Things That Should Stay Buried - Casey L. Bond Page 0,133

room with us. I tucked in my wings and ran to him. He caught me easily and drew my face up to meet his. “Beautiful,” he whispered before claiming my lips with a rough, sweet kiss.

Aquarius chuckled and the music that stopped playing when we walked in began again. Aquarius’s guests resumed their dancing, though everyone seemed to watch us.

I kissed Aries until my lips stung, and when I pulled away, remembered my family was somewhere in the room.

“They’re at the table being seated with Aquarius. We should probably join them,” Aries rasped, pressing his forehead to mine.

“I want to. But I don’t want to.”

He chuckled. “I understand completely.”

He brought my hands up and placed a sweet kiss on the back of each one before drawing me toward the dais. “Dinner can’t begin without the guest of honor.”

I ticked my head back. “Guest of…” My chest constricted. “This is for me?”

Aquarius laughed, gesturing to the empty seats at his right hand. “Of course it is. Not only are you responsible for ridding the world of a bullish tyrant, a little bird,” he flicked a look at Kes, “has indicated that it is your eighteenth birthday.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Thank you, Aquarius.”

He nodded, flicking his eyes appreciatively over my gold dress, over the gilded room, and everything that glinted within it.

My family, my love, and our allies ate a sumptuous feast of venison, steaming hot vegetables, palm-sized crusted bread loaves, and tiny sugared cakes. The cakes were delicious and something I decided we needed in my territory. We’d been in the reactionary mode of correcting Taurus’s mistakes, but maybe it was time to create things that brought happiness, as well.

After dinner, we danced. Aquarius asked me for the first one, during which he teased me about the amount of sexual tension between me and Aries, how he was jealously watching Aquarius’s every move, even the position of his fingers on my back to make sure none wandered. “He was so tense the night we dined with Virgo when you entered the room in the teal dress with the golden beads, that he almost snapped the table in two. Did you hear it?”

My eyes widened. “Was that what that noise was?”

Aquarius’s eyes glittered. “So consider this dance a favor. He won’t leave your side the rest of the night.”

As he led me around the dance floor, I searched for Aries, who watched us with keen eyes from the dais. My skin flushed. “Won’t other people want to dance with one of us?” I asked. Not that I cared to dance with anyone but Aries.

“They will want to, but Aries won’t allow it. And I have a feeling that neither will you.”

My eyes locked onto the dais where Capricorn had stood and was holding a delicate hand out to Aries.

My heart quickened. I watched the two descend the steps and start swaying to the music, and while they remained at a respectable distance, I hated the sight of his hands on her fur. I hated her hands on his chest, resting at his neck.

She’s an ally, I reminded myself.

A friend.

Not a threat.

“Easy,” Aquarius soothed. “They are only friends. Just as you and I are friends. Nothing more.”

When the music stopped and before a new song began, Aquarius led me across the floor. My legs trembled, so I relied on my wings to carry me there, my feet almost dragging the floor. Gasps arose as we approached Capricorn and Aries. Capricorn smiled sagely and waved me toward Aries, whose stare was feral.

His claws sank deliciously into the flesh at my hips as he drew me to the floor. When the first notes of music began, he fit his body so tightly to mine, not even air could fit between us. We swayed together to a dangerous, sultry song that set my blood on fire and made my heart sing.

He felt like steel and bone and his cinnamon scent wrapped around me like a tantalizing caress. I felt like I was hovering again, but I couldn’t be sure. My wings were tucked tightly to my back, but I still felt lighter than air.

“I want to see them fanned out,” he whispered in my ear. “I want to see you lying on my dark sheets, wings spread, your lips parted…”

I almost melted. “What are we waiting for?”

“You can’t leave your own party,” he tutted.

“The hell I can’t.”

I walked up to the table and thanked Aquarius for the beautiful evening as Aries smirked behind me. I