I can’t stall forever, so I exit the washroom only to discover the hallway empty. Ellis is nowhere in sight.
Well, it shouldn’t be too difficult to find the parlor. After only a few steps, a familiar coolness sweeps across my mind.
He doesn’t speak, but he doesn’t need to. I simply follow the feeling.
As I get closer to where he is, the hum inside my mind intensifies, leading me to a dim hallway with several doors.
Closing my eyes, I feel the bond, trying to figure out which door he’s behind. I move past two doors before opening the third. It’s dark inside; curtains are partially drawn over a railing that overlooks the ballroom. This must be where the orchestra plays.
While I don’t see Isiah, I sense him.
“I know you’re here, Isiah.”Taking two steps into the room, I shut the door behind me.
“If you are so certain I’m here, find me.”His words whisper across my mind, but their smokiness is all the encouragement I need.
I reach out again, but instead of brushing the bond, I pull, and shadows ripple in the corner. I cross the room, push a hand into the darkness, and touch something warm and firm. The shadows slip away to reveal Isiah smiling at me. My hand rests on his chest over his heart. “So you found me.”
“How did you get rid of my escort?” I ask because there’s no way Ellis left on his own. Once he finds me gone, he’ll lose his mind, and if Niethal finds out, that won’t end well for him, either.
“I may have had my guards, as you like to call them, make some commotion down the hall.” His eyes shine with mischief, and I laugh. When I move to take my hand off his chest, he places his on top. “Did I mention you get a prize for finding me?”
“Oh? And what would that be? I’ve always wanted a boat. Is that my prize? Are you taking me sailing?”
The idea of sailing away from this castle seems wonderful right now.
“Yes, the boat’s at the docks. How did you know?” He chuckles and I roll my eyes, which only makes him laugh more. “What I have for you is better. Would you like to see?” His eyes meet mine, and I can’t imagine what would be better than this. When he responds, it’s not with words but with memories. Images of him and me when we first met. His feelings of joy and jealousy, anger toward Niethal, and curiosity toward me. The zap of energy between our joined hands and the feel of his lips on my neck as we danced. It’s a kaleidoscope of feelings and memories twisted together to form the beginning of a story,our story.
“It’s beautiful,” I say, voice thick with emotion.
He runs a hand back through his hair almost nervously. “It’s the most extraordinary thing I’ve ever experienced, having you in my mind. I can feel you there.” He cradles my face, and I smile because I know how he feels—the bond sings it to me. His words are my own symphony.
If he can share his truth, so can I. “When I found you in the crowd as I stood on the dais for the first time, I knew whoever was on the other side of those green eyes was important. You kept me grounded, tethered to the world as it burned around me. I knew it the first time our hands touched and energy snapped between our palms. The fact our minds have bonded no longer scares me, no matter how strange it may be, because you are right. It’s like you’ve always been there and always will be.”
The words barely get out before he kisses me.
While the kiss with Niethal was passionate and lustful, this kiss with Isiah is searing. His mouth is perfectly aligned with mine as if made for it. I part my lips, giving him access inside because I need to know how he tastes, to wash away the others before him. The first brush of his tongue has me curling my toes in my shoes. His mouth curves against mine before he deepens the kiss.
His hands grip my hips and lifts me, pressing our bodies firmly together as he carries me to a small table. Setting me on the edge, he steps between my legs, and the slits of my dress push up, nearly exposing me to my core.
A groan rumbles through his chest as he rests a hand on my thigh, rubbing back and forth. “Tell me what you want.” He kisses my neck, leaving moist prints along his path to my collarbone.
My head falls back, and I close my eyes.
What do I want?
I want him. Since I first laid eyes on him, my body had known him before my mind caught up. Even now, every caress of his hand, every skim of lips sends energy sparking across my skin. Niethal distracted me, but now that Isiah is touching me, I can’t get enough.
His mouth continues trailing kisses down my chest but stops when his lips brush the chain of my necklace. It lifts off my skin as he lightly tugs on it. “Look at me, Grace,” I open my eyes and gaze at him between my breasts. His eyes burn with so much desire I nearly forget my name. “If we go much further, I’ll have you right here on this table. And though I can’t wait to taste every inch of you”—he licks the inside of my breast, and I arch into the touch—“I would prefer it didn’t happen here in his castle. But I’ll have you anywhere you allow. I am yours.”
The room surrounding us disappears as an overwhelming sense of rightness settles in my bones. I caress his cheek and meet his heated gaze with fire in my own. “I will have you now, Isiah.”
He stands, and his mouth crashes into mine. His want and need pour through the bond, so I allow my desires to flow through as well. A low growl rumbles through him as he nips my jaw. “You will undo me.”
I pull him closer, pressing against him, and feel his hardened length between us. His palm slides under my dress to cup my breast, and my nipple peaks at the contact.
“So eager, are we? I wonder what other parts of you ache to be touched.” His hand slips under the high slit in my dress, inches from my core, and I close my eyes in anticipation. But then his hand stills. “Open your eyes.” When I do, he grins and says with a rough voice, “Feel this?” He brushes a finger against my thigh. “I want to savor this. Savor how it feels to be inside you. Whether it’s my finger”—he strokes my thigh again, and my leg shudders—“or my tongue.” His finger inches closer, yet still so frustratingly far. “Or my cock. I want to see every moment I’m inside you and the pleasure you take from it. I want to watch as you come undone for me.”
A flush of warmth spreads out from my core at his words. He delicately shifts my panties to the side and groans at the wetness he finds.