Page 75 of The Ordeals
His fingers, his hands leave my body and he walks me slowly backward to his bed. He kisses me, those feather-soft kisses spreading across my jaw, my mouth, breathless and light and perfect … I lower myself onto his bed, pulling him down to me, my entire being singing with want, with desire. I lie there as he slides the lace from my hips, unclasps my bra and dips his head between my thighs.
‘Alden …’ I breathe.
His tongue strokes along my core and I moan again, flames erupting inside me. The ache, the exquisite heat is almost too much. I need himnow.
He moves up my body slowly, trailing burning kisses over my skin as he pins my wrists at my sides. I close my eyes, losing myself in the gentle hush of his breath, warm and delicate, brushing over me, slowly and softly. The rain, a torrent only moments ago, patters now at the window, wrapping us in this moment, as though time is suspended. I forget everything – the Ordeals, the rivalry, the fear – and dissolve into nothing but sensation. When his mouth reaches my breasts, he nips and licks and I almost lose it again. ‘Alden … have you … do you take a contraceptive brew?’
‘I do.’ Then he hovers above me and my gaze locks with his. He raises his eyebrows in question and I nod, moving my hands to his back, running my hands over him as I pull him to me.
He lowers himself into me, and I arch into him. Moving his hands to my face, kissing me gently as he shifts inside me, filling me. Slowly at first, and I relax back, opening around him, the exquisite feeling spreading pure starlight through my veins. His scent envelops me, cedar and smoke and citrus, but also just … him, weaving through my senses as I smooth my fingertips over his skin, his mouth pressing against mine. I bring my fingers up to his hair, deepening our kiss as he swallows my moan. The tension breaks, cascading through me, all heat and delicious sin, pushing me over the edge. I brace my hands on his back, gasping his name as wave after wave overcomes me, and he thrusts inside me, harder, faster, falling over the edge as well.
We collapse together in a tangle of spent limbs. I close my eyes, seeing nothing but melting dark, feeling the warmth of his body wrapped around me. After a moment he pushes back my wet hair, nuzzling into my neck. ‘You’re perfect,’ he says and groans. ‘You are perfect.’
‘You’re not so bad yourself.’
He laughs, raising his eyes to mine, and I realise I’ve never seen him so … content. Carefree and relaxed. It’s like every wall, every barrier has slipped away and I’m seeing the real him for the first time. The man I’ve caught glimpses of, the man I’ve been intrigued by. Not vulnerable exactly, but simply unguarded. The true him, the real him. He teases his fingers gently through my hair, brushing strands behind my ear, and I smile at him.
‘What?’ he asks.
‘I think you’re going to be a distraction, Alden Locke,’ I say quietly.
His eyes darken, jewels in his beautiful face, and for a moment, he says nothing. Then he kisses me softly and murmurs into my mouth, ‘I like you too, Sophia DeWinter.’
‘You’re still keeping secrets.’
‘Not many, and not out of choice. You can be one of them, if you like,’ he says, brushing a thumb along my jaw, to the corner of my mouth.
And I realise what he’s offering. This, him … us. These moments we can find each other, when we can be our truest selves. And as that’s all I can offer too in this place, I’ll take it. I’ll take these moments of distraction, these glimmers with him. I don’t know what this is, but I like him. I like the real him, beneath the mask he shows the world. I kiss him, long and slow, feeling that delicious heat smouldering softly. ‘You can be my secret, too.’
Then quietly, in that cocoon of just me and him, safe in hisarms, I tell him the rest. I tell him what I did, who I was before Killmarth. I tell him about Dolly, and about the bracelet. Haltingly at first, then in a river of words. And when I’m finished talking, he kisses me, then says thank you. For trusting him with those pieces of myself. And my heart glows and glows, knowing I’m not judged, not found wanting.
The next time it’s slow, the contours of our bodies melding, just as I imagined when I first met him. As the rain pounds against the windows outside, I give more pieces of my heart to Alden Locke and know he’ll keep them safe.
The announcement for the final Ordeal, Initiation, arrives two days later in the form of a summons. They’re left along the long table in Gantry Hall at breakfast, scattered between the bread rolls, the platters of luncheon meats, the cheeses and pickles and salads.
‘Tomorrow,’ Tessa says quietly and looks up at Greg as he takes a chair across from her. ‘At least the moon will have waned.’
He nods, running a hand over his eyes. ‘Still got to get through theactualfull moon first. But you’re right, could be worse. And no one else has been murdered, so I guess we’re on the final stretch. No more surprises.’
Knox wanders in with Alden and my face heats instantly. I busy myself choosing pieces of cheese and ham for my plate as Knox slides into a seat across from me, and Alden sits beside me. ‘Sophia.’
‘Alden,’ I say stiffly, trying to disguise the way I light up inside when he’s near me and grab a bread roll. ‘Sleep well?’
‘Best I have in ages,’ he says, equally stiffly. ‘Three nights of great sleep, actually. Never felt better.’
I cough, avoiding Knox’s eyes as he pulls the teapot betweenus towards himself. Since he saved my life in the last Ordeal, I’ve softened towards him, even if he did use me as a lure and still won’t tell me who he works for. Alden made it pretty clear that what he did wasn’t acceptable, ever. I let them sort it out between them. Greg and Tessa have practically adopted him as their favourite, and now I have no choice but to sit through each meal, aware of every movement Alden makes, just a few feet away, counting down the moments until we’re next alone.
‘You two are so obvious, it’s actually quite painful. Don’t let old Parnell catch you; you know the rules. She’ll have you scrubbing toilets,’ Knox warns.
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ I say. ‘I slept terribly.’
Knox chuckles. ‘All right, you keep your secrets. I am quite happy to tell you all, I have Blake warming my bed.’
‘You’re still into him since last year?’ Alden says.
Knox shrugs. ‘What can I say? I have a thing for scholars.Discreetscholars. And he has the most magnetic blue eyes. Good thing Sophia here is into brown eyes, eh, Alden?’
I fight back a laugh as I look up at him, preparing to divert the conversation elsewhere, and fast. But I forget what I was about to say before it’s even left my tongue. As Knox pours his tea, it seems to … glint. It’s not catching the light exactly, yet it’s glowing. Tea should definitely notglow. I frown, an odd foreboding creeping over me as he mixes in milk and sugar, eyes crinkling with mirth, raising the cup to his lips. It pulses again, and this time, I see the gleam of magic.
