Page 15 of All the Pain of Promises
“No, not exactly. More like she needs a remedy from all the alcohol she ingested last night.” Solarius rubbed one hand along the back of his neck as a rush of heat scored his chest. “And this morning she, ah, ran into a door.”
He wouldn’t dare tell Reif that the main cause for Narissa’s possible head injury was because she’d walked in on him fully nude in the bathing suite. And fully erect. Granted, it wasn’t his fault he’d woken up like that, but he hoped a shower would give him time to get his blood pumping to somewhere other than his cock. Unfortunately for Solarius, the longer he stood in the shower, the more he couldn’t stop thinking about the way Narissa had curled against him during the night, or the way her hair had tickled his chin. Or how those breathy little sighs she made while sleeping sent his entire body vibrating with longing.
And the way her pretty eyes drank him in when she stormed into the bathing suite had only served to bolster his ego.
A tiny spark of hope ignited inside of him.
“Ran into a door, eh?” Reif mused, the corner of his mouth ticking upward into a knowing grin. “Is that what we’re calling it these days?”
Solarius choked on a laugh and grabbed a plate from the stack at the far end of the table. He would neither confirm nor deny Reif’s assumptions. His relationship with Narissa was already precarious, like they were balancing on opposite ends of a tightrope across a gaping chasm. One wrong move, and they would both fall to their doom.
“Must have been quite the evening.” Reif stood then and pushed in his chair. “I’ll send a maid up with a brew for Narissa, it works wonders for post-alcohol ailments.”
Solarius nodded once. “I’m grateful.”
His gaze swept across the wide variety of food spread over the table. There were bowls of fruit drizzled with honey, platters of seasoned potatoes and fried meats. A tiered tray was overflowing with miniature teacakes, and baskets of warm biscuits were loosely covered with a cloth, the steam rising from them. There were at least four different types of sweetened jams, and it was then Solarius realized he had no idea what Narissa preferred.
Did she like raspberry and lemon jam? Or was the spiced orange her favorite? Did she even like biscuits?
He supposed he would have to fill the plate with some of everything.
“I almost forgot.” Reif set down his cup of tea and pulled a silver envelope from his vest. “Ariesian left this for you last night.”
He set it carefully on the edge of the plate.
“Right.” Solarius’s finger itched to rip off the wax seal depicting the Faerie Star flanked by two outward facing crescent moons—his family’s crest. He was beyond curious to see if his eldest brother had acquired any more information regarding the strained relationship between Queen Elowyn of Aeramere and her son, Prince Aspen, and whether or not their beautiful realm would descend into war and chaos. But alas, it would have to wait, as he had a very hungry and likely rather angry bride awaiting his return upstairs.
Solarius gave Reif a slight nod. “Thank you.”
“Anytime.” Reif waved away his gratitude with ease. “Oh, and one more thing.”
Solarius grabbed a spoon, preparing to load a helping of the seasoned potatoes onto the plate, then paused.
“Narissa has a penchant for sweets.” Reif inclined his head toward the tiered tray of tiny colorful cakes. “In case you were wondering.”
“Duly noted.”
A brief flash of amusement flickered over Reif’s face before he strolled out of the dining hall, whistling an old tune about the goddess of the sea and her love for the moon.
After Reif left the room, Solarius started loading up the plate with food—meat and potatoes for himself, and sweet treats for Narissa.
If she wanted to eat cake for breakfast, who was he to stop her?
CHAPTER SEVEN
After what felt like an eternity, Solarius finally found his way back to Narissa’s rooms.
Balancing the plate of food with one hand, he hesitated on the other side of the bedroom door. He debated knocking to announce his arrival, then thought better of it and nudged the door open. If there was one thing for certain, he never knew what to expect with her.
But he realized fairly quickly that he better get used to her taking his breath away.
Because that’s exactly what she did.
Solarius walked right in, then drew up short, nearly tripping over his own two feet.
Narissa was seated upon the bed with her knees pulled up and feet bare, a day dress spilling around her like sun glinting off the crystalline sea. Her ruffled skirts were a shade of pale turquoise that glinted gold in the light, and the white bodice billowed like cresting waves off her shoulders. The sleeves were long and loose, and though her garments were completely unadorned, Solarius swore he’d never seen anything more beautiful in his life. She wore her sunlit hair down in wild waves, and with the exception of the gold rings on almost every finger,she wore no other jewels. A book was splayed open in her lap, and she scraped her teeth along her bottom lip while she read, a habit he found oddly endearing. When she licked her finger to turn the page, he almost dropped the entire plate of food on the floor.
His muttered curse drew her attention and she glanced up, slamming the book closed.
