Page 74 of All the Pain of Promises
Narissa cut a corner, looked back once more to see if she lost him, then turned and slammed directly into his chest.
“Got you!” He snatched her by the waist and lifted her then, spinning her in a circle, and she threw her arms around his neck as laughter bubbled out of her.
Solarius went eerily still, lowering her to the ground in such a manner that she slid down his front with painstaking slowness. His inhales and exhales met hers, breath for breath. He kept his hands on her waist, the grip almost punishing and filled with tension. Steam rose from their heated skin and he leaned forward, resting his forehead against hers, closing his eyes.
“What is it?” Narissa asked, suddenly concerned by the change in his behavior. “What’s wrong?”
His eyes flicked open, and in those deep pools of silver, Narissa swore she caught a glimmer of emotion. The sort that was filled with longing, desire, and something more permanent. A promise not yet kept.
“You laughed.” The words were rough like gravel. Uneven. Unsteady. “Stars above, Rissa. I’ve missed that sound.”
Narissa didn’t have time to respond or process what Solarius said, because he captured the back of her neck and hauled her against him for a searing kiss.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
The second the sound of Narissa’s laugh rang out, Solarius knew he was lost to her. It was exactly as he remembered—a lush and sultry siren’s call—and he hated that he almost forgot it. So long, he’d waitedso longfor her to laugh for him, and now that she finally had, he couldn’t get enough of her. He wanted all of her. All of her laughs, all of her snarky comments, all of her time. Even when she was pissed off at him, even when she hated him, he wanted the entirety of her heart.
Her mouth was hot against his, a delicious inferno that tasted of sweetened mint and berries. Their tongues clashed, and he enjoyed the scrape of her nails against the back of his neck as she desperately tried to deepen the kiss. To fuse them together. But the gardens were frigid and despite the heat radiating off their bodies, it was only a matter of time before the winter temperatures would sink into their bones and freeze them from the inside out.
Solarius smoothed his hands down the back of her ruined dress and cupped her bottom. In one swift movement, he hoisted her up, anchoring her to him. Narissa wrapped her legs around his waist, her mouth roving over his, her hands tearingat his jacket and shirt. Each touch sent a bolt of energy through him. His blood stirred. His pulse hammered. His cock ached. He carried her through the garden and away from the house as snow started to tumble lightly from the sky, ready to show her the one place he knew she would love.
“Hold your breath,” he murmured against her mouth.
She didn’t question.
She didn’t argue.
But the moment her lungs expanded, he locked his arm around her back, cradled the back of her head with one hand, and jumped.
The warm springs of the faerie pool engulfed them. Beneath the water, silence reigned. The world above was muted and there was only a gentle rushing sound, two synchronous heartbeats, and the soft hum of magic. Shock pulsed through the bond, followed by absolute delight, and their legs tangled as they kicked toward the surface.
Narissa gasped when they crashed through, and the second Solarius stole a gulp of air, her mouth was on his again. Lips sluiced over one another, and she dragged her teeth across his own, sucking and nipping. Her slender fingers raked through his wet hair, his hands molded against her curves, committing their shape to memory. The faerie pool was too deep to stand and each time they clashed in a burst of fervent kisses, they sank below the water’s surface once more. Underwater, Narissa was a siren. The haze of moonlight splintered through the waves, casting her in an ethereal glow. Her hair rippled around her like ribbons of golden silk. The gown she wore floated around her, a harmony to the melody of her soul.
Fuck it.
If he drowned kissing her, then so be it.
But lucky for him, there was a submerged ledge of stone near the pool’s edge. The perfect spot to ruin her like she so desperately wanted.
Solarius cut through the dark blue water where flecks of silver sparkled like starlight. His knee found the ledge first and he winced, but the pain was fleeting, because then Narissa was straddling his lap, and tearing at his shirt like she was starving for him.
He yanked off his formal jacket, tossing the sodden fabric onto the mossy shore behind him. Narissa’s fingers made quick work of his button-down shirt, then she was clawing it off him, raking those finely manicured nails over his chest to his lower abdomen. His blood heated and she rolled her hips, rocking herself against his hard shaft, creating the most damning sort of friction. She linked her arms around his neck, her warm lips pressing kiss after kiss along his jaw until she reached his ear.
“I’m wearing the new stockings I bought for you.” Her words sent a bolt of desire straight through him, and he grabbed handfuls of her wet gown, peeling it away from her body.
He wanted toseethose stockings, but the shimmering water was so dark, it was impossible.
She nipped the lobe of his ear and whispered, “And perhaps a pair of pearls.”
Damn the stars, she was too much. Narissa was too much.
“I want to see every inch of you.” Solarius tugged the sodden fabric over her head, popping off beads and diamonds, then threw it into a heap behind them. “I want to see what’s mine.”
The wavelike tattoos on the tips of her ears glowed for him, and power thrummed beneath his fingertips as he traced the ones along her spine. She was radiant, a beauty of the night as tiny snowflakes danced through the sky above them. Beads of inky, starlit water slid from her shoulders to the tops of her breasts. Wet hair tumbled around her in wild waves, and heloved the way her damp lashes framed her ocean eyes. He loved the way she looked at him like he was all she ever wanted, and that ran deeper than his desire for anything else in this life.
More than anything, Solarius wanted Narissa to love him.
“Narissa, I—” he began, but she silenced him by placing a finger against his lips.
