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“Did I hurt you?” I ask, suddenly worried.

“No, Princess, quite the opposite. Do it again.”

The loose material does little to impede my way, and I’m able to wrap my hand fully around his girth over the top of his pants, with the material still between us. I trace my fingers up the outline of his length and then back down again. A tiny patch of the material has grown damp, and, from the tales Skylar has told me in the past, I know that’s because he wants me.

His hand moves from my breast, and he cups my chin. “For ten years, I’ve dreamed of this moment. It’s what’s kept me going the entire time in that forsaken cage.” He kisses me again, his tongue mapping out the inside of my mouth. “You have no idea how much I want you.”

His hand leaves my breast and trails down my stomach, to reach beneath the long skirt of my nightgown. His fingers run up the inside of my thigh, and I hold my breath. My wings flutter behind me in anticipation.

It suddenly hits me that I’m half-dressed, with my hand wrapped around my stepbrother’s cock, with him about to touch me in a way no man has touched me before.

I yank away from him, deliberately putting space between us.

“No, we can’t. You’re my stepbrother. This is…wrong.”

He frowns in confusion. “How can it be wrong when it feels so good?”

“By law, we are brother and sister. What will people say?”

“Fuck other people. Plenty of other cultures encourage the coupling of siblings to keep the bloodlines pure.”

“We are not of the same bloodline.”

He smiles, like a feline who’s got the cream. “Exactly. So it shouldn’t matter.”

Perhaps he’s right, but it’s not his reputation that would be in tatters. Men are always judged differently than women. If people knew we were together, in that way, he would probably get slaps on the back and other men buying him drinks. I, on the other hand, will walk into a room to find people whispering, and most likely my ability to rule called into question. The only person who would squeal with joy and demand to know every detail ismy lady’s maid. As much as I’d love to have that conversation with Skylar, as I trust her completely, it’s not worth risking the kingdom for.

I snatch up my blankets and hold them against my chest, as though they can offer me some kind of protection.

Hurt and disappointment is evident on his handsome features. Those cheekbones are sharp enough to cut glass, those eyes so dark I feel I could fall into them forever.

“I’m sorry,” I tell him. “I didn’t mean to lead you on, but I do mean it when I say this can’t happen.”

“Are you telling me it doesn’t feel good?”

My cheeks burn. “That’s beside the point.”

He leans in again, cat-like, or perhaps it’s more snake-like, as though he’s going to slide himself across the bed toward me. His tone is soft, hypnotic. “You’ve had a difficult time. Let me take your mind off things, if only for a short while. No one else needs to know. It will be between only the two of us.”

“But I will know!” I protest.

“What does that matter? Are you saving yourself for marriage?”

I shake my head. “No, I will never marry. The kingdom is my husband.”

It crosses my mind that I’d considered the possibility of having to marry someone from another kingdom to secure the safety of our people, but then I push it from my head.

“If you will never marry, then why not take some pleasures where you can? Where is the pride in being a virgin queen?”

He’s right, there is no pride in being a virgin queen, butI also don’t want to give someone else any control over my body, and especially not him.

“You are my stepbrother, and you are half Incubus. I know what you do, how you get your power. Is that your plan? To drain mine to use for yourself?”

He draws back, his forehead furrowed. “Princess, it hurts that you’d think of me that way.”

“Am I wrong?”

“I only wanted to make you feel better. I saw you were suffering, and I wanted to make that right. I’m sorry if I did the wrong thing. You have to understand it simply comes naturally to me to use physical affection as a way of connecting with someone.”