Page 92 of The Demon Prince

Was he... denying her? Again? He’d done this a few times now, and she was starting to think there was something wrong with her. Did he worry about her hip? She could move it to the side a little more, perhaps. She could figure out a position that would allow both of them to enjoy the moment, because she wasn’t broken, she wasn’t...

His hand slid underneath her back, easing her into an upright position. Gluttony left his arm behind her, holding her upright as he slowly slid a buttoned down shirt onto her body. One of his.

It still smelled like him, all warm, like he’d just taken it off. “How...”

“It’s been warming by the fire,” he said with a soft smile on his face. He was obviously still so uncomfortable and yet here he was, taking care of her. Making sure that he didn’t put even cold clothing on her. Warm and cherished, she allowed him to wrap the shirt around her and then slowly button it. His fingers skimmed her oversensitive skin and goosebumps broke out all down her arms.

His smile never budged, not even when he saw those. He even ghosted his fingers over the slight bumps that had risen before he tugged the sleeves firmly down. “Comfortable?”

“As much as I can be when you have denied me even a hint of the pleasure I seek.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “I’m going to start taking this personally. You realize I’m not some fragile, broken thing. Yes?”

“Yes.” Gluttony leaned down and touched their foreheads together. He breathed her in, slow and steady, before he let all the air out. “I almost lost you, Kat. I was the fool who allowed you to skate too close to death, and I refuse to let that happen again. You are, without a doubt, a shimmering star in the night sky of my life. I will not make the same mistake again. Not with you.”

“Envy gave me potions to take. He said they would help replenish the blood faster for when we—”

Gluttony placed his hand over her mouth, silencing her. “I don’t want to hear it right now, pet. I only want to know that you are here, and alive, and that nothing has changed between us. It was a gift to me that you even allowed me to touch you.”

“Gluttony, you know that I enjoy it when you touch me! It’s not a gift if I’m getting just as much pleasure as you.”

He didn’t seem to hear her, or to listen to her argument. Instead, he just pulled her out of the room and down the hall again. “I know you haven’t been gone for very long, but clearly I have been working in your absence.”

“Yes, I can see that.” Although, she wanted to continue with their conversation.

“Well, the castle is much cleaner than it was before. And of course, we have been focusing on creating more space and more jobs for people in the town. I’ll need your help to ensure there are trusted individuals here and not the newcomers who apparently want to make people think I’m still murdering.” He paused in the hallway for a moment, a dumbstruck expression on his face before he tugged her back into movement. “I’ll also have to address the fact that people think I’m still killing.”

“Are you going to start again?”

He cast her an angry glance over his shoulder. “Do I look like I’m going to start a murderous rampage?”

“Well, you apparently don’t wish to feed from me anymore.” As soon as she said the words, her stomach churned. It was a horrible thing to even think, but if he wasn’t feeding from her, then their contract was null and void. He could do what he wanted and she...

Gluttony tugged her closer and wrapped an arm around her shoulder as they continued, although he did at least slow down his pace. “I am not interested in feeding from anyone else. But I am afraid that I will harm you. So no, Katherine. I have no intention of backing out of our deal. Not while you are alive. But I will not feed from you as much as before, either.”

“Why is that?”

“You have reminded me that gluttony is so much more than just food.” His eyes flashed bright red. “Gluttony is living in a way that is lavish and overdone. I wish to live like that again, as I have forgotten so much of that enjoyment in the later years of my life.”

That... didn’t settle well.

Katherine said nothing as he steered her down the now gleaming halls. Her mind churned over what he had said, and none of it seemed healthy. He would deny himself a taste of her blood—which was the reason why he had faltered in the first place—only to change his indulgences to yet another problem? This wasn’t the right way to fix anything.

And he wanted her to find villagers he could trust? There were no such people. Even she hadn’t trusted him until living with him for quite a significant amount of time.

Now, she wasn’t certain what to think. This didn’t seem like the Gluttony she knew or the man who had wanted so desperately to change. But she refused to leave him alone in this. Maybe he was trying out a new way to live, and perhaps this would be better for everyone involved. She had no idea. He was a good man, a kind man, and he had it in him to be better. She had to believe that.

They strode by an empty room, or so she thought, until she saw the pale gray mist that hid underneath the bed. The poor little spirit was rather melancholy in appearance, but a deep glow burned inside of it as she strode past. She saw it roll after them, sluggish and slow but reaching out for her to touch.

She would have picked it up if Gluttony hadn’t thrown open the doors to his lab and brought her inside of it. “Here, I am so close I can taste it. But I wanted you to do the honors.”

“The honors of what?”

“Discovering the final piece.” He drew her to his personal table where there were only a few wisps of the black smoke left in a vial and two others remaining beside it. “There are only two possible alchemical substances it could be, and I want you to be the person to choose. Pick one.”

She lifted one of the vials to her nose and had to control her own sneeze. “Bee’s pollen?”

“Seemed unlikely at first, but...” Gluttony shrugged.

The other she lifted and peered into the glass. It took a few moments for her to recognize the ground herb, but it wasn’t one that regularly grew in this area of the kingdoms. But then she noticed the pale yellow remains of a petal with a black center, and she knew exactly what she held.

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