Page 22 of A Fate of Wings

He placed dried fruits and cured meats on a gold-leafed plate and held it out to me.

I went to take it.

He tugged his hand back, shaking his head. He picked up a piece of dried pear.

“Open.”

I lifted an eyebrow but opened my mouth. He placed the piece of fruit in my mouth and then followed it with a kiss. He sat back.

“Even better,” I said, my voice coming out husky with desire.

He fed me another piece of dried fruit, an apple this time. The kiss that followed traveled down my neck and to the swell of my breast.

“Now?” he asked.

“Perfect,” I whispered. “But.” I grabbed his horns. “Your kisses are not enough.”

“My demanding little queen. I’d take you to the skies, but you wanted to whip me, did you not?”

“Oh, I’ll whip you into submission.” I grinned.

“Never.” He claimed my lips again.

I believed him. He’d never be my submissive, but he might be my equal.

I wrenched my lips from his. “Enough. Stand before the fire and face the flames.”

To my surprise, he walked to where I’d said. I stripped my robe, letting the silk slide to the floor. His fingers curled into his palms, the only sign he’d heard me disrobing. I collected my whip, the leather coil warm in my hand as I tested the weight, and let the length drop to the floor. With a quick flick of my wrist, the whip slashed across his back. He didn’t flinch. The leather left a long, angry red lash. A second later, the skin knitted itself back together and appeared the same as before.

“How did you heal so fast?” I dropped the whip and ran my hands over his back, searching for the mark I’d just placed there.

He threw a smirk over his shoulder. “Rage Demon, little mate. We have many tricks up our sleeve, or should I say horns, since I’m not wearing any clothes.”

I couldn’t stop the laugh from escaping. He spun around and took me in his arms.

“Your laughter is like magic.”

I laughed more.

“I’m serious.” He cupped my face. “You can rule anyone anywhere with just your laugh.”

I clasped his horns. “Take me to bed, my charming Rage Demon.”

“Charming now?” He scooped me up into his arms. “Knew you were partial to my charms.”

Chapter twelve

Rozronuuk

The Autumn Court

I’d kept the powerof my demon seed inside the second, third, and fourth times I’d taken my mate. Not my seed, but the power of a Rage Demon. Now my mate was asleep from exhaustion, not an overload of power. I didn’t need to sleep as much as her, so I lay in her bed gazing at the ceiling, listening to the murmurings of the castle.

The handmaiden thought she was silent, but I could hear the tiny pitter-patter of her feet through the hallways. At one stage, she’d stopped outside our door. An hour later, another set of footsteps tapped outside, but this time the person behind the door rattled the doorknob. I threw back the sheets and stalked to the door. I sent out my senses, aiming to determine if the person was a friend or foe. The conflicting emotions coming back confused me.

Whoever was outside left in a flurry of steps as though they were running.

Odd and intriguing. Worrisome too, with an attempt on her life occurring during the trials. Was the threat, as Thea thought, coming from within her people?