Between Two Kings (Split or Swallow, #2)

by Lindsay Straube

Tem had chosen Caspen. But it wasn’t because she didn’t love Leo. It was because she wanted more for Leo. And in doing so, she had accepted less for herself.

“I have told you before, Tem. You are mine. Whether you give your body to another does not change that.”

“I would only be jealous if you slept with someone you loved.”

My body and my heart belong to you.

“Because you are far more capable than you think you are. You always have been.”

It’s dangerous under the mountain. I would never put you in that position.” A sly smile curled his lips. “I’ve been in all sorts of positions, Tem. And I especially enjoyed the dangerous ones.”

basilisks were free with their bodies but not with their hearts.

her heart did not fully belong to Caspen. Her feelings for Leo would not go away. With time or otherwise. She couldn’t do this forever. She couldn’t lie.

“You are the queen, my love. You are entitled to anyone you want, at any time.”

“How can you always think the best of me?” “Because you are the best of me,” he said simply.

There was nothing more clarifying than having a cock between her legs.

To be loved by Leo was a privilege—an honor.

In moments like these, she remembered that while she may be wearing Leo’s wedding ring, she belonged to the man beside her.

You are the only queen I answer to.

Finally, Apollo whispered, “Do not come to me for comfort, Temperance. Come to me when you want me to fuck you the way my brother will not.”

“You belong to us now,” Caspen said firmly.

“I would never choose Apollo,” Tem said firmly. “Caspen knows that.” Adelaide shrugged. “We are basilisks, Temperance. You can have them both.”

“It means we understand that our deaths are predetermined. If I ever found myself fortunate enough to be beneath your blade, I would welcome it.” Tem rolled her eyes. Apollo’s smile only widened. “It would be an honor to die by your hand, Temperance.” “It would be a privilege to kill you.”

“Why is he looking at us like that?” Gabriel asked. “Like what?” “Like he wants to fuck you, then me, then both of us at the same time?” “That’s not how he’s looking at us.” But it was. Apollo was eyeing them like they were his next meal. And Tem was not going to let Gabriel get eaten.

“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.”

If she consummated the crest, she signed her own death sentence. But if she didn’t, she signed Leo’s.

It wasn’t over for them. It never would be.

“Tell me, Tem. Why is my brother’s cum in your pussy?”

“Then tell me, Tem,” he looked straight at her. “Do I love you?” Her answer came as easily as breathing. “You love me. You always will.” Leo was hers. They belonged to each other.

Lying is a sin, Temperance. Don’t talk to me about sins. Would you rather I perform them instead?

Tem had been the first on her knees, but somehow, she had brought Apollo to his.

“You may belong to my brother, but I will protect you as if you are mine.”

You have no idea what it is like to look at you and not be able to touch you. Every day I want you and every day I cannot have you. It is agony.

But that was the way it was between them: she and Apollo were not soft or tender. They were wild and rough, and it wasn’t sustainable, but it was real and it was now and Tem needed it.

Do you love him enough to forsake my brother? It was an impossible question and one Tem had no answer for. Forsaking either of them was unacceptable to her. It always had been. I can’t answer that. Apollo sighed, his chest rising and falling against hers. Then you must be prepared to lose them both.

I have always known exactly who you are, Tem. I have always known that you cannot be tamed.” Tem just shook her head. “It has never been easy with you,” Caspen continued quietly. “Most likely it never will be. But I do not need easy. I do not want easy.” He tilted her head up to his, whispering the rest against her lips. “I just want you.”

“I am saying that you are the love of my life. But I am done accommodating the love of yours.”

How could one cock be enough when two were so much better?