The Mad King (The Dark Kings #1)(100)
Taking her mouth, he ran a wet tongue across her lips and with a moan of surprise she parted them for him, drinking in his frosty kiss like a woman starved, every cell in her body turning to liquid heat, wanting to meld with him. His tongue was like the nip of winter against her own, spurring her desire to incendiary levels.
“But as much as I wish we could, I have a surprise for you, my love,” he finally whispered, pulling away from her and making her whimper because she missed his touch, his cold, liquid body brushing against her overheated flesh.
Stepping back as if he needed to put distance between them, he flashed his maddening, delicious grin. “You should dress.”
“Am I too tempting for you, my dear?” She pirouetted on her toes, tossing out her arms so that he could catch a glimpse of her from every side.
With a growl, he took yet another step back. “Alice,” he said, his voice shaking with a throaty rumble.
Laughing, she nodded. “Fine, you spoilsport. But I don’t see why we can’t have fun right here.”
His head cocked. “Do you not recall that today is your birthday?”
He looked genuinely perplexed, and that’s when it dawned on her that she hadn’t remembered. Frowning, a tiny twitch tugged at her lips.
“Now that you mention it, it completely escaped me. Time moves so differently here.” Excited for more than just his body, she licked her lips. “Have you gotten me something, Hatter?”
Even as a pillar of water, he was the most breathtaking man she’d ever known. Alice had loved him ever since the age of fourteen. There’d never been another for her and never would be.
The smile playing about his eyes was secretive, and now that the air wasn’t so sexually charged, he was able to take a step toward her. “I’ve shown you all my greatest treasures, Alice. All but one.”
Curiosity piqued, she cocked her head. “Hatter?” She used his name in place of the several questions hammering away at her skull. Like what could the mysterious treasure possibly be? Why hadn’t she ever heard of this great treasure? How could she have lived in Wonderland so long without hearing gossip, not even from the flowers, about this mystery?
He shook his head, pointing at her body. “Dress, my love.”
Nibbling on the corner of her lip and filled with crazy excitement, laughter bubbling in her throat from getting to discover a new facet of this wonderful man, she called on the power within herself.
Ever since Wonderland accepted her as its mistress, she’d learned to tap into the very essence of the land, to the core of its magic, the power that made it the strange and odd place that it was, the power that came from within the man standing before her.
Moving her hands in a tugging motion, she beckoned some of the delicate magic to her. It flitted in on the breeze like the glimmering, golden trail of a fairy’s flight, circling her body in a swirling motion of light.
Wanting to impress him, she made the magic twine through her hair, twisting it into an intricate braid that hung long and heavy down her back, making her widow’s peak stand out in bold relief. For whatever reason, her mate loved that crazy peak of hers.
The dress that formed upon her was tight at the bodice, cinched at the waist, and fell in jagged strips around her knees like a moth’s shredded wing. Not sure which color to make it, she shifted between many different ones until she finally settled on a rich blood red. And just to add to the madness of the ensemble, she painted several black teardrops beneath her eyes, making them gleam like obsidian in flame.
He sucked in a sharp breath at her transformation before clearing his throat.
Knowing she’d done well, she straightened her shoulders, holding her head high. “Where to, lover?”
With one final heated look, as if he regretted asking her to dress because now all he wanted to do was strip her out of the clothing she’d worked so hard to design, he jerked his finger. “Follow me.”
Memories floated to her like bubbles as she remembered the first time she’d followed him through Wonderland. Things had been very different then.
Blue slate tiles suddenly floated to the surface of the endless sea as she followed behind him.
“Where are you taking me, Hatter?” she asked again, curiosity beginning to drive her mad.
“It’s a surprise.” His voice sang.
Pouting only a little, because she couldn’t deny that the excitement of this mystery was beginning to mount, she decided to tease him instead. “Well, if you were going to make me follow you all about this crazy realm, you could have at least been naked. You’re a pillar of water—why do you need to wear pants and coattails?”
His laughter was rich velvet and made her want to purr like a kitten playing in a bed of catnip. Ahead of them, a Gothic, wrought iron door loomed. Knowing his propensity for travel through an endless tunnel of doorways, she paused.
As if sensing that she’d stilled, he turned to her. The way the sun refracted off his smooth, glassy features, it cast him in a rainbow of color.
“Hatter, you’ll be the death of me,” she growled, digging her fingers into the crushed fabric of her skirt, but only because she wanted to pull him back into her embrace and finish what they’d started. It was crazy how crazy he made her. It made no sense, but then again, very little did in this topsy-turvy world.
His grin was large, cutting a path across his handsome features and making her heart stutter in her chest. “Do you not enjoy my games, Alice? Do we not have fun?”