Love and Lust (BoyxBoy)

Chapter Twelve

This was the moment I was inwardly dreading. The last man on my 'list' was Beelzebub; gluttony. Seemingly kind on the outside, the man could be awful and cruel if you pushed the wrong buttons. It was different to how S reacted. Bee was cool and calculated, always waiting for the right moment instead of flying into blind rage.

At least he could tolerate me.

He had waited out the front of his large Roman villa for me, escorting me through the large halls with a sly smile on his face. "So, Mari," he said, ignoring the numerous servants rushing past us and leading me to the kitchens. "How's life?"

I chuckled humorlessly and leaned against his large muscled frame. "Complicated," I murmured, looking up at him. "Does it bother you when we get into fights like this? I mean, I know you're not really into guys -- or girls, for that matter -- so do you feel weird when Lulu makes me do this?"

"Not really," he shrugged, scratching the shaved side of his head before tucking the chin-length auburn locks on the other side behind his ear. "Just because you're Lust, doesn't mean I have to interpret the word 'satisfy' as being something sexual; unless you decide to make it that way."

"Bee," I said slowly, my voice low and warning. "We have a rule against eating friends, remember?"

He laughed, calling one of the servants over. "I'm not eating you, Mari," he assured, gesturing for me to follow the woman into the kitchen. "But you'll be dessert."

I raised an eyebrow at him, watching as he disappeared from view before following the maid, smelling the various aromas of his feast being prepared. Cooks and servers bustled around the room, stress and worry etched into each face. It didn't take me long to work out that there were seven rooms of the kitchen, each section preparing a different course.

The last course, dessert, seemed more relaxed. The three women and one man working on preparation were all chatting as they cut various fruits into delicate shapes and tempered chocolate. The sweet smell of baking cake filled the air, making me sigh.

"Sir?" the servant girl, a short plump fairy, murmured nervously, getting my attention. "We need you to wash up. I'm sorry, but you'll have to stay here and use the servant bathrooms to shower."

I nodded, and wandered off in the direction of the showers, stripping and stepping under the running hot water. I hadn't realised how sore my muscles were until they trembled under the warmth, aching so much I had to sit down. I reached up, managing to grab a bar of sweet scented soap and ran it along my arms and legs, forcing myself to stand up again to wash my back.

When I'd finished my shower, I grabbed one of the towels neatly folded on a large shelf in the corner of the room, drying myself off before tossing it over my shoulder and making my way back to the kitchen, not bothering to redress.

The staff seemed surprised to see me walking around naked, averting their eyes as I moved around the room, peering through the glass doors of the ovens to watch the cakes rise inside. The man cleared his throat making me look up.

"If you wouldn't mind just putting your hair up and sitting in here," he said softly, gesturing to a large empty fountain-like structure. "You don't need to do anything else."

I shrugged and waved my hand, conjuring a butterfly clip and pinning my hair up behind my head in a messy bun, before hopping into the basin and putting my feet up, relaxing against the cool surface. A low rumbling sound bubbled beneath me, and a smooth sweet-smelling brown liquid burst from the top of the fountain, trickling over the structure and landing on my skin.

The smell of chocolate filled the air and I gently brought my fingers up to my mouth, licking the sweet substance off the digits, catching one of the girls watching me and grinning as she quickly averted her eyes. I sat for a couple of hours, soaking in the soothing chocolate bath before a group of large muscly men entered the room, looking the display over before silently lifting the fountain and carrying it out through the hallways, placing me at the end of Bee's large table when we reached the enormous dining room.