Page 24 of Insurrection
Also, royals as a whole—especially those from other realms—tended to be judgmental assholes, so this had the potential to be a rather frustrating endeavor.
The sun was beginning to set, its golden-red rays covering the gardens and making me squint slightly as I attempted to see the carriage approaching in better detail. My head tilted to the side in curiosity when I realized it bore the crest of the House of Death.Speak of the devil. Well, not the actual devil, because that dude was still taking the longest nap I’d ever heard of.
When the carriage rolled to a stop, the door opened almost immediately, and a massive reaper stepped out, looking both frustrated and flustered. Interesting. I wasn’t positive who he was, but according to my mom, the heir was a woman…and I was going to assumethatwas her.Thatbeing a gorgeous specimen that all but tumbled out of the carriage, her onyx horns nearly caught on the door as she put as much space as possible between her and the male Reaper with her. I frowned at that, feeling an irrational surge of protectiveness at the way she was eyeing him cautiously.
Wait, horns on the Reaper heir?I reared back slightly, then opened the french doors, deciding I wanted to further observe this woman who was the supposed heir to the House of Death. Clearly, they had been keeping secrets.
I desperately wanted a closer look, but I didn’t know how else to achieve that besides flying down several stories and landing right in front of her. The carriage began to pull away, and I knew I was going to run out of time.
“The girl is a hybrid?” my mother sneered from next to me, startling me. I had been so preoccupied I hadn’t felt her approach. “Oh, that won’t do. That alone is a reason for the other houses to not vote for them.”
“She’s a Succubus-Reaper hybrid,” I murmured and then frowned. “She’s going to see right through any seduction attempts if she has even the smallest bit of our power running through her.”
My mother waved dismissively, “Try anyway. She’s hybrid trash and probably has low self-confidence, so focus on giving her attention or something like that. She’ll be putty in your hands.” My entire body went tight at the words coming from my mother’s mouth.
Hybrid trash? Hardly.
I hopped up onto the balcony ledge, and my red wings stretched to either side of me as I jumped. The air was a bit crisper than normal, and it ruffled my hair, the brown mixed with caramel highlights moving in my peripheral vision. The journey down gave me a moment of peace before I landed right in front of the newcomers.
Almost instantly, a smile was pulling at my lips becauseholy hellthis woman was…well, I didn’t really have a word for it.
Arresting? Exquisite? Bewitching? None of those seemed to capture the small, curvy beauty in front of me, her large pink and silver eyes, framed by massive dark lashes, widening in surprise at my landing.
I didn’t even bother looking at the Reaper with her, completely entranced as I was. She ran a hand over her dark, sleek ponytail, and her soft, pink lips opened slightly as if she was going to say something. Her black wings, a color I had never seen on a Succubus before, snapped out from her back as she jolted in surprise, a blush staining her cheeks. The scent of roses and ashes had my cock hardening as my own pulse hitched, and I moved closer to her on instinct.
I nearly growled when the asshole traveling with her stepped in front of her defensively. I was tall at nearly 6’2”, and I could easily hold my own in most fights, but this guy was clearly here for the purpose of protecting the House of Death’s heir, and I didn’t completely blame him. I mean, the woman was obviously priceless. I was surprised someone hadn’t attempted to steal her yet.
A near growl tore from my throat at the thought of how good she would feel under my fingers. That alone was enough to consider stealing her away and locking her up. I bet she would come so fucking pretty. I was about to throw this bastard out of the way, but then, all of a sudden, I didn’t have to.
“Drayven, stop being rude.” Her voice was soft but commanding as she stepped around the man and offered him a confused look, something like hurt shadowing her eyes.Had he hurt her?When she continued, I realized why she’d thought he was stepping in front of her, “I might not be great at politics, but I can hold a conversation. I’m not going to embarrass anyone, contrary to what everyone else seems to think.”
My smile grew as the man grunted and stepped aside, barely, his desire for this woman so painfully obvious. Also, his possessiveness, but I had a feeling that she didn’t recognize it at all with the confusion that blanketed her face when she looked at him. If she couldn’t recognize his blatant and obvious need for her, maybe she really wouldn’t see through my seduction attempts—not that I had any intentions of telling my mother that.
“You must be the heir to the House of Sin?” she asked softly, looking at my crown briefly before her cheeks deepened in color.
“His name is Nicolas,” the large Reaper provided, clearly annoyed with not being part of this conversation—something I planned on maintaining.
“Nico,” I offered my preferred nickname, ignoring him and hating the formal one my parents insisted on. She put her hand out for a handshake, but I captured it gently and brushed my lips against it, noting how her skin broke out into shivers.
“What’s your name?” I prompted, genuinely excited for small talk for the first time in my life.
“Amare, or Ama,” she mumbled, then shook herself, a shadow crossing her gaze, as she stepped back. My magic circled around me, frustrated that she had snapped out of my unintentional seduction so easily.
Although, to be fair, I hadn’t been trying to use it, so much as my magic had been reacting to her. I would gladly let my mother think I was spending this entire time seducing her if it meant getting to know Ama better, though.
“We should go to our chambers.” Drayven’s voice was harsh and annoyed, his eyes seeming to burn a hole through me.
Her eyes darted to him as her jaw tightened, and she seemed conflicted on whether that was the right move or not. I decided to make it easier for her.
“Why don’t I show you?” I stepped closer to her and her pupils dilated slightly, the scent of desire surrounded her like a gorgeous perfume.Fuck.I could practically smell how wet she was, and it was making me want to pin her up against the closest wall and bury myself inside of her, to feel how tight I knew she would be.
My biggest hold up was that I wasn’t positive whether her arousal was just for me or if it was for Drayven as well. The desire she felt for him was obvious to me, but far more concealed. The idea that she could be attracted to someone besides me made me both irrationally possessive and oddly insecure. Two emotions I never felt.
I could make her feel ten times better than this Reaper. I knew that.
“Fuck no.” Drayven’s growl was sharp and filled with anger, causing Ama to startle and go wide-eyed as if surprised by his intense reaction to a seemingly polite offer. I had to wonder what their relationship was because she clearly wasn’t aware of how he felt. Good, I’d use that to my advantage.
“I’m almost positive the heirs are supposed to get to know one another,” I purred, my hand brushing over her shoulder as her tongue darted out to wet her lip, causing me to let out a small growl that caught in my throat. Damn it. This woman had way too much pull on my physicality already. “Besides, I have a feeling that Ama and I have far more in common than you ever will.”
