“I may have indulged my stronger half, yes.”
He smirked and ordered a blood-laced coffee from the young demoness. She preened at the twinkle in his gaze before flouncing off to fulfill his order.
“It’s not even noon and you’re flirting,” I marveled.
“I didn’t spend the night fucking a queen.”
I snorted. “Neither did I.” Which had been far more difficult than I anticipated. “He doesn’t even please her,” I added, irritated. “The poor thing thought I was trying to kill her with my touch.”
Grigory shrugged. “Necros has always believed those beneath him are meant to serve, not to be served.”
“Yes, well, she deserves better.”
“Does she?” He arched an ebony brow. “Don’t you plan to use her in a far worse manner than her husband? By destroying her soul?”
The words rolled over me as I finished my cup, Valora’s life energy humming through my veins. I’d bitten her last night. Not that she’d remember it or feel it today. But it’d bound us together in an intimate manner, one I planned to exploit later. For now, I would use it to keep her as safe as I could.
“She’s never been encouraged to live,” I said slowly. “I intend to rectify that.”
“By fucking her?”
I shrugged. “By introducing her to a state of existence she’s unaccustomed to.”
“Only to rip it all away when you take her spirit,” he mused, his eyebrows dancing. “How charming.”
?
??Are you here to piss me off?” I wondered flatly. “Because you’re doing a fabulous job of it.”
“No, I’m here to remind you of your purpose and make sure you don’t get caught up in your feelings.”
I scoffed at that. “When have I ever allowed emotions to rule my decisions?”
“When you bound yourself to a married queen in the shadows under the guise of getting to know her better?” he suggested.
“I want her alive, jackass.” Nothing more. Nothing less.
A taunt lingered in his gaze. “Or perhaps you want her.”
“Seriously, you’re pissing me off.” It was a warning. One he ignored.
“Good. Because it was a reckless and stupid thing to do.”
“It protects her, Grigory,” I argued. “You don’t know what some of those men have planned for her.”
“Oh, I can imagine what they want to do to that delicate little morsel, but you’re not her savior. You’re her conqueror.”
“Tying her to me strengthens my ability to seduce her.”
“If you require shadow magic to fuck a woman, then I overestimated you.” His scowl twisted into a grin as his drink approached, leaving me glowering at him. When the waitress attempted to flirt with him, I allowed my glare to shift to her and sent her running back to the kitchen. “I can see why you’re having difficulties,” he murmured, completely unfazed by the lethality simmering beneath my skin.
“Any other insults you’d like to throw my way before I kick your ass?” I asked, my voice deceptively soft.
“Listen to yourself getting all bent out of shape in defending a decision we both know was a mistake.” He leaned forward, his forearms on his thick thighs. “What happens when Necros catches wind of the shadow magic thriving in his female’s veins?”
“You assume he actually pays enough attention to her to notice.”
“And you assume he doesn’t.”