Page 11 of All the Pain of Promises
She didn’t care if she was supposed to hate him.
In that moment, with the tension between them so thick she could’ve sliced through it with a blade, Narissa would have given anything to have Solarius’s hands on her.
He slid his thumbs beneath the fabric bunching at her shoulders and gradually nudged the gown down the length of her arms, so it slipped from her body and pooled at her feet in a puddle of sea foam silk.
Narissa shivered as he drank in every inch of her. She was fully nude, save for the scrap of triangular blue satin covering her most intimate area, and when she turned to face him, the silver of his eyes darkened to a fathomless stormy gray.
The fire in the hearth sparked and spat, the flickering glow highlighting only half of his face, illuminating the raw hunger in his gaze.
She tucked her bottom lip beneath her teeth, and he tracked the movement, fixating on her mouth for a moment before stepping in closer so the fine fabric of his coat lightly scraped her nipples. Her pulse skittered, beating wildly, so loud she swore he could hear it between her rapid, uneven breathing. Every agonizing second was wrought with confusion as her mind spiraled. Never before had she seen him look at her like that—like she was some forbidden piece of fruit, like he wanted to devour her whole. Heat pooled low in her belly, and she clenched her hands into small fists and locked her spine, the air between them thinning, causing her head to spin.
Or perhaps it was the winter berry wine.
Narissa swayed on her feet.
“Easy, Rissa.” Solarius hooked one arm around her waist and the other under her knees, lifting her off her feet. “Time for bed.”
Bed.
Her head lolled against his shoulder, and suddenly it was rather difficult to keep her eyes open. In fact, she found it quitecomfortable to be carried in his arms, even if it was only a few short strides before he laid her on the bed.
Narissa sank into the cushiony mattress, surrounded by a mountain of fluffy pillows. Solarius draped the thick velvet comforter over her naked form, tucking it in around her legs to ensure she stayed warm. She snuggled into the plush softness, tugging the comforter up to her chin, and though her lids were heavy with exhaustion and possibly the effects of too much alcohol, she peered up at him.
“You don’t want me.” The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. They weren’t exactly a question, nor were they a statement of fact. If anything, it was a mild observation.
Solarius leaned against her bedpost, and the sheer layers of teal chiffon hanging from the canopy rippled around him like gentle ocean waves. He clicked his tongue and crossed his arms over his chest.
“You know nothing about what I want.” There was no malice in his tone, but more of a somber acknowledgement.
“But I thought…” She yawned then, curling deeper into the comfort of her bed. “It was your intent to get the deed over with, as you so aptly put it.”
“I will not bed you tonight, Narissa. Not when you’re in such an inebriated state.” He roughed the back of his knuckles along his jaw, his gaze drifting away from her to the stained glass windows. “Another night, perhaps.”
Yes.
They would have plenty of those together, an endless stream of sleepless nights that bled into hostile days filled with the strain of their new marriage.
It sounded positively lovely.
Solarius shoved off the bedpost and headed for the door. Narissa clutched the comforter to her chest to keep from reaching for him, counting his steps as he walked away from her.
“Are you leaving?” she asked, trying to keep the desperation from her voice.
He stilled, barely sparing her a glance from over his shoulder. She couldn’t read his expression in the dim glow of firelight, but his silhouette was taut with tension. He didn’t appear to move or breathe. He simply stood there, contemplating, and when he finally spoke, the words floated across the room to her on a rough whisper.
“Do you want me to leave?” Again, he flexed his hands.
“Not particularly.” Her response was hushed and lacking its usual confidence.
Narissa knew Solarius didn’t care for her, just as she knew he would rather be anywhere else than in her bedroom. But for one night, she could pretend…because she was so tired of being alone.
He turned to face her fully then, his eyes expanding into radiant pools of silver. Arching one brow, he pinned her with a cautious, scrutinizing look. “You wish for me to stay?”
She shrugged beneath the covers, the velvet comforter sliding down her shoulder. To Solarius’s credit, his gaze never left her face. “Itisour wedding night.”
Solarius straightened, running a hand through the silvery black strands of his hair. “Very well.”
He removed his boots first and set them by the hearth, then shrugged out of his coat, laying it neatly over the back of the winged chair. From her cocooned position on the bed, she shamelessly admired everything about him. She liked the way the top buttons of his collared shirt were undone, giving her glimpses of his muscled chest. She enjoyed watching him roll his sleeves, fastening them above his toned forearms. Hewas recklessly handsome in an imperfect, careless sort of way. Maybe it was the way his hair always looked slightly mussed, like he thoughtlessly shoved a hand through it. Or perhaps it was the way his shirt was always a little wrinkled, as though he’d grabbed it from the floor after a night of drinking and merriment. Either way, his haphazard, yet delectably roguish appearance, always gave Narissa’s heart cause to skitter.
