Chapter 30

ChapterThirty

Though she had thought this would be uncomfortable, Selene quickly realized two things.

First, his people weren’t monsters. They didn’t want to make her uncomfortable, they just didn’t know what to do with her. When she walked around in her thick, dark gowns, they thought something was wrong with her. How did she know this? A few of them asked if she was feeling better, and when she told them she’d been fine since she got here, Lust gave her a look of utter satisfaction. Clearly, he had known they were worried about her.

Second, Lust looked all too good on top of a horse. His thighs gripped it with practiced ease. He took his time making sure that everything was situated on his mount before he swung up with all the grace of a dancer.

Selene hadn’t lied when she said she’d ridden before. Minerva loved horses, and there were quite a few afternoons where she’d joined her mother on rides around the Tower.

But she’d always had a riding dress on. Particularly the one that he’d taken off of her. Now, she knew that if she wanted to get on this horse, she would leave her thighs bare. Everyone would be able to see quite literally all of her leg, and she didn’t know how to be comfortable with that.

Gritting her teeth, she looked at the bay roan horse in front of her, eyeing the lovely dark legs and the pretty dark mane that someone had braided. It was a beautiful beast who likely rode like a dream. But she didn’t want everyone to see her bare like that.

“Lust,” she muttered, so the servants wouldn’t overhear her complaint. “How am I supposed to ride this horse?”

“Like you always do, I imagine.”

“This dress—”

He interrupted her before she could say anything. He kicked his horse closer, coming at her in a rush that should have spooked her mount, but instead the beast remained docile and quiet. Lust leaned down and captured her chin in his hand. “There is not a single person who would deny how beautiful you are, little moon. Be proud of that beauty. I want them to see you exist, but I also want to show you off. You are mine. And I want them to know it.”

His touch seared her chin. Her face flamed bright red, angry that he’d suggest such a thing but also because... Well. She didn’t know what he wanted.

One moment he was forcing her to strip in front of him, even though she did not want to do that. And the next, he was telling her how beautiful she was and that he wanted his entire kingdom to know it.

How was a woman supposed to survive this kind of attention?

Fanning her face, she glared at him while she decided it wasn’t worth the argument. If he wanted to make her show off her legs to everyone, then she would force herself to be all right with it.

Swinging up onto the back of her mount, she settled into the saddle with a grimace. Leather didn’t feel as good between her legs as she had hoped.

“Fine,” she muttered. “I will endure.”

“You’ll do more than that.” His eyes raked over her body before he bit his lower lip. “You look good on that horse, Selene. It’s too bad we’re busy.”

“Or what?”

The command in her voice must have done something to him. His hands creaked as he gripped his reins and he let out a long breath that sounded like a tortured laugh. “Oh, I won’t let you in on my thoughts that easily.”

She could see his thoughts. The way his entire body clenched at her question let her know just how much power she had over him. He didn’t want her to know that she could make him think of sex with just a throaty tone in her voice, because it let her know how much she controlled him.

And yet... Maybe this could work to her advantage.

Selene gave her horse its head since the creature wanted to follow the other. It figured that he’d given her the most docile horse in his stable, probably because he didn’t want to see how far she could get if he let her run.

They didn’t have far to go, at least. The town surrounding the castle was unlike any other she’d seen before, and she’d only seen glimpses of it when she arrived here. Clean streets, gleaming cobblestones, ridiculously full shops that were brimming with vegetables, art, fabric, and more. All of those had been a snippet of what she had seen.

But now? She was given so much more to look at from the back of this horse. And maybe that was his intent the entire time.

Selene’s eyes ate up the beauty that surrounded them. Every building was built out of white marble with gold accents. There were balconies dotted here and there, with people who leaned out to smile down at Lust and call out his name. Everyone wore good clothing. Nothing threadbare or moth-eaten.

She wished she could say her mother’s ramblings about him at least were true near the Tower. That there were towns hidden from the public eye where poverty plagued the people. And sure, there were some towns who weren’t nearly as wealthy as this. But none of them were abused, hungry, or angry. Not that she’d seen, and she was coming to realize that maybe there wasn’t a town like that in this kingdom.

A group of children ran out in front of their horses, not so close as to be worrisome, but enough that Selene stopped her horse.

Lust did the same, watching them with amusement as they jostled each other. Finally, one of the tallest boys was shoved forward, and he squared his shoulders. The boy stared up at Lust with no fear in his eyes, only confidence.

“My lord,” he said, then swallowed hard. “We’ve got a question for you.”

Lust leaned an elbow on the pommel of his saddle, looking down at the boys as though he were considering their request very thoroughly. “Proceed.”

The tall boy then pointed at her. “We want to know who that is.”

Selene blushed. It was a ridiculous reaction to daring little boys. It wasn’t as if they were nobles who had asked or if it even mattered for children to know that she existed. But she had been quite happy with her position in the shadows. If Lust had let her, she would have stayed in those shadows for good.

He looked her over, his eyes lingering on the smooth planes of her legs and the way her dress nearly hung off her shoulders. Then he responded, “My new consort. Perhaps you can help us in letting everyone know that she’s here.”

“A consort?” The boy’s face scrunched up. “What’s that mean?”

“The closest thing you’ll ever get to a queen.”

The boys let out a little whoop and raced off in different directions. Selene couldn’t tear her eyes away from Lust, though. He stared at her with a hungry look, as though saying those words had reminded him how much he wanted her. How terribly it burned inside him that he couldn’t have her right now.

And an answering bloom unfurled in her own chest. She wanted him.

She knew this wasn’t the right place for it. Nor should she even be thinking about how he’d sank to his knees in front of her and worshiped her body as if she meant something to him. It shouldn’t matter that his tongue was talented when there were so many eyes on her, but once she thought about the memory, it was not so easy to dash aside.

He let out a little groan and shook his head. “Don’t you start now.”

“I’m not doing anything.”

“You are.” He pointed at her with a wry grin. “You’re the one who wanted to come to town. Now behave.”

Her jaw dropped open as he urged his horse forward. She was the one who had wanted to come? He’d quite literally dragged her to the horse while she told him maybe there was a better time for them to meet everyone. How was he blaming this on her?

Just to get back at him, she let her thoughts run wild.

As they meandered through the town, speaking to anyone who reached for Lust’s leg, she thought about all the countless things that drove her wild. She let her mind linger on the memories of his tongue and how he’d lashed at her clit before sucking it all too perfectly. She thought about his hands moving up her thighs, those big strong fingers squeezing her flesh.

And then she thought about that ridiculously thick cock that had slid so easily between her fingers as her own wetness coated it. How would that feel between her legs? Sliding through her folds and then sinking deep, deep inside her until she couldn’t even choke out a sound?

He flinched when she thought about that one. Lust had been leaning down so a young man in a bright green cap could talk to him in a slightly more private setting. And though he still listened to that young man speak, he stared at her. His burning eyes promised retribution when they got back to the castle.

She hoped he would. Maybe he’d tie her to the bed and make her endure the entirety of his lust. Would he last longer than most? Last night it seemed as though he was the same as a regular man, finished when he was done and that was the end of it. But what if he could go more rounds than that? Clearly, he wasn’t human. He’d vaulted off a two story building!

She was so lost in her thoughts that Selene didn’t notice that he’d urged his horse closer to hers. Lust grabbed her mount’s reins, forcing her to stay in place while he leaned in. Brushing his lips over her cheek, he whispered in her ear, “Stop these games, or I will bend you over whatever surface I can find.”

A shiver rocked her shoulders. “We’re in public, Lust. I thought you respected your people too much to make them wait even longer?”

This was her “gotcha” moment. The time when she broke him and proved he was what her mother had said. A man so focused on lust and desire that he didn’t know how to run a kingdom.

Instead, he grabbed her by the hair and tilted her head back. Just enough so that she was frozen in place with all eyes on her. “You are a temptress as well as a sorceress, I know. But the flaw in this plan is that no one here would mind if I simply let my power loose. You think we’d be the only people fucking, Selene? Oh, no. I would make them all join us and they would like it. They’d listen to you scream my name and it would make them all come at the same time. Have you ever shared a moment like that with a hundred people? All of you coming as the energy in the room becomes electric?”

She couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. Could he do that? Really?

Did she want him to?

His hand gentled, smoothing through her long locks and giving her neck back to her. “We’re busy, Selene. As tempting as you are, I find I wish to keep you to myself. At least for a little while longer, and then we’ll play with whatever fantasies you might have.”

But he couldn’t end it there. Apparently, he didn’t care that so many eyes were on them, because he still cupped the back of her head and kissed her like a drowning man. Like a starving creature who knew he only had a few days left, so fuck the rules and fuck everyone who had made them.

Lust groaned into her mouth, the sound obscene and inappropriate, but... she liked it.

A cheer rose around them. It startled her out of the haze of lust that clouded her mind and Selene realized they were very much in public and he was kissing her in a way that should only be done in private.

Wrenching away from him, she felt her cheeks turn an even darker shade of red. If she could crawl back inside the dark robes that she usually wore, that would have been better. But he still had the cloak that he’d brought for her, because apparently it wasn’t cold enough for him to let her have it.

She wanted to hide. Wanted to get away from all these people and their eyes and their judgements.

Lust cupped his hand under her chin and turned her to look at him. His eyes locked on hers, and suddenly she couldn’t look anywhere else. “You are meant to be here. Right here. Nowhere else that mind of yours has you running. They are happy you are with me, Selene. You are a beautiful, strong woman who has suffered more than the eyes of a few people watching you kiss the man who holds your attention for now.”

She nodded, his words filtering through the cloud of her mind. And yet... What would her mother think?

“You are not in the Tower any longer.” He pressed one more kiss to her lips, grinning against her as another cheer erupted. “There is no one to make rules for you any longer, little moon. Make your own. With me, preferably.”

And then he wheeled his horse away and continued to meet with his people. She mulled over what he said as she trailed along behind him.

What if she made her own rules? What if she didn’t care what the Tower had taught her and allowed herself to live here? It didn’t seem so bad. She’d have to endure him kissing her in public, but people seemed happy that he’d done so.

So many people in the crowd grinned at her now. A few of the women looked on with a little jealousy, but even they smiled at her with happiness. They all seemed to be pleased that Lust had settled down with someone specific. Which made little sense to her. Their king was known for never taking a woman twice, or at least that’s what the Tower had claimed.

But maybe she’d been wrong about a lot of this. And maybe this was the final straw before she let herself believe that.

Lust paused again to speak with someone else, and a soft hand touched her foot.

Selene glanced down to see an elderly woman holding onto her. The woman’s wrinkled face showed a life of happiness, with so many smile lines and crow’s feet around her eyes that she appeared permanently wrinkled, even when not smiling.

And the woman held out a rose for her to take.

“Thank you,” Selene whispered.

“We’ve been waiting for him to take a queen for a very long time,” the woman said, her voice warbling with her age. “It’s good to see him so happy.”

“Oh, I’m not his queen.” Nor did she think he would ever make her one. Lust knew his limits, and that was one of them. Why would he make a sorceress a queen, anyway?

The old woman smiled at her and rolled her eyes. “Dearie, anyone can see the way he looks at you. That boy has fallen head over heels, even if he won’t admit it yet.”

Selene felt her stomach churn. Was he? No. He couldn’t be interested in her like that. Lust didn’t have the ability to do so if he was a spirit like Affection. She’d learned what she could about them. No spirit could change, no matter how much she’d like to believe he could.

But then he looked over his shoulder at her and a smile as bright as the sun radiated across his face. And for a moment, she let herself believe he wouldn’t always be a spirit of lust. That he could feel more than his desire for her.

It felt good to dream of a future with him. Even if it was only for a moment.