Chapter 29

ChapterTwenty-Nine

He’d long since decided she would come with him today. He needed her to be at court and for others to see her. Why? He couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

Lust knew that it had bothered him when half the servants hadn’t realized who he was talking about when he asked where she was. They all knew that he had his own little pet in his room. Some of them even talked about how he’d been so fascinated with this new pet that he’d not even left the room.

And then, when he’d had his butler ask around, he discovered there were others spreading darker rumors. Rumors about how horrible she was. How he hid her because she was ugly, and that he wouldn’t touch her even though the sorceresses wanted him to.

The moment he found out who had spread that particular nasty rumor, he would make sure they spent a few nights in the dungeon.

A dungeon he did not have. Considering they’d already turned it into a dark, damp place where many of his followers enjoyed the torture. But he would figure out that punishment once it came to it.

For now, he wanted her to come with him. To present herself before all his people as the queen they needed. And he refused for that first outing to be anywhere in the castle.

The castle inhabitants were aware of her. The nobles had seen her a few times now, and that impression was a sour one that wouldn’t be easy to fix. He didn’t want to throw her to the wolves. They’d tear her apart for judging their chosen antics.

Not that he could blame them. She’d behaved poorly when she walked in on their usual affairs of state, but that would come in time. Eventually, she would realize that his life was led very differently than regular people in his kingdom. She’d learn how to love his ways, he was certain of it.

Waltzing into their room, he had a brand new cloak over each arm to prepare them both for travel. “I hope you’re comfortable riding. I don’t want to bring the carriage with us today. It’s far too nice out to be stuck inside those stuffy walls.”

Really, he just wanted to watch her ride a horse. Those strong thighs would grip down on the saddle, and made him want to bite his knuckles just at the mere thought. Watching her ride would be a torment that he was so incredibly ready for.

Except, when he laid the cloaks out on the bed, he turned to see her ready for their journey and was greeted by a vision in black.

Black. Was she allergic to color?

The woman was never in anything but dark and dreary fabric. He refused to bring her around his people while they wondered if she was mourning the loss of someone important. She wasn’t. He was the most important person in her life and he was very much still here.

Tsking, he looked her up and down with obvious disdain. “Now, what are you wearing? I don’t think I’ve ever seen this particular monstrosity.”

Selene frowned at him, then joined him staring at her gown. It was perhaps a little less stuffy than the others. Though this dress still had a neckline that almost reached her chin, it at least parted in the middle and reached her collarbone, exposing lovely pale flesh. The sleeves were a little thinner than the others, and he watched the fabric stretch as she moved to reveal a hint of skin underneath. But the entire dress was still black as night, without a single embroidered decoration.

“This is my best gown,” she said, staring back at him with anger in those dark eyes. “You said we were going to be walking through the town around the castle. You said to dress like a queen.”

“You’re dressed like you’re going to a funeral.”

“I’m dressed formally!”

He stared up at the ceiling as though there was something up there that could help him. “I thought I’d made it very clear by now that the Tower’s idea of dressing is drab, sad, and covers far too much of your body.”

“It’s appropriate to cover your body when you are going to a political event.” She threw her hands up at her sides. “Do you want me to parade around in front of your people completely naked? How serious would they take me?”

Lust tilted his head to the side. “Well, very. I’ve seen you naked now and I can attest that you are quite beautiful and they would be lucky to see you without a stitch of clothing.”

“And that doesn’t make you jealous?”

“Why should it?” A burn bloomed in his chest, eating its way up his throat and nearly pouring out of the feral grin that spread across his face. “They all know not to touch what is mine. If even one of them laid a hand on that lovely, lily white skin, I would pull their skeleton out of their body while they were still alive.”

A small smile sparked on her face, but she shook her head and pretended to be disappointed with him. “That’s not possible to do. You’ll need to be much more creative in your threats if you want to actually scare them.”

“Oh?” He stalked over to her, hands flexing at his sides. He didn’t want to startle her, but he also wanted his hands on her. “And what do you know of what is possible and what is not?”

“I’d like to think I know a lot about that.”

“You didn’t know I could jump down a mere two stories. It wasn’t that far, and yet I remember you pressing your hands to your mouth in shock.”

“Anyone would have done that.”

“No one questions me but you.” He couldn’t stop himself. Lust palmed each side of her hips and drew her against him. “I wonder why that is.”

“Oh, probably because no one would dare argue with you. They think all the things I say. I am but the fool who gives the thoughts flight.” Selene rolled her eyes, but then laid her hands flat on his chest.

He marked all the first moments in their relationship. And this one? She touched him willingly. Not while in the throes of passion, but just to touch him. He’d never felt more powerful or more like a god than he did in this moment with her tiny fingers pressed against him.

“What would you prefer me to wear?” she asked. “I imagine naked is not your first choice, either.”

It was. He’d love to see her ride through town in nothing but her skin, with that long hair parted over her chest and pooling in her lap. He wanted to ride behind her. He’d thread his arm around her tiny waist, pull her against his hard cock and let the rocking of their ride do most of the work.

Of course, they would not do that. It would be rude to the poor horse.

Sighing, he released her to disappear inside his sizable closet. “Did a servant not help you?”

“She said I could wear whatever I wanted, so I chose what I wanted.”

There were plenty of gowns in here that were far more suitable for a queen. And while she would not be announced as that yet, he wanted people to see her as his... consort.

He settled on the term at the same time he found the perfect dress.

“Your mother wanted you to be my queen,” he said while walking out. A crimson gown draped over his forearm. “I do not believe that you have earned that title yet, nor do I trust you to choose me over your family.”

Her mouth dropped open, cheeks reddening with an argument he could already hear.

Lust held up his hand for silence. “You have come a long way from that little puppet that I met all that time ago, Selene. But that does not mean I trust you with an entire kingdom. I will call you my consort to anyone who asks, and you will do the same. Do you understand me?”

Her jaw snapped shut, and she gave him a firm little nod.

Ah, but he’d angered her. He couldn’t imagine why. Being a consort was a true title in this kingdom, and one that many women had fought each other for. He couldn’t count how many of his bedmates had shown up with missing handfuls of their hair while a bruise formed on their cheeks. But they had won their little battle, and he always took the winner to bed.

Now, he couldn’t imagine Selene fighting for him. Ever, really. If she did, then she would win. If she didn’t and wore the mark of another woman, he was uncertain what he would do. Some ugly feeling bubbled up in his chest and he was ashamed to admit he would protect her, no matter the cost.

He needed to distract himself from these thoughts. They were unlike him and thoroughly terrible for him to even consider.

Lust laid the dress out on the bed and turned toward her. “If you would be so kind.”

She arched a brow. “And do what?”

He twirled a finger in the air, indicating she should turn around.

“I know if I let you undress me, we will be late.”

“I told you I was practicing restraint,” he replied with a chuckle. “Trust me, little moon. I’m all too happy to see you undressed, but I’m also quite excited to see my people. It’s been a long time since I’ve left the castle.”

“But you’re always wandering about.” Confusion wrinkled between her brows. “I haven’t kept you in the castle all that long. Have I? I’ll admit, all the days have blurred together.”

If she would not turn, then he would have to move around her. Lust stared down at the back of her dress and frowned down at the hundred buttons all down her spine. “Ah, Selene. They’ve locked you in a prison.”

“Every gown should have finer details that prove its value.”

“Spoken like Minerva’s daughter.” He pressed a kiss to her shoulder before he attacked the buttons with as much gusto as he could. It took a while for him to unbutton them all, and even then there were more layers underneath.

There was another dress underneath this outer layer. At least six crinkly skirts that made his hands itch after he touched them, and then there was another pale layer of underclothes that he wouldn’t recognize if someone held a sword to his throat. Each layer was more frustrating than the last.

“If you wanted to bundle yourself back up in sheets, why did you not just do that?” he grumbled as he yanked the last ribbon free from her underclothes.

“I am dressed the way I was raised to dress,” she replied with a laugh. “Are you quite finished yet? I think we’re actually going to be late.”

“Because you insist on dressing like an onion!”

“An onion?” She whirled on him, holding the last layer to her chest before it fell to the ground. “Are you telling me I smell?”

He leaned in close and inhaled deeply. Peppermint. She always smelled like peppermint. “No, you smell fine. But the amount of layers on your body is absolutely disgusting. Now let me dress you.”

They were going to be late if he wasn’t careful. So Lust did not stare at the luscious swells of her breasts or the way she banded an arm around them while a lovely blush dusted them pink. He absolutely did not let his eyes linger on the curves of her hips or the rounded bottom that made him want to bite it.

Or perhaps he did. At least a little.

Lust efficiently set her into the red gown that wasn’t so revealing that she’d be uncomfortable, but also made sure that she wouldn’t stand out as someone other than who they expected. The red fabric was painted like a leaf, wrapping once around her throat before it created arching shoulders that then twisted around her torso, weaving back and forth to her hips where it fell like a wave to her feet. The fabric was very sheer, nearly see through, but thick enough in all the places that would make her blush. No one could see the outline of her nipples or the shadows between her legs, but they certainly would see the long lines of her legs and that tempting valley between the top of her bottom and her spine.

“This is indecent,” she said when he finished, staring at herself in the mirror.

“You look lovely.” And if his voice was a little deeper than before, he tried to hide it with a press of his lips against her bare shoulder. “Now sit down. We can’t have you going out with your hair down like this.”

“I thought you liked my hair down.”

“I do.” He wanted to see how far she’d let him go, so he wrapped the length of it around his fist, once, twice, three times. Then, gently pulling, he forced her head back to look at him. “But you hide behind it when it’s down, and I want them to see your pretty face.”

The breath caught in her throat. She stared up at him with bright eyes, and then he noticed the taste of whiskey and peppermint on his tongue.

So she liked it when he used her hair like reins. How interesting.

His cock grew painfully hard, and it took every ounce of his control not to say fuck everyone who waited for them. He could bring her back to that bed and lay her out like the offering she was.

But he couldn’t do that, so he let her hair go, and she meandered over to the vanity where she sat down. “You can call for the servants, but it takes a while for them to come up.”

“For what?” He leaned around her and picked up the brush. “We have no need of them.”

“I thought you wanted my hair to be done?”

“I do.” And he wanted that honor himself.

Lust let her fall silent and watch his reflection as he ran the brush through her hair. He’d watched her brush these dark locks so many times, and now he got to do it himself. The soft waves felt like silk in between his fingers and he had to bite his lip so he didn’t groan at the feeling. He wanted these spread across his chest. He wanted to feel the weight of her draped over him after he’d thoroughly exhausted her.

There was no time. He had responsibilities, and those weren’t to bury his face between her thighs. As entertaining a job as that might be.

Weaving the first strands away from her head, he started in on the intricate braids he had envisioned. “My people will be glad to see you. And I will be glad that everyone knows you are mine.”

“I never took you as someone who thought running this kingdom was worthwhile or serious.”

“I’m sure that’s what Minerva would like everyone to think.” He started on the other side, leaving thinner braids loose so he could use them later to tie it all together. “There is time for fun and there is time for work. There’s a reason this kingdom runs better than any of the others. And a reason why my people are happier.”

She let out a low hum that ran straight down his spine. Damned women knew what she was doing and yet she still moaned like that. “My mother would have everyone think otherwise. I grew up hearing that this kingdom was worse off than all the others. Spinning wildly into the cosmos with a lack of leadership.”

“If that were the truth, don’t you think the monstrous beings who live in the darkness below us would have swallowed up this island already?” He tugged hard on one of her braids before returning to his work.

“Are they real?”

“Of course they’re real. Everything terrifying is.” One of her braids had loosened a bit, but he decided to use it. The looser it was, the better he would weave them all together at the back of her head. He’d leave the bottom half of her hair loose, he thought. He just wanted the strands away from her face, so she couldn’t hide like she usually did.

“Lust?” she asked a few moments later, and he realized he’d been lost in his work.

“What is it, little moon?”

“Why do you think you run this kingdom better than the others?”

He met her gaze in the mirror and flashed her a cocky grin. “Because I’m the prettiest brother, and people love me the most.”

She tilted her head back and burst into laughter. The sound pealed through the room like the ringing of bells, and something settled in his chest that he’d never felt before. A quiet sensation of such utter happiness and bliss, but it was not startling or overwhelming. It was merely quiet and calm.

Lust rubbed at the feeling in his chest. He couldn’t quite get rid of it, no matter how hard he tried.

When she finished laughing, her grin still turned her face somehow more beautiful than before. “What is it? What is that look?”

“I’ve never heard you laugh like that before,” he said, returning his attention to her braids. He needed something to distract him. Something that would keep his hands busy so he didn’t grab onto her like she was the only rock in the middle of a storm at sea.

“Why should that matter?” she asked, her voice quiet.

“It made you beautiful,” he replied. “More than ever before.”