Page 55 of Reflections of Silence

The pool filled at an alarming rate. Or maybe I’d stared at him for that long. Either way, my lapse wasn’t socially acceptable.

There’s only us here, Gella.

Sebastian pressed the top of the spout. The stone face shuddered as a section of stone closed over its mouth, cutting off the flow of water. He crossed back to me, hands on my shoulders, flicking under the collar of my dress.

“Turn around, Gella.” A glint in his eye told me not to argue with him.

I pivoted on my heel, telling myself I obeyed him because I wanted to be clean.

Such pretty lies you tell yourself.

He worked deft fingers on the tiny buttons that lined the back of my dress. Minette had fastened me into the garment an hour before the sun had risen. His breath hit the back of my neck. I clutched the material to my chest as he peeled the dress from my shoulders, hands sliding along my waist and tugging until I relinquished my hold and was left bare before him.

“Get in,” he growled against my ear.

Gripping his hand, I stepped out of my mud-puddled dress, ignoring the flakes that detached from my legs, and slid into the water.

Warmth soaked into me as I sank into the water up to my neck. The level rose when Sebastian slipped into the pool behind me. He stood without touching me for a moment, the warmth of the waters sinking bone deep. I sighed and tilted my head back, relishing the tension that soaked in whatever he had added to the bath. His fingers ran through my hair, removing pins with the same deft attention as he’d used to remove my dress.

I shivered at the thought of him so near me as my hair tumbled to my shoulders, curling in ringlets as they touched the water’s surface. One arm slipped around my waist, his feettapping mine in an effort to make me raise my legs. Gripping his forearm tight, I gave my balance and security over to him as he drew my head back into the water.

Warmth suffused my scalp as I floated, trusting him with my safety. He rubbed his fingers in small circles, releasing stresses I hadn't known I was carrying. Was this place where he came to hide from the daylight, to sleep? Without him, it was naught but a watery, stone tomb.

I paused, his lonely existence so clear. He had traveled with a select few to remove himself from Amy, and yet, here she was, haunting us both. His companions—a servant and a friend by nature of their shared horrors, I suspected—moving with him away from all they knew.

Like me, they were orphans in an unknown land. They’d only been here a while longer.

I reached back to place a hand against his cold cheek, an ache seeping into my skin. “Just because you think you are dead does not mean you may forget to live.” I smiled, rare in these days. “We will hold the ball here.”

“We will?” His eyes surveyed me with amusement, a flickering storm brewing behind them.

“We will,” I said firmly, “and you will see there is nothing to be feared from whom you draw apart from.”

We will see about that, Gella.

He slipped around me tiny eddies, announcing his presence in the flickering light, pulling my languid body flush against him. Breath left my lips at having him so close, overloading my senses in a broken fashion. While my body knew I was pressed against him, my eyes sought the lie of the void that was his presence, cool even in the heat of the waters.

Sebastian dipped his head, his lips pressing against mine, his tongue seeking entrance. Every touch was lined with a sense of urgent need.

I could have lost you forever. To her, to my brutish lack of civility when you ran scared.

His hand cupped my head, deepening the kiss as I let him in, removing my ability to answer him, even inside my own mind. Our bodies tangled together, slick and easy, fitting one to the other as though opposing puzzle pieces. His tongue swirled against mine, bringing forth a vivid, obscene vision of his head between my legs slamming into me.

I moaned into his mouth, gushing hot against where his hard length nudged between my legs in my sensitive places.

Do you want me to do that?

Sebastian’s voice echoed mockingly in my head. He tugged my hair, drawing my chin back, his teeth grazing the place he’d taken from me before earning him a shiver of appreciation. He laughed against my throat, seeking to tease every inch of my flesh above the waterline.

Sebastian’s head disappeared beneath the surface, his mouth trailing kisses along my ribs and stomach. As his hands parted my knees, I gasped, the kisses turning to licks along my inner thighs. My mind caught up with his intent, a momentary war ensuing between my practical mind and my desire.

I gripped his arms, not caring if my nails bit into his skin, urging him up. He broke the surface, a quizzical look on his face.

“You can’t do that,” I spluttered, my face heating in a way that had nothing to do with the temperature of the water. His fingers stroked the places his mouth had been while I tried for a slice of logic that evaded me. “You’ll drown!”

His smile was sinful and sad at the same time. “I don’t need to breathe, Gella.”

“Oh.” My suspicion I hadn’t had time to ask about confirmed, I released my death grip that wasn’t stopping him anyway.

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