Page 16 of Essa (Pleasure Crew #4)

sixteen

Adam

A re we sure Essa's sister doesn't want to be married to Iddis? Seth's question keeps repeating in my mind over and over as the silence in the dining room grows.

Iddis left shortly after Niivi did, leaving the three of us alone. Essa's eyes are brimmed with unshed tears as she lowers her head into her palms. I'm still beside her, standing watch in case someone tries to hurt her while she's emotional. Seth moved closer to her when Iddis left, and now he's practically sharing her chair with her as he wraps an arm around her lower back.

"Oh," a soft, feminine voice calls from the same doors Iddis and Niivi left not too long ago. Ilyna stands in the doorway, her hands clasped in front of her and a sad smile on her lips. "I guess the reunion didn't go as planned."

"It went very poorly," Essa confirms. She swallows hard to distract from the waver in her voice, but I hear it all the same.

"Perhaps you should let your males care for you tonight, and we can speak another time. I'm sure Niivi just needs to get used to dynamics changing."

Ilyna's trying to stay diplomatic, which is understandable since she knows both women, but I want everyone to be on Essa's side. She's done nothing wrong and is only here with good intentions. Sure, they might be misguided, but none of us knew her sister was probably fucking her fiancé. How could we have prepared for that?

"They will care for me just fine," Essa says, waving Ilyna off with a small smile. "Thank you for trying to be here to help."

"Of course," Ilyna says before ducking back out the way she came.

I grab an empty plate from the table and pile it high with food Essa had put on her plate before everything started to go south. Seth does the same to his plate, and when we both finish, he nudges Essa's shoulder.

"Do you know where your room is?" I ask. "We can plan our next steps there. I don't like us being out in the open like this."

"Yeah, yeah," Essa murmurs, lifting herself from her seat and making sure the fabric of her dress is in the correct places.

Seth reaches up to untangle one of the chains between her horns and strokes a piece of her hair down her face. There's grief in her eyes, and it makes me want to punish Iddis and her sister for hurting her. Not that they deserve it, considering I'm pretty sure Essa is about to crash her sister's very much wanted wedding, and she doesn't even know it.

"Lead the way, princess," I say as I wrap my fingers around the back of her neck and give it a soft, reassuring squeeze.

It's pretty clear to me I shouldn't be walking next to her or touching her when I'm acting as her concubine in front of other people, and that just makes me want to do it more. Really, I want to see what else I can get away with.

Seth carries both plates of food we made since I handed him mine when I decided I wanted to put my hands on Essa.

I expect some sort of retort from Essa about the nickname. It fits, considering we're in some strange desert palace decorated in gold and jewels and elaborate paintings everywhere. Her family is wealthy beyond anything I could probably ever comprehend, and yet I'm pretty sure until she dressed up to come to Haven III, I've never seen her wear jewelry or fine fabrics. The most expensive looking thing I thought she owned was the sword she sometimes wears strapped to her back.

I touch a gold decorative piece on the wall as we walk down one of the long stretches of the hall just to see if someone will pop out of a hidden compartment and tell me not to touch. When no one does, I stop walking and stare at the mural covering a section of the wall.

It's a graphic depiction of what looks to be a Haventh female completely nude as she cuts the head off of a Haventh male. She holds a fistful of his hair in one closed fist, the other wrapped around a sword that's cutting deep into his throat. Her eyes are little pinpricks of lines, and her fangs are bared, dripping with her venom.

"A goddess of war," Essa says, stepping next to me. "It's said that before our lands were divided amongst families, the gods resided over the territories and fought endlessly for control over all of them. The only way for us to survive and grow was to dismantle their power and strip it away little by little until it belonged to everyday Havenths. Of course, our gods were mortal and were no more than what my parents were or what I will be. Still, some were great warriors or charmers and held onto power. They created followings that worshipped them as deities. Even now, there are some we recognize as gods and goddesses for how much power they are able to wield. They're who we look up to and aspire to be."

"So there were no actual gods here?" I ask. Original Adam was a staunch catholic growing up, but that faith dwindled and died the more that was done to him.

"Just males and females who wield power like no one else can," Essa says with sadness in her voice. "I used to wish to be that powerful, but then I matured and found I was quite a scary female. It's a power amongst my kind. You've witnessed it. I could, probably, visit the temple of the goddess of war and have the scholars deem me into godhood with my strength in that area."

I close my eyes, trying to figure out how to take all of that. Thankfully, before I need to respond, Essa continues talking.

"I have no wish to do that, though. My father wanted me to before I was to be married off. He thought it might make my union with Iddis more favorable, considering his family hails from lands where fighting and strength are the currency."

She steps away from the painting, and I notice her lips lifting slightly. She might not like the idea of being granted godhood. I can't believe that's even something I'm thinking. But, she does like being comparable to the female in the painting.

As I turn to follow her down the hall, I ask. "Who's the male in the painting?"

Essa tilts her head to the side. This time, amusement flickers in her eyes so loud and bright that I know she's eager to tell me the rest of the story. "That would be her lover who tried to kill her for her power. He thought if he drank her blood, he'd consume her godhood and become a god himself."

"Didn't work out too well for him, did it?" Seth chuckles behind us, reminding us how much better he is at this concubine thing than I am because he's been quietly following a step behind Essa this whole time.

"No, it did not." Essa shakes her head as she speaks.

I study a few more paintings as we walk. Many of them depict what I assume is the same female from the first painting. It's painting after painting of her conquering or killing or fighting. And then, between two paintings of her victories, there's a lone door that Essa opens and leads us through.

The space is enormous. Rationally, I knew it would be, but I wasn't ready for just how much space it would have for no reason.

As we enter, a plush red couch with gold legs and decorative edges sits in front of an oversized fireplace lit with an electronic fire. It's a desert planet. Why would they ever need a fireplace in the first place? After that, there's a small sitting table with four chairs and a platter of fruits in the middle. A bottle of clear liquid and one of a dark red liquid sit next to three glasses.

Beyond that is where the bedroom starts. Black marble flooring so polished I can see my reflection clear as day when I look down. A rug the size of a normal-sized bedroom sits on the floor in shades of blue, gold, and cream. The four-poster bed on top of it is piled high with more pillows than a single person could ever need. The sheets and comforter are a soft blue contrasted by the cream of the gauzy material hanging from each corner of the bed.

Original Adam knew enough about a princess room from always trying to recreate this little canopy look for his daughters. I just never thought I'd be the one to see this and know, without a doubt, that who Essa is on the ship is vastly different from who she was raised to be.

I whistle low and long as we step into the space and turn around to look at Seth to give him an 'Are you seeing this shit?' look. His eyes are wide as he takes in the vast living space, but he covers it by turning to place the plates of food on the table.

My head shakes, and I'm about to give Essa a hard time for this being what she gave up to live in a shoebox of a room on the ship, but when I turn to tease her, she's cringing, her tail wrapped tightly around her ankle and her shoulders slumped.

My mood instantly sours, and my brows pull together.

"What?" I ask her, wanting to know what's got her acting small and timid.

She just told me she could be considered a goddess on this planet, and now that I'm in her bedroom, she's going to let me get the upper hand? No way. That ruins all the fun of getting to take it from her.

Her sister's upset with her. She thinks she has to marry some guy she doesn't like. And we're now looking at her room and judging her for the excess even if we don't mean to be. Cool it on the aggression.

For once, I don't ignore Seth just to annoy him. I might not be the best at handling any emotion other than anger, but I do know how to comfort someone. I've done it plenty for Seth and can do it for Essa, especially now that I know we're all as into this as the others. Seth won't leave me for her, and she won't leave me for Seth. We're combined, the three of us, and it feels right even if I more than a little hated her not that long ago.

"Come on, princess." I step closer to her, find where my chain connects to her waist, and unclip it. Her eyes flash with annoyance since I'm pretty sure she's the one who's supposed to get to decide when or if I'm unleashed. I tilt my head to the side as I let the chain fall down the length of my body. "Or should I say goddess now?"

Essa's demeanor changes with that, and for a second, I don't hate that I've put myself in the submissive role without her needing to bite me. She'd let me yank her around by her horn and force her to her knees, but right now, she needs devotion.

The one person she came to this planet to save isn't grateful, which Seth and I are pretty sure we know why. First, we need to get Essa's mind off her insecurities and away from the doubts and the things that make her feel small.

"You like that idea," Seth says. He's moved closer to us, standing next to Essa and running a hand over her bicep and down her forearm. "You want to be our goddess, Essa?"

Her entire body shivers at his question, and I don't need him in my mind telling me she wants it for me to know. That doesn't stop him from all but screaming it at me, though. I tune out his worried inner voice as he tells me not to fuck this up by being an asshole. I get his concern, but I can be sweet when I want to be. I just never want to be, and he's never needed me sweet unless it's after we've fucked.

I fall to my knees, surprising both Essa and Seth. I project an image of me flipping Seth off in my mind, hoping he sees it loud and clear, and also knows he's not getting this same treatment from me. He wouldn't like it anyway. I bring my lips to the side of Essa's thigh, right against the edge of where the fabric of her skirt covers her.

"What are you—"

Her voice cuts off when I wrap my fingers around the back of her thigh, holding her close to me as I plant more kisses against her, in a long line up, up, up until I reach where her pelvis bone is pronounced and start to nudge her skirt to the side, wanting to reveal more of her skin to my waiting lips, my eager tongue.

Essa reaches down, her fingers trailing over my cheek, and I let my eyes flutter close at her touch. She skates her fingers lower over my jaw, my neck, then she wraps the chain of my leash in her hand and gives it a soft tug. It's barely there, but my eyes snap open. She's seeing if I'll allow it or if it's too much for me. She doesn't know that the collar hasn't been nearly as difficult to wear now that I know it's for her. I close my eyes again, tilting my head to the side, offering her my neck.

"You wish to worship me?" Essa asks, her tone no longer unsure or self-conscious. No, she's into this almost as much as I am. Before I get to tell her I'd crawl over glass for her at this point—which is good because that's way too desperate—she turns to Seth. "Why aren't you on your knees as well?"

"Fuck," I groan.

There's something so sexy about a female powerful enough to kill me, wanting me on my knees for her. No, not any female. Just one, just this one. Anyone else who wants me on my knees can get fucked, but Essa, she deserves so much more than what I can give her.

Seth falls to his knees beside me, his hands moving to reverently touch Essa's ankle, behind her calf, and then he lowers himself. His lips brush the top of her black, strappy sandals. He kisses the top of her foot, her ankle, and nuzzles against her before lifting his eyes back up to hers.

"I'd be honored to worship at your altar."

I don't need to be enough on my own. No, because I'm never on my own, and now, neither is Essa.