Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 69711 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 349(@200wpm)___ 279(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69711 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 349(@200wpm)___ 279(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
Why haven’t I done the same?
In a faraway corner of my mind, I hear a melancholy twang. It sounds like someone weeping. My gut lurches. A premonition of my pet’s face, twisted and soaked with tears, makes me want to claw at my chest.
Gritting my teeth, I shove the mental image aside. I am king. I will not be interrogated.
“Why do your questions always lead to more questions?” I counter. “And you wonder why I’m loath to answer any of them. This is why!”
She lifts her chin in a gesture of defiance, exposing her throat. There’s a sharp ache in my canines and I lick them to soothe it.
“I’m warning you, pet,” I tell her. “So far, you’ve enjoyed all the ways in which I’ve punished you, but none were real punishments. Yet.”
She takes a tiny step back, unaware of the way that always triggers my hunting instinct.
I’m quivering with outrage. Tension. Lust. “And let’s not forget you’re no longer in estrus. I’ve refrained from fucking you since your heat ended because I’m not sure you’ll be able to handle it if you’re not making as much slick. Maybe I’ve just been too courteous. Too indulgent with you. Perhaps I should just throw you to the ground and shove my big, hard cock inside you, regardless of whether or not you enjoy it.”
Her eyes are huge now, her little fists clenching and unclenching at her sides. But I’ve seen that expression before. As always, my threats are arousing her even if she fights against her body’s reaction to my dominance. “You can’t bully me,” she declares at length. “And I don’t know what you’re getting so mad about. I was just asking questions.”
“That’s what I’m—” I close my eyes and take a deep breath, wrestling my ire back under control. When I next speak, my voice is calmer even though I don’t feel it. Time to regain the upper hand by using her own tactics against her. “Are you not happy here?”
“I…” She pauses and bites her lip. “Is that a serious question?”
“Of course.”
“What do you think? How would you feel if you were in my situation? You just woke up one day on a different freaking planet, and a bunch of weird strangers decided to give you to their queen—who took one look at you, and made you her sex slave?”
I scoff. “I would never allow it.”
She cocks her head, studying me. “Not even if she was much bigger? More powerful? A sorceress, perhaps?”
“The mere notion is ridiculous.”
“Jesus!” Renee throws up her arms. “It’s a hypothetical situation. You know? Where you put yourself in someone else’s place? Ever heard of empathy?”
“Why would I put myself in someone else’s place?” I’m genuinely baffled by the notion. “Is this something you do?”
“I would go so far as to say most people—humans, at any rate—have at least a degree of empathy, yes. Some more than others. But unless they’re sociopaths, everyone has the capacity to appreciate how they might feel if they were in someone else’s situation. I don’t need to see my own house burn down to understand how fucking awful it would be to lose everything. To comprehend the fear, loss, devastation I would feel if it happened to me.”
I let her words sink in, turning the statement over in my mind.
“You’ve never thought about it, have you?” Her tone is no longer accusatory. If anything, she sounds astonished. “It’s an entirely foreign concept to you.”
“I’m a demon. We don’t spend much time considering feelings.” I rub at my chest. The ache under my breastbone has returned.
My beautiful Omega sinks to the floor in a single graceful movement. Now she’s sitting just beyond my clawed feet, her legs crossed at the ankles, her expression one of endless curiosity. I tense, anticipating yet another question. Instead, she says, “That’s a shame. And it explains a lot.”
“What do you mean?” Her accusatory tone makes me bristle.
“Your wall. Ever since I arrived, you’ve had this wall up.” She gestures at my chest. “There’s this… invisible barrier, making it impossible to get close to you.”
This time, I can’t hold back my snort of disbelief. “You’ve been closer to me than anyone else ever has. I’ve been inside you countless times—”
“I don’t mean the sex… or physical proximity. I mean… ugh, how do you explain emotional vulnerability to a freaking demon?” Exasperated, she shoves her hair over her shoulder. “What about love?”
“Love,” I echo.
“Yes! Please tell me at least that’s a thing here.”
I shrug. “I have no need of it.”
“Of course you do. Everybody does.”
I shift in my chair, trying to get comfortable. There’s a rush of air and a jynx unfurls beside me, like a plume of harnessed smoke. Renee scoots back, always wary of my shadow servants. For once, I’m grateful for the interruption.