A Throne of Ruin (Deliciously Dark Fairytales 2)

“Is this a…bathtub?” I asked.

“Of sorts. No offense, and not to impugn my own salon experience, which I wouldn’t trade for the world, but I think you’ll find this a little cozier than a breezy seat on a bunch of slats in a makeshift bathhouse. If it weren’t for the grumpy salon worker, I might not have enjoyed myself.”

I laughed at his description of the sponge bath I’d given him, then sucked in a breath as he walked me back a step. My calves met resistance, but he kept pushing until I lowered onto a seat partially covered by warm water.

“This has been cleaned, right?” I asked as he continued to lower me, my top half leaning way back.

He paused, and I tensed. His dark chuckle said he was kidding, and he kept going.

“I cleaned it myself, princess,” he said as my back hit a soft cushion. The seat was heavily reclined, nearly like lying in a bathtub, but with my lower half higher so that the water cut across my body. “The surfaces are magically treated. They don’t decay in the water, and the water doesn’t get cold once it is poured into the bath. It’ll only chill again after it is drained. These baths aren’t a new addition since the demons took over. They’ve been in existence since before I was born. The salon was primarily a place for women to get themselves looked after—hair, nails, that sort of thing. But given the setup, which I only discovered after the curse, something more was going on here. My father would not have approved, but since it was women’s business, he clearly never stuck his nose in. You’ll see what I mean.”

“Kinky?”

“I think so. I suspect there were lots of happy endings. There was probably a reason the women of the noble class were so well groomed.”

“But demons didn’t work here, then.” The water came up just past my bust, leaving my head and neck out of the water.

“No. I’m not sure who was actually doing the…treatments at the time. I haven’t been able to bring myself to ask the staff.”

“So you want me to go in undercover?”

A pulse of power slithered across my flesh. I moaned and couldn’t help spreading my thighs a little on the seat.

“That answers that,” he murmured darkly.

“What?”

“I do not want you to go in undercover, no. I don’t want anyone else servicing you but me. Not even women. I can see my reaction gives you pleasure.”

“I want you to claim me.”

His hands pulled back from my knees. Silence curled around us, and my animal vibrated in pleasure.

“Sorry,” I said, realizing what I’d done. I’d called to the dragon.

“It’s good. I’ve got that bastard locked down.” The strain in his voice said otherwise. I couldn’t help but chuckle. “But if you want to maybe…ask Leala about the situation in the salon…”

“No problem. She’s not real bashful, I don’t think. I mean, she’s definitely professional—she’s very polite and doesn’t swear—but she’s not reserved.”

“She was a lady’s maid to a noble who lived in the castle. A woman a bit older than I am now. She wasn’t a blood relative, but I thought of her as a cousin. Her parents lived in the Red Lupine kingdom—a wolf kingdom. Her father was a beta, her parents both wolves, but despite the odds, her animal was a dragon. They thought she should come here to learn guidance from those with the same animal. She was welcomed, of course. Dragons always are. With her connections in the other kingdom and several vicious, well-placed challenges, she was working her way to the top tier of the noble hierarchy.” Water sloshed, and waves reached farther up my chest. “Okay, I’ll be washing you first and then shaving you. You are wearing the blindfold because I don’t want you to see the room.” Humor entered his voice. “Don’t worry, I won’t accidentally slice your clit off. I need you to be able to come, and working with that is the easiest way.”

I sighed as his hands rubbed my neck and moved down my body, leaving suds in their wake. Soon they dipped under the water, where suds obviously wouldn’t form. He should’ve made me stand to do this. And also used a sponge. Clearly he wasn’t used to washing other people.

“How did she turn out a dragon if her parents were wolves?” I sucked in a breath as he rubbed his thumb across my clit.

“It still shocks me how little you know about your own kind. If this curse ever ends, I worry about how many will die trying to accomplish their first shift. It’ll be chaos.” He worked down my legs.

“We didn’t have many shifter books. I need to hunt for those in your library. I got distracted by all the fictional stories and…notes.”