The door to the library swung open and Lorcan entered the room, a thorny crown of pyracantha resting on his golden brow and his long hair draped over his shoulder in a French fishtail braid. His clothes, which were always impeccable and finely made, seemed even more fine today. Without touching the material, I could tell the fabric of his deep, summer green tunic and tight fawn breeches were soft and supple, and his knee high leather boots bore no scuffs or scarring.

A small wrinkle formed between Calix's eyes, but he smoothed it out when he spied me watching him. Lorcan had eyes for only me, and he pulled me from the chair and pressed a kiss to my mouth.

"You look well," he said, caressing my face as he pulled away.

I sniffed slightly so as not to inhale too much of the Druil flowers if he wore it today, and found the usual sweet notes of his scent missing. What was also missing was the desperate response his passionate kiss would have normally drawn from me. Instead, I acknowledged it was a pleasant kiss—perhaps even a nice precursor to more intense feelings if he kissed me again—but that was all it was. Nothing more.

"I feel much better," I admitted, wrapping my arms around him and resting my cheek on his chest. It made me glad that he had stopped using the Druil flower even though it also forced me to admit Calix had been right.

Holding onto me, Lorcan shifted his body so we faced his brother. The prince glowered at me, which only encouraged me to press myself against Lorcan more. The dressing robe Niamh provided for a day of convalescence didn't offer much of a barrier, and there was a delicious heat spreading between us. Calix needed to understand that the flowers had only heightened the chemistry between me and Lorcan. They weren't necessary for me to want the king. This—how I felt now—was normal. It was how relationships typically worked. A slow burn, not a raging inferno that consumed.

"You may leave us," Lorcan said.

Calix didn't move, his gaze latched onto mine. It was my dismissal he sought. Something tightened in my chest, but I shook it off. It was disappointment because I wanted to hear the rest of his story and finally get answers. But I had no doubt we would spend time alone again. Lorcan could not be with me at all times because he was a king and bound to his duties.

"Yes. We promise we won't leave the palace," I added.

Dark brows drew together and settled into a flat line over stormy eyes as he nodded, a muscle ticking in his jaw. The door thudded shut hard enough to rattle the paintings on the wall. Lorcan chuckled, sitting in my abandoned chair and drawing me onto his lap.

"I apologize for him. You've quite undone him with all the trouble you seem to find."

"So it's his pride I've injured." Why did I not like that explanation for his attitude?

Lorcan's hands parted my robe and gripped my thighs, spreading them as he drew me closer to him. This intensity surprised me given how he had disappeared almost immediately after hearing I would survive.

"It is. It is the only thing my brother has to his name, and that means whenever I cannot be with you, he will be at your side. I know you do not like it, but it will give me peace of mind. For it is not my pride you will wound if you are killed, but my heart."

"I think it's a—" I gasped as his thumbs reached the juncture between my legs and hips. He massaged lightly, stirring an ache between my legs. Mind muddled by the pleasure, I struggled to recapture my thoughts, but finally, I said, "A bit soon to say your heart is involved. We've only known each other a few days."

His movements stilled. The scraps of lace that passed for underwear in Faerie were damp. It was a relief to know he could make me wet and wanting without the Druil blossoms.

"You would think that because the Fae are long lived, we would do things slowly, but it is not so. We are the descendants of the Ancient Ones and Humans. Hedonistic gods and impetuous beings who live for the now. Those traits remain with us. I do not need thirty days or thirty years to know that I want you. I only needed that single second in time when I realized I might lose you to see that."

"Oh. Is that why you stopped using the Druil blossoms?"

Guilt twisted his angelic features. "I hoped you would never realize. I'll admit I was willing to use whatever I could to make you mine, but I realized your surrender would be far sweeter without deceit. I will not use them again. I promise. Take this as my apology."

He was moving his hands again. This time, his fingers slipped under the lace and dragged through my folds. I moaned, putting my hands on his knees and arching into his touch. Lorcan's eyes darkened and his canines pierced his bottom lip, drawing blood. It should have scared me, but he could transform into a complete monster right now, and I don't think I would ask him to stop.

Never in my life had I been brought to the edge so swiftly, but even through the increasing pleasure, I acknowledged that I'd been on the precipice since arriving in Faerie. The constant assault of sexual magic—because that was precisely what those flowers were—had turned me into a needy mess. One that couldn't tell if her attraction to the king or... anyone else was more than an illusion brought on by magic.

I needed this release. Needed it so I wouldn't go insane. Needed it so I could think logically and decide if Lorcan was someone I wanted to be with for more reasons than just a drive to be fucked by him. Because no matter how good the sex was , I needed more than that if I was going to spend centuries at his side. So, yes. Whatever someone might think of me for letting this happen, I was going to be completely selfish and take it.

"For fuck's sake, Luna," Lorcan whispered. He added a finger to the one already pumping in and out of my pussy. "You ride my hand so well. I could come just looking at your face right now. Use me, baby. Pretend that's my cock inside of you, and if you come, I promise soon it will be my cock."

"O-oh god." I gripped his knees, rolling my hips in his lap to drive his fingers further inside me. It was so good, but not enough.

"That's it. I feel those flutters."

I closed my eyes, imagining it was a cock I was riding instead of fingers. Imagined hands on my hips, holding me hostage against an unyielding assault. Being pounded so hard, I wouldn't be able to walk the next morning without thinking of this moment.

"I'm gonna come," I whispered, legs cramping and pressure building. His thumb pressed hard against my clit, and my eyes flew open. But instead of Lorcan's golden face, I saw Calix's starlight eyes pinning me in place as he pumped into me. And I came so hard I screamed and fell forward against Lorcan's chest.

"Beautiful," Lorcan whispered, running one hand over my hair while sucking my juices from the fingers of his other hand.

I buried my face in his chest so he couldn't see the sheer panic in my expression. What the hell just happened?