I take a step back, my stomach churning and not just from the wine. “Those werepeople. Human beings with families and dreams and?—”
He blinks, seeming to return from whatever violent fantasy he’d been lost in.
“Is that how you see me?” I ask, my voice smaller than I’d like. “As just another pawn in your game?”
His expression shifts immediately, something almost like regret flickering across his features. “No, Lo-Ren. No, that was my past. That was who I was made to be.”
“A past you obviously miss,” I point out.
His jaw tightens. “It was my purpose. My father forged his sons to be instruments of power on this plane of existence.”
“And the only way to get power is by killing people?” The words come out sharper than I intended, but I can’t help it. I’m a pacifist. Violence for its own sake makes me physically ill.
“War is how civilizations rise,” he says, looking at me like I’m naive for not understanding this basic fact of existence.
I throw my hands up, nearly dropping my sandwich. “That’s such a—a—a destructive, masculine bullshit answer! What did your father need all that power for anyway? Just so he could start another war and kill more people? What did any of it actually accomplish?”
Remus laughs like I’m missing some obvious point. “What did it accomplish? Influence. Control. We whispered in the ears of the most powerful leaders in history. They gained wealth, territories, entire kingdoms! The world you live in now exists because of what my father, my brothers, and I shaped through centuries of careful manipulation. We didn’t just witness history—wecreatedit.”
I let out a disbelieving laugh. “You mean youdestroyedcivilizations. You’re only talking about war and conquest, not about building anything lasting or meaningful.”
He waves a dismissive hand. “Peace was simply the intermission between conflicts, the calm before the next great leader rose to claim what was rightfully theirs.”
“Are you serious right now?” My voice is getting higher, but I can’t seem to control it. “What about leaders who actually maintained peace? Don’t you understand thatthat’swhat makes someone truly great? Building something instead of just tearing everything down?”
“Expanding territory, conquering enemies, creating empires that stretch from sea to sea—that’swhat makes a leader great,” he insists.
“If war is so fucking fantastic, why aren’t you still out there leading battles and whispering poison in the ears of generals?” I demand, putting my hands on my hips. I can’t believe I ever found this man attractive. He’s a goddamn barbarian.
He waves another dismissive hand and reaches for a bottle of what looks like expensive whiskey, uncorking it with one smooth motion. He drinks straight from the bottle just like I did with the wine. “I decided to retire. Even the most celebrated warriors deserve rest after millennia of glorious service.”
“Who were you serving?” I spit out. “Because it sure as hell wasn’t humanity.”
He looks directly at me, and there’s something almost defiant in his expression. “Myself.” But then his eyes drop as he takes another long pull of whiskey. “And my father, I suppose.”
I remember the moving mosaic, the figure stealing fire from the divine realm. “And where is daddy dearest now? Off with your brothers? War criminals on vacation?”
Remus slams the whiskey bottle down on the stainless steel counter so hard I’m surprised it doesn’t shatter. “My father is gone. Damned to whatever hell we sent him back to, if there’s any justice in this universe.”
“Really?” I cross my arms. “And what about justice for all the innocent lives you helped destroy over the centuries?”
In one fluid, terrifying motion, Remus spreads his massive wings and launches himself across the kitchen, landing directly in front of me and crowding into my personal space. He slams one hand against the wall above my head, and I gasp as he looms over me, all intimidating height and barely controlled power.
“You want to know the truth, little consort?” His voice is low and dangerous. “I’m not a good man. In fact, I’m a very, very bad one. I don’t give a damn about your human morality or your concepts of right and wrong.”
He bends his head down, those storm-gray eyes boring into mine with an intensity that makes my knees weak. As much as I want to look away, to break this magnetic pull between us, I force myself to stare right back even as my entire body starts trembling from his proximity.
“But maybe you don’t actually want a good man,” he whispers, his voice dropping to a register that does absolutely sinful things to my pulse. “Good men are safe. Predictable. Boring. And I’m beginning to suspect that underneath that sweet, innocent exterior is a woman who craves more than the mundane disappointments a normal life has given her.”
He leans down even further until his lips brush against my temple, and I have to bite back a whimper. “Life with me will never be safe or expected, Lo-Ren. I want to do things to your body that will leave you shuddering and gasping my name. I want you trembling and aching and begging me for more even when you think you can’t possibly take another second of pleasure.”
A shiver races through my entire body at his filthy promises and the vivid images they’re painting in my wine-soaked brain.
He shifts slightly, his mouth now hovering just beside my ear, his warm breath making me dizzy. “I want to grab your gorgeous curves and show you exactly what it means to be worshipped by a god. I want to make you forget every disappointment, every man who never appreciated what he had, every moment you’ve ever felt less than perfect.”
I gasp, and it comes out as something embarrassingly close to a moan.
“I want to hear you scream my name until it’s the only word you remember,” he continues, his voice pure velvet sin against my skin. “Until you understand that you were made for this, made forme, and that everything that came before was just preparing you for the moment you became mine.”
