AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Of course," she replied, touched by his words. "I would like that very much."
"Good," he said, before lowering his head to kiss her.
The kiss started slow and tentative as if they were both testing the waters. But when their lips met, it was like a dam bursting, and they were both lost in the flood of desire and need that swept over them. They forgot about the other people in the room, everything except each other, and the hot, needy press of their lips and hands.
When they finally came up for air, they were both panting. Ianora's hair was coming loose from its careful updo, while Castor's shirt was half-undone, and she could see the pulse beating in his neck.
Ianora was so breathless by the end that she couldn't help but laugh.
"What's so funny?" Castor asked, looking down at her with a bemused expression on his face.
"I was just thinking how glad I am that you came to find me," she replied. "If you hadn't shown up when you did, who knows what might have happened. I might have killed a king for being annoying."
He smirked. "I've killed men for far less than touching my precious wife."
Castor's strong, possessive hands were at her back, and Ianora's heart leaped with joy for the first time since arriving at this castle. There was a genuine chance that she and Castor could be happy together...and she was going to take it. She vowed to herself that she would take every measure to love him again, as she once had, all those years ago.
Castor's mouth fell upon her neck, dragging hot, open-mouthed kisses upon her exposed neck. She threw her head back in a subdued moan, and it was almost enough to kill the thoughts spinning around in her head.
If she was going to be with Castor for real, she had to tell him the whole truth.
"Castor," she groaned out. He was groping her now in full view of their guests, but she didn't care. "I need to tell you ..."
She bit off her sentence with another moan as he dragged his fangs across her neck, the tips just barely piercing her flesh.
"Can't it wait for later?"
"No ..."
Her eyes fluttered open, and she tried to focus on Castor. On everything, she needed to tell him.
The truth about why she left.
Ianora held him at arm's length, her mouth opening to say the words.
Only for the crowd to part behind the waiting Castor and for the truth to emerge from between the flow of dancing and grinding bodies. Ianora's heart seized in her chest and everything she'd been about to tell Castor dried up in her mouth. Her tongue felt heavy, like she'd swallowed a bucket of ashes.
Johnathan's dark, soulless eyes focused on her, and his mouth brimmed into a creepy smile. He mouthed to her:I've been looking for you, my betrothed.
Immediately, she pulled Castor closer, kissing him fiercer than before. "I only wished to tell you all the naughty things I want you to do to me."
He chuckled, seemingly oblivious to the danger lingering just behind him. "Then that's a conversation we should continue in private," he said hoarsely, before grabbing her hand and tugging her toward the doors leading away from the grand party. "And perhaps with far fewer words."
As they waited for the doors to swing open, Ianora glanced back into the ballroom, but Johnathan was gone.
Chapter 16 - Castor
The night air was cool and refreshing after the heat of the ballroom, and Castor took a deep breath, feeling his head beginning to turn dark and even more clouded with the scent and feeling of Ianora in every one of his senses. She smelled like rose petals and musk, her skin like cinnamon, sweet like sugar, as he licked and sucked her neck. And her lips, oh her lips, they were like the sweetest nectar, a drug he could not escape.
He pushed her against the nearest wall as they'd turned into a hall where there were no guests. His mouth met hers hungrily, and she responded with a deep, soul-searing kiss that left him breathless and longing for more.
Her hands were in his hair, tugging him closer as she bit his lip, hard. He explored her mouth with his tongue, tasting and teasing until she was moaning submissively beneath him.
"Please, Castor," she begged. "I need you."
"What do you need me to do?" he asked huskily, nipping at her lower lip.
"I need you to touch me," she said pleadingly. "I need you to make me forget everything."
