Filed to story: Between Two Kings: A Split or Swallow Book PDF Free
“Temperance,” he purred, his eyes falling immediately on Gabriel. “So this is your guest.”
Tem sighed. Damon was the lesser of two evils. They might as well talk to him. “Damon. This is Gabriel, my best friend.”
Damon took Gabriel’s hand in his, raising it to his lips to kiss his wrist. It was the same way Apollo had greeted Tem when they’d first met. The similarity was not lost on her.
“It is a pleasure to meet you,” Damon said.
Gabriel’s face slid into a devious smile. “The pleasure is all mine.”
“I can imagine.”
A pause. For some reason, Tem felt warm.
“Tell me, Gabriel,” Damon continued, still holding his hand, “are you enjoying yourself this evening?”
“I am now.”
The warmth increased. The way the two men were looking at each other made Tem feel like she was intruding on something. It wasn’t dissimilar to the way she’d felt watching the blood-bound couple make love in front of her.
“I trust Temperance has been an excellent host.”
Gabriel looked at Tem. “She’s the best. But I’m sure you know that already.”
Damon looked at her too. “We are fond of her, yes.”
He didn’t specify who “we” was, and Tem didn’t bother wondering. She knew that not everyone under the mountain was fond of her, but the people who were would do anything to make her happy-including allowing Gabriel down here in the first place.
Gabriel’s eyes dropped to Damon’s cock. “What else are you fond of?”
Tem froze. She knew that tone; she knew that look. Gabriel was flirting. That was nothing new, of course, but flirting with
Damon was something else entirely. Something dangerous. Gabriel flirted with everyone-it was his default setting. She held her breath as Damon’s gold eyes held Gabriel’s blue ones.
A solid five heartbeats passed before Damon turned to Tem and said, “Your friend is charming. Do not let Apollo near him.”
“Wasn’t planning on it.”
“Plans tend to go awry, Temperance.”
“Don’t I know it,” she muttered.
Out of the corner of her eye, Tem saw Apollo moving closer again. Her stomach performed a preemptive swoop. “Gabriel,” she said quickly. “Come with me.”
Without waiting another second, she hooked her arm in his and pulled him into the crowd. Anything was better than letting him talk to any more basilisks.
“So what’s his deal?” Gabriel purred. “He’s delicious.”
“He’s Caspen’s other brother.”
“Even better.” Gabriel grinned, pulling her closer. “We could be in-laws.”
“Don’t be gross,” Tem cried.
But Gabriel was already looking back over his shoulder at Damon, who was watching them with his mouth turned up at the corner. If Tem knew anything about basilisks, she knew exactly what Damon was thinking-and she wasn’t about to let him act on it.
“Didn’t you hear him?” Gabriel squeezed her arm. “He thinks I’m charming. Clearly he’s got great taste.”
“Oh please.”
“What? It’s not my fault Kora made me irresistible.”
Tem rolled her eyes.
They spent the next few minutes navigating the courtyard together. Tem pointed out basilisk after basilisk, explaining their relation to each other and the differences between the quivers. Always, Apollo’s gaze followed them. It was as if he had nothing better to do than to watch them traverse the crowd, analyzing their every move.
Caspen was never far away either. Tem saw him on the edge of her vision, his arms crossed, his brow furrowed. She knew he was protecting them from afar, acting as a bodyguard, reminding the other basilisks that they were under the Serpent King’s protection.
“What’s that?” Gabriel pointed at the fountain full of shimmering, white liquid.
“That is none of your concern,” Tem said firmly. “And you are not allowed to drink it.”
“Why not?” Gabriel whined. “Everyone else is.”
It was true. But everyone else was a basilisk.
“It’s not for humans.”
“Do you get to drink it?”
“Yes. But I’m not a human, remember?”
“What will happen if a human drinks it?”
Tem realized she didn’t know the answer to that question. All she knew was how the elixir affected her when she’d had it for the first time. She could only assume its effects would be amplified on a human. “It requires a tolerance. Even Caspen can’t drink too much of it.”
“I’ve got quite the tolerance, Tem,” Gabriel said, pulling her toward the fountain.
“You’ve got quite the tolerance for alcohol,” she insisted, pulling him away. “It’s not the same at all.”
Before Tem could yank Gabriel back, a man approached the fountain. She already knew what he was going to do-she had seen it before, after all. But for Gabriel, the experience of watching someone ejaculate into the fountain was an entirely new one, and the moment the man did so, Gabriel gasped, “It’s cum?”
Tem sighed. There was no other way to explain it. Besides, it was the truth. “Yes.”
“That’s wild.”
She sighed again, pulling him away from the fountain. “Such is the basilisk way.”
“I can’t believe you’ve been hiding all of this from me.”
“I haven’t hidden anything. You’re here, aren’t you?”
“You could’ve told me you were drinking from a cum fountain, Tem.”
She rolled her eyes again. “You wouldn’t have believed me if I did.”
Gabriel didn’t reply for a moment. He was too busy watching as another man approached the fountain, his cock in his hand. “I want to try it,” he insisted.
“Try what? Drinking it, or…?”
“Both.”