“No.”
The answer came way too fast.The younger brother grinned instantly. “See? Possessive.”
“I am not possessive.”
At the exact same moment he pulled me slightly closer against his side..
Then Nina sighed dramatically. “That is literally possession with body language.”
For the first time all night, a faint flush of embarrassment touched my demon's features. Good. He deserved it.
Meanwhile the hallway had become more crowded while we were standing there. More servants appeared from nowhere pretending to work while openly staring at us.
One younger servant whispered loudly, “He touched her waist publicly.”
Another answered, “The mating odds just doubled.”
“The WHAT odds,” I asked in horror.
Anderson sounded exhausted beyond mortality. “The palace staff created betting pools.”
Nina bent over laughing.
“You people made supernatural relationship gambling.”
“We are a deeply ancient society,” one servant defended weakly.
“You are demonic Vegas.”
Meanwhile my demon had apparently stopped caring entirely because his thumb was now absentmindedly brushing slow circles against my waist through the fabric of my dress while he spoke quietly with Anderson. And his tiny touch was destroying my ability to think normally.
The younger brother leaned lazily toward Nina beside him. “See how she keeps leaning into him without realizing.”
“I noticed that before the disastrous wardrobe incident.”
“That is not what we’re calling it.”
“It absolutely is.”
I hated every single one of them. The worst part was that my demon didn’t look remotely apologetic about touching me anymore. The caution was gone, along with the hesitation. Hewas completely certain of himself, and that made him far more dangerous than before.
Like after tonight he’d finally decided keeping distance from me was pointless. God. That realization affected me way too much.
Then an older council member rounded the corner carrying a stack of black parchment, took one look at us more specifically at my demon’s hand resting on my waist and let out the most exhausted sigh I had ever heard.
“…He’s gone completely.”
My demon rolled his eyes. “I am standing right here.”
The older ruler ignored him completely while staring at me instead. “Did he finally stop pretending patience was achievable?”
Silence filled the hallway. My face went hot instantly while Nina collapsed against the wall laughing so hard she could barely stay standing.
The younger brother was genuinely impressed. “Wow. The council moves fast.”
“We have eyes,” the ruler answered calmly.
“Unfortunately,” Anderson added tiredly, “the entire palace has eyes.”
