“I bet you have something just as beautiful.” Aerin fucking lowers her lashes.
“Moors. Grassland and fields that stretch for miles and miles, if you know where to look. Natural waterfalls and spring water that traverse nature’s waterways.”
“How romantic.” Aerin’s smile widens as they lazily rotate around the fountain. “Do you spend a lot of time there?”
“A few months of the year. My sister lives there overseeing our operations.”
“Are you allowed to tell me that?”
Frederick shrugs. “If we are to be married, then it won’t be a secret.”
My heart skitters in my chest as Aerin leans into Frederick with a laugh, but as she leans close enough to kiss him her eyes slide past and lock into me.
It’s so sudden that I nearly miss my step and my throat runs dry. Once she starts, she doesn’t stop.
She begins with holding his hand, constantly touching his arm and shoulder and leaning so close that I keep thinking she’s about to kiss him but she never does.
Frederick seems to be under the same impression because his arm slides around her waist and holds her close.
That’s where my arm should be.
It’s where Iwantit to be.
Execution be damned.
Deep down, I should be happy that they’re getting along. Marriages like these are purely for business, with no personal or emotional considerations. If Frederick was any kind of monster,Aerin’s future would turn bleak in an instant, but so far he seems to be an alright guy.
Annoyingly.
But as decent as he seems and as polite as he acts, there’s one aspect that makes my blood boil the longer I observe them together.
He touches her where I can’t.
He holds her even as we pass the patrol guards and no one bats an eye.
He tucks her hair behind her ear and compliments her eyes, even as she stares at me with a subtle smirk on her lips.
She really is pushing me, as eager for something she can’t have as I am.
I have to be the one who resists for both our sakes, since I’m fairly certain Aerin’s interest is purely because she feels trapped in this life and wants to break rules.
Unfortunately, I’m close to letting her break those rules just to satisfy my own puppy love.
As Aerin and Frederick near the marble statue garden at the far end of the property, the countless touches and whispers and secret laughter between them gets the better of me.
Reason vanishes from my mind, and I stride forward just as Frederick’s hand lifts once again to cup Aerin’s face.
“Hey!” Frederick cries out in alarm as I catch his wrist an inch away from Aerin’s face.
“Falco!”
“Enough,” I snap, my voice so low and tight that it sounds strange even to my own ears. “Quit pawing at her like she’s a piece of meat. She’s the daughter of Guido Paramatti and she deserves your respect. Beyond that?—”
“Falco!” Aerin cries out again, but I simply raise my voice to talk over her complaint.
“She is your future bride, but that does not give you the right to touch Guido’s daughter like this while you’re on his own property.”
Frederick’s eyes widen. “I wasn’t trying to?—”
