Page 6

CHAPTER SIX

S olarius dressed, grateful he’d had the foresight to request fresh clothing well after Narissa had finally fallen asleep.

He tucked in his navy silk shirt and smoothed the pleats of his smoky gray pants.

Even though he went through the same motions he did every day—lacing his boots, rolling his cuffs, adjusting the collar—his mind was racing.

He could not stop thinking about the fact that Narissa was in the bathing suite, merely one door away, and that she was completely naked.

The faint hint of floral soap wafted from under the door, which meant she was probably lathered in sudsy bubbles, all silky and slippery.

And thanks to the fact that he’d helped her undress last night, he knew exactly what she looked like beneath all those layers of silk and chiffon.

Skin that looked as though it had been kissed by the sun, a slender waist and full hips, breasts that would undoubtedly fit perfectly into each of his hands, and the jewels piercing her navel had been the icing on the cake.

It had taken every last shred of his willpower not to trail a finger from the hollow of her neck to those flimsy little panties and rip them right off her.

But he was a lord of Starstorm blood, born of righteousness and chivalry, and so he’d politely kept his hands to himself.

His thoughts, however, were another matter entirely, and were proving much more difficult to control.

Do not think about her naked.

Do not think about her naked.

Do not think about her naked.

His cock twitched.

Solarius swore.

Stars above, he had to get out of this room and put more than a door of distance between them.

He stalked over to the bathing suite, rapping twice against the hardwood.

“Narissa?”

Her soft voice floated from the other side.

“Yes?”

“I’m going to the dining hall to grab breakfast for us, and I’ll bring it up to your room.” He shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants and rocked back onto his heels.

“And I’m also going to see if I can find something for your headache.”

A pause, then, “What makes you think I have a headache?”

Aside from the obscene amount of alcohol she ingested the night before?

He shifted on his feet, keeping that thought to himself.

“You just smacked your head on the door. I’d say it’s a lucky guess.”

Rolling his eyes to the driftwood chandelier hanging from the ceiling, Solarius didn’t wait for her to respond and strode out of the bedroom in search of food.

He was pleased to discover there was another winding staircase that led from Narissa’s room to the interior of the house instead of the balcony, especially considering the wind gusting off the coast was brutally cold.

Tiny waves frothed, their white caps crashing into the shore, and he wondered how often the tides were in sync with Narissa’s mood.

That notion alone sent his thoughts spiraling back to those ethereal wave tattoos marking the tips of her ears as well as her spine.

It was fascinating that they would glow a silvery blue in the wash of moonlight, it was even more curious how he’d never noticed them before.

Or perhaps he’d just failed to pay attention.

Apparently, his memory was lacking.

Narissa had made an outrageous claim against his honor last night, alleging they’d been intimate together, only for him to discard her like days old rubbish.

But she was severely mistaken.

Solarius had never had sex with Narissa.

If he had, he would fucking remember , and he sure as stars wouldn’t abandon her in a cold bed the next day.

No, he would show her the most sensual kind of affection, worshiping every beautiful, desirable inch of her until she was trembling with longing.

Until he was the only one capable of sating her needs.

Then he would make her come so hard, the moon would fall out of the damn sky.

Something he should be doing right at this very moment, he thought with a rush of bitterness.

Considering they were newly married.

Instead, he was fetching her breakfast and finding something to alleviate the agony from the night before, all because he’d broken their previous courtship and she’d broken his heart.

He’d never publicly spoken ill of Narissa after their courtship ended, nor had he commented on the cause of such discord.

No one needed to know Solarius had caught her in bed with Lord Calfair Skyhelm, one of his oldest and now former friends, but his lack of explanation hadn’t kept the rumors away.

They spread like wildfire, growing more absurd and outrageous with every whisper, until the truth of the matter was lost to an ocean of lies and misjudgment.

Stars be damned, even Narissa seemed to have forgotten that she was the one at fault for their resentful estrangement.

With his mood dampened by unwelcome memories, Solarius wandered aimlessly through the corridors of ivory pillars embedded with turquoise shells, following the deep blue floor that rippled with every step, like walking upon waves.

The curving ceilings depicted painted murals of sirens and swirling seas, of jagged cliffs and rough shorelines.

Solarius wasn’t incredibly familiar with the layout of House Azurvend.

He wasn’t exactly friends with Lord Reif Marintide, nor did he often visit Aeramere’s esteemed coastal city.

While the swirling staircases and soothing waterfalls were pleasing to the eye, they made it difficult to discern which way he was going.

It didn’t matter if Solarius passed more than one servant who certainly could have given him directions, he refused to look like a foolish husband who’d yet to be given a proper tour of his new wife’s residence.

Once he made it to the main level, he simply followed the scent of fresh biscuits, candied fruits, and spiced beef.

Eventually, he discovered the dining hall where Reif was already enjoying a late breakfast.

The lord of House Azurvend was lounging in a chair near the dining table with his legs stretched out before him, one ankle kicked over the other.

His pants were the color of sand, and his crisp shirt reminded Solarius of warmer days.

It was a bright, sparkling kind of blue and Reif had paired it with a trim cream-colored vest embellished with waves of shimmering thread.

He held a cup of steaming tea in his hands and his dark blond hair fell across one side of his face when he lifted it to his mouth.

“Morning,” he drawled, watching Solarius from over the rim of porcelain as he took a sip.

“Morning.” Solarius gestured to the spread of food on the table.

“Do you mind if I take a plate up to Narissa? She’s feeling a little…unwell.”

“Unwell?” Reif straightened and sat up, his brows pinching together.

“Does she need a healer?”

“No, not exactly. More like she needs a remedy from all the alcohol she ingested last night.” Solarius rubbed one hand along the back of his neck as a rush of heat scored his chest.

“And this morning she, ah, ran into a door.”

He wouldn’t dare tell Reif that the main cause for Narissa’s possible head injury was because she’d walked in on him fully nude in the bathing suite.

And fully erect.

Granted, it wasn’t his fault he’d woken up like that, but he hoped a shower would give him time to get his blood pumping to somewhere other than his cock.

Unfortunately for Solarius, the longer he stood in the shower, the more he couldn’t stop thinking about the way Narissa had curled against him during the night, or the way her hair had tickled his chin.

Or how those breathy little sighs she made while sleeping sent his entire body vibrating with longing.

And the way her pretty eyes drank him in when she stormed into the bathing suite had only served to bolster his ego.

A tiny spark of hope ignited inside of him.

“Ran into a door, eh?” Reif mused, the corner of his mouth ticking upward into a knowing grin.

“Is that what we’re calling it these days?”

Solarius choked on a laugh and grabbed a plate from the stack at the far end of the table.

He would neither confirm nor deny Reif’s assumptions.

His relationship with Narissa was already precarious, like they were balancing on opposite ends of a tightrope across a gaping chasm.

One wrong move, and they would both fall to their doom.

“Must have been quite the evening.” Reif stood then and pushed in his chair.

“I’ll send a maid up with a brew for Narissa, it works wonders for post-alcohol ailments.”

Solarius nodded once.

“I’m grateful.”

His gaze swept across the wide variety of food spread over the table.

There were bowls of fruit drizzled with honey, platters of seasoned potatoes and fried meats.

A tiered tray was overflowing with miniature teacakes, and baskets of warm biscuits were loosely covered with a cloth, the steam rising from them.

There were at least four different types of sweetened jams, and it was then Solarius realized he had no idea what Narissa preferred.

Did she like raspberry and lemon jam?

Or was the spiced orange her favorite?

Did she even like biscuits?

He supposed he would have to fill the plate with some of everything.

“I almost forgot.” Reif set down his cup of tea and pulled a silver envelope from his vest.

“Ariesian left this for you last night.”

He set it carefully on the edge of the plate.

“Right.” Solarius’s finger itched to rip off the wax seal depicting the Faerie Star flanked by two outward facing crescent moons—his family’s crest.

He was beyond curious to see if his eldest brother had acquired any more information regarding the strained relationship between Queen Elowyn of Aeramere and her son, Prince Aspen, and whether or not their beautiful realm would descend into war and chaos.

But alas, it would have to wait, as he had a very hungry and likely rather angry bride awaiting his return upstairs.

Solarius gave Reif a slight nod.

“Thank you.”

“Anytime.” Reif waved away his gratitude with ease.

“Oh, and one more thing.”

Solarius grabbed a spoon, preparing to load a helping of the seasoned potatoes onto the plate, then paused.

“Narissa has a penchant for sweets.” Reif inclined his head toward the tiered tray of tiny colorful cakes.

“In case you were wondering.”

“Duly noted.”

A brief flash of amusement flickered over Reif’s face before he strolled out of the dining hall, whistling an old tune about the goddess of the sea and her love for the moon.

After Reif left the room, Solarius started loading up the plate with food—meat and potatoes for himself, and sweet treats for Narissa.

If she wanted to eat cake for breakfast, who was he to stop her?