He took her elbow and guided her down a hallway toward a golden door that opened automatically for them.
Inside, steam wafted from a full copper bathtub the size of a small pool. Positioned atop a raised stone platform, the tub had submerged benches. Hell’s hot tub. A few glass containers of bath oils and salts lined the dais.
A large modern shower took up the opposite side of the room. Lava flowed down one wall like an indoor water feature, heating the area and providing light. A stack of towels was at the ready, and an elegant silk robe hung beside the tub.
The demon stood before her and stroked the backs of his claws over her cheek. “You may undress now.”
Sian enjoyed watching her choke back a thousand retorts. Nettling his mate was becoming his favorite pastime.
Her behavior had fascinated him from the beginning, and now he would get to investigate new facets of her. Sooner or later her demonic temper would overwhelm her, but how much could he vex her until then?
She stepped back. “Though I thought I would be a wife, you’re ordering me around like a slave.” Looking as if she faced a firing squad, she started to unlace her bodice.
She was cooperating? He’d expected her to tell him again to get fucked. Then they would bicker. Then he would toss her in the tub.
Instead, she was about to remove her dress for him. She must love her kingdom very, very much.
Some strange emotion churned in his chest. Guilt? He so rarely felt it he couldn’t be sure.
Perhaps he could have finessed this situation more. His female was young, and she’d only get one wedding night. Yet she would have no flowers, finery, or well-wishers—just a demon she hated ordering her to strip.
Over this night, he’d been in conflict.
Whenever he softened toward her, he would remember their past.
Whenever he was harsh with her, he would grow uneasy about their future.
Eyes gone teal with fury, she said, “I guess I should expect commands since you pretty much bought me. But I want you to know that if the stakes weren’t so high, if you and your alliance of monsters weren’t about to murder my kind, I would never screw you, not in a million years.”
He ground his teeth. Maybe he didn’t want her to tell him her thoughts.
Like the concubines, Calliope would lie with him only out of duty. “Just for that, I vow I won’t fuck you until you ask me to.”
Instead of snapping a reply, she tilted her head. “So I’ll have some control over the first time I have sex?”
He exhaled. “You call me a monster, but at least in that, you won’t find me so.”
She held her dress against her chest, hesitating to bare her breasts. He doubted the virgin had been naked with a fey male before, much less a demon enemy. She would need encouragement. He could give a little to get. “Delight me, Lila. Show me your stunning body.”
Chin raised, she let the material fall to her waist.
He hissed in a breath. Her flawless breasts were upthrusting and pale, with rose-pink nipples and raised areolas. They swelled right before his rapt gaze, beckoning his mouth.
In Demonish, he rasped, “Exquisite.” Less than an hour ago, he’d come harder than ever before, yet his cock grew painfully stiff.
Her breaths had shallowed, those breasts rising and falling.
The realities of his situation hit him. His mate was stripping for him. She was immortal. She would be his for all time. In a barely recognizable voice, he said, “You are so godsdamned lovely. I must see more.”
She let the dress drop the rest of the way to the floor.
The sight left him unsteady on his feet. He’d known her figure was willowy, with graceful curves—that tiny waist flaring to the softness of her hips. He’d known her legs were shapely. He’d briefly seen the sandy-brown curls on her mons.
But altogether, her naked body rendered him thunderstruck.
Abyssian Infernas had waited ten thousand two hundred and thirty-four years, three months, and seventeen days for his female to return to him.
He met her gaze. “You were worth the wait.”
THIRTY
The demon’s husky voice made Lila’s belly clench. His brows drew together, and his claws sank into his palms. His erection jutted like a steel rod in his pants.
But somehow she forced herself to stand bare before him. She’d expected him to leer at her or smirk.
Instead, he looked . . . awed. He’d sounded it too.
He made her feel beautiful—and powerful.
So he’d been right. There was power in desire. A small fey could affect one of the strongest beings in the Lore. She did have some sway over him, and it would only grow.
She found her shoulders rolling back.
When they met gazes, an understanding seemed to pass between them. She was reminded of the pomegranate. She’d given to him, and his expression told her he would reward her again and again and again.
He stood beside the tub, holding his hand out for her. Surprising herself, she took it and stepped into the deep water.
She caught his intoxicating scent, and her heart tripped.
Her first bath as an immortal felt heavenly—despite the fact that she’d have to share it.
He began to undress, so she looked away. She’d rather not see her future. . . .
Once he’d entered the water, she faced him. “What now?”
He reached for her, pulling her into his arms. “I’ll start by washing you.” He sat on one of the tub’s benches and settled her sideways on his lap. She tensed when his hard dick pressed against her hip.
After selecting a bottle from the dais, he conjured a cloth, pouring oil on it. Lifting one of her arms, he drew the cloth from her wrist to her shoulder. His gaze roamed along with that cloth, rapt as he washed more of her body.
He discovered her ticklishness under her arms. He showed her the surprising sensitivity of her neck and collarbone.