Page 86 of Demon Food

Neopal blinked. Which meant he hadn’t.

Feloré lowered his chin. The way he gazed up at Neopal through his lashes was almost submissive. Definitely sexy. He puckered his lips a little, making them all pouty, and what the fuck was he doing? I didn’t like it. I didn’t like it one bit.

“It’s a book,” he said, slinking a step toward Neopal. Dare I even say prancing. “It’s a book about your incredible bodies. For example, did you know that each time you kiss a new human, it’s believed to add a full day to your life? Isn’t that fun?”

My eyes bulged. Fun? No, it wasn’t fucking fun. But Neopal must’ve thought so, because two of his fingers twitched and I wanted to rip his head off his body.

“Last night, I was in bed with the prince,” Feloré said, holding his gaze, “and I was touching myself.”

My shoulders jerked, but luckily Neopal wasn’t facing me. He was entranced by my fucking human, who was still gliding toward him, sex permeating from him like goddamn incense.

“You were t-touching yourself?” Neopal stuttered. “Why?”

“To heal the prince’s wound, of course. From his tragic wild boar accident.”

Neopal’s head swiveled to me, his sharp gaze wandering down my side.

“And all I had to do,” Feloré said, just the gentlest graze of his fingertips across Neopal’s cheek to grip his attention once more, “was come really, really hard as I cut myself. And I did. I came so hard.”

I twitched like I’d been struck with a hot iron, but Neopal didn’t see it. He couldn’t pull his attention from my Snow Fox as he licked the corner of his mouth like drool was slipping from it.

“Thank the gods, it’s completely healed this morning,” Feloré said, gesturing to me. “See for yourself.”

Oh, shit. It was suddenly clear what he was doing. He was proving what I’d been saying for months.

I parted my shirt when Neopal locked eyes with me.

His face lost a shade of color as he observed the scar, and when he spoke again, it was with genuine awe in his voice. “How did you…? How did you force him to do that?”

“Force? Silly, Neopal.” I clicked my tongue. “See, that is the difference between you and me. Between me and my father. I don’t have to use force.”

His Adam’s apple bobbed.

“See, force doesn’t prove that you’re smarter or superior in any way.”

He slowly pinched his lips into a tight line.

“It only proves that you’re an asshole.” I winked. “But we already knew that.”

Neopal blinked in silence for an eternity, and for a moment, I could’ve sworn something sparked behind his stoic eyes. I almost saw the friend he used to be. Almost.

“The plum wine, My Lord.”

We all twisted to the man with a white hat holding a silver bucket, slick with condensation.

He bowed his head as he asked, “Would you like it opened?”

“That’d be lovely,” I said, grinning at Neopal. “Pour two glasses. One for me. And one for my gracious human guest.”

Neopal stared at Feloré, who sat himself at the desk, flapping a napkin as he surveyed the food set before him like he’d already moved on. But he hadn’t. He was so clearly eavesdropping, because what he just made was the first move in a brilliant game. Brilliant.

“See?” I stepped in closer to Neopal, switching to Vultaen, because it didn’t matter. My brilliant human could understand. “If I wanted to fuck this human, then I would’ve done it last night when he was coming all over his own stomach.”

Luckily, the twitch that struck my body was in the wrist I had pinned behind my back. His was in his nose.

“The way you all fawn over him, you think it’d be difficult for me to reject. I’m telling you, it was easy. I felt nothing. How do you explain that?”

He blinked at the floor, switching to Vultaen as he muttered, “I don’t know. I honestly don’t.”