Page 34 of Dormeo
My tail lashes in frustration. "You know exactly what she is. What she can do. Why haven't you claimed her power for yourself?"
I don’t want to plant the idea in his head, but I need to know.
"Because I'll need you at full strength in the coming weeks." He waves the workers away, and they scurry out, leaving us alone. "The supernatural rebels are becoming problematic. I have plans to deal with them, but I'll be... busy." His gaze drifts to the cage-bed with disturbing satisfaction.
"What kind of plans?" I’m afraid to ask but have to.
"The kind you don't need to concern yourself with." He circles me slowly. "What interests me is why you're fighting this so hard. The girl practically begs for your touch. I can smell her desire from here." His lip curls. "Yet you hold back. Playing in her dreams instead of taking what's offered."
I bristle.
"She's not just some power source to be drained and discarded.”
My father turns away, distracted by his new installation.
"No." He agrees easily. "She's much more than that. But you already know that, don't you? You've tasted it. Felt how different she is."
Strangely, I’m relieved that even he recognizes her strength.
"What is she?"
He laughs. "Indulge yourself, Son, and you’ll figure it out. Take her properly. You'll need every drop of power you can get when things start moving." His expression darkens. "And they will move quickly."
Well, that sounds ominous.
"And after? When you've finished with whatever schemes you're plotting?"
"After? I don’t really care." He gestures to the implements being installed around the room. "I have my own new arrival to prepare for. The girl is yours to keep, provided you do as you're told when the time comes."
The casualness with which he offers her makes my skin crawl. "Just like that?"
"Just like that." He returns to directing the placement of chains. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have preparations to complete. Stop overthinking things, Ash. It's tedious. And not very prince-of-darkness-like."
I turn to leave, more unsettled than when I arrived.
As the door slams behind me, I can't shake the feeling that I've just been expertly maneuvered into exactly where my father wants me. The question is why?
18
ROSE
Marching into the living room, cursing this stupid sleepiness, I’m feeling bold. I need to know what’s going on if Ash and I are to continue with whatever the hell this is.
“What did your sister mean when she saidthis time?”
I can’t meet Ash’s eyes. Flashbacks of my dreams make me blush, and I fidget with the tie on my dressing gown as I shuffle into the room.
His tongue against mine, his hands on my breasts, his claw pressing white liquid to my lips.
Ash rises from the couch where he’s lounging, naked to the waist, in a pair of loose black trousers that almost blend perfectly against his sculpted torso. His movements are predatory as he stalks toward me, and I freeze, caught drinking in his gorgeous form with my hungry eyes.
I shouldn’t look. A proper lady would turn her back or shield her eyes, but I can’t. Every inch of him is exquisite, and my heartbeat picks up once more as I stare at his taut abs.
“That’s what you want to talk about?” He seems amused by my discomfort as I edge along the wall, trying to avoid his intense stare.
This man, this demon, has been inside my brain, and maybe more. The first time, I thought it was just my overactive imagination, but now, with the actual ache in my muscles and the slick between my thighs, I know that I had an orgasm.
And I’m pretty certain he was there to witness it.
