A Ruin of Roses (Deliciously Dark Fairytales #1)(45)

“Some idiot is right,” he murmured, so quietly I stared at him for a moment to see if I’d imagined it. “Get some clothes on. It’s time to go.”

I looked down at my nightgown. “I don’t have clothes. That was also on the list of things to do before the idiot locked me in the tower.”

“Same idiot, I reckon?” He quirked his eyebrow before brushing by me. Since when did he have a sense of humor?

He glanced at the bed as he walked around it, his movements stiff. Without a word, he opened the chest of drawers.

“No. I’m not wearing any more of your clothes.”

“I doubt you want to walk around this castle at night without clothes. At this point, that’s seen as an invitation. Has for…at least a decade, I believe. People will touch without asking permission, and I’ll be forced to kill them.”

My animal shivered in pleasure, responding to what was obviously the alpha in him. I scowled in annoyance at them both.

“I’ll wear the nightgown.”

“That nightgown is basically see-through, and while I love the view, so would everyone else. We’d be back to the me-killing-everyone scenario. I don’t want to lose more staff, and killing a host of demons will result in a visit from the demon king. No one wants that, least of all you.” He continued sifting through the drawers. It seemed like he was looking for something particular. “Don’t worry, it’s been a very long time since I’ve worn any of these. My cooties are long gone.”

My scowl this time competed with a budding grin. His personality shift, however small, was making him more likable. That was bad news. I was having a hard enough time sticking to anger instead of desire.

“Here.” He pulled out some leather bottoms and a black shirt to go with them. “Where is your binding? I’ll protect you from everyone else, but you’ll need to protect yourself from our animals. The binding makes it take longer for him to get our mouth on your perfect breasts.”

My animal’s shiver coincided with mine this time.

“Why am I always the one told to control my animal?” I opened the wardrobe and yanked out the binding. “Where’s your accountability in all of this?”

“That’s a damn good question.” He saw me pause, not wanting to slip off my nightgown in front of him. He turned his back and looked out the window. “Usually there is a pretty even divide with our animals. My animal controls the beast for the most part, with me looking on, and I control this body. Our connection is open enough that I have access to his primal capabilities, and he has access to my logic and deductive reasoning. But with you…”

I struggled to get the binding clasped at the back. This was different than the type I had always worn, better quality and more secure, but also designed for someone else to help apply it. Leala had handled that earlier.

“I can’t… I need help.” I held the fabric tight as he glanced back.

He took a deep breath before coming over. “Turn around.”

I showed him my back. He kept talking as he worked the clasps. His fingers brushed my skin lightly, gently, as though he were working with the everlass. Goosebumps spread across my flesh.

“He desires to claim you.”

I shivered again, damn it, remembering my dream this time. Remembering him moving within me.

“That’s a nope,” I said quickly, pushing the memories away. The sudden wetness between my thighs couldn’t be helped. “You’ve already abducted me without proper explanation, pushed me around, talked a bunch of shit—I’d rather not wear an alpha’s shackles on top of it.”

“I know that. Believe me. While he has access to logic, in this case he clearly isn’t using it. He doesn’t care that you’re lowborn, for example. That your family doesn’t have a pot to piss in and your village is poor and mostly useless. He doesn’t care that a noble of my standing would never lower himself with a woman like you. He just wants me to fuck you good and proper so that you’ll never, ever be used by another man. He wants our claim on you. He hates that you’re resisting it. That I am. He feels your animal trying to get to him, so he’s been taking matters into his own hands. It’s a battle every time, and when your beast wins, he wins. Our animals are feeding off each other, and it is too powerful for me to stop unless you work with me on it. Which you aren’t doing. It’s throwing everything off.”

Broody McFucker was back. A growl laced every word. He clearly blamed me for his lack of control. Wasn’t that how it always went for a woman?

He jerked my binding, roughly, before pushing me away. He went back to looking out the window, his good humor dried up.

I put up a finger and then laughed. His return to being a cuntcicle was honestly a little relieving. I knew this guy. That other guy, with the playful words, light humor, gentle fingers… That guy was intriguing and, because of that, dangerous. That guy had the potential to thaw my attitude toward him. Given he was my jailer for unspecified reasons, that was a troubling thought.

“There is so much wrong with that speech of yours, it’s a little tough to unpack.” I pulled the black shirt over my head. It stretched across my bust and then hung down to my waist. “My village is mostly useless? Aren’t you asking me to recreate an elixir that came out of that village? A life-saving elixir? I think you are.”