Page 30 of All the Pain of Promises
Reif shrugged and started to walk away.
“Then maybe you should find out,” he called from over his shoulder as he sauntered up the beach back toward the house.
Narissa scowled.
Damn her cousin for using sound logic.
Dinner was painfully awkward.
Narissa had managed to dodge Solarius and escape his alluring gaze for the majority of the day, but now he was seated directly across from her, and the knowing look in his eyes held her captive. Every so often he would glance down at his plate of seared fish and roasted vegetables, then he would blink and lift his gaze to her. The way he stared at her from beneath those somber brows caused her skin to prickle with delightful awareness. His silver hair with its inky tips fell across his face, covering one eye and giving him an air of seductive mystery. The midnight blue shirt he wore was flecked with silver thread, and he’d rolled the sleeves to reveal inches of corded muscle and veined forearms. He’d become an unavoidable distraction, the kind she could no longer simply ignore.
To make matters worse, the mating bond seemed to expand and warm, coiling around her heart like the strangling vines of writhing bane. It pulled and stretched, toying with her volatile emotions. The need for attention, the urgency to be touched by Solarius, thrummed through every inch of her, wound her nerves so tightly she thought she might combust. Mating bonds were incredible things, fueling the lust for desire and the ache to do the unthinkable. Warmth spread through Narissa, and a distinctive heat left her tingling and aching. Crossing one leg over the other, she twisted her napkin in her lap. She swiped her tongue along her bottom lip, finding herself incredibly parched. It was possible she was dying of thirst. Solarius licked a drop of sauce from his fork, and she almost whimpered. It was a raw kind of torture, being bonded to the male who’d broken her heart.
Narissa wanted nothing more than to crawl across the table, seat herself in front of him with her legs spread, and plead with him to feast upon her instead.
Solarius choked on his water.
His gaze snared on her, and the silver of his eyes turned molten, heated with raw hunger.
Narissa blanched, slumping into her seat. The flush of embarrassment scalded her cheeks as the realization slowly sank in.
He’d heard her
Breaking tides, Solarius hadheardher thoughts, and it was too late to take them back. He’d been given a full view of her mind. Narissa ducked her head, wishing she could turn into a puddle and melt through the wooden floorboards, never to be seen again.
“This is absurd.” Reif grabbed his glass of whiskey and took a hefty swig, draining the contents. Planting one elbow firmly on the table, he gestured toward them with the empty glass. “The two of you need to sort this nonsense out immediately.”
Now it was Narissa’s turn to hastily swallow down her mortification.
Only death would have been less humiliating than having one’s cousin assume the reason for the strained silence at the dinner table was because of a martial spat and not at all due to the ridiculously heavy sexual tension.
Narissa shrank even further into her chair. Disappearing in a crowded ballroom and making herself scarcely noticeable against a backdrop of flowery papered walls was far easier than trying to blend in with the fabric of her cushioned seat.
Solarius, on the other hand, remained unmoving. His gaze had not strayed from her. In fact, Narissa wasn’t even certain he had blinked. He was unwavering, the entirety of his focus resting solely upon her.
Reif rapped his knuckles on the table. “Lord Starstorm had the right idea.”
At the mention of Ariesian’s title, Solarius snapped out of his entranced state, his head swinging in Reif’s direction. “Pardon?”
“I tried to tell him we shouldn’t force it, but I’m beginning to see he was correct in his early suggestion.” Reif leaned back in his chair, his fingers steepled in a way that made him look as though he was plotting their future demise. He made a sort oftsking noise and shook his head, shoving a hand through his unkempt dark blond hair. “A mandatory honeymoon is exactly what the two of you need.”
“What?” Narissa yelped, at the same time Solarius attempted to negotiate with him.
“Reif, please. I assure you that is thelastthing we need.”
For the first time in quite a while, Narissa found herself in agreement with Solarius. It would be a complete disaster if the two of them were required to spend time alone together. Being sent off to some horribly romantic location, then left with no other option but to pretend to enjoy one another’s company would end in disaster. They would be sequestered in the same room and Narissa wouldn’t know a moment of peace because the bond would ensure Solarius—and every glorious inch of his body—consumed all of her thoughts.
Narissa simply would not survive it.
She would absolutely perish.
But Reif remained undeterred.
“No. This back-and-forth silent treatment has gone on long enough. House Azurvend and House Celestine have reputations to uphold, and I shall not have these petty quarrels sullying our good names.” He gently rapped one fist upon the table, enunciating the finality of his decision. “I will have your bags packed at once. You leave tonight.”
A wave of nausea slammed into Narissa, and she blew out a low, shaky breath. “And where, may I ask, is our destination?”
“Windsong. In Galefell,” Reif responded, cutting at the flaky grilled fish on his plate.
