“Oh, that’s not what I was planning to taste at all. Not yet, anyway.”
I pulled back. “I’d rather you not taste anything of mine.”
“Because you’re his,” Julian said triumphantly.
“Because I’mmine, and I don’t intend to share myself with you. Raphael has nothing to do with it.”
“Care to wager on it?” The smirk on his face would have made the devil god himself shiver.
“I hardly see how you’d bet on that. And it’s inappropriate to do so,” I grumbled, then realized I’d just chastised the king like he was a child acting out of turn.Crap.
But Julian only laughed. “You already cost me one bet. This only seems fair.”
“What are we wagering?” And would this song ever end?
“If I win, I want a dinner with you. And, of course, your sire,” he said before I could object. “Since I wasn’t invited to your debut and he’s made you surprisingly scarce these past two weeks.”
It was an odd prize, but I suspected it was more the juvenile glee in beating Raphael that he was after.
“And what do I get if I win?” I challenged. “You don’t have anything I want.”
“I’m ruler of one of the most prosperous kingdoms on Eurobis, and you don’t think I have anything you could want?” Nothing approaching modesty came within a hundred yards of Julian. “You’re either an acetic or you lack imagination.”
I lifted my chin, ignoring the pain that gripped me like a vise. “Make me an offer, then.”
He’d maneuvered us farther from Raphael, toward the shadowed edges of the dance floor. “A favor, then. Something within my power to grant.”
Even if I never planned to return to the kingdom, it was a tempting offer. He’d put no limitations on it, and I actually did have enough imagination to think of how it could come in handy.
Julian watched me waver, an asp readying to strike. “Do we have a wager, then?”
“Fine,” I said impulsively. “But I don’t see how you’ll prove he’s jealous. As you said, he has centuries controlling any of those emotions, and we can’t be sure that’s what I’m feeling.”
“Oh, I’ll deliver proof.” One hand slid lower on my back. Not sexually, not claiming, but steadying as the cramps twisted inside me.
Raphael was looking at me now, no longer in conversation with Lady Jaen. His eyes bore into me with shocking intensity that was impossible to pull away from.
In my distraction, Julian’s other hand snaked up around my neck, holding me in place. He leaned in and kissed me.
Or very nearly did. His lips pressed against the edge of my mouth, the slightest bit off. But with his back to Raphael, it would look just like he’d kissed me. The pain in my stomach turned violent and dark, and if not for Julian’s hands, I would’ve collapsed.
Then, as if it had never been there, it all disappeared. The pain was gone, locked away, and all I felt was a hint of confusion and irritation at Julian’s ploy.
Confusion, irritation, and a sudden sharp breeze as Raphael crossed the room and flung Julian into a stone column.
The column cracked.
The music screeched to a halt.
“Temper, temper,” Julian tutted, dusting his shoulders as he rose to his feet.
Raphael was in front of him in a flash, a blur to the eyes. He hoisted Julian with two hands and snarled at him. “She’smine.”
“Told you he was jealous,” Julian crowed at me.
“You do not speak to her,” Raphael growled. “You do not look at her. You do not fuckingtouchher.”
Raphael’s voice had risen while the rest of the ballroom hushed. Where was Demos when you needed him? Or any guard? There was a wild look in Raphael’s eyes that worried me. I wasn’t scared of him, not in this moment, but he truly looked murderous.
