Page 72 of All the Pain of Promises
“Are you ready?” Sarelle appeared beside her, looking stunning in a gown so deep of blue it matched her sapphire eyes perfectly. It was fitted at the waist, then ballooned out in heavy layers of shimmering satin. The bodice was encrusted with diamonds and sheer, gauze-like sleeves draped from her shoulders. There was the smallest smudge of stardust on her left cheek.
Narissa grinned and linked their arms together. “As I’ll ever be.”
They descended the staircase together, and for the first time in her life, Narissa became the center of attention. Every pair of eyes in the ballroom below snagged upon them, but when ones resembling molten silver met hers, she couldn’t look away. She held Solarius’s gaze, watching as he maneuvered his way through the ballroom without a care of who he shoved or interrupted, just to greet her at the bottom of the stairs.
“Chin up. Shoulders back.” Sarelle gently patted her hand.
Narissa obeyed, whispering back, “Everyone is staring at us.”
“Correction,” she countered smoothly. “They see me all the time. Everyone is staring atyou.”
It took every effort imaginable not to rub her lips together or appear nervous, but there was no escaping the discomfort needling its way along her spine. Narissa wasn’t entirely sure she cared for the attention, after all. Passing by unnoticed was much easier and far less stressful. Right now, she had to make sure she didn’t trip on the length of her gown or slip and tumble down the glittering steps.
“I was right, you know,” Sarelle murmured as they neared the final set of stairs.
Narissa swallowed. It was difficult to find her voice with Solarius staring at her like she hung the very moon he controlled, and the word croaked out of her. “About?”
“That dress.” Sarelle took her hand and passed her off to her waiting husband. “It’s perfect for you.”
Sarelle was more than right about the choice, the gold and turquoise stood out among the hues of navy, silver, purple, and black. Gold lace hugged her curves, dipping low in the center past her navel. Pale teal chiffon sleeves draped down her arms, and more of the gauzy fabric cinched her waist, flowing around her to the ground where the hem was dipped in a burnished gold. Yellow diamonds and beads of turquoise embellished the snug bodice, tumbling from her hips like dazzling, explosive starbursts. The gown was a statement. A choice. And Narissa owned it.
But her gratitude died on the tip of her tongue when Solarius grasped her hand and brought it to his mouth. He kissed one of her knuckles, his eyes trained entirely on her face. Narissa’s heart flipped when he dragged her wrist across his mouth, his teeth scraping lightly against the tender flesh. She had no ideathe inside of her wrist could be so sensitive, nor did she realize it would send a flood of heat rushing to her core.
“My lady.” Solarius bowed deeply.
She dipped into an elegant curtsy. “My lord.”
“Will my mesmerizing wife do me the honor of a dance?”
“If I must.” But she winked and the whole of his face lit up in wonder as the bond between them flared bright.
Solarius led her around the dance floor in a series of slow, sensual movements. Lazy dips and sultry twirls. His hands skimmed all over her, sliding up her waist, grazing the side of her breast, capturing the small of her back, then venturing lower still. In each other’s arms, they were fluid, an extension of one another. Together, they were a heady mixture of grace and confidence. They were effortless. A cadence of waves and moonlight. Narissa had never felt more alive than she did when Solarius danced with her.
The only thing that would make it perfect would be if the rest of the world fell away.
“Sol,” she whispered below the undercurrent of entrancing music. “Everyone is staring.”
“As they should.” He dipped her low and gripped her thigh in a way that felt scandalously intimate. “You are a sight to behold, Narissa.”
“I think I preferred it when I was able to move without notice.”
His brow arched as he righted her. “Is that right?”
She nodded once, and he laced their fingers together.
“Then come with me.”
She let Solarius take her by the hand as he hauled her out of the ballroom, the murmurs and whispers of partygoers and onlookers fading into a distant, droll hum. They darted through corridors of stained glass where Faerie Stars floated overhead, stopping only to catch their breath and steal impassioned kisses.With a fistful of fabric in one hand, Narissa hoisted the hem of her gown, keeping her other hand firmly locked in Solarius’s hold as they raced across a frozen courtyard. This time, he dragged her beneath a tree with long, weepy limbs, pressing her back into its trunk. Its rough bark snagged and ripped at the fabric, but she no longer cared, because Solarius fused his mouth to hers. He captured the side of her face with both hands and their tongues tangled as he angled her, deepening the kiss. Teeth nipped and scraped, and she clutched at his jacket, clinging to him like she needed him more than the air he continued to steal from her lungs.
Narissa rocked her hips forward, desperate for some kind of friction, anything to ease the budding need building between her thighs. She swiveled her hips and the pearls shifted, rubbing her, making her slick and wet with need.
Solarius broke their kiss on a groan. “Not here.”
The silver of his eyes was hot, scolding as they lingered on her lips.
Their breath misted before them, and the cold slowly began to seep into her bones.
Again, he grabbed her hand, guiding her through a maze of celestial halls until they rushed out one of the back entrances of House Celestine into a moonlit garden. It was a maze of smooth stone paths, shimmering fountains, arches of winter roses, and shapely evergreens. The gardens of House Celestine were lovely during the day and ethereal at night, for nearly every leaf and petal looked as though it had been kissed by stardust, and perhaps Narissa would have enjoyed it more were it not the fact that she could no longer feel her nose.
