Chapter 40
Chapter Forty
As he floated above them, invisible, he didn’t feel ashamed for watching, because he didn’t care.
At first, he was elated that his plans were falling into place beautifully.
Logan’s undeniable urge to speak with Haven, Haven’s growing desire for Logan, their clashing of heat and bodies that even made him blush—it should have turned the tide.
What went wrong?
He’d made progress, and the surge in his power told him he’d pleased Ahmi enough for her to imbue him with more of her supreme grace. So why hadn’t the two people in the bed done as planned?
While the painful moments of silence between the two naked people stretched to minutes, he worried they weren’t ready for the next step in his scheme.
The climax of their loud and lively lovemaking ebbed, and Haven became contemplative. She opened her mouth, and he prayed words of love would spill out.
No such fucking luck.
“Who was she? The woman in the portrait. Did you love her?”
If he’d had a body, he would’ve slapped his own forehead in exasperation.
In his long and thorough experience, he knew thinking after sex was a bad idea.
One should never ruin physical pleasure with mental strain.
He didn’t understand why she was thinking.
Logan turned her inside out, right-side out again, and then shook her from head to toe.
How could she think of another woman after that?
Had sex changed so much in two hundred years?
Fuck that!
Haven left the room, but the goddamn duke didn’t make a move to go after her.
He cursed. If he didn’t get these two back on track, he’d be stuck as a bodiless slave, a non-corporeal spirit who could only find pleasure as a voyeur with a lust for the ladies and a centuries--old hard on.
At least with his newly acquired burst of power, he felt more like his old self, how he used to be before he’d been enslaved.
Infused with power, and irritated by the newest turn of events, the spirit bound to the watch moved toward the open window, determined and eager to put the next part of his strategy into motion.
“You look refreshed, meine Liebe, my love,” Divinia Kroger purred from her chair by the fireplace. “Come here, sit, and share tea with me.”
Still wet from his morning bath, Angelous Kroger strode through the door connecting his room to his twin’s, wearing only a loosely tied dressing robe. The two were knit together naked in the womb, their bodies growing beside one another, sharing the same intimate space.
Nakedness was a comfortable and regular occurrence between them. As children of the Heavenly Sire, they were proud of their bodies, unashamed of their forms, of their purity and utter flawlessness.
Often, while he crafted his masterpieces in secret, he wondered at the disparities between the human form and that of his and his sister’s.
The humans of the fallen, godless world had flawed, imperfect bodies; hideous, only fit as food for animals and worms. Everything about their putrid forms disgusted him.
The way they mated and procreated like brooding hordes of flies.
The way they used their bodies to give and get pleasure without purpose other than the pleasure itself.
There was no logic to what they ate, pouring fermented ignorance down their throats, and gorging on foods that only added to their physical flaws.
What were they good for? Why had his Heavenly Sire allowed them to live after they’d abandoned their perfection in the Garden? Why had his merciful Sire allowed the human blemish to continue to infest the world He’d created?
His ways were mysterious.
Unlike the detestable human bodies, the Heavenly Sire handcrafted His children Himself, and placed them within their mother’s womb.
Perfection.
Flawless.
Every anatomical working, from the beating of their hearts, to the expulsion of waste, worked to godlike precision.
Not only were the inner workings of their bodies superior to the crude processes of the godless, but their supremacy in form extended outward as well.
One needed only look upon him and his sister to see the face and form of a perfect being.
Striding forward, he allowed his robe to fall open, baring his nakedness to his precious twin.
Her eyes grew bright, appreciative.
She smiled. “The Heavenly Sire has truly gifted you, mein geliebtes Herz.
‘Tis a waste to cover such excellence.” She paused and waited a few seconds, listening for movement in the hallway.
She wanted to make sure the servants had gone.
“Disrobe, mein Engel, mein Bruder, and I will do the same. Let us not hide ourselves.”
When they were both resplendent in their nude perfection, he sat in the chair beside his sister and took in her beauty as she reclined over the deep green settee.
Green had always been her color. It highlighted the golden undertones of her pale skin, and brought out the flecks of silver in her eyes.
Whenever she had the chance, she wore green, accessorized with it, or added green furniture to her surroundings.
Her suite at Hughgate Hall was the only green guest room, and she made sure she got it.
She always got what she wanted.
“Dinner was a success, though I did not have a chance to charm Miss Edwards as I had hoped.”
Divinia’s eyes narrowed. “I do not like how she spoke to you, as if you were some common pest beneath her notice. She nearly challenged you outright.” Twisting to turn to him, uncaring of her nakedness, she spat, “I will have her tongue on my fork, and then I will pound it with the heel of a boot until it is a lump of pulverized tissue—then I will make her eat it.”
He laughed at her witty rant. “Your viciousness is well placed and much appreciated, my heart, but you are speaking of the woman whom our Heavenly Sire has provided for me to accomplish my master work. You cannot harm her. She is mine.” He whispered last word, but her contrite expression meant his warning was clear.
“I meant no disrespect to our Sire, I would not wish to interfere in your commission, but I cannot tolerate one such as her—an imperfect being conceived in sin—to treat you so terribly.” She rose from her seat, and knelt before her brother, taking his hands in hers.
Her soft pink nipples brushed against the hair of his legs.
Her eyes, familiar and so like his, were filled with love, adoration, and appreciation.
No one could love him like his twin. No one would ever adore him as his dearest sister did.
No one would ever understand his purpose, his mission, as she did.
She was his everything. No one on earth compared to her.
His Sire had provided him with a canvas nearly as perfect as his sister, a canvas for him alone. The perfect female body for his knives to slice.
“How does your campaign for the duke progress?”
She stiffened. Her beautifully rounded lip curling up in a sneer.
“Your paragon has him entranced. Did you see the way he looked at her throughout the meal? In the music room? And afterward, how he stared at her as we gathered to leave? No matter where she stood, his gaze would follow. It sickens me, but I will not give up. The Duke of Caspire is the perfect stepping stool on which I will stand to reach my position of power and prestige among the vaunted Ton of England.”
The confident and ferocious expression on his sister’s face left no doubt in his mind that she would succeed.
Divinia Kroger always got what she wanted.
She stood, looked down at her brother, and smiled.
“So, dearest, how shall we move our plans forward: yours for your perfect canvas, and mine for my duke?”
“I have already set things in motion,” he purred.
“How can you be so sure, brother?” She ran her fingers over the generous mounds of her breasts where they rested above her heart, and he followed the movement, his eyes well acquainted with what they saw.
His sharp smile curved at the tip like a scimitar.
“What God has set in motion, no man can hinder.”
“These people don’t know any better. They will try to stop you.”
His smile widened.
“They can try, sister, and I will gladly cut them down for their ignorance.”