Page 96 of Gothikana

She came to a halt in front of him, a wide smile stretching her lips. ‘A little too on the nose, isn’t it? Literally.’ She indicated his mask.

He tilted his head in a move that was so him. ‘I wanted to leave you breadcrumbs.’

Corvina stepped closer, taking a hold of his free hand. ‘I missed you.’

He leaned towards her, touching her lips with the beak of his mask deliberately. ‘And I missed you. But I hear from the rumour-mill that you’re secretly dating Ajax. Should I be worried?’

Corvina chuckled. ‘Oh yeah. In the one week we’ve been apart, I’ve had to settle.’

His fingers trailed up her hand. ‘It would be settling indeed. You told him I’m your mountain?’

Her breath caught at the deep rumble of his words, his silver eyes warm behind the mask.

‘He told you?’

‘He told me.’ Vad stepped closer, tilting his head to the side so the beak didn’t touch her as his lips did. ‘And this mountain would crack before it let anything happen to your castle. Remember that.’

Corvina swayed toward him, wanting his taste, feeling his lips so close but so far.

‘Things are going to heat up very quickly tonight. Don’t let anyone else touch you,’ he breathed in her ear, his words sending a delicious shiver cascading through her. ‘Now go to your friends. They must be wondering what you’re doing.’

Loath to leave him but having to, she returned to her friends.

‘Where did you go?’ Jade demanded.

Vad moved across the room.

Corvina shrugged, watching as he went to the piano in the corner. He pushed his cape behind him and slid on the bench with more grace than his big body should have been capable of. The violinists behind him fell silent, and the room came to a standstill as the music stopped, everyone turning to see what was going on.

And he began to play.

Corvina leaned against the wall for support, a glass of drink in her hand, heart expanding in her chest as the melody drifted to her. It must have been a known composition because the violinists chimed in, playing a symphony together. Her eyes stayed on the man she loved, watching his fingers dance over the keys in a way so familiar, his eyes closed, his body curved, his posture devoted to the music.

He had spread her open on that piano and eaten her for the first time. He had pushed her flat on her back on that piano and fucked her in the quiet of the Vault with people right outside in the hall landing. He had let her kneel between his legs as he played, the race between his fingers and her mouth, and she had won.

That piano held so many shared memories and secrets of the two of them, and as he played it, Corvina felt her entire body reacting to it. He had always existed between the black and white when he played, and now he had brought her into that space with him, no longer alone in his existence.

One song weaved into another, melodies shifting, changing, increasing in intensity as people danced, watched, drank, and the night got a little wilder. Corvina stayed in the corner with her drink while her friends danced, watching him with such pride swelling in her chest, a pride that this man was hers as much as she was his.

Slowly, as the night wore on, something shifted.

Maybe it was brought on by the masks, maybe it was brought on by the anonymity, but a vivid shift happened in the crowd on the first floor. The music got darker, the hall filled with more and more couples until there was barely any space left on the floor, the musicians hidden from view.

The candlelight slowly dimmed.

Tension crackled in the air.

Corvina felt her nape prickle as she watched the way people swayed together, closer than before, with deep sensuality that made herbreath catch. A girl in the corner began to make out with the man next to her. Another man held her breasts, kneading them over her gown. Many people simply watched, a few others began to come together, dancing, kissing, fondling each other, most probably not even aware of who they were doing it with.

Inhibitions ran low.

The music stopped, and for a moment, all she could hear was loud breathing. Some people clapped and cheered, enjoying the party, some didn’t bother, lost in their own space.

Another song began, and she spied his tall form finding her, indicating her to come onto the dance floor.

Corvina looked around, surrounded by uninhibited masked bodies, and felt a sudden thrill go up her spine.

She found herself in the middle of the crowd and felt him come up behind her. In her heels, she turned, the top of her head reaching his mouth. He pulled her by the waist, slowly swaying them and moving toward a more shadowed area behind a pillar, still surrounded by people.

---