“Don’t worry about it,” Drustan muttered.
“Condoms are like…” This was crazy, I couldn’t believe I was explaining what acondomwas to another grown adult. “These thin latex sleeves a man puts over his…” I waved vaguely toward my crotch, making Drustan’s lips twitch with amusement. “Sothat he doesn’t spread any infection to his partner or get them pregnant.”
Hush’s eyes went wider and wider as I finished that sentence. “He wears awhat?”
“Humans.” Drustan rolled his eyes as he mirrored my pose, crossing his massive arms over his chest.
I lifted my hands at the two of them. “Are you seriously telling me youdon’thave condoms anywhere in Hyvenmere?”
“Why would a male wear one of those?” Hush gestured toward her own groin. “When he could just take the injections?”
“What?” I asked.
“The injections,” Hush repeated, then continued to explain. “It’s a medicinal cocktail designed to make a male infertile for up to a year. Injected into the shoulder. There’s a second injection designed to protect males and females from infections transmitted during intercourse.”
“Well, yeah, okay. In my realm, women have options like that for birth control.”
Hush’s eyes widened even more. “Thefemalestake it? Why? Males are the ones who fertilize every time they reach their pleasure.” I scraped a hand down my face, trying to ignore the jealous rage over how the men in Hyvenmere seemed to handle the birth-control side of sex without question, even though misogynistic men like Leon still very much existed.
The standard for men in my realm truly was in hell.
“The point is…” I widened my eyes as I addressed Drustan. “Youstolemy protection.”
Drustan opened his mouth, but Hush cut him off, “Why would human females continue to have sexual relations with human males iftheywere the ones responsible for not getting pregnant? Why not only sleep with females and avoid the risk altogether?” She shook her head and muttered, “Thismust be why humans have bred enough to reach their absurd population.”
I opened my mouth to reply before hesitating. Hush, as always, had a damn good point.
“I don’t know.” I waved my hands in the air. “But the point is, you,” I pointed my finger toward her prince, “Broke into my bedroom and stole my condoms. You took away my protection.”
“Have you taken a male to your bed since I took them?” Drustan raised a dark red eyebrow at me.
I blinked in surprise at his question. “What? No. Because I don’t have—ohmygod—youfuckingdick.” I balled my hands into fists. Thisfuckingsiren and hisfuckingaudacity.
Drustan responded by pulling his pink lips back into a feral, unrepentant grin. “My motive is sound, then.” Hush was still blinking in bewilderment from the newfound knowledge she had of condoms and human sexuality.
“We should keep going.” She shook her head and marched on. Drustan winked at me before turning on his heel to follow. I grumbled, not too loudly, as I stomped after them.
“I’ll just buy more,” I muttered to his back.
Drustan turned his head just enough to tell me over his shoulder, “I will take that as a personal invitation to return and rid you of them.” My blood was burning with feminine rage.
“You don’t get to dictate my sex life. What I do with my body is my choice. If you think I’m above going out of my way to sleep with someone else out of pure spite, you’re wrong,” I informed him.
Drustan whirled on me then, making Hush groan and roll her eyes as she turned to look at the two of us. The siren prince’s hand cupped my face. His fingers laced in the hair at the back of my head, while his thumb tipped my head back by resting underneath my jaw. A muscle popped in his cheek as he groundhis teeth together. His brows had a deep pinch between them, and his lips were pressed in a hard line.
He held my gaze for just a moment before he said in a low voice, “If you insist on creating a death wish for humans in your realm, then by all means, bed as many as you want.”
I glared up at him, determined to ignore how warm his hand felt on my face. “You can’t be serious.”
“You know that I am deadly serious, my song,” Drustan’s words practically rumbled out of his chest. “You have said how dangerous I am. Just imagine my wrath when another pitiful human mistakenly puts their hands on you.”
“What do you think is going to happen here?” I stepped closer to him, poking his abdomen with my finger. “Do you think that if you threaten human lives and steal my protection, that I’ll happily jump into bed withyouinstead?”
“Of course not,” Drustan muttered. His shimmering eyes bounced between both of mine, “I don’t care if you never join me in my bed.” I widened my eyes at that, my cheeks heating as I quicky glanced over at Hush, who just stood there with folded arms, looking bored. “Celibacy is a reality I’ll happily embrace if that’s what you desire.” I widened my eyes at that, because I’d never heard a man utter words like that. “But the only way I can close my eyes and gain an ounce of sleep at night is if I know that you aren’t being touched by some weak human. Unsatisfied.”
“Just because you’re practically a giant, doesn’t mean that all humans are weak,” I retorted. My mind was still whirling over his words.
“She’s right,” Hush muttered to herself, glancing over her shoulder in the direction we needed to continue walking.
