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CHAPTER THIRTY

N arissa stood on the balcony overlooking the ballroom of House Celestine, where a sea of nobles mingled and twirled, as conversations were drowned over the delightful thread of music floating through the air.

She gripped the railing with both hands, silently chastising herself for not entering the room on Solarius’s arm.

He said he would wait for her to finish dressing and preparing for the ball, but she’d sent him away, claiming it would take her far longer to get ready than him.

In truth, she’d needed that precious extra time to recover after what he did to her while she played her harp.

It had been more than his touch that left her reeling, the way he simply looked at her, like he wanted to devour her.

She wanted him to lift her into his arms, carry her to the bed, and drive himself into her until he occupied every facet of her soul.

Instead, he’d stood up, then laughed and held her to her word.

No bedroom activities.

Narissa cursed herself for making such a foolish claim, clenching her thighs together as she considered all the ways he might make her pay for such a declaration.

If he did indeed attempt to try something during the ball, then she thought it was only fair she take him by surprise as well.

She opted to wear the pearl panties along with the new gold stockings she purchased for him.

And she couldn’t wait to see his face when he made that startling little discovery.

Still, she wished she didn’t have to enter the ballroom by herself.

Not that anyone would notice her, anyway.

To make matters worse, Solarius had so thoroughly distracted her, that she’d forgotten to tell him about her theory regarding his mother.

Granted, it was all speculation, but the timing of Hespira being in Lady Trysta’s employ around the same time as Lord Zenos’s death was entirely too coincidental.

Her gaze drifted past the brilliant blue winterblooms crawling up the pillars to where snowflakes danced along the ceiling in an enchanting display of magic.

Rolling her shoulders back, she pushed away from the balcony and headed toward the spiral staircase.

“Are you ready?” Sarelle appeared beside her, looking stunning in a gown so deep of blue it matched her sapphire eyes perfectly.

It was fitted at the waist, then ballooned out in heavy layers of shimmering satin.

The bodice was encrusted with diamonds and sheer, gauze-like sleeves draped from her shoulders.

There was the smallest smudge of stardust on her left cheek.

Narissa grinned and linked their arms together.

“As I’ll ever be.”

They descended the staircase together, and for the first time in her life, Narissa became the center of attention.

Every pair of eyes in the ballroom below snagged upon them, but when ones resembling molten silver met hers, she couldn’t look away.

She held Solarius’s gaze, watching as he maneuvered his way through the ballroom without a care of who he shoved or interrupted, just to greet her at the bottom of the stairs.

“Chin up. Shoulders back.” Sarelle gently patted her hand.

Narissa obeyed, whispering back, “Everyone is staring at us.”

“Correction,” she countered smoothly.

“They see me all the time. Everyone is staring at you .”

It took every effort imaginable not to rub her lips together or appear nervous, but there was no escaping the discomfort needling its way along her spine.

Narissa wasn’t entirely sure she cared for the attention, after all.

Passing by unnoticed was much easier and far less stressful.

Right now, she had to make sure she didn’t trip on the length of her gown or slip and tumble down the glittering steps.

“I was right, you know,” Sarelle murmured as they neared the final set of stairs.

Narissa swallowed.

It was difficult to find her voice with Solarius staring at her like she hung the very moon he controlled, and the word croaked out of her.

“About?”

“That dress.” Sarelle took her hand and passed her off to her waiting husband.

“It’s perfect for you.”

Sarelle was more than right about the choice, the gold and turquoise stood out among the hues of navy, silver, purple, and black.

Gold lace hugged her curves, dipping low in the center past her navel.

Pale teal chiffon sleeves draped down her arms, and more of the gauzy fabric cinched her waist, flowing around her to the ground where the hem was dipped in a burnished gold.

Yellow diamonds and beads of turquoise embellished the snug bodice, tumbling from her hips like dazzling, explosive starbursts.

The gown was a statement.

A choice.

And Narissa owned it.

But her gratitude died on the tip of her tongue when Solarius grasped her hand and brought it to his mouth.

He kissed one of her knuckles, his eyes trained entirely on her face.

Narissa’s heart flipped when he dragged her wrist across his mouth, his teeth scraping lightly against the tender flesh.

She had no idea the inside of her wrist could be so sensitive, nor did she realize it would send a flood of heat rushing to her core.

“My lady.” Solarius bowed deeply.

She dipped into an elegant curtsy.

“My lord.”

“Will my mesmerizing wife do me the honor of a dance?”

“If I must.” But she winked and the whole of his face lit up in wonder as the bond between them flared bright.

Solarius led her around the dance floor in a series of slow, sensual movements.

Lazy dips and sultry twirls.

His hands skimmed all over her, sliding up her waist, grazing the side of her breast, capturing the small of her back, then venturing lower still.

In each other’s arms, they were fluid, an extension of one another.

Together, they were a heady mixture of grace and confidence.

They were effortless.

A cadence of waves and moonlight.

Narissa had never felt more alive than she did when Solarius danced with her.

The only thing that would make it perfect would be if the rest of the world fell away.

“Sol,” she whispered below the undercurrent of entrancing music.

“Everyone is staring.”

“As they should.” He dipped her low and gripped her thigh in a way that felt scandalously intimate.

“You are a sight to behold, Narissa.”

“I think I preferred it when I was able to move without notice.”

His brow arched as he righted her.

“Is that right?”

She nodded once, and he laced their fingers together.

“Then come with me.”

She let Solarius take her by the hand as he hauled her out of the ballroom, the murmurs and whispers of partygoers and onlookers fading into a distant, droll hum.

They darted through corridors of stained glass where Faerie Stars floated overhead, stopping only to catch their breath and steal impassioned kisses.

With a fistful of fabric in one hand, Narissa hoisted the hem of her gown, keeping her other hand firmly locked in Solarius’s hold as they raced across a frozen courtyard.

This time, he dragged her beneath a tree with long, weepy limbs, pressing her back into its trunk.

Its rough bark snagged and ripped at the fabric, but she no longer cared, because Solarius fused his mouth to hers.

He captured the side of her face with both hands and their tongues tangled as he angled her, deepening the kiss.

Teeth nipped and scraped, and she clutched at his jacket, clinging to him like she needed him more than the air he continued to steal from her lungs.

Narissa rocked her hips forward, desperate for some kind of friction, anything to ease the budding need building between her thighs.

She swiveled her hips and the pearls shifted, rubbing her, making her slick and wet with need.

Solarius broke their kiss on a groan.

“Not here.”

The silver of his eyes was hot, scolding as they lingered on her lips.

Their breath misted before them, and the cold slowly began to seep into her bones.

Again, he grabbed her hand, guiding her through a maze of celestial halls until they rushed out one of the back entrances of House Celestine into a moonlit garden.

It was a maze of smooth stone paths, shimmering fountains, arches of winter roses, and shapely evergreens.

The gardens of House Celestine were lovely during the day and ethereal at night, for nearly every leaf and petal looked as though it had been kissed by stardust, and perhaps Narissa would have enjoyed it more were it not the fact that she could no longer feel her nose.

“It’s freezing!” she shrieked, as they stumbled toward the expansive gardens.

Solarius pulled her against him, running his hands up and down her arms in an effort to warm her.

An emotion banked deep in his gaze, one she didn’t recognize, highlighted by a wash of moonlight and shadow.

But then the corner of his mouth lifted into a careless smirk and her knees weakened as she softened in his arms.

Narissa’s feet ached from running.

The shoes she wore pinched her toes and with each ragged breath, a twinge pierced her lungs.

She was quite sure her brand new gown was ripped in three places, as there was a distinct draft cooling the back of her thighs.

But sweet shores, she was delirious, wild with obsession for this male who would willingly flee a ballroom with her and race through a house without a second thought.

His hand slid around the back of her neck and his mouth feathered kisses up her jaw to the lobe of her ear.

His warm tongue flicked over the earring she wore, and a scrape of a whisper coasted across her cheek.

There was a rumble in his chest and his rough voice sent heat pooling between her legs.

“Run.”

Narissa faltered, pulling back to look up at him.

A frown marred her brow.

“What?”

“Run, Rissa.” He dragged the pads of his fingers along the column of her neck, then further to the valley of her breasts.

“If I catch you, you’re mine.”

She scoffed, folding her arms over her chest.

“I’m already yours. We’re married, remember?”

He leaned forward, pressing his forehead to hers, his nose lightly brushing against her own.

“You misunderstand me, Rissa love. I intend to make you mine in every way. Body. Mind. Soul. All of it. All of you.” His lips met the corner of her mouth, the warmth of his breath fanning across her lips as he spoke.

“That’s what you want, is it not? To have me mark you? Brand you? Ruin you?”

Shivers wrecked her then, and it had nothing to do with the permeating cold.

His questions thrummed down the bond, seeking the answers in her mind.

In her heart.

There was a nudge, a press of magic, of connection, and the rough desire in his voice made it impossible to deny him.

To refuse him.

Because of course that was what she wanted, it was what she had always wanted.

Him.

Solarius.

Always him.

But her defiance, her inexplicable urge to taunt him, reared its ugly head.

“Are you serious?”

He flashed a wicked, ravenous grin.

“On my mark.”

“Solarius.” She gave him her most stern voice, but her heart slammed against the tight wall of her chest, and her blood pumped with anticipation.

“Three.” He started his countdown.

“Sol.”

“Two.”

Damn it.

Narissa hiked up her long skirts and took off running.

She sprinted into the maze of flowers and manicured shrubs, panting as she raced past a gurgling fountain.

Slivers of moonlight illuminated half of the path she chose, while the rest of it was doused in the shadows of nightfall.

Behind her, she could hear the swift thuds of Solarius’s boots against the solid ground, and she dared a chance look over one shoulder.

He was a few paces back, and the glint in his eyes made him look almost feral.

Her heels skidded across the icy stone, and she rounded a corner, grasping a hedgerow to keep from losing her balance.

“This isn’t fair!” she shouted.

“How do you figure?”

Breaking tides, it sounded like he was right behind her.

“Because!” Her breaths came in aching pains as she dashed beneath an archway where winter roses and vines tumbled like a waterfall.

“The bond will lead you right to me!”

“Then run faster.” Solarius’s voice skated past her ear.

A phantom hand grazed her waist, and she shrieked.

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.