Page 49
“You really don’t have to stay,” I bite out.
“I’m afraid I do.” His voice seeps through my bedsheets. “Can’t have you running off again.”
“I thought the healer made it pretty clear that that’s not going to be an option for me any time soon.” At least a week of bed rest is what he’d advised. Crawling is still an option, though. I just need to get rid of Castor first.
“This does not have to be so bad for you, you know that right, Eden?” he sighs. “Lux is a good man and he cares for you. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him care for a female as deeply as he seems to care for you.”
“But if that’s true, then why do all this?” I push myself up to face Castor.
For once, he’s not smiling.
“I liked Lux. Ask any of my sisters and they’ll tell you how I couldn’t stop talking about him. He didn’t need to do any of this! He didn’t need to make you be cruel to me. I would’ve accepted his proposal anyway.”
He could’ve proposed to me the night after Blossom’s ball and I would’ve said yes!
“Lux’s reasons are his own.” Castor shrugs. “But I’ll admit even I don’t understand why he asked me to keep provoking you after your first morning here.”
“What?”
“I suspect he was disappointed that you didn’t go running to him after I pulled you into my bedchamber. Lux can be… possessive.” His eyes glint. “He really didn’t like that you told me about your cycle first.”
“But I didn’t even—”
“Why didn’t you tell my brother what I did to you?” Castor cuts me off, tilting his head. “I was awful to you, and yet you protected me.”
“You blackmailed me, remember? You said Lux would never believe me if I ran to him.”
He laughs. “Tell the truth, Eden.”
“That is the truth.”
“I know why you didn’t tell him.” He leans forward. “I think you liked the way I treated you.”
“I did not!”
“Who would’ve thought that Lux’s sweet, innocent princess likes it when men are rough with her.”
My heart flutters. “That’s not true.”
“She likes it when princes force her pretty thighs apart.”
Heat builds inside me. “Stop!”
“She wants you to pin her down by her wrists while you slide your fingers into her needy pussy.”
“Castor!”
“When she says ‘no’ she really means ‘fuck me please, sir.’”
“Enough!” I clutch the blanket to my heaving chest. “Even if that were true, which it’s not, what does that say about you? Your brother told you to force yourself upon me and you didn’t care. You just went along with it.”
Castor just chuckles. “I am a simple man. When my brother asks me to tease his pretty female, of course I’ll say yes.”
“You’re both psychotic,” I scoff.
“Tell me something I don’t know,” he exhales. “But you know, if you really hated the way I treated you, I would’ve been nicer to you. I’m not into hurting women.” He shrugs. “Although so far it seems like I wasn’t bad enough.”
My fingers dig into the blanket. Castor doesn’t know what he’s talking about. I didn’t like what he did, that would be wrong.
