Page 55 of All the Pain of Promises
He wanted to comfort her, to pull her into his arms and soothe her. There was no mistaking the bubble of fear surrounding her. “I’ll send for all of it.”
“But—”
“No more excuses, Narissa.” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, linking his fingers together. “Do you think I don’t hear what the servants in House Azurvend say about you? About me? About us? Do you honestly think I would just ignore their snide comments and outrageous claims?”
Some emotion banked deep in the heat of her angry ocean eyes, but Narissa said nothing. She rubbed her lips, then pressed them together so tightly, her entire body quivered.
Solarius responded for her.
“No. I refuse to allow you to dwell in a place where you are ignored and unwelcome. Your cousin, Lord Marintide, being the exception.” He steepled his fingers, tapping them together lightly. “You will reside in House Celestine, with me, and if we must build a place of our own, then so be it.”
She sniffled and straightened her spine, but it did nothing to disguise the glassy look in her eyes.
“Do not cry,” he warned.
Her bottom lip trembled. “I’m trying not to.”
Solarius leaned back against the seat and stretched his arms wide, his frustration mounting. “Have I done something to offend you? Is this not what you wanted?”
“No, it is, of course it is. It’s just?—”
“Then why are you upset?” Solarius boomed, expecting her to recoil from the rage in his voice, but she met him head on.
“I don’t understand why you’re shouting!” Narissa glared at him and her nails bit into the leather bench as a shudder of frustration wrecked her. “You’re sitting here, telling me you’re going to do all these wonderful things for me, for us, yet you’reangryabout it?”
Solarius shoved his hands through his hair and blew out a harsh breath. He pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger in an effort to calm his growing exasperation, but it was impossible to ignore her. To ignore how mindlessly furious he was with her.
He reached out then, plucking her off the seat as though she was featherlight, and plopped her onto his lap. Her legs draped over one of his thighs and her rosy pink skirts tumbled around them both.
“Why Rissa?” He gently grasped her chin, tilting her face up to him, while his other hand slid over the warm skin of her back, slipping beneath the soft fabric of her gown to her bare waist. “Why would you go to House Galefell without me? Why would you willingly put yourself in harm’s way? I cannot protect you if I am not with you.”
He meant every word yet could not help if they were charged with indignation.
Narissa lifted her chin, giving him a tempting view of her rather kissable neck. “Calfair’s sister, Lady Aria, requested a tonic. I thought I could slip in and then quickly leave without being seen.”
Solarius barked out a rough laugh, his fingers dipping lower to her hip. He released her chin and slowly let his other fingers graze the column of her throat, before he wrapped his hand around the back of her neck.
“Do you have an invisibility potion I’m not aware of? How in the world did you possibly think no one would notice you?”
“Because they never do!” she shouted, fisting her hands in her lap, and he fell silent as a swell of her emotions slammed into the bond, stealing his breath. “You do not know what it is like, Solarius. You have a wonderful, loving family. Your bloodline is without blemish. You are wildly handsome and most ladies swoon at the mere mention of your name.”
He scoffed. “That’s a little?—”
She grabbed a fistful of his shirt. “I amnotdone speaking.”
Solarius reared back. The coach jostled slightly, and he held her tighter, sensing the tremor of fear amidst the turmoil of her feelings. “Apologies, my lady.”
Narissa’s brow pinched together as she stared at where she clutched the fabric of his collared shirt in her hand. She swiped her thumb back and forth across a shiny black button. “I am a wallflower. I attend all the balls and seasonal parties, but I blend in with the papered walls. I am never asked to dance. No one ever brings me sweet wine or a refreshing glass of punch. I have no real friends and have spent the majority of my life alone. And tides be blessed, Reif tries, but there is only so much I can share with him.”
Her words cut through him, torturously slow as she unraveled this layer of herself, as she laid herself bare before him.
He drew her face closer, fingers pressing into her delicate neck until they shared the same air. “How can you say that about yourself?”
“Because it’s true, Sol.” Narissa’s eyes filled again, her lashes dampening, but the tears did not fall. Her nose crinkled and she blinked them away. “You were the first one who saw me. The first who made me think maybe, just maybe, I was deserving of something more. Of something greater.”
Solarius followed the line of her plush bottom lip with the tip of his thumb. “Then Calfair happened.”
“Yes.” She swallowed, her tongue darting out, swiping along that luscious lip. “And then Rosalie happened.”
