Chapter 32

ChapterThirty-Two

He threw himself into his work. How could he be so foolish? He had known how fragile she was. Not because of her past injuries, but simply because she was human.

But it had seemed so natural for him to feed from her every night. And she’d enjoyed it. How could he ever forget the sound of her faint moans in his ears and how she’d twisted her body so he’d settled between her legs just right? She’d wanted him, and he had been so caught up in his own need that it was hard for him to think of anything else.

Like her safety.

Like how much he needed to control himself because he was a glutton for everything he could get his hands on, and that included her. He would break her if he had his way with her, and he had known that from the start.

He’d just forgotten about it. Like the fool he was.

Envy visited him once a day to keep him informed on her health, but every day refused to bring her back. There were too many factors for her health right now, and Envy had practiced magical healing for a very long time. He would make sure that she was perfectly well, but he would not return her until then.

And every day, Gluttony wondered whether or not she was happy. Envy’s kingdom was... well, it was more than this. Every other kingdom was more than this. And his brother liked to take things that weren’t his.

Gluttony tortured himself by imagining all the wonderful things Envy could show her. The halls of living carvings. The underground city that opened up into a giant cavern lit by a single hole above their head. How the clouds had come into his kingdom and almost every single person within it knew how to cast at least some spells.

Envy’s kingdom was full of magic and sights that no human ever got to behold. He wouldn’t blame Katherine if she wished to stay there. He wouldn’t blame her in the slightest.

What did he have to offer here in this kingdom? Nothing but danger and gray days.

He got so close to solving all the puzzles with his alchemical solution. He was almost certain that he knew exactly what it was, and that was more than enough for him to feel some sense of pride. But all he felt was a sense of loss when he could not share it with her.

Then came the day that the portal opened in his lab. He stood as he always did, pulling off his glasses and rubbing his eyes that were surely surrounded by dark, bruised circles. He expected Envy to step through with another disappointing update, but what he saw in front of him was a vision in white.

Katherine wore one of Envy’s white robes that so many people wore around him. It clung to her shoulders, scooping deep between those lovely breasts. And she was still so pale. But she was alive, and the portal closed behind her without a single word from his brother and he...

He almost fell to his knees in relief.

“Katherine?” he said, taking a shaky step toward her. “Are you well?”

“Well enough.” She took a step toward him as well, almost as though she wasn’t sure if he’d want her to. “Are you well?”

“I...” No.

He wasn’t.

He’d fallen apart without her and had a thousand worries dogging every step. He wanted to touch her. He wanted to tell her that he would protect her for the rest of his life, but he didn’t know how to do that when he also wanted to devour her whole. Every moment without her had felt like he walked on broken glass, and it had torn into his very being to know that she was not here with him. He wanted her.

Gluttony needed her.

Every part of his dark life had lit up with her here and the mere thought that he had almost ruined it made him want to gouge out his own eyes.

But this was not about him. He had been the one to hurt her, and now he would be the one to welcome her home.

Gluttony opened his arms wide, about to ask if he could hug her. But she took the choice right out of his mouth. Instead, Katherine launched herself at him and tunneled into his embrace.

He pressed his lips together, trying desperately to keep the emotions inside of him. Curving his body around hers, he held her close to his heart. Listening to the sound of her own breathing and feeling her ribs move every time, she snuggled a little closer to him.

“You are well?” he asked again.

She nodded against his chest.

And together, they stood like that for a little while longer. Just reveling in each other, and feeling that the other was alive. That they’d waited for each other, as impossible as that sounded.

“Envy’s kingdom is beautiful, isn’t it?” he asked quietly.

“It is cold,” she whispered. “It is empty and cold.”

That was not the kingdom he remembered at all. He knew the great spires and artistry made most people lose their minds. And yet, this woman saw something he did not. As was so often with Katherine.

Holding her a little tighter, Gluttony felt his heart squeeze. “I am so sorry, Kat. I did not think that what I was doing would...”

“I know who you are, Gluttony. I know what you do. I agreed to it, did I not?” She pulled back slightly, wincing at the movement. “I know what you want from me and I have never said no to it. We were both too careless. This is not entirely on you.”

But it was. If he was not the man who desired to suck out every bit of her life, then neither of them would be in this situation. And even now, he saw the throbbing in her throat and he wanted to take from her. He wanted to feed and draw every bit of her inside of him. It was a need that he could not explain.

Instead, he swallowed hard and forced all that desire down.

“Come,” he said, cupping the back of her head and tipping her back to look at him. “You must be exhausted.”

“I have been sleeping for many days while your brother tutted over me like a mother hen.” She smiled, but he could see how tired she still was. “I have rested for more than I wish to rest.”

“And yet, I have already prepared something for you.”

“What?” She looked up at him with those wide eyes and he knew he had done something right for once.

After all the time without her, he had known there were some things that he had to change. First, the castle needed to be fixed. He’d gone into town himself and chosen a few people who were returning from work. They were tired and haggard, and they were the desperate ones. Exactly what he needed, considering the town had not been all that receptive for his return.

He’d offered them a lot of money. Enough to get them across the light bridge and to another kingdom if they wished. And he offered them food and water while they cleaned his castle from top to bottom. So they had. They had spent hours upon hours slaving away while he worked in his lab, the only place he’d told them not to touch, and in the week that she’d been gone, everything was fixed.

He hardly recognized the place when he walked through it. They’d done a remarkable job, and he’d told them so himself. Then gave them more money than he’d promised and sent them on their way.

It was worth it to see the expression on Katherine’s face. They walked through well lit halls, on plush carpets that had been taken out and washed. Tapestries that he hadn’t seen for years now gleamed, so bright and lovely he’d forgotten that some of the threads had been imbued with magic to make them look like there were gemstones encrusted in each one.

It was gluttonous to have such luxuries in a castle that no one saw, but he had forgotten that he enjoyed being a glutton over more than just people.

“Is this the same castle?” she asked, laughing as she spun in a circle. “Is this really the same place?”

“I thought you’d like it.”

“Oh, I do.” She turned to him with her hands pressed against her chest. “I’m so glad you aren’t living in the past anymore, Gluttony. This place was keeping you in old memories. And look now! You can move on.”

If only.

For now, all he wanted was to show her the room he had readied for her. Holding out his hand, he drew her into a side room that was filled to the brim with candles. They flickered merrily as he wandered and lit each one so that she could see it. Her head tilted to the side as she looked over the bed in the center of the room.

“A little small, don’t you think?”

Ah, his fiery woman was back. He arched a brow in response. “Are you so eager to risk your life again? Perhaps you have forgotten what happened the last time we indulged ourselves.”

And he swore her eyes flashed with passion. “I have not forgotten a single detail about that morning,” she replied. “I know exactly what you feel like now, demon. And you will not frighten me away with a single episode where the two of us forgot that I am mortal and you are not.”

He would not forget it either, but now was not the time for that conversation. Instead, he gestured for her to get up on the bed. “Come, now. I have been researching.”

“And what have you been researching?”

“Hip injuries, mostly.” He turned her, so she was facing away from him. And carefully he drew the robe down her shoulders.

It took every ounce of his strength not to fall upon her like an animal. The smooth curves of her shoulders drew his attention, as they connected to the swan-like neck with all the freckles he wanted to count. The faint outline of her shoulder blades, like wings hidden underneath her skin. He wanted to trace his lips down them, but first, he wanted to prove to her that was a better man.

And still, he could not stop the groan that escaped his mouth when the robe clung to her rounded bottom before falling to her feet. Those legs. Those long, lovely legs that he now knew the taste of. They would be his undoing.

“Gluttony?” she asked, her voice a little hoarse. “What now?”

“Lie down.” Before he fell on her like an animal. Before he dragged his teeth and tongue over every crevice of her body while she screamed for mercy.

She sat on the edge of the raised bed, lying down before he caught her and turned her around. “No, pet. On your stomach.”

He showed her the head rest he’d carefully made to ensure that she would have a comfortable way to breathe. And as she settled, he covered his hands with a slick oil mixed with lavender and peppermint. Both of which would help her stiff muscles ease, especially if he could follow the instructions without ruining this moment.

“In the books I read, they said manual manipulation is helpful.” He dragged his slick hands down her back, watching the long, lean muscles as they spasmed underneath his touch. “Tell me if this is too hard, or not hard enough.”

He pressed his thumbs into the knots he found all along her body. Focusing mostly on her back at first, he waited until she relaxed into his touch. Then he tried more of what he had read. Gently lifting her hand, he threaded their fingers together and drew her arm back to expose the wing of her shoulder blade. He traced his free thumb through the tense muscle there.

She let out a little moan, and he paused for a moment to make sure none of this hurt before he continued. Her fingers spasmed in his, and the now glistening expanse of her spine was a temptation he struggled to avoid.

He wanted to touch and taste and linger, but right now was about fixing her. About healing her. Reconnecting them together after he had almost lost her.

Gluttony took his time massaging her body. He released her hand to scoop her hair up, then threaded his fingers through the tangled mass. He held onto her head, massaging her scalp with the fine points of his nails before he dragged them down her spine to her hip.

This was where he spent most of his attention. Slicking his hands with more oil, he dug deep into the aching joint that never worked well for her. And never would, he had read. She had too much damage from too long ago. But he could help with the pain.

So he focused all his attention on her hips and legs, carefully moving her body and manipulating her until they were both breathing hard. She stared up at him with eyes half mast, allowing him to part her legs and stretch the muscles in whatever way he wanted. Limp and trusting, he couldn’t help but look. And his entire body shuddered as he saw how wet and aroused she was.

He hadn’t meant to tease, only to help. And yet he had riled them both up until neither of them could think straight.

Katherine laid on her side, her good leg resting against his shoulder as he stretched out her tight tendons. It gave him the perfect view of her glistening sex, how she was practically dripping for him.

And, damn, he was drooling for her.

Just a taste, he told himself, as he bent to allow her knee to hook over his shoulder. He bent down, gently running his tongue between her folds. She gasped, falling onto her back and drawing him with her as he stroked her. Just a taste, he reminded himself, even as he plunged his tongue inside her.

“Yes,” she hissed, her back arching into him. “Yes, please, more.”

Claws retracting without thought, he filled her with two of his fingers. No hesitation, no waiting, just shoving them inside her and feeling the way her inner muscles clenched around him. She hissed out a long breath, an aching breath, one that seared right through his cock. He rocked himself against the edge of the bed, trying without luck to ease the pressure that told him to rear up over her and find nirvana in her warm, silken sleeve.

But he didn’t.

He focused all his attention on that little nub at the top of her sex, drawing light circles around it and then flattening his tongue until he coaxed more of those sounds from her. Curling his fingers, he found the point inside her that made her mewl like a kitten, her entire body coiling, tightening, holding onto him as she sought a release that had been denied to her for too long.

Sealing his lips around her clit, he sucked and tossed her over the edge. She clenched so hard around his fingers he feared he would lose blood to them, and oh, it made him growl against her.

He licked slowly after that, drawing her back down from the orgasm that left her panting and liquid on the bed. And though he was certain this wasn’t the plan he’d had in mind, at least now she looked truly relaxed.

Looking up from between her thighs, he licked his lips and waited for her to look down at him. To see the demon she’d tamed.