Page 23 of Kiss of Seduction (Court of Chains #1)

In the dark of the bedroom and with Evie asleep, Natalya didn’t need to restrain herself.

The glow from her eyes cascaded violet light onto the woman lying in her arms. Evie had fallen asleep quickly, helped by Natalya instilling calm in her as she drifted off.

But her calm wasn’t at all shared by Natalya.

Natalya couldn’t recall when she last felt this vigorous.

She had gotten by on the sexual energy of the Second Circle for decades.

Compared to what she felt now, she’d been starving all that time.

The only similar feeling was when she’d kissed people in the past, drawing life from them in its entirety, or when she’d been with Olena, her first summoner.

And even then, it was like a candle flame to the blazing fire Evie had ignited.

And Natalya had been gentle with her. Natalya hadn’t taken her as her powers enabled her to do.

What would it feel like to have her completely?

To bring her to the height of desire and hold her there as she came apart?

The thought made the light from her eyes shine brighter. But it was an impossibility.

What they had done that night was an experiment.

Evie wanted to know if she could move past her fear of sex, and she’d trusted Natalya to guide her through it.

That didn’t mean she wanted the kind of life the Court of Chains offered humans like her.

She would cower and run if she saw the Second Circle.

Natalya knew better than to expect otherwise.

But the memory of Evie straddling her thighs, vulnerable and willing and overcome with pleasure, made something ache inside Natalya.

That kind of trust was incredible. Natalya wasn’t used to feeling it towards herself.

She wasn’t used to feeling it for another.

She’d shared more with Evie than she’d done with anyone, and Evie hadn’t withdrawn from her. What a marvelous woman she was.

Natalya brushed her fingers over Evie’s arms, then over her chest and neck. Her freckled skin had so many scars they overlapped. Round marks from fangs on her throat and wrists. Straight ones from knives and whips over her breasts and shoulders.

They’d hurt her. Tortured her. This openhearted woman who should’ve had a peaceful life away from all this madness.

Natalya wondered what had spawned Evie’s many scars. The small white ones on her fingers, the jagged ones on her feet. The long, straight ones that ran along the veins by her wrists. Perhaps they had hurt her so horribly she’d tried to leave her captivity the only way she could.

She clutched Evie tighter at the thought. No one would ever hurt her again. Natalya would kill anyone who tried.

There was a distant click as the apartment door opened. Footsteps entered, heavy but tentative. Two sets.

Natalya brushed a finger over Evie’s brow, pushing her sleep a little deeper, before moving out of the bedroom.

In the apartment, she saw two figures. Both tall.

One lean, another massive. She went for the bigger of the two, rushing him and pressing her hand against his throat before she realized who they were.

As Drago went to his knees, Flea darted away, hands raised. He eased when Natalya let go of the greater Wrath demon.

“Fuck, Natalya!” Flea’s eyes widened. “What the hell happened to you?”

Natalya knew she made an arresting display. Eyes blazing violet, skin radiant with energy. Drago, a creature over a head taller than her and twice as wide, was struggling to stand just from her touching him.

The greater fiend stared at her. He knew. He knew the cause of her radiance.

“Nothing’s wrong,” Natalya said sharply. “And you aren’t needed. You can go.”

Drago got to his feet, keeping his eyes on Natalya. The huge man looked ready for a fight to break out. Luckily, Flea didn’t notice.

“Actually, we wanted to talk to Evie.” Flea held up a piece of paper. “Some new terms concerning Varro were keyed out, and we wanted to run them by her.”

Behind him, Drago looked around the apartment, scanning the space like a soldier would.

“Where is the girl?”

“Sleeping.” Natalya forced her eyes to lessen in intensity. Her mind knew Flea and Drago weren’t threats, even if her body wasn’t as sure.

“Can I check?” Drago’s voice rumbled out like looming thunder.

Natalya only just kept from snarling at the fiend, but she did allow him to enter the bedroom. Evie was still asleep, lying in the same position as when Natalya left her. She breathed softly as Drago touched her throat to feel her pulse.

“She’s fine,” he said as they left the room, closing the door. “But lost to the world. Did something happen?”

“Nothing that’s any of your concern.” Natalya snatched the paper out of Flea’s hand. She read it over, then passed the paper back. “You’re not giving those to her.”

“We’re stopping the interrogations?” Flea asked.

“We’re pausing them. For a few days, at least.”

When neither Drago nor Flea said anything, Natalya sighed to keep herself from raising her voice.

“You don’t see her after. It’s like she’s taken a beating from the inside, every time.”

“Is it really that bad?” Flea asked. Natalya would have made him shrivel to his knees for that comment if he hadn’t sounded genuinely concerned.

“You can’t imagine what it’s like.” There was more earnestness to the statement than she’d intended. It was like she was talking about herself as much as she was Evie.

Drago crossed his arms, still staring at her. Flea made a face and fidgeted where he stood. Natalya narrowed her eyes.

“Do you have a concern you’d like to share?”

“There was a message from Varro,” Flea said. “He apologized for the actions of his progenies. He said that Stefano is being dealt with, and he’ll make sure no other attempts are made to take Evie back. All he wants in return is Austin’s remains.”

Natalya laughed coldly. What was left of Austin had been thrown in an incinerator weeks ago, as was common practice. Varro knew this.

“What an understandable request,” Natalya said through clenched teeth.

“He’s apparently been in talks with the Night Queen of the South-West and the Night Queen of the East Coast,” Drago said. “If they join forces, it could get ugly.”

“It’s already ugly,” Natalya muttered.

This wasn’t a war of torn limbs and bared teeth. It was a chessboard where each piece had moves unknown to the opponent. It was a slow game where, somehow, Evie played a part.

Varro wouldn’t be so daring to try to take Evie again.

Not in the high-rise, at least, but maybe somewhere else.

Evie had quit the cleaning job she’d found, but she still had her weekend classes.

They were in the early afternoon and close by, so there was little risk, and she would always have an escort. But the thought nagged Natalya.

What the hell was Varro planning?

“I’ll talk to her when she wakes up.” The thought didn’t excite her. Her drilling into all the horrible things Evie had been through wouldn’t be easy, even if it was necessary. Evie may come to detest Natalya for it. For demanding she remember what she tried to forget.

She dismissed Flea and Drago, giving the latter a cold stare as he continued to look at her as he left. She didn’t go back to the bedroom, instead staying in the living space—staring at nothing—as worry fought resolve in her mind.

The thought of Evie hating her hurt, but the thought of potentially losing her hurt more. Natalya was responsible for her being there. For her being chased like this. Figuring out why Varro wanted her was the best way to ensure her safety.

She wasn’t supposed to be Evie’s lover. She wasn’t her friend. She was her protector, and she was supposed to keep her safe. That was all. She had to remember that.

Though she knew the conclusion to be right, she disliked it all the same.

Natalya was drawn back to Evie when she felt a twinge of fear from her. The muted fright of a bad dream. Natalya lay beside her, running her fingers over Evie’s skin and sending calm into her body until the nightmares faded.

She was beautiful at ease like this. When Evie woke, Natalya would ask her to recount horrible memories, and the calm would vanish.

Evie woke to soothing fingers brushing over her forehead. It made her not want to open her eyes. The real world wasn’t as gentle as the feeling of calming touches on sleepy skin.

“I know you’re awake,” Natalya said.

Evie turned over, pressed her face against the pillow, and groaned. Natalya chuckled, running her fingers through Evie’s hair.

“Perhaps I was mistaken.”

They stayed like that for a few more minutes, Evie slowly coming out of sleep as Natalya kept touching her softly. When Evie finally decided to wake fully, she turned to Natalya.

She was sitting in the bed next to Evie, wearing the same dress as the night before. There was no mussiness of sleep on her face or her clothes. She looked glowing. Gorgeous. It made Evie still in place for a moment, so she could just stare at her.

Evie cleared her throat. “You were here all night?”

“Mostly. You barely stirred. You must have needed the rest.”

Evie recalled in bright detail what they had done the night before. It made her cheeks feel warm, but she couldn’t help but smile.

“I guess I was tired. Thank you. For staying, I mean.”

“Of course.” Natalya’s tone suggested she knew Evie was thanking her for more than just staying by her as she slept. Then her face turned serious. “I’m sorry to do this now, but I need to talk to you.”

That was not a good sentence. Especially not when matched with Natalya’s expression.

Evie pushed up on her elbows, covering herself with the bedsheet. “Okay?”

“Varro reached out to us. He said he would make sure no one tried to take you again.”

Evie felt cold hearing that. “He’s lying.”

“We know. He wanted Austin’s remains in exchange for the truce, but he knows they were disposed of.”

Evie couldn’t help but scoff. “Varro doesn’t care about Austin.”

Natalya frowned. “Why is that?”

“He lost his favorite progeny before I was taken. Varro made Austin to replace him. Some of the other humans said Austin looked just like him, but he didn’t live up to expectations.”

“Rollo.” Natalya looked away, a hateful glint in her eyes. “He was a snake. We could never prove he was working for Night. The only evidence we had was hearsay. I didn’t know he was a favorite of his King.”

“Austin wasn’t allowed to use me.” The words left a sour taste in her mouth. “Varro didn’t trust that he wouldn’t kill me. But Stefano liked him. He thought he was fun.”

“I’m glad he’s dead,” Natalya said with surprising coldness, and Evie was reminded of the demonic visage Natalya had made in her apartment.

It was so far from the ethereal beauty she was there.

So far from what she’d been the night before.

The night of the attack, she had moved with violent glee and efficiency.

Evie wondered how many people had died at Natalya’s hands.

“Varro had meetings with other Night regents,” Natalya said. “The American Queens specifically. Are you familiar with them?”

Evie had seen them both. “Queen Zahra doesn’t like Varro. Varro doesn’t like Queen Cecilia.”

“Can you describe what they’re like?”

Queen Zahra of the East Coast was a surprisingly serene woman who had looked at Varro’s collection of frightened humans, including Evie, with disgust. Queen Cecilia of the South-West was the opposite.

Cecilia was cold and had a sharp laugh that promised pain.

She’d brought a Seraphic of her own—a young man named Cameron based on his tattoo—and had tried to convince Varro that he and Evie should entertain the two vampire Regents by having sex in front of them.

Varro had sneered and declined. Evie and Cameron had barely looked at each other.

“I don’t want to talk about that.” Evie sat up, turning away from Natalya.

The conversation brought up horrible memories. Of a stranger’s hands on her body and icy lips touching her neck. She felt floaty when she woke up. Lighter. For the first time in months, thinking about sex had summoned memories of pleasant touches rather than cold stabs of pain.

“I want to keep you safe,” Natalya said. “To do that, I have to find out what you know.”

“You’re already doing that.” Evie’s voice was harsh to mask the emotion rising in it. She didn’t want to cry. “I’m answering all the questions from those patrol people.”

“Evie, it’s important.” Natalya put a hand over hers. “Maybe something you remember—”

“I don’t want to remember!” Evie yanked her hand away. “I don’t want to think about it at all.”

The pouch of salt was on the nightstand. She snatched it up, clutching it in her hands.

“I’d like you to go.”

There was stillness behind her. Natalya didn’t move or speak, and fear rose in Evie’s chest. She hadn’t denied Natalya before, not like this, and she only had her word the salt would work. Maybe she would get angry. Maybe she’d turn demonic again.

“You can’t bury all of this, Evie.”

Natalya stood and moved to the bedroom door. She looked resolute, as elegant as ever, but more stoic. A mask had slipped over her face, one of controlled calm. It relayed no other emotion.

“I promised to keep you safe, and your safety isn’t guaranteed as long as Varro wants you. I need to find out why he’s so intent on getting you back. I need you to remember.”

Then Natalya exited the bedroom and left Evie alone with her thoughts.