Page 91 of Tempt

Everest’s head is tilted back, his neck exposed as Rathyn pulls something out of the vial and pries his mouth open. Everest seems to be fighting it, but he doesn’t win.

Does he really not want this? I ask, feeling afraid for my new friend.

He does want this. Rathyn has assured me of this. It is all a show for the prince.

He’s a great actor, I think, as Rathyn pries his mouth open and something is shoved between his lips.

What is it?

Ruenox.

I’ve heard that before, and my memory is jogged seconds later, when Everest’s hips arch up, his cock hard as Rathyn falls to his knees before him, his mouth wrapping around his cock and sucking. This is the cum herb, the one that makes us overproduce.

Why would Jyrion make him take that? I ask, watching as Everest shudders and comes, Rathyn still kneeling before him.

He wants to humiliate them. Little does he know that Everest enjoys this.

My cock stirs at the sight, and I turn my gaze away, feeling guilty for watching. I mean, I don’t mind a little voyeurism, but it feels wrong to watch Everest come over and over again.

So, I keep my gaze focused on the ground, watching those patterns swirl beneath my feet. I don’t know what’s going on with my eyes trained away from the action, but after a while, I can feel the mood shift, and then beside me, Eissa stiffens.

I do my best to glance up without making it look like I’m eyeballing anyone in the room, but I’m startled when I realize the prince is standing just a few feet away from me. His rainbow eyes are locked on me, and there’s a look on his face. Dangerous, maybe. Hungry.

Predatory.

But not in the way that Eissa looks at me. The prince looks at me like he would devour me and make sure that every bite was agony.

It takes me a moment to realize they’re speaking. Generally, I can hear a few very specific tones, but the singing, melodic Eretharian language is in the range that my favorite audiologist had once called, ‘Really fucking Deaf.’ But it’s fascinating to watch their lips and tongues move around it—so unlike how humans speak.

I know if I were to reach up and press my fingers to Eissa’s throat, I would feel the vibrations of it like music coming from a speaker. But I’m not foolish enough to draw that kind of attention to myself.

Especially with the way that Jyrion is staring at me.

And not with the way I can feel Eissa’s fear.

The prince takes a step closer, and my first instinct is to step in front of Eissa to protect him. It’s ridiculous, of course. He’s at least a foot and a half taller and has claws on all of his appendages and fangs in his mouth. But all the same, I can’t help it.

Eissa’s tail wraps around my calf and squeezes, a comforting gesture, and I find myself only just able to relax as Jyrion finally stops inches away.

“Why does he not answer me?” I don’t read this off his lips, and I certainly don’t hear it.

No. What floods into my head is Eissa opening his own mind so I can understand what he does. It’s startling and difficult to follow since my brain is not used to spoken language, but Eissa also manages to project how it all feels, and that keeps me from losing everything.

“He is trained not to,” Eissa answers.

Jyrion’s mouth curls up into a kind of sneer, showing fang. He lifts a hand and reaches for me, but before he can make contact, Eissa steps between us, and I can feel his growl—the vibrations rumbling through my sternum.

There’s a shift in the room, and I don’t quite know what’s happening, but before I can figure out a way to ask, Eissa turns toward me and wraps the leash chain around his fist.

My turn?

He doesn’t answer. He guides me to the chair and, with a clawed hand, pushes me into it. The chain links above my head, and I close my eyes because if Everest or Lucie is watching, I don’t think I’ll be able to handle it.

My breath stutters in my chest when Eissa’s body looms over mine, and then he enters my thoughts.

My Luca. I will defy them all and leave with you right now if you wish it.

I don’t really know what to tell him. This entire situation doesn’t feel right, but I don’t need to know all the secrets he’s keeping to know that whatever battle he’s fighting goes deep. And from what I can deduce, it goes high up the Vyastil chain. And there’s a very good chance he doesn’t survive this, which terrifies me.