45 | ACT II, SCENE XVII

P R E V I O U S L Y

It was her.

HEXHAM PALACE, SKELDERGATE, ALLINGTON.

EDWINA

"EXCUSE ME, MY LORD, MY Lady," a haunting voice fashioned of rough silk muttered into my ear, "will you mind terribly if I borrow my wife for a moment?"

I recognized his scent and the faint whiff of cologne and aftershave, his warmth and electric touch as Tristan wrapped a hand around my slender waist, his eyes glimmering yet very, very dark. His mouthwatering lips turned into a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

Only I could see the anger under the smile.

Furious. He was furious.

He was wearing the same clothes as the first time I'd met him at Amphitrite's wedding. Dark blue shirt, finely cut black blazer that sharpened the planes of his smart figure. The clever bastard had deliberately left the top button of his shirt open, revealing his sculpted white throat.

I really wanted to kiss every hot damn inch of that neck.

I decided that Tristan Valmont was deliberately tempting me.

He raised a dark eyebrow sharply, running a hand through his jet black waves with careless abandon and held out his other hand with a questioning look in his mysterious eyes. Uranus alone knew how he managed to look so handsome even when demanding and angry, his sheer beauty was like a sort of punishment, a test to see how far I could control myself. Several of the females were looking longingly at him, trying to catch his eye. He, however, did not even glance at the other woman, and those midnight dark eyes were on me alone, holding a sudden fascination as I were the only person existing in his world.

I glared fiercely at the women staring at my husband.

"Of course, of course," Halette was animatedly chatting as she gave me a knowing smile. She nudged Vincent shyly, and they began to make their way to the other guests. She walked past me and stopped to whisper in my ear. "If you don't kiss him, I will."

"As if I'll let you," I hissed possessively, as Tristan led me through the crowds and she disappeared with a wave. His grip on me was strong as he nestled me close to him and I leaned in, sighing.

"Come, woman," he said quietly, steering the both of us clear of the crowd to find somewhere quiet to talk. I gave the crowd half smiles, he merely nodded briefly, walking with the impatience of a man who had better things to do. I didn't say anything and neither did he. Finally, he wordlessly led me to a door at the far end of the hall where the crowd was thinnest, and opened it, his facade clearly breaking as a frown took over. He politely held the door open for me, the picture of perfect chivalry. I stepped in, and then he entered as well, bolting the door shut.

It was a small foyer. Tastefully decorated, but more of a sort of antechamber. The perfect place for a talk where no one could interrupt us.

Though it was never just a talk with those delectable lips around.

Tristan took a deep breath, trying to compose himself, but anger rolled off him in blazing waves. Of course he would be angry. He'd taken the pains to ask me to come with him and I'd refused, showing up separately. And people talked. A lot.

"You said you weren't coming," he observed sharply, making me slightly flinch.

"I did, Valmont. But a Queen makes no promises. I changed my mind."

"Really?" he raised an eyebrow, wrapping a hand around my shoulder. "And how is that?"

"I came for the wine," I lied with boldness, staring him in the eye and perching myself on a gilded windowsill.

"Very clever. You've not had a single drop of alcohol this evening," Tristan remarked dryly, standing in front of me as I rested my hands on his shoulders.

"You should spend less time observing me and more time being King, Valmont," I purred silkily.

"What can I say? You fascinate me more than anything," he murmured hotly, sculpted lips twitching in a sarcastic smile.

His fingers found the back of my neck, leisurely stroking the skin and rubbing in gentle circles. I shifted ever so slightly so as to pull him closer to my seat on the windowsill, my hands tracing the outline of his fair throat. I wished to decorate his white skin with love bites, enough to mark him as mine, to tell all those staring women that this man was mine, and mine alone.

"You look unhappy."

"Lord Emerick threw us this lavish wedding party without complaining even once about the cost. I'm perfectly happy," he chuckled, and I let out a breathy chortle as he grinned and skimmed a finger up the planes of my collarbones.

"Can we stop fighting?"

Tristan looked into my eyes, pushing back a lock of my hair to expose the white skin near my collarbone. His thumb lazily caressed the spot, the effect of the sensation becoming more and more pronounced as he touched my erogenous zone.

"Counting the number of stars in the sky would be simpler," he muttered.

I let out a low moan as the tips of his fingers brushed over the carotid artery pulsing at my throat, making hot, boiling blood pool to the surface, begging for more of the wonderful sensation.

"Why..." Tristan closed his eyes, sighing and then opened them again, "why do you do this to me, Edwina? What do you get by doing this? You manage to get on every last one of my nerves-"

"-don't even get me started, Valmont," I interrupted. "Being around you drives me nuts..."

He sharply sighed again, but his youthful face looked defeated, forlorn.

"...but not being around you also drives me nuts," I confessed shyly, looking at me through my lashes.

His eyes lit up at once, drawing me even closer than close. His hand crept up to my cheek, pooling liquid heat to the spot. How could he make me feel like this with just a touch? Another groan escaped my helpless lips and a spark of electricity flew out from his fingers.

"Lord, don't do this," I whimpered. "Don't make me so..."

"-aroused?" he grinned wickedly.

"-don't - don't make me so... flustered. At least finish what you start, mister," I croaked, melting into him.

"Who said I'm not going to finish what I start?"

Tristan backed me straight to the wall behind, mischief glinting in his merry blue eyes. His hands cupped my cheek and lifted my chin ever so slightly, increasing my heartbeats. He leaned in and gently caressed my smooth cheek, his touch reverent, worshipping. I was unable to control my desires and wrapped my legs around him.

"Venite ad me," he whispered into my ear, "te desidero."

"What - what does that mean?" I croaked breathlessly. He hugged me to the warmth of his chest, looking at me as if the sun and the stars shone out of me eyes.

"Would you like to know?"

"Yes," I pleaded, pulling him to me and tugging at his blazer.

"As if I'm going to tell you," he laughed, teasing me, effectively cornering me between him and the wall.

"Tristan," I gasped softly, letting out another intense moan as his fingers touched my skin. I hated how completely I lost control when I was around him, he had me right in the palm of his hands, right where he wanted me. I wasn't going to go anywhere in this position.

"Yes?"

"Tristan," I whispered more urgently, as he traced the outline of my lip with one hand, the other resting on my silk clad thigh. "Please."

"Please what?" he demanded, raising my chin to look into his affectionate gaze. I melted instantaneously, my body a tight knot of wanting, of longing - longing to have what wasn't even mine.

Forbidden fruit was the sweetest.

"Beg me," he whispered roughly into my ear, voice harsh with passion. "Beg, Edwina."

"Kiss me," I pleaded. "Please."

It had been the first time I'd ever done it myself, the first time I'd ever acknowledged intimacy on my own. It felt oddly powerful in a way I could not fathom. My voice was completely dry, just like my throat. I wanted his hands on my body, I wanted his hands on my skin, I wanted to devour him whole and I wanted him to ravish me whole. I would have fallen to his feet and begged him to do it, because controlling myself was a battle I was too tired of losing.

"Gladly," he acknowledged. I bit my lip and saw him being driven mad to pieces.

Then he gathered me in his arms and I knocked a porcelain sculpture out of the way and pressed my lips to his.

The power rolling off him curled around my soul, trickling into stories of blood.

"Don't stop," I breathed against his lips.

Passion repeated itself faster than time as I attacked Tristan's lips with my own, kissing him back fiercely.

"Never," he whispered, tugging on my hair as I hummed low in my throat at the sweet pain, fingers busy at his buttons.

"Ever," he pulled me up again, the wall again at my back, and kissed my lips, nipping gently on the bottom lip. We furiously devoured each other, starving, thirsty for each other. His demanding hands inched around my hair, and he wound his fingers around my locks to pull up my chin and kiss the corners.

"I'll never, ever stop, woman," he promised into my lips, causing me to mewl. There were too many endorphins rushing in my blood, too much adrenaline in my veins, a powerful and heady combination unleashing some sort of wild beast inside me.

"Not unless you want me to," Tristan added. "I'll be here as long as you want me. I'll kiss you as long as you want me. Wherever you want me," he said.

The room fell away. The space between us burst into fireworks. My heart kept missing beats, my lungs forgot to breathe. I realized I had been so, so thirsty. Thirsty for this, for being burnt alive.

"Promise?" I squeaked. Maybe it was a minute, maybe it was an hour. All I knew was this kiss, the feel of Tristan Valmont's lips as they pressed against mine, and even as my heart kept telling me that I was the person he had been waiting for since forever.

"I promise, Edwina," he wrapped me in the security of his embrace as I moaned against his mouth. My body was shivering with shivers that ran right to the tips of my toes, to my groin, sending blood rush there. His legs pressed against my thighs, I could feel his hardness pressing against my gown, and all I could think of was how I felt the same.

I might be standing up, but my soul was on its knees, begging, pleading him to continue.

I didn't want it to stop. Ever.

I was spent, completely, and I pushed my head against the wall, drawing myself up as our lips finally broke contact and we let out pained sighs. The roses which had been in my hair were now strewn about on the floor, and my mouth tasted of cinnamon, roses and Tristan.

Then I looked at him and saw that I'd popped open the first three buttons of his shirt. He saw it and flashed a wide smile, and then his gaze traveled on to me.

I nearly yelled my head off.

My gown had hitched up to my thighs, my stockings visible, heels thrown about on the floor. His hand was resting on my waist, and he could have unhooked the straps if he wished, but he hadn't.

"If this is how we're going to fight, can we do it every day?" Tristan mused with a grin.

"We're doing it right now," I muttered stubbornly, pointing to the locked door. "No one will find us here." I was still panting from breathlessness but my body was like a freight train having left the station, I was too far in to stop. He observed this, unable to get rid of his wide smile, looking prouder than having won the biggest prize in the world.

I took hold of his hand and placed it on my back, bringing it right to straps.

"Tristan," I breathed heavily.

"Edwina-"

"-Valmont-"

"-woman, wait," he stopped me, deftly wrapping a hand around my wrist and holding it between his palms. He kissed my hand softly, coming back to caress my cheek as if I were made of porcelain.

"You - you don't want me?" I asked sadly.

"Hells, no, woman," he laughed, then saw the heartbroken expression on my face and corrected himself. "Wait - I didn't mean it like that. The only problem is," he kissed my cheek gently, "if I started... I won't be able to stop. You are the greatest risk I've ever taken. And the greatest reward."

"But-"

"-not like this. Not here, in a locked room inches away from another wedding. I want to take my time with you, you stubborn lady," Tristan whispered gently, wrapping me in his chest as I rested my head on his shoulder.

My skin tingled immediately as he moved his fingertips over my thigh. They were the lightest touches, like a feather, but they left me craving for more.

"I-" Tristan began, "-I want you all to myself. I want us to be the only ones in a quiet room where the moonlight spills over the floor. I want to see your face shine softly in the light as you smile and then laugh. I want you," he nudged me. "No one else."

And in that moment, I could have sworn I'd never felt as loved ever before.

"Well then..." I spoke under my breath, trying to compose myself. "I could strangle you right now, Valmont."

"You aren't tall enough, woman," he said, trying to pat down his hair back but to no avail, only making it look more messily gorgeous.

"Oh, please," I rolled my eyes. "Don't get me started." My voice had gone all queer and my heart was combusting inside my chest. I looked at myself in the mirror beside. My cheeks were a dark shade of red, my hair had tumbled down to my shoulders, the rose was missing and the better part of my lipstick was... on Tristan's lips. I was glowing, literally.

"You ruined my lipstick," I looked at Tristan  murderously, but he merely gave me a knowing smirk, running a hand through my hair, straightening it.

Find a man who ruins your lipstick, not your mascara.

"Come," he offered his hand to me, trying to hide the smile on his face as he opened the door, acting as if nothing had happened, and he hadn't been kissing the hell out of me.

"Fuck you," I muttered.

"If you insist," he grinned. "Really? In front of everyone?"

"Can you please just let me insult you? Stop making it sexual, goddammit," I hissed.

"I'll stop making it sexual when you come up with something better than 'fuck you'. Lord knows you've said those two words more than your own name," he snorted, holding out a hand and opening the door for me.

• • • • •

*sigh* Yes, Edwina has a language kink and Tristan often lapses into Latin (ft. Italian) because he knows it drives her crazy :) let's call this chapter the time Edwina almost lost her virginity, yeah? They got pretty close to doing it BUT I am a sadistic writer so let's wait some more time xD next chapter is a major turning point!