Page 96 of Winter's Scorching Kisses
Chapter 21
It’d been days since Adorra had last seen Mathar, and she was beginning to worry about where that man had gotten himself. It was beginning to look like he had disappeared into the snowy ice giant mountains.
Her slippered feet made barely a whisper as she strode across the stone floors. She’d been searching inside and outside the castle, but there wasn’t even a glimpse of that damn man.
“Where are you off to in such a hurry?” Jasmine’s voice asked from behind her.
Adorra swung around. “I’m trying to find Mathar.”
“Mathar?” Jasmine shrugged. “Why would you be doing that?”
“Don’t play coy, Jasmine.” Adorra frowned. “You know why.”
“I just don’t think you’ll come to believe it until you say it out loud.”
Her lips tightened. She wasn’t sure she could say it out loud, but here it went, “I can’t stop… thinking about him.” Or his hands pressed up against her, or those lips of his that drove any sense of sanity clear out of her head.
“He’s probably off at that plot of land of his. Last thing I heard was that he accepted the piece of land and is now building a cabin of his own. A place where he can get some peace.”
From his past demons. Demons that would only plague him here at the castle. A castle where he was beaten, where his mother was killed, and where he killed his father. There was nothing here for him.
Her heart had the audacity to break at that last thought.
But it was true. If he had something here at the castle, he’d be here with her. He wasn’t, and it spoke volumes. She was worth nothing to him.
“After your wedding, I will return back to the manor,” Adorra announced without thought.
Sadness filled Jasmine’s eyes. “Perhaps I’ll convince Dryden to postpone our wedding.”
Adorra chuckled as she shook her head. “I’m returning to the manor after the date you have set. Besides, you’ve already put so much work into celebrating your impending nuptials. Everything is planned, and as the day grows closer, I see a gleam of joy growing in Dryden’s eyes.”
“What that man does to please me.”
“You’ve opened my eyes, Jasmine. The rock giants and fire giants may be beasts, but these ice giants have proven they just want to stay up here out of anyone’s business.” Did she completely understand, perhaps not, and was she sure they still could behave badly, yes, but, “Your Dryden is special.”
“He is.”
“Let me help you get ready for your wedding.”
A couple of days later, Adorra found herself sitting in the great hall waiting for her sister and Dryden to be married. Her sister was beautiful. She was wearing a white fur dress, with tall boots that no one else knew about since her dress hem reached the ground. Her brunette hair was done up on her head, and she made a stunning bride.
Adorra felt tears prick at the corners of her eyes. She wished her mother and father had lived long enough to see this day. The joy they would have felt at seeing one of their daughters married would be unbound.
Glancing over to the other side of the seated crowd, she saw Mathar. She was sure he was here only because of Dryden and wanting to please his king. Otherwise, she’d expect him to be back at his cabin, ignoring this thing that he had to be protesting inside his head.
He looked dashing though. A blush crept up her cheeks. She’d been lonely these many nights with just herself to warm her bed during these icy mountain nights. She wanted nothing more than to snuggle up against Mathar’s chest and enjoy the warmth that poured off of him.
Mathar turned and his onyx eyes collided with hers.
Immediately, Adorra faced towards Jasmine and Dryden who were now kissing, but all she could see were her face and Mathar’s face. She was imagining them getting married.
Yes. She could very well imagine that. There wasn’t the same repulsion she felt when she’d first come here. Mathar may have killed Edmund, but there was proof, proof she’d provided that Edmund hadn’t been the man she’d suspected him of being.
Her heart sputtered in her chest. She was a real piece of work. First, she’d fallen for a man who’d done nothing but prove her a fool, and now she was in love with a damaged ice giant. Her choice in men left something to be desired.
But, oh, she desired him.
Dryden and Jasmine walked past all their seated guests and out to the castle courtyard. Everyone stood and followed the happily married couple outside where there was an impressive setup. Huge bonfires had been lit in the courtyard, and Adorra found it quite daring of them.
