Page 50 of All the Pain of Promises
Solarius lifted his glass of warm apple cider. “I’ll drink to that.”
As the snow continued to tumble down from the darkening sky, Narissa snuggled further into blankets, aware of the way she sought the nearness of Solarius’s body for warmth. He stretched one arm out, letting it fall around her shoulders as he pulled her in closer. His scent enveloped her, the layers of fresh citrus, warm spices, and the tempting hint of bay rum soothed her,and she inhaled again, breathing him into her lungs. The bond hummed between them, a gentle nudge, a comforting reminder. Yet the pleasant solitude and ease of being with him was overrun with his racing mind.
Despite his relaxed, effortless outward appearance, his thoughts would not settle.
“The chaos of your mind will not calm, Solarius.” Narissa turned her head so it rested on top of his chest, and he was forced to look down at her tucked beneath his arm. “If there is something you must know, then ask.”
“What’s your favorite season?”
She blinked up at him. That was not at all what she expected.
Narissa twisted the fur fibers of the blanket between her fingers. “Well, I love the longest days of Midsummer. When the air is heady and clings to my skin, when I can no longer tame my ridiculously wavy hair. I love how the sun takes forever to bleed across the sky, then paints it in hues of pink and gold. It’s hot and a little sticky, and only the fall of twilight offers reprieve.”
She peered over at him and found his gaze focused solely on her mouth.
“Do you have a favorite season?” she asked, more breathless than she ought to be considering she was curled into his side and not exerting any kind of energy.
His eyes continued to linger on her mouth, and her skin heated beneath the intensity of his gaze.
“I like summer, too.” The pads of his fingers strummed her skin in lazy strokes along her collarbone. “What’s your favorite color?”
Narissa was grateful for the distraction of another question because his teasing touches sent a rush of blistering heat straight to her core. She swallowed hard. “That one is tricky.”
He chuckled. “Is it?”
“Yes.” She angled her face so their lips were a breath apart, so if she looked closely enough, she could see the silver of his eyes darken, could witness his pupils expand every time he looked at her. “I have so many.”
“Tell me about them,” he murmured.
“I love the color pink, but my favorite is a delicate blush shade, like the beach of Azurvend. And I like blue, but only when it’s mixed with green, like the waves of the Arcasian Sea or the aquamarine beads on my favorite pair of earrings.” The last words shuddered out of her. “What’s your favorite color?”
“Your eyes.” He said it with such assurance, without hesitation or thought, that a blush colored her cheeks. Solarius reached out with one hand, gliding two fingers beneath her chin, tilting her face up to meet him. “They remind me of a frostbitten ocean set on fire.”
“Oh.” Her cheeks burned and his compliment left her flushed.
But he didn’t back down and she didn’t pull away.
Time seemed to disappear when she was with him, there was no dawn and no dusk. It was like being caught in a void, where hours were measured in stolen glances and longing stares, and seconds were nothing more than faint breaths and quickened heartbeats. Each moment was an eternity, carved into the memory of her mind.
Solarius’s hand trailed up the side of her face, cupping her cheek like she was treasured, and she melted into him like clay, ready to be molded and sculpted. He hummed an evocative tune, one that tickled her subconscious and made her fingers itch to play her harp.
“I love that song,” Narissa whispered into the space between their mouths.
“I know.” His thumb traced her bottom lip, and her body ignited, set aflame by his touch. “Music is everything the heart cannot say.”
In the next breath, the lyrics drifted down the bond as he sang them into her mind.
“And so two souls were set adrift,
One to the heavens, the other to the sea,
And I stood alone on that treacherous cliff
Whispering to the night, come back to me.”
Her magic soared, the summoning of the tides racing toward the lure of moonlight. He lowered his head and Narissa curled her fingers into his shirt, drawing him near. He kept his grip firm as he dragged her closer, so she was almost sprawled across his reclined body in a tangle of blankets and skirts. His free hand slid beneath the fur blanket and grabbed her thigh, hiking it up over his lap. A shiver of delight raced down her spine.
“Are you cold?” he asked, his lips moving over hers as he spoke.
