without hesitation. There was no motive to his words, just the truth. As furrows appeared on her brow, she stared into his eyes as though searching for the lie. The joke at the end of all this.

There was no joke. He continued to stare back at her until she let out a little breath.

“I don’t know that anyone but you believes that.”

Lust’s hand tightened at the back of her neck. “Then they are the fools, Selene, and I am all the better for it. I would hoard you to myself if I could. If you would let me.”

He felt her swallow against his hand, even as she gave him a nod. “I believe you.”

And then he remembered that she was very wet and very slick and entirely blushed from head to toe. It took every ounce of control to not look down as the bubbles floated away from her body just enough for a tempting glimpse.

But he was here for a reason, and though his plan had been for her to touch him, perhaps he could still use this moment.

Leaning closer, he pressed his forehead to hers and closed his eyes. Drawing deeply into his lungs the scent of peppermint and whiskey. “My brother believes you have two powers. One to conjure light, and another that lets you deflect our powers. Is that true?”

“I cannot tell you.”

“Oh, you should not tell me. But you will. Trust, remember? We are trusting each other in this and damn what the Tower says about me. What do you believe, Selene? Do you believe I am worthy of your trust?”

He pulled back, staring down into those big dark eyes that watched him. He saw the universe in her gaze and a thousand lifetimes of happiness or pain.

She chewed on her lip. At some point she’d crossed her arms over her chest, though she likely had no idea she was pressing those lovely breasts together as though offering them to him.

But then she hissed out an angry breath and admitted, “I have two powers. It’s not that I’m deflecting yours, it’s that I’m absorbing them and burying them very deep. I cannot feel them. And apparently neither can you. Or Greed.”

Ah, the flood of pleasure he got from her trusting him. It made him feel like a man. Not a spirit or a demon or even a king. Just the man she trusted, as she trusted no one else.

He dragged her forward to press his lips to her forehead. “Thank you for telling me.”

“Please don’t make me regret doing so.”

“Ah, I can promise little, but that one I can make.” And because he couldn’t help himself, he tilted her head back with his hand and kissed her.

He took his time, enjoying the way her lips molded to his. How she remained stiff for all but a few heartbeats before she melted into his touch. He delved into her mouth, tasting her on his tongue so he could leave with something other than the faint promise of pleasure.

And when she was breathless, he let her go.

“Enjoy your bath,” he said, leaving the room before he lost his nerve and went back to her. “I’ll see you tonight.”