“You just want tohurt me as I hurt you, right?” At least his ice twin did.
“I can wish that while also wanting you.”
The foundation of any healthy relationship. “You were the one to do all the hurting, Carmine. Your wish to hurt me is nota new one. You just don’t feel the urge to hide it now that I’ve betrayed you.”
And there it was. I’d betrayed him. He’dlethimself be betrayed, and demon culture would demand thatheapologize tomefor being so weak. But Carmine didn’t feel that way. He blamed me.
Or had been happy to see the back of the weaker version of me. I couldn’t tell which.
Carmine turned from the dancers. “You are strong enough to glimpse all of me now.”
Oh, wasthatwhy he’d lied?
I stood. I couldn’t stand this loincloth shit any longer. “It’s hard to hurt someone who no longer cares about you.”
He lowered his goblet, setting his sights on a lithe crimson demon I couldn’t recall from my last time in the royal fortress. “Yes, it is.”
7
Calloused hands swept up my thigh and over my hip where they then dipped into the curve of my waist. “Again?” I whispered over my shoulder.
Wait, I’d been here before.
I squinted over my shoulder to find a sleepy Carmine propped behind me. The part of him thatwasn’tsleepy pressed against my ass.
“Always once more, enamai,” he said harshly. His hand cupped my breasts, then pushed upward to force my chin high and allow him access to my mouth.
The kiss left us breathless.
Some nights, I didn’t have the strength to wake myself up after this kiss. Other nights, I managed to tear myself to the land of waking after his first sweeping touch. Tonight was a weak night. I wanted to continue to the part where he slipped inside. The part where we moved together.
Even if I came in my sleep, though, I never felt satiated, and these dreams always left me doubting my willpower.
I had to be strong. Not one inch of Carmine was allowed inside me—no sexual innuendo intended—even in my sleep. He hooked a hand under my thigh and set his length at my entrance.No.I shoved the demon king away and bounded from the bed. I turned to see his eyes fill with confusion and pain. “Enamai, why?—"
I gripped both sides of my head and opened my eyes.
In the land of the awake, I stared at the stone ceiling. “Fuck.”
I threw off the black sheets.
This happened most nights. Not the dream always, but definitely tossing and turning from unsatiated lust. From here, I could try to bring myself relief from the pounding lust. Which three years of hopeful attempts had shown me wouldn’t work.I could continue to toss and turn.Wouldn’t work.Or I could exhaust myself with vigorous training and catch a few more hours sleep before dawn.
After dressing quickly, I grabbed my weapons and slipped into the hall. I turned left to detour through the closest lounge. I’d taken one step inside when the entrance opposite me burst open. A panting Carmine stumbled through the entrance. Naked. Entirely naked. A sheen of sweat covering every inch of his skin over the swirling designs of our mating.
He wrenched to a halt at the sight of me, and his growl filled the room.
The ring of red around his eyes blazed as he took a predatory step closer.
I’d stepped closer too.Shit.I froze my boots to the ground and squeezed my eyes shut against the sight of him. I wanted to sink to my knees and take every bit of that length in my body, and I didn’t care where.
“I’m heading to the training rooms,” I gasped.
I groaned as a fresh wave of lust crashed over me, then spun away. This wasn’t happening. Lust had me in its grip after the dream. Why the fuck was he hereright now?
He dragged in an inhale, and I felt his gaze searing my back.
I breathed through barely parted lips to limit how much of his alluring scent could affect me. “I’m not sneaking around, Carmine. You can put the growl away.”
