His cheeks redden, making his brown hair look more woodsy.
“You took too much. You will suffer the effects.” I push against the vines holding me down. “How dare you praise Everett’s killer!”
His inhalation is so deep, it steals the air from my lungs. “How dare you test me in front of my court!”
I sink back into my mattress, but I smile. Some animals can survive having an appendage cut off. They can regrow it. I’ll just mimic them.
“You are right, Selene, you are poisonous.” He sits on the edge of the bed. I try to edge away, but his vines dig into me.“Poisons can be mastered. I just need a small daily dose. He reaches out and slides a finger down my cheek. “A little taste.” His touch glides down my neck, then lower, between my breasts. “Every day. Eventually, I will become accustomed to it.”
“There is no more of me to take. We are finished. This marriage is over.”
“Your death is the sole escape from this marriage. I’ve not tired of you yet.” A flash of his fangs makes my stomach knot. “I’m well trained in control. I never give in to my lust.”
“Lust and boredom got us into bed, not the need to make this marriage survive.”
“It wasn’t lust that made my cock hard. It was possession.” He palms my breast, finding my nipple as he pinches it. “I own you, dear, sweet wife. That’s what made my cock ache for you, and you liked that, being owned. That’s why you spread your legs for me.”
Cold air replaces his hand. He cups the rose in his palms now.
I spit back his own words. “It wasn’t being owned that made me wet for you, my dear, sweet husband; it was purely boredom. Any cock would have done.” I arch a brow, waiting for his rebuttal.
“If I had not seen you use your magic, I would have claimed your father tricked me, married me to the wrong twin.” He looks down at me. “All you seek is death and war.”
“That’s what revenge is built on, Galen.”
“Revenge should not be in your vocabulary.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, silly me.” I playfully roll my eyes. “Should only ‘let me suck your cock, my king.’ be the words I know.”
Oh, Selene, you don’t know when to stop.It’s too late. I’ll go down swinging.
“What shall I do with you?” Reaching out, he runs the rose down my cheek.
Stop petting me like a dog. Pets can bite, Galen.
I avert my gaze; escape proves impossible. His vines cover me. More crawl out from around him, covering the floor, then they creep up along the walls. They intertwine, forming a ceiling above us. No, a cage of thorns and roses.
“You seem to be quite the horticulturist; I’m sure you can set me aside in a pretty vase,” I taunt.
His smile is filled with amusement.Tossing an insult back, he allows black roses to bloom on the vines holding me down. “That sharp tongue…” He looks away, admiring the vines as if they were his children. “There are so many uses for it.”
“None that will please you,” I retort. “I’d rather bite my tongue off!”
“Your mouth would still be a hole to use, Selene.”
I buck against his vines. The thorns dig deeper. He twists and grabs my shoulders, trying to make me stop.
“I’ll never forgive you!” I spit.
“I don’t need your forgiveness, Selene. I am the king!” His shout causes his vines to squeeze me so tightly that I begin to panic.
He watches the fear seep into my eyes, allows it to linger like a fisherman watching a fish nibble on the bait, right before they reel it in; then he sweeps his thumb over my shoulder. His vines pull back an inch. I feel no relief.
My body shakes. “What we had before tonight will be the highlight of our marriage. Never again will I love you.”
“You never loved me. You never gave me the chance!” he seethes.
“The chance was not something I needed to place into your kingly hands, Galen! It was to be earned, not given. For once in your life, you needed to do something yourself. I am not a soldier who bows down to you, nor am I a trinket you can adorn your body with! I am a queen. I have rights, opinions, and yes,demands. If that is too much for you to handle, you do not need a woman as a wife, but rather a dog. Find a bitch to train. I will put up with you no longer. It’s my right as a woman to tell you, as demurely as I can, to kindly fuck off. This relationship is over.”
