Throne of Secrets (Prince of Sin #2)

Twenty-Nine Prince Gluttony

I DIDN’T THINK . I acted.

I dove over the edge of the roof after Adriana, plummeting as hard and fast as I could, willing my body to break any laws of nature daring to stand in my way.

The old gods were smiling down on a sinner like me for once. My arms banded around her, catching her up against my body seconds before she crashed to the ground.

Once I had her, my wings erupted from their magical tether, tearing from my back in a thunderous clap that rent the air, silencing the merriment of the patrons drinking outside.

The sudden intensity of my wingbeats displaced snow from the ground in a punishing sheet that whipped up and out, covering the unlucky few standing nearby.

Anyone looking on would know I’d been at the Seven Sins tonight—there was no mistaking my cobalt-and-silver dragon wings. The scandal sheets would be all abuzz in the morning, given that the suitors had moved into the castle tonight.

That was an issue for another time.

“Are you all right?” I asked, shouting over the wind that violently whipped us.

Adriana swung her legs around my hips, locking her ankles behind my back, pressing herself against me as we shot upward, leaving the night district a mere speck of glowing lights twinkling far below before being swallowed by the storm.

Most inconveniently, my cock was still hard as granite.

A fact she had to be aware of since it was notched against her body.

I gritted my teeth, trying to clear my thoughts. Her skirt was still wrenched around her hips, leaving only my trousers as a barrier between us.

I was trying to be a gods-damned gentleman, but each time she moved, she sent a bolt of awareness through me that had the damned thing twitching at her entrance.

As if she needed anything else to mock me for.

I focused on the icy sleet pricking my wings like a thousand needles, the pain not nearly distracting enough as she shifted again.

If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear she was torturing me for the thrill of it.

Adriana’s arms tightened around my neck, her skin cold enough to make me shudder. I flew as hard and fast as I could, trying and failing to beat the worsening storm.

She buried her face in the nook of my shoulder as ice and snow pelted us, grounding me in the here and now. Her entire body was rigid apart from her heartbeat, which thrummed wildly against my own chest.

“It’s okay, you’re safe.” I pressed my lips to her ear, trying not to startle her more by shouting against the screaming winds. I didn’t need to use my supernatural senses to know she’d been terrified of dying. Rightly so. Another moment and I would have been too late.

My own pulse raced as I shoved that thought deep down, focusing on the present.

I tucked her against me the best I could, offering her what little warmth I could from the freezing temperatures as I tried to settle my own swirling emotions.

Adriana fucking Saint Lucent’s sweet taste was still on my lips, distracting me.

I refused to think about how amazing she’d felt, writhing on my fingers, my tongue. When the bond snapped into place, her arousal had slammed into me, amplifying my own.

In that moment, I’d never known such hunger. And now that she knew who I was, I’d likely never know that sensation again.

It was my own fault. She’d wanted one night of distraction. But I’d become obsessed with unraveling the truth of who she was, knowing that if she was my rival, it would not only be the perfect way to keep her close to me so she couldn’t break the dragon story, but also the best way to fuel my power while I couldn’t indulge in the adventure of hunting the dragons.

I hadn’t counted on the fact that the lines would become blurred between duty and passion. Or that I would like her.

I closed my eyes briefly, the full weight of my decisions settling in.

My head started to pound.

Suddenly, Adriana jerked back, squinting against the storm. “Where are we going?”

“The castle. You need to get—”

“No!” She almost slipped from my grasp as the snow came down harder. “Please. Take me home. We cannot be seen like this together.”

I blinked frost from my lashes, glancing over my shoulder. The storm was growing worse and there was no chance I’d make it back to her neighborhood without her succumbing to the elements. With a muttered curse, I abruptly shifted course.

I flew past the castle, giving us time to privately sort out the mess I’d created and get her warmed up before she got ill or worse. She was also correct: it wasn’t as if I could bring her back there now, especially with the castle filled with potential brides.

Her sister. At first it had seemed like a wonderful turn of events; now I wasn’t as sure.

I continued flying as quickly as I could, aiming for a cavern on the far edge of House Gluttony, my wings snapping against the storm.

The cave was tucked deep within the evergreen forest that surrounded the castle proper, far from the prying eyes of my courtiers.

It was a mere crack in the mountainside, barely wide enough to fly through unless I pulled my wings as close to my body as I could without losing momentum. It was the perfect location for a demon who craved daring adventures; getting here was impossible without wings.

And on the off chance anyone did make it, I’d warded the cavern from the world, keeping it a secret from everyone. Until now.

Adriana would be the only other soul who entered my personal domain.

It had been my private getaway for a century, a place I could relax and simply exist without the weight of being a prince pressing down on me.

Here I slept on the hard-packed ground, lit my own fires, and lived as simply as one could. I had the necessities—dried meat, beans, jugs of water and brandy. Flint and firewood. A blanket, a few tin cups, and an iron skillet. A spare shirt or two.

Something my court might find surprising since my sin was overindulgence. But the cavern provided me with the thing I craved most.

We careened through the opening, flying at full speed until we reached the place where it widened into a small chamber. Adriana hadn’t spoken again and hadn’t removed her face from my neck, as if she could force the night to not exist.

I set her down on the thick pelts I’d used as rugs, grabbed the lone blanket from a hook on the wall, and draped it around her shoulders.

For the first time, I wished I had a straw mattress or bedroll to offer.

She gripped the blanket under her chin, teeth chattering.

I quickly lit a fire in the small pit, then crouched before her, my gaze sweeping over her in quick assessment. Her lips were tinged blue, her porcelain skin paler than usual.

Her dress offered little in the way of protecting her from the harsh elements we’d flown through and was completely soaked.

She’d need to take it off.

And the wig.

It was another clever move on her part—wearing something to disguise herself even when the glamour lifted. Adriana had taken great pains to ensure she remained anonymous when entering or leaving the club. It would have been sufficient enough for anyone. Aside from me.

Fate was a twisted prick, but I owed him another debt.

Had she never rushed onto that rooftop, and had I not hunted my brothers that same night and waited for them there—she never would have ended up in my sights. I didn’t like the unpleasant emotion that came on the heels of that thought, of Adriana meeting someone else.

A shudder wracked through her.

My fingers twitched with the urge to rub warmth into her. I kept them clasped in front of me, aware that her tantalizing scent still lingered on my skin.

A full moment of silence stretched between us, nearly as painful as the ice attacking my wings. Unsure how to proceed now that she was here and I’d managed to secure a magical bond, I decided to break the tension with humor.

“I’ve had lovers fall quickly, but that was a bit on the nose.”

Firelight gilded the curve of her cheek, the line of her jaw. Taut from clenching her teeth. Apparently, she wasn’t ready for my paltry attempts to lighten the mood.

“It won’t take long for the fire to warm the cavern. Would you like hot brandy?”

Those ice-blue eyes shone with betrayal when they finally met mine.

“You knew it was me.” She hadn’t asked; her voice was pitched dangerously low.

I expected her to put all the puzzle pieces together quickly, but just how swiftly she’d done it was impressive.

I drew in a deep breath. It wasn’t exactly the first question on my mind, but I’d let my concern go. She was well enough to spear me with that accusatory glare I’d come to expect from her, which was confirmation enough that she wasn’t physically harmed.

“Did you really not know it was me?” I countered, unwilling to admit to the truth.

“You were so… pleasant. Mysterious. Unlike the miserable rake you are.”

Detecting lies was certainly useful in situations like this.

The fact that she didn’t answer my question strongly indicated she had suspected it was me at one point and refused to admit it. Otherwise, she would have denied it outright.

“I am pleasant.” I gave her a wolfish grin. “And you certainly didn’t seem to mind my rakish behavior in the club. In fact, I believe you rather enjoyed my filthy mouth.”

She offered me a stony look but didn’t snap back at me. I leaned closer.

“After you recognized me, you rode my fingers so hard my entire hand became drenched. Maybe hatred arouses you more than the thought of being watched.”

She still didn’t take the bait.

Worry gnawed most unexpectedly deep within me. Adriana Saint Lucent wasn’t one to hold her tongue, especially when it came to me.

I looked her over critically again.

“You should take the dress off and let it dry.”

She shivered in place, her knuckles turning bone white as she held the blanket tighter.

“It’s fine.”

I sensed her lie before her body practically convulsed from the next shudder. “You’re going to get hypothermia.”

She didn’t respond.

“You do realize we’ll need to strip naked and curl around each other for warmth should you actually get hypothermia?”

Her teeth rattled together. “The fire will be fine.”

Another lie. I pushed to my feet, towering over her. Any attempt at maintaining a pleasant tone vanished. The demon prince came out to play.

“Take the damned dress off, Adriana. Unless you secretly want to be cuddled up with me naked. Then by all means, keep the thing on. I’ll gladly nurse you back to health. You can even put the mask back on if you’d like.”

With a glower that was most impressive, she looked up at me. “I can’t, you demanding brute.”

She turned and dropped the blanket down, exposing the back of the dress and the intricate knots holding the corset portion together. I’d managed to tug the front down a little earlier, but she couldn’t shimmy out of it.

Gods’ blood. We’d be here all night undoing the damned thing.

“Stand up.”

She gritted her teeth but got to her feet, turning to grant me access to the dress as she reluctantly let the blanket fall to the ground.

The shudders started again, more violently now that the blanket was gone.

With a movement so swift, it was only possible with my immortal strength and speed, I unsheathed my House dagger and sliced through the gown, tearing it down the back in a clean line. I tugged both halves apart, tossing them to the ground in the next instant.

There. At least now she’d get warm quicker.

Adriana stood ramrod straight, her naked body cast in shadows as the flames flickered wildly around the cave. She wore clear heeled slippers that reflected the fire, the shoes giving her legs definition. I tore my gaze away from the generous curve of her bottom and plucked up the blanket, wrapping it around her shoulders once more before taking a step back.

“Do you need help removing the wig?”

Her shoulders lifted with her next breath. “Yes.”

I hesitated for a beat.

“If you can’t do it,” she said, her tone uncharacteristically soft, “the fire will be fine.”

“I’m a prince; of course I can remove a simple wig.”

I hadn’t the slightest idea what I was doing, but I was damn well going to claim victory over the accursed thing. I set my attention on her hair and quickly located several hidden pins.

I gently moved her around, using the firelight to find any glint of metal, painstakingly plucking each one out and dropping them to the ground on her tattered dress.

Once I was certain they were all located, I gently tugged the wig back, revealing her pale blue hair. It tumbled down her back in a graceful sheet. The scent of lavender and honey greeted me, likely the soap she used.

I fought the urge to run my fingers through her hair. There would be no need to do such a thing, especially when I saw her hair had stayed dry underneath the wig. I sensed Adriana was only allowing me to address any basic needs, and anything frivolous would be met with scorn.

I tossed the wig onto the small pile of her things, then grabbed two tin cups from the tiny sideboard I’d made from raw timber, pouring a few knuckles of brandy into each before setting them over the fire.

While they warmed for a few moments, I pulled the strips of wool from the old boot I kept them in, using them to wind around the cups, to keep from burning our hands.

Adriana kicked her shoes off and settled back onto the furs, watching silently as I fixed her cup, then gingerly took it, sipping the warm liquid.

Her eyes fluttered shut, some color rising in her cheeks.

“Thank you.”

I paused, the muscles in my body tensed. Surely the world was about to collapse.

“That’s it. I’m taking you to the royal healer. Now.”

She glanced up, a furrow forming in her brow. “Why?”

“You thanked me. You’re obviously out of your senses.”

She offered me an obscene hand gesture, confirming she was truly on the mend.

I quietly exhaled and grabbed my own mug, downing the warm brandy by half.

I sat across from her, watching as she slowly began to shiver less, my mind pulled in several directions at once. It was the first night I wouldn’t patrol the border, visit Sil’s dungeon, or meet Val in the war room to go over any reports, and the idea of leaving the realm unprotected from the ice dragons made me more restless than usual.

But there was no way I could explain my absence to my lovely friend, who’d eventually use the information against me once the blood oath was no longer in effect.

Adriana was a columnist first, one who wished to see me fall and had been trying to accomplish that for years, a fact I’d never forget, no matter which lines blurred.

And she was in no condition to be left alone anyway.

She looked me over, her expression impossible to read. It wasn’t exactly the reaction previous lovers had had after I’d delighted them with my tongue. The fact I’d abstained over the last several years notwithstanding. Though I suppose I understood her feelings for me wouldn’t magically soften because I’d made her come. Twice.

“I thought as a Prince of Sin you possessed some supernatural ability to recognize people through scent.”

I arched a brow. “Are you comparing me to a dog?”

A wry smile curved her lips. “Careful. You’re setting yourself up, Your Highness.”

“We’re a little beyond titles, Adriana. Call me Gabriel or Axton.”

Her attention fell to my lips, lingering. My body hardly needed any encouragement to respond to her interest. I shifted, focusing on the hard-packed earth.

“Will the bond interfere with the competition?” she asked. “I know there’s a physical… aspect to it.”

“That aspect is only there because of mutual attraction,” I said. “The magic doesn’t create it. Only enhances what both parties already feel. If only one of us felt certain… urges… the other wouldn’t be affected. It is based on consensual emotions, always. The bond took, which meant we both desired it. I couldn’t have forced the connection, even if I wanted to.”

She was quiet a moment, mulling that over.

The truth was the bond was going to make things very interesting over these next several weeks. If either of us traveled too far from the other, physical ramifications would occur.

“That should be easy enough to avoid,” she said at last. “Now that I know who you really are, there’s little chance of any attraction resurfacing.”

I gave her a mocking grin. She could mentally hate me all she liked; it didn’t stop her from physically desiring me. Even now. Which was all the magic I cared about.

“Well,” she said, “once the heightened emotions from tonight pass, that is.”

I snorted, earning an annoyed glare from her. The fire had properly heated the cavern now, so I tended to my damp shirt, amusement at her denial making me chuckle.

“What’s so funny?”

“You aren’t lying to yourself exactly, but you also aren’t admitting one fact I’m very aware of, darling. And therefore not acknowledging what the magic already senses. Tonight’s lingering attraction isn’t simply because of our tryst. Or the intensity of the multiple orgasms I gave you.”

“You’re arrogant and wrong, once again.”

I raised a brow.

“Am I? I seem to recall that you were aroused enough when I offered to spank you, knowing full well it was me. And not only that, but during our little collision? Don’t think I wasn’t aware of how your body reacted to mine.”

A pleasant flush blossomed across her petal-soft skin.

“If you must know, I was imagining it was my stranger, not you.”

Her tone was so prim and proper. If I didn’t know what her secret desires were, I’d never guess she’d fantasized about being caught.

“I hate to break it to you.” I leaned in, dropping my voice to a low purr. “But I am your stranger. And you liked me just fine when I was on my knees, tasting every inch of you.”

She took a sip of brandy, then another. As if the liquor would stop the memory from resurfacing. I sensed her arousal now, knowing she was recalling each flick and slide of my tongue, and she didn’t despise it. As much as she wished she did.

At least that made me feel better about my own arousal. She couldn’t hold that against me when she’d been fighting it too.

“Yes, well. The fantasy has been thoroughly destroyed now.”

“Mm. We’ll see.”

“No, we won’t. Now that I know who you are, physically aroused or not, I won’t be acting on any lingering… emotions.”

The magic of our oath would make that an interesting vow to keep.

Perhaps Lust had been correct—hate sex was best. I might not have been positive it was her until tonight, but our passion had been the thing of legends. Hate and love were strong emotions, the divide between them easily closed. I could have stayed on my knees, pleasuring her for an eternity, and never tired of the sounds she made or the way she tasted.

Until she realized who I was and the spell broke.

Perhaps that made me a despicable bastard, but I’d never claimed to be anything but a villain. Morals were for heroes and the pious. I was a sinner through and through.

“There’s something else we should discuss,” I said after taking another deep pull of my brandy. “The little fact that your sister is one of my suitors.”

Her gaze narrowed.

“If it will create a rift between you, you may take her place.”

Her attention was frozen to me, a look of horror slowly spreading across her face. Another punch to my ego.

Or maybe she was just surprised.

I decided to pull the bandage off completely, laying it all out there.

“We suit well enough physically. And we’re bound by oath now. It makes sense to see how this plays out.” I downed the last of my brandy, relishing the burn. “Will you join the competition and become my suitor?”