Thirty Four #3
“He might have been a tyrant and a monster for how he treated you, but he was still your father, and I killed him.” A sob escaped as the emotions I had suppressed for two weeks clawed their way out.
“Oh, Emelin.” He wrapped his arms around my shaking shoulders.
Tears spilled as I buried my face against his chest. “He was my father, and I mourn him, but you needn’t shed tears on my behalf.
Your father was willing to put the entire kingdom on the line for you.
Sorin would have never made the same call.
I’m sorry that it had to be you who defeated him, but only because you now have blood on your hands.
If I could take that burden away from you, I would do it without a second thought. ”
His words only made me cry harder. He had lost his father at my hand, yet he was comforting me. Seconds turned into minutes as he held me while I sobbed. The purging of my bottled-up emotions was liberating as they left my body and floated away in the gentle wind.
By the time Adrian and I had returned to the castle, the evening sky had begun its transition from the pinks and oranges of twilight to the darker, deeper colors of the fast-approaching night.
When we joined Tom, Thea, and Lady May for dinner, Sebastian and Mirielle were still out.
During the meal, Adrian and I told everyone about the State Banquet we planned to host. As expected, Thea was a willing and extremely enthusiastic volunteer to take care of all the preparations.
After dinner, I retreated to my quarters, where Inara helped me to bathe and get ready for the night.
Whether I would spend it in my or Adrian’s chambers was yet to be determined as I paced my bedroom after the maid had left.
Did he expect me to show up in his bedroom uninvited or wait until he called on me?
When the bedroom became suffocating with my jumbled thoughts, I threw a robe over my nightgown and exited my chambers.
I made my way downstairs and stepped outside, the warm night breeze teasing my unbound hair as I walked deeper into the gardens.
The fresh air helped to tamp down my anxiety, but the pacing soon resumed.
I strode back and forth in the moonlit clearing for a few seconds until I noticed something in the bushes.
Halting abruptly, I peered into the dense shrubbery.
When a hedgehog waddled out of it, I instantly recognized the distinctive badger stripes on the cone-shaped face.
“Quilliam?” As if recognizing my voice, the hedgehog shuffled closer to me.
“Hello, do you remember me, little guy?” I bent down and let him sniff my hand.
“How did you get here?” After my long-lost pet had let me gently scratch his face, I straightened and looked up at the castle.
We were directly below my balcony. “I know how you got here,” I whispered with a soft smile.
At once, my mind about where I would spend the night was made up.
Leaving Quilliam happily roaming the gardens, I walked back inside the castle and ascended the stairs to my chambers.
My steps were light and swift as I crossed my bedroom to the hallway that connected my quarters to Adrian’s.
I quickly knocked on the door before I walked in… and collided with Adrian’s hard chest.
“Emelin? I’ve been looking for you.” He steadied me by clasping my shoulders.
“I was in the gardens.” I looked up at him. “And imagine my surprise when I found Quilliam there. Did you bring him here from Bradford Manor?”
“I did. I thought that seeing him would make you happy.”
I smiled. “It did.”
“Good. All I want is to make you happy.” He smiled back.
My gaze dropped to his lips as I leaned forward, yearning to be closer to him. He sucked in a shallow breath and leaned toward me. It would be so easy to give in…
Not yet. I pulled back. “I’m tired.”
He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply before he reopened them and forced a smile. “Of course. We’ve had a long day.”
“A good day,” I told him. “One day at a time, remember?”
“I do.” His smile became more genuine. “Get in.” He nodded toward the bed as he let go of my shoulders.
“Are you prepared for the torture?” I teased.
“Oh, my star, I’m looking forward to it.”
A bit unsteady on my feet, I walked over to the bed, knowing full well that I was torturing not only him, but also myself by denying him.
After we had settled under the covers, facing each other, a few minutes passed in tension-filled silence.
It was the kind of tension that made my skin flushed, and my breasts heavy and sensitive.
“You looked breathtakingly beautiful on our wedding day,” Adrian said all of a sudden.
“As if one of the Stars had fallen from the skies and you emerged from the stardust, divine and ethereal.” My breath caught as tears gathered in my eyes.
“I wanted to tell you that day, but I felt like I didn’t have the right. ”
“Thank you for telling me now,” I rasped, overcome with emotion.
“Thank you for staying with me.”