City of Thorns (The Demon Queen Trials #1)(43)

I kept that serene smile on my face, but I had no idea. “Of course.”

“Maybe you’ll find yourself thrown from a palace window, trampled by horses, then eaten by stray dogs,” she hissed. “Just like Jezebel.”

Ah. Learned something every day.





Chapter 24





I kept my face calm and raised an eyebrow. “Is that a threat, Nama?”

“None of the demon males stepped in to protect your kind when you needed it. They fucked you, then left you to die. All it takes is one look at your harlot-red hair and the repulsive way you move to know you’re not wife material. You’re an easy, available hole.” She backed away and fluttered her eyelashes at me. “Nice talking to you, Duchess.” Then she spun on her heels to walk away.

Her words were directed at Mortana, but there was enough personal stuff included there to make my stomach tighten with anger anyway. No better than a mortal? Harlot-red hair?

Had to say I didn’t like Nama very much.

And when I turned to see that she had sashayed over to Orion, that she was giggling up at him, I felt a tiny little ember of my own jealousy burning. But that was absurd. Orion and I didn’t have a real relationship, obviously. He’d hired me to do a job, I was treating him as a suspect, and that was that. But I found myself staring as Nama looked up at him adoringly, lightly stroking his tattooed arm. My id—my shadow-self—was getting angry.

I glanced behind me and found that the king’s attentions were occupied with Lydia.

It was time to turn all this annoying shit to my advantage, now.

I turned back to Orion and Nama. Now, Orion was looking at me, the corner of his mouth quirked in a half-smile. It was almost like he knew I’d felt jealous. But there was no way he could have sensed that, so that was probably me being paranoid.

I summoned my id. With a seductive smile worthy of Mortana, I beckoned Orion toward me.

If I said it wasn’t satisfying to watch him brush Nama off and walk closer to me, I’d be lying. She was giving me the look of death, like she was going to rip my head off any second now. The unfortunate part was that she probably could.

Orion prowled closer with languid movements, eyes locked on me. When he was just inches away, I reached up and pulled him down closer, whispering, “Let’s make the king jealous.”

“Hello, love.” His low whisper was a seductive stroke up my spine. My pulse started to race. “Are you ready to leave your inhibitions behind?”

Just being close to him and feeling his magic pulse over my body made my breath hitch, even if all this was just for show. “Yes.” Must…remember…he’s my suspect…

Taking me by the hand, Orion led me to a chair near the king. In the next heartbeat, he was pulling me into his lap. I could feel all eyes on us now, but my attention was on Orion. His exquisite beauty was still shocking to me. His lids looked heavy as his eyes darkened. I felt a blush creep over my cheeks.

“Your friend Nama seems to think I’m taking something that belongs to her,” I said quietly.

His fingertips brushed up my leg just above my knee, and heat rushed through my body. “I belong to no one.” With excruciating slowness, his hand moved further up my thigh, then slid under the hem of my dress, his touch scorching. He leaned in, lips lightly brushing over mine. The Lord of Chaos had an excruciating capacity for restraint. The graze of his lips against mine was making my nipples go hard in my silky bra. His hand moved higher, dragging my hem with it. He fingertips stroked slowly up and down my skin…

God, I wanted to take him somewhere alone.

This is just a job.

I wondered if he could hear how fast my heart was beating now. Did he realize that when I told him I didn’t find him attractive, I was lying through my teeth?

For his part, his muscles seemed tightly coiled. Maybe this restraint wasn’t so easy for him.

Unable to contain myself anymore, I pressed my lips against his. Under the hem of my dress, his fingers tightened on my flesh. He kissed me back slowly, deliciously, his tongue brushing against mine. When he pulled away from the kiss, my heart was racing out of control. I ached for him. And if all of this was happening in front of other people—that wasn’t my fault. That was Mortana’s fault.

I could feel everyone watching us now, but to my shock, I found that I actually didn’t care.

He moved his mouth close to my ear. “Why do I get the feeling that you want more?” His deep purr made me melt into him.

I could feel my cheeks heating. “Just doing my job,” I whispered back.

The brush of his fingertips was a slow, maddening touch that left a trail of heat in its wake, now near my panties. I felt as if there was something reverent in the way he was touching me, and my core pulsed, aching for him. Slowly, he moved his hands over my panties, brushing his fingertip down the front. I gasped at the sensation. I was sure that he could feel exactly how turned on I was through the silk, and I felt my cheeks going redder. From him, I heard a quiet growl that seemed to reverberate over my skin.

I should probably stop this now. Succubus or not, I wasn’t going to fuck him right here in front of a crowd.

“I think that’s enough,” I whispered.

When he pulled his hand away from me, out of my dress, I rose from his lap. I felt my cheeks and chest flushed with heat as I looked around, seeing everyone’s judgmental eyes on me. Nama looked like she was about to crush the glass she was holding.