Page 60 of All the Pain of Promises
Solarius pulled himself from her mouth before he exploded, ignoring the flash of shock on her face.
He grabbed her by her shoulders and hauled her to a standing position, shoving those flimsy diamond straps down so that her gown pooled around her feet in a puddle of dark pink silk and glittering beads. She stood before him, completely nude, save for those enticing stockings, a pair of moderately high heels, and an elegant—if not entirely useless—triangular scrap of satin. He took hold of the thin band and yanked, the ripping of fine fabric echoing in the space between him, as he tossed the satin barrier aside.
She yelped in surprise.
“Sol!” Narissa clamped one hand over her mouth, eyes sparkling, but the blush staining her cheeks faded the longer he stared at her. He fixated on the curve of her hips, the full and luscious slope of her breasts, the dip of her collarbone. All those sweet, tantalizing places he wanted to kiss.
It was fascinating, really, watching her reaction to the way he gazed upon her. He enjoyed the way her dusky nipples hardened to stiff little peaks beneath his intense assessment. And how sheso cleverly tried to squeeze her thighs together, like she could somehow disguise her arousal from him. The most interesting tell was the way her body involuntarily arched toward him, as though she was silently begging for his touch.
Solarius scooped her up and carried her to his bed. He kicked off his pants and shorts, but she refused to lie down. Her eager hands clawed at his shirt, making quick work of the buttons, before she tugged it off him. Then her lips were on him. Kissing his chest, his stomach, then back up to his neck and shoulders. She traced the tattoo of his constellation, Azuralis, with the tip of her finger, memorizing each line. Each star.
She was up close now, on her knees, so his cock fit snugly between her thighs. Narissa wove her arms around his neck, pressing her breasts against him, rubbing every soft, lithe inch of her against the solid line of him. Her mouth slanted across his, their tongues meshed together in a kiss fueled by years-long hunger and misplaced anger. Their magic collided in a crush of glimmering tides and moonlight. He could taste the call of the sea as her power drowned him. Then her nails were digging into his shoulders, clawing up the back of his neck, and his hands found the globes of her ass. He gripped. Squeezed. His greedy fingers venturing dangerously close to where he knew she was already wet for him. She arched her back and his fingers slid lower, her whine of desperation sending every pump of blood straight to his cock. His heart hammered, frenzied and erratic, so all he wanted to do was splay Narissa wide open and plunge himself into her until she forgot her own name.
But this was Narissa.
HisNarissa.
His wife.
And he wanted this moment to be full of gentle kisses and blissful lovemaking. Yes, he wanted to give her everything and more, he wanted to ruin her completely, but his threads ofcontrol were slipping. Unraveling. He pulled back and the bond spasmed. Narissa lurched back as though he’d slapped her.
“Enough,” she spat, folding her arms across her chest, cutting him down with a vicious glare.
Solarius stilled, frozen with guilt. “What’s wrong?”
“You.” She waved one hand through the air between them. “Whatever is going on inside your head, stop it at once. I can feel you retreating. Pulling away from me.”
Solarius raked both hands through his hair, tugging on the ends. “I promise, that is the furthest thing from my mind.”
It wasn’t quite the truth, and Narissa saw right through it.
“Liar.” She grabbed his hands and forced them to her breasts, to palm them, to feel them. And she leaned into his touch. “I amnotfragile, Solarius. Stop treating me like a porcelain doll that will break at any moment.”
“I don’t want to hurt?—”
“You will not, and if you do, I will be sure to tell you. Yes, if you grab or pinch me too hard, it may leave bruises. And if you suck on my skin too harshly, it might leave a mark.” She rubbed his palm over her peaked nipples, then guided the other hand between the valley of her breasts, and lower still, to where she urged two of his fingers into her slick heat.
Solarius wanted to die. She was fucking heavenly.
“But Iwantthat, Sol.” Narissa’s voice took on that husky, siren-like quality, and he groaned, working his fingers inside her. “I want to be marked by you. To be claimed by you. So stop acting as though I might shatter and fuck me already.”
“Sweet stars.” Solarius dropped forward, pressing their foreheads together. “That mouth.”
Narissa rocked against his knuckles and angled her head, sliding her tongue over the slick skin of his neck. “What about it?”
A violent noise, a cross between a groan and a growl, rumbled through his chest. As much as he wanted to keep pushing his fingers inside of her, as much as he wanted to watch her come undone again, Narissa had made it perfectly clear she wanted more from him than a safe and doting sexual encounter.
So, he would give her exactly what she wanted.
He yanked his fingers out of her deliciously wet center and snared her by the wrist. He dragged her toward the foot of the bed, where the large, ornate onyx mirror was propped against the wall, its lacquer reflective of the moon phases. With one quick movement, he spun her around so her back was pressed against his front, his throbbing cock nudging into her round bottom.
“Tell me how you want it,” he demanded, wrapping a possessive arm around her waist while the other skated up her flesh and captured her throat.
“No,” she answered coolly, nails toying with the dusting of hair along his forearms. “I don’t think I will.”
“Naughty midnight siren.” Solarius’s hand dipped lower and slid a finger along the seam of her lips, not surprised to find her soaking. “You’re so wet for me, Rissa love.”
“Really?” She arched a brow in the mirror’s reflection, her gaze trained on his, her lids hooded with desire. “I hadn’t noticed.”
