Semua Bab The Bride Wore Blood: Bab 31 - Bab 40

Dancing, she said. Ridiculous.I’m the picture of elegance as I walk through the doors and out into the ballroom. Beyond the enormous arched windows and doors leading out to the terraces, the sun has started to set. It casts a soft golden glow over the dancefloor, one that is rapidly clearing. It’s far too hot, with hundreds of candles swinging in the chandeliers above and dotted in elaborate sconces around the room. The crowd of nobility gather in a large circle, with Thade taking up the centre. A shadow in all of the light surrounding us. I still see him as the great black Wolf he can transform into. What would the crowd think if he did that now? How many of them are also wolves? It’s been two years, but every word of our conversation has been etched in my memory. He said that most of the wolves in Illure were part of noble families.My skirts sway as the crowd parts for me. My head held high, neck exposed with little wisps of dark hair starting to escape the pins that have held it

‘I’m exhausted,’ I admit, looking across at him. It’s no lie, and I see him bow his head in agreement.‘It’s been a long day,’ he agrees. I shrug in response. It’s been a long few years, but he clearly has no idea the impact that he had upon me. With Thade beside me, the guard steps aside with a bow. I look askance at the young man as we pass, am I going to be a prisoner of the Palace, controlled by the guards? He flushes as we pass and Thade hums beneath his breath.‘I asked all the guards to bid you wait for me,’ he mutters as he leads the way down one of the main corridors of the Palace, then directs for me to turn up a lavish set of carpeted stairs to the right.‘How delightful,’ I reply, cold. I keep my hands folded in front of me, unwilling to risk touching the man walking beside me. Not again. That’s far too dangerous after that kiss. ‘It’s only right that we depart together,’ he continues to watch me, stealing sideways looks that he thinks I don’t notice.‘And you wish to ke

‘Is there anything else you would like to add? Any further accusations to lay at my feet?’ He seems like such a stranger, it’s hard to imagine that we made love together. Or had sex, it wasn’t making love because it couldn’t be love. Yet it still hurts when I try to breathe in his presence, like a knife is stuck through my chest and pierces my heart. I look away, biting back the words on my tongue until they choke me. You were married. I want to scream it at him. I believed…and I was a fool. The words have echoed inside my head for two years, since the moment I met his wife and my world came crashing down around me.‘I was such a fool,’ I suck in a breath, did I say that out loud? I bite my lip, eyes stinging with unshed tears. ‘What was that?’ He demands from the window. I grit my teeth. Apparently I did say it out loud. There’s no hiding it now.‘I was such a fool,’ I repeat and the words feel heavy. Laden with everything I don’t want to say. If I say it all out loud, then he’ll

Lana’s POVHow does he dissolve my fear with a single question? Is it wrong of me to want him with everything that I know and understand? It feels dangerous to want him this much, especially with the ache of the past still burning in my chest.But I’m tired of fighting. Thade makes it too easy to surrender, to betray my own instincts. His kiss is all that I need in a world that makes no sense to me. He teases my lips, cautious, caressing with every stolen second that we exist together. I try to hold onto my anger. He hurt me; he deserves to be punished. But as he kisses me, my resistance melts. My soul feels bound to his, a terrifying echo of that strange wolf’s warning two years ago. His tongue brushes mine, tasting like rich wine and danger, and suddenly, I want everything.He touches me and I breathe, the last of my resistance melting away. I feel as though I’m sinking into the carpet, softening. His tongue probes against mine, he tastes like rich wine and danger. I want so much

‘Yes…’ it’s a low and guttural agreement. Thade watches me, eyes dark with consideration before he reaches down and unfastens his breeches. His movements are deft and assured as he casts away the fabric that covered his most intimate areas. He’s left bare before me, stretched out on the bed. The beautiful silk and linen beneath him was covered in delicate embroidered flowers and symbols of power. There’s a lump in my throat, and I’m trembling with excitement tinged with nerves. Worried about what he might think of me, yet determined to act anyway. He did the same to me once, and the memory still makes me feel delirious. I stroke my hands slowly down his body once more, captured by his gaze before I can’t resist any longer. I tease my fingers over his abdomen and bend, pressing my lips to his stomach. He tastes a little like sweat and some kind of spiced soap. I extend my tongue, licking his skin and revelling in the way his scent overwhelms my senses.I’m dizzy, intoxicated in my aw