He wasn't afraid. He was something far worse. He was hopeful that she would choose him.

'I thought you were working for Legend.'
He eased closer. 'Think whatever you want, but if you honestly believe that's the only reason I'm here right now with my hands all over you, you're not nearly as clever as I thought.'

Dante had wings. And, holy mother of saints, they were beautiful - soulless jet-black with midnight-blue veins, the color of lost wishes and fallen stardust.

Tella had a sudden flash of the way he’d approached her at the party last night, and her insides did another flip. He’d responded with disinterest that bordered on ignoring her when she’d first said hello. But then she’d caught him watching her from the across the party—just glimpses, here and there—until, out of nowhere, he’d appeared at her side and kissed her until her knees gave out.

I like you better than calculus, and math is the only thing that unites the universe.

“Our training for this evening is done.”
In one swift motion Wrath stood, bringing us both to our feet. I spun around, staring at him. He was wholly unreadable.
“Training? That’s how you’d describe what just happened?”
“You asked for seduction. I obliged.” He bent at the waist, offering a polite bow. “Now that you know what you enjoy, you may find the same pleasure at your own hand. Good night.”
***
"He said what?" Fauna's eyes were as big as saucers.

“Then tell me you hate me, that I am your worst enemy. Better yet, tell me you don’t want to kiss me.”
“I’m not interested in playing this game.” He arched a brow, waiting, and I fought the urge to roll my eyes at his smugness. “Fine. I don’t want to kiss you. Satisfied?”
A spark of understanding flared in his gaze. I realized a second too late what I’d done; what he’d known the moment the words left my traitorous lips. He stepped forward and I quickly stepped back, bumping against the wall.
He leaned in, bracing himself on either side of me, his
expression smoldering enough to start a fire. “Liar.”

“Your turn. What did you do to him?”
“I’m not sure I follow your meaning. What happened?”
“He went out and brought down an entire mountain on the western edge of the Undying Lands. We’ve got letters pouring in from House Lust and House Gluttony so far. They believe the end days are here and want to know if we’re preparing for war.”

“I want to trust you,” I said quietly, holding his stare. His heart thudded solidly beneath my touch. “Why don’t you tell me what you really want? Let me in.”
His gaze fell to my mouth before he tore it away a breath later. I didn’t think the flash of desire I saw was fake. I knew the emotion it stirred within me wasn’t, either.
I’d always imagined he’d dutifully take an enemy to bed if it meant he’d gain something from it. Now I wasn’t sure that’s how he felt at all. There was a charge steadily building between us. And Wrath seemed poised to let it detonate.
Because he wanted to. Maybe I did, too.
I moved a hand inside his shirt, keeping close contact with his skin. His pounding heart betrayed the response he was desperately trying to hide. My hand inched lower. The heat of him, the solidness . . . suddenly, I wanted this to be real.
One second I was standing there, and the next my mouth was on his, punishing, hard.

I placed my hands on his chest and dragged them down instead. Power thrummed beneath my touch. Responded to me. It was intoxicating.
“For the living embodiment of sin, you aren’t very sinful.”
I tugged him close. Drums beat. Passion stirred. He closed his eyes. I pressed closer, and he didn’t stop me this time. The music grew sultry. I swayed automatically against him. I wanted him to swing me up into his arms, and dance us across the sky.
The stubborn demon didn’t move.
“Why won’t you touch me?” I ran my thumb across the seam of his lips and he gently bit down, holding my finger in place. If he meant it as a deterrent, it wasn’t working. He opened his eyes and I was struck by the beauty of them. “Is it because I’m a witch?”
He trailed big hands down my arms. I leaned in, waiting for him to crush his lips against mine. In the far reaches of my mind, I recalled him saying one day I’d beg him to kiss me. That I’d love it or loathe it, but still crave it. He hadn’t been wrong. I hated him . . . for denying me. The anticipation was building to a point that was almost painful. When he finally dragged his hands to my wrists, instead of pulling me closer, he gently pushed me back, holding me at arm’s length.
“There are many reasons. One of which is because you’re under my brother’s influence.” He glanced over my shoulder, his expression forbidding. “Lust.”

The instant I felt the pressure of his mouth pull away, my eyes flew open. The porch was empty, just as I’d known it would be.
“Fuck you,” I whispered, but the hurt in my voice gave the words a
different meaning.

His Dondarte eyes weren’t just silver, I discovered as I tipped my
head back. There were thin, delicate strands of blue tucked within the starlight. How had I never noticed it before?
“Don’t look at me like that,” Laurie said hoarsely.
Heat spread through my lower stomach. Fire. You’re playing with fire, Fortuna, that inner voice cautioned. For good reason, too—I’d been burned so many times. Laurie had scars of his own. To protect both of us, I needed to change the subject. Steer the conversation back into safe territory.
Instead, I heard myself ask, “Why not?”
Laurie stood very, very still. He searched my face, and whatever he saw there made his gaze intensify. The mask he’d been wearing cracked, letting me see the vulnerable male beneath.
“Because it gives me hope,” Laurie said.

I was about to start over again when there was yet another knock on my door. I went still, and for a moment, all I could do was stare. It felt like I was at the starting line of a race.
When I did finally open the door, I did it slowly, knowing who I would find on the other side. No, hoping that I knew.
For a beat, Laurie and I just looked at each other.
Then he stepped forward, buried his fingers in my hair, and kissed me.

It had become second nature to spar with this faerie prince, but it also served another purpose—it kept things between us predictable. Distant. Safe. He was Laurie, my friend, my backup, my warmth. The one I could depend on for amusing commentary or a pithy remark that was sure to piss everyone off.
The look on his face made it clear that tonight was different.

I knew I should look away, or hide my face behind the mask. Laurie would notice how hard I was staring at him, and then he’d be unbearable about it.
But I didn’t.
Laurie’s focus moved over me, then darted back, his eyes meeting mine.
Caught.
I felt my cheeks redden. Even now, I didn’t stop staring. Laurie
quirked a brow. I waited for him to make one of his ridiculous comments. But he pushed off the wall, searching my gaze with an expression I’d never seen him wear before. Cool marble greeted my fingertips, and I jumped, realizing that I’d backed up against the pillar. Laurie moved so close that his chest whispered against my nipples, the barest brush that had them standing on end. I looked up at him and swallowed, unnerved by hisseriousness. By the need heating between us.

By the time I reemerged, wearing jeans and a quarter-sleeved shirt, holding the ring in my fist, Collith and Laurie had returned to their original places on opposite ends of the room. Something in the Seelie King’s face shifted at the sight of me. His voice was noticeably lower as he asked, “Are we finally going to get on with that orgy I—”
“I think it’s time for you to go,” I said quickly. To emphasize my point, I went to the door and opened it. Laurie smirked but didn’t argue. He sauntered up to me, the ridges of his stomach moving with every step. I pressed my back against the door, partly to avoid him and partly to let him pass.
“You’re wrong, by the way,” Laurie said. As he drew even closer, his entire body emanated a delicious-smelling warmth. He pressed his chin against my temple to whisper the next part. One of the feathers on his throw tickled my cheek. “We were most definitely fighting over you.”

I watched Nuvian move toward the door, every movement stiff with fury. My shoulders slumped a bit more, as if another weight had been added to them.
“Are you guys thinking what I’m thinking?” Laurie asked the instant the door closed. He raised his brows and glanced at each of us with an impish gleam in his eyes. “Orgy, right?”

“If you ever touch her without her permission again, I will skin you alive,” he said. His calm tone belied the rigid way he held himself, as though it were taking all his self-restraint not to follow through on the threat.
Laurie smiled into Collith’s eyes. Even though they were talking about me, it felt like I wasn’t even there. “What makes you so sure I didn’t have her permission?” he asked silkily.
Collith’s grip tightened. “Did she say the words?” he growled.
To this, Laurie quirked a brow. “Did I say the words when you fucked me?”

Dark jeans clung to his legs and his hair had been gelled to perfection. Sexy as hell, I thought.
He must’ve caught the thought, like a feather caught on a stray breeze, because he smiled faintly. Then his gaze flicked to Laurie… and the smile faded.
Warm lips pressed against mine. I jerked to attention, and the same moment I comprehended that Laurie was kissing me, he cupped the back of my head. His tongue touched mine in a burst of electricity.
Adam’s training finally kicked in, and within seconds the faerie king was on the floor, holding his groin and cursing. Everyone around us stared or laughed. “What the hell is wrong with you?” I snarled, standing over Laurie, my fists clenched.
Still cupping his balls, Laurie looked up at me. There was a hard glint in his eye. “Do you want a list?”

I quickly stare forward again. "I didn't see anything. Well, just your shoulder again." He's hiding behind a tree.
"You're going to make me think you have some kind of obsession with my shoulders."
I let out a soft snort of laughter and play along." Well, so far as I can tell, tehy are quite nice shoulders."

“What’s wrong with me?” I hear him take a sip as well.
“You sound…stunning,” I admit as little more than a whisper. “I thought you might have not wanted me to see you because you were hideous.”
His glass clanks softly on the table. I hear him stand. I’ve offended him. Before I can apologize he’s there again in front of me. He hooks my chin with the knuckle of his pointer finger and his thumb. He guides my face up toward where I imagine his to be. I know he’s just a breath away. I feel every little bit of aching distance between us, paired with a surprising need to cross it. I’m hot all over, but I can’t move to alleviate the tension. He’s trapped me with two fingers.
“Maybe, I’m trying to protect you because I’m stunning. Because if you were to look at me with those eyes that Oren tells me are like a tempest sea, I could never let you go.”

I groaned and forced myself to sit up.
The prince was looking at me. I could either demurely clutch my chest to cover up or look back. I decided to look back.
Okay, so they built them really well in Russia. Like, really well.

Knox grunted and stared at the offered hand for a beat before shaking it.
The handshake went on longer than necessary. “Why are their fingers turning white?” Waylay asked me.
“It’s a man thing,” I explained.
She looked skeptical. “Like pooping for forty-five minutes?”
“Yeah, something like that,” I said.

“Can I get a dressing room started for you?” she asked.
I thought about it. At least Knox couldn’t follow me into the dressing room.
“She’ll take these,” he said, snatching the briefs out of my hand and pushing them at the sales woman.
My mouth fell open as he dug into the bin and yanked out three more pairs of the impractical, sexy as hell ones. Pink, purple, and red. Then he grabbed a pair of adorable boxer-style undies with red hearts all over them. “And these.”
He shoved them all at the woman, who gave me a sly grin before marching over to the register.
“Knox, I’m not buying all those,” I hissed at him.
“Shut it,” he said and whipped out his credit card.
“If you think for one second that I’m allowing you to buy me underwear—”
He cut off my tirade by slinging an arm over my shoulder and covering my mouth with his hand. “Here,” he said, sliding his card across the counter.
I was squirming against him until he leaned down. “If this is what it takes to get out of this fucking store without passing out from a goddamn hard-on, I’m buying you the fucking underwear.”

I go back to Joshua Templeman’s bed. I touch my finger to the edge of his pillowcase.
“Okay, you’re getting beyond weird now.”
I try to rattle the headboard but it’s solid.
“Stop it.”