Page 39 of Kiss of Seduction (Court of Chains #1)

Sitting in the bed, facing Natalya, Evie was reminded of just how stunning she was. How beautiful. And how tragic.

Natalya said before that she never got undressed in front of anyone. That she didn’t kiss anyone. No one other than Evie.

How many decades had she spent alone, keeping everyone at a distance because she was afraid she’d hurt them? How long had it been since she’d been touched like Evie was touching her? By someone she wanted and not someone who forced her?

Evie’s eyes drifted to the binding marks running from Natalya’s hips up her waist. Stark black and outlined in gold. Beautiful and dangerous. That Natalya was baring them at all was still awe inducing.

“When was the last time you were with someone?” Evie asked. “Like you’ve been with me, I mean. Wanting to.”

“Not since before I was bound. And then only for a short time. I was with a witch named Olena. She summoned me to the world but didn’t want me as a slave. She was just curious. She freed me eventually.”

Natalya briefly lowered her eyes. “She and I were never meant to last. I cannot mingle with humans as naturally as lesser fiends can. I was born in Sin, whereas they were born here. They are part human, with only some fiendish parentage. I am not. I was made for a purpose, and that purpose isn’t to love another. ”

“Oh…” Evie had to remind herself that Natalya wasn’t just a woman with powerful abilities.

She was a fiend. A demon. She may protect Evie and make her feel safe, may even care about her to an extent, and there was an allure because Natalya could do things with her that would harm, or even kill, another.

But that was it. It wasn’t anything more. It couldn’t go deeper than that.

Evie mentally captured and caged the butterflies fluttering in her stomach. She couldn’t get them all.

“What happened to Olena?” Evie asked, trying to get away from the thoughts in her head.

“What always happens to humans who venture too far into the dark.” Natalya smiled sadly. “She got frightened, and she ran. She suppressed what she was and what we had done, and she sold off her arcane possessions. I know she wanted to forget, by the end.”

Evie couldn’t imagine the hurt of losing someone because they were afraid of you. Then she frowned.

“Did she get scared, or did you scare her? Like you tried to do to me?”

Natalya looked at Evie for a long moment, brows furrowed in surprise. Then she let out a soft laugh.

“You don’t miss much. Having a keen mind is a dangerous quality.” Natalya sighed. “I scared her. Like I tried to do to you. For the same reason.”

“Because she wouldn’t let you decide her feelings?” Evie said a bit sharply. Natalya surprised her by chuckling. It left a short-lived smile on her face.

“She was my summoner. I couldn’t manipulate her unless she allowed it. It made her forget what I was. What I could do. She wanted only the parts of me she liked. The parts that seemed human. All it took was reminding her of what I truly was, and she was gone.”

Evie thought of the terrifying display Natalya had made in the Second Circle and in Evie’s apartment when Stefano and Austin showed up. Pointed teeth, eyes entirely scarlet, and mottled purple skin. Enjoying violence with such genuine glee. She did look like a demon then.

“How much of you have I seen?”

Natalya considered, her face set in an unfeeling mask. The only sign she was thinking at all was from her eyes flicking between Evie’s.

“Most of it. More than you should’ve seen. More than Olena saw.” Natalya’s face turned hard. “I paid for it in the end. Olena was always too curious. She’d recorded my marks and inked them onto leather. When she sold off her past, she effectively sold me too.”

“To that man you mentioned? Roland Whitlock?”

Natalya tensed at the name. Then nodded. She didn’t react beyond that, and Evie could almost see her closing herself off. Shutting a door and keeping Evie out.

It made sense that she would. She was strong and powerful enough that it was easy to forget such an existence wasn’t one of ease.

Her life had been filled with horrors and tragedies far beyond what Evie could imagine.

She’d already opened up, perhaps more than she ought to. And she wanted to be strong.

It was hard to be strong when vulnerable. Evie knew that well enough.

Carefully, Evie moved her hand to Natalya’s hip, hovering over her marks. She paused, unsure if she should continue. If Natalya would allow it.

Then Natalya put her hand over Evie’s, pushing it against her skin, and Evie trailed her fingers along the shapes of the marks.

The symbols were intricate, bearing the sharp lines of a freshly made tattoo.

Each symbol glittered with a border of gold.

Touching them sent faint tingling through her fingers.

“Are all fiends marked like this?”

“It depends on the type. Those of Wrath have them around the wrists and forearms. Envy on the chest, Greed on the hands. We cover them.”

“How many types are there?”

“Seven. One for each Sin, and they have different purposes. Fiends of Envy are spies and assassins. Those of Wrath are warriors and killers.”

Natalya touched the gold outline of one of the marks.

“These mark me as a greater fiend. There is no human blood in my veins. Nothing mortal. Lesser fiends only have limited demonic parentage, and it shows in their marks and eyes. They lack the gold, and their eyes aren’t slitted like mine. They aren’t as powerful.”

Natalya ran a hand over Evie’s thigh, making her skin tingle.

“A lesser fiend cannot hurt a human with their abilities unless they want to. Greater fiends are more powerful but far less restrained. It’s in our design to bring destruction.

Only through a century of practice have I come to possess control of myself so I don’t accidentally harm others. It’s taxing to hold back my powers.”

“Do you have to do that with me?”

Natalya smiled. “No. Not with you.”

Evie trailed her fingers along Natalya’s waist, brushing over the marks. Her skin was so soft. So warm and smooth.

Carefully, she moved her hand behind Natalya’s back, where she knew the marks continued. The act made her lean closer to Natalya. Made Evie’s breasts brush against hers. As was her intention.

Natalya looked amused. “I thought I wore you out.”

“I don’t mean me.” She turned fully around, leaning against Natalya. “You.”

Natalya’s expression turned serious again. “Evie, you don’t have to.”

“I know. I want to.” Evie stopped, suddenly remembering what Natalya had said. She hadn’t been with anyone like she’d been with Evie, not since before she was bound by that Whitlock man. And while bound, she’d been…

Evie remembered all too vividly the fears that had consumed her own thoughts about feeling the touch of another. Memories that were cold and sharp and painful. Even with Natalya, the first time, Evie had to stop her when the present intersected with her memories.

She quickly leaned away. “Not if you don’t want to. I didn’t mean to push you. I just wanted…”

She didn’t know what she wanted other than to give Natalya some of the same pleasure she’d given Evie. She hadn’t thought of what that could mean until just then.

“Why do you want to?” Natalya’s eyes were narrowed. Suspicious.

“I don’t know…” Evie looked away, embarrassed and searching for the words that matched what she was feeling. Calm, safe, and filled with an indescribable warmth. She yearned to do something for Natalya, not because she was expected to, but because she would delight in making her happy.

“I want to make you feel good too.”

“You’re very sweet.” Natalya stroked Evie’s cheek. “But I don’t need anything. Having you submit like you just did… That was plenty.”

“Yeah, but…” Evie tried to find the words to communicate what she meant. She managed to locate some, but she wasn’t sure they were entirely right. “Is it that you don’t need to or that you don’t want to?”

Natalya tilted her head. She regarded Evie with newfound interest, looking her over intently.

“You’re keen on pleasing me. Aren’t you?”

Evie nodded. Maybe a bit too eagerly by how Natalya smiled. It was a brief thing.

“It’s been a long time since anyone has touched me like that. Know that the safe words I gave you are mine as well. If I use them, I expect you to honor them. Understand?”

“I understand,” Evie said.

Natalya’s brow furrowed, her eyes glinting and hard. It was shocking how fast her energy could change. How easily she invoked her chosen honorific.

Evie’s breathing quickened. She liked that energy.

“I understand, Mistress.”

Natalya let out a satisfied hum. She leaned in close, leaving a light kiss on Evie’s lips, and the touch produced a surge of alertness. Everything became more noticeable, more detailed. Every feeling sharper and more enhanced.

Natalya glanced at the foot of the bed. “Get on the floor.”

A spark of excitement rushed through Evie’s body at the change of tone. Stern, commanding, confident. It was like the air in the room changed with Natalya’s demeanor.

Evie was still worn out, so getting to the floor was a slow affair. Natalya moved to sit at the edge of the bed. She threw a pillow at her feet, and Evie knelt on it.

“You want to please me.” Natalya trailed her foot along the side of Evie’s thigh, making her skin tingle. “Consider this a reward for being so sweet. I’m going to let you do what you want. Let you touch me anywhere.”

A teasing smirk returned to Natalya’s face. “Anywhere you can reach, that is. As long as you remain on your knees.”

If Evie sat down fully, she would be eye-height with Natalya’s stomach. If she rose herself up, she would be by Natalya’s chest.

“I may guide you or tell you where to go. If I do, I expect you to follow my directives.” Natalya trailed her foot up to Evie’s waist. “You look pretty when you’re on your knees. You look even prettier with that pleading look in your eyes.”