7. Chapter SevenMelina
Chapter Seven
Melina
W e’d spent over three weeks together so far, and nothing I did worked to get him to dislike me. In fact, when I did something to annoy him, he would respond with positivity or indifference. I was being juvenile with my pranks, but I wanted to annoy him. What I didn’t expect was him responding with such defiant maturity. Or that my spirit to anger him was so weak.
Every time I attempted to do something to irritate him, it felt hollow in my gut. He’d told me the truth, that he was simply giving in to this foolish arrangement to help his people out of their lowered state. He let me know that he could be kind, that he could be my friend, but that he wouldn’t love me. At least not romantically.
I could never forget that. When I told my mother, she insisted that it would just take time. She couldn’t imagine him not falling in love with me and that he was just being as stubborn about this hopeless situation as me. My parents already loved him, so it was useless trying to get them to see that this marriage was not going to work. And he seemed to have no trouble keeping his head from getting caught up in feelings for me. I was the one most in danger of losing it. Having my heart’s safety in jeopardy. I didn’t let many people in my inner circle because I couldn’t abide by the insincerity of those usually who just wanted to use an omega or someone from the upper class. I was like a magnet to the bad Fae, and it was exhausting .
And now I was living with, married to, someone who was also using me as well to impress his leaders and not because he genuinely liked me. It made me sick. Even more sick when I momentarily forgot and gave in to his sweet words and touches. He could be kind. He could be attentive. But he would not love me. He could not love me. This was depressing.
“Melina!” Aaron’s voice boomed from the top floor.
I was currently putting clean dishes into their cabinets above the sink. I should have left them in the sink to annoy him, but even I had a limit with my own mess. I had no intention of attracting bugs to prove a point.
I hunched my shoulders so high up at the sound of his call that they almost met my ears. Guess he found my other trick. “Yes?” I called up with as much innocence as I could muster.
He stormed down the steps, soon appearing at the entrance of the kitchen. He stood there dripping wet in… nothing. Not even a towel. Just him standing there with his hands on his waist like an angry statute. His wet hair clung to his shoulders and sides of his face. Water droplets glistened against his smooth skin, falling down his brown nipples to the tile floor. I’d seen him shirtless many times; he insisted on going to bed with no shirt, but wet Aaron was different. Wet Aaron was absolute deliciousness.
My eyes shifted before I could look lower to what I knew would be an impressive lower half. I could not be tempted. That would not help the plan. “Why are you naked?” I cried, pushing out my hand to cover his lower half from my vision.
He crossed his arms, brows narrowed in a frown. “You tell me.”
I shrugged my shoulders, eyes rounded in false confusion. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Is this your way of seducing me? Think I’ll pass.”
He snorted. “Wife, where did you put my clothes? All of them. Including my underthings.”
I tapped my chin in pretend wonderment. “Hmm, I think I saw them in the basement closet, all packed up in a crate. Were you planning to leave? It’s been somewhat pleasant. Safe returns.”
He nodded, looking around the room, and I could already see his mind working to find a witty retort. I knew he wouldn’t leave that way, but maybe I could negotiate us being in separate rooms, finally. That would be a start.
Don’t look down, Melina. Don’t look down. Well, maybe just a peek. No. It will entrance you. Stay strong!
His now mischievous eyes locked onto mine again, and he lifted a leg, balancing his foot on the footrest of one of the high chairs in front of the island. His body was wide open, and his hands were on his waist, poised as if surveying some imaginary lands. He was confident about showing off his…gifts.
My eyes. My eyes were practically on fire with the need to look down at his member. Must not give in to the dick watching.
I looked up at the ceiling. “Is there a reason you came down here without so much as a towel on? ”
“Well,” he drawled. “I figured since you hid my clothes, you must want to see me naked. Wife, if that’s what you want, you need only ask. No tricks required.”
“If I were to have hidden your clothes, as you are accusing me of, then it would not be to see you naked. I can assure you.”
“You know, I think I might like walking around naked. At least at home. I might just stay like this.”
I stomped my foot in protest. “Don’t you dare!”
He moved to sit on the high chair with his bare ass. I was going to throttle him. “You better not sit on that chair with no pants on.”
He gave me a pointed stare as he slowly continued to lower himself down. “Oh, I’m going to sit. Naked ass and all.”
I clapped my hands together as if I was scolding a misbehaving dog. “No! Stop it right now.”
He lowered some more. “I’m doing it. Can’t stop me.”
“You’re going to get butt sweat all over the chair.”
He cackled. “Butt sweat? My ass is quite clean, as you can clearly see.”
And then he sat down, thick thighs spread wide. “Care to sit on my lap, wife?”
I put my hands on my hips. “You can’t be serious.”
I turned, took a dish-drying cloth off the counter, and threw it on his lap. He laughed and looked down at his lap. “What’s wrong? Tempted by my offer?”
“I already know about the offers you can give me, and I want no part of it.” I was lying. The man was beautiful, sitting there with his ridiculously toned body, his long black hair draped around his shoulders, framing his handsome face. If this were any other situation, I would knock that cloth off him, hike my dress up, and sit on him with wild abandon. But to have sex with him after he told me he could never offer me love in this marriage was a recipe for heartbreak.
He gave a nonchalant shrug. “Well, it is freeing being like this. You should try it too. You know, you can look at me. I don’t mind. You can even touch if you like.”
My face heated with desire. I would definitely want to touch it if I looked. And do other things. I wondered what he tasted like. Really, why did he have to be so handsome and likable?
“Melina,” he called, pulling my thoughts back to him.
Did he know what I was thinking? He probably did. Not good. I couldn’t let him know I wanted to pounce on him and ride him like he could take me to a different realm.
“I have been nothing but nice to you. I’ve been very transparent, even about what my leadership wanted from me. I didn’t have to do that. I know many, most likely on both sides, who aren’t being honest. And what do I get in return? A pattern of juvenile tricks.”
Well, that curved my thoughts. We were getting serious here. I turned away, putting a plate down. He thought he was doing me a favor. I couldn’t say I didn’t understand. From his perspective, I would be crazy to think these arrangements would ever be based on love. I was no fool. It was a major reason why I tried to run off. This was not what I wanted for my life. I deserved better. At least, I thought I did. I didn’t care about politics or duty. I just wanted to live my life, and he was standing in the way of that. I clung to small hope that if we could dissolve this marriage, I could be left alone by my leadership. But it wouldn’t work if it was just me. He had to let go as well. Alphas and omegas were sources of power, and I was wasted potential unclaimed.
Anger burned down my face and neck. I was mad that he didn’t feel the way I did. I was also frustrated that I wasn’t smart enough to find a solution that could work. Sadly, my value in my own land was reduced to being nothing more than a treaty action. I spun around, forgetting he was still naked as the day he was born.
“I will not talk to you naked like this,” I sputtered, heart pounding.
He smirked but snapped his fingers, fully clothing himself with magic. Like I thought, he knew what he was doing coming to the kitchen naked. “Done. Now talk.”
“Fine. I want my old life back. One where I’m not married to you.”
He slumped as if he were hurt. He couldn’t be, right? “Melina, am I that horrible? Is what I’m offering so offensive?”
“I suppose to someone else who’s more politically savvy, this arrangement would be the best-case scenario. But I’m not a soldier or a politician. I’m just a shop owner. I like being carefree. And… free to choose who I fall in love with. Because whoever it was going to be with, it would be a genuine love. One where he could love me back.” That’s what I deserved. I had to believe it.
Aaron looked down at the marble island top. His shoulders bounced with a dry laugh. “I’m standing in your way. Here, I thought I was giving you a fair deal, given our situation, and I’ve actually offered you nothing you ever wanted.”
I sighed and leaned back against the counter. “It’s not your fault. I can see why you believe this was a great setup. Maybe this is all my fault. I should have gotten a husband earlier. Maybe being a high-ranking omega doesn’t allow me the freedom I want. Even you had a fiancée that was arranged. But most people who were forced into these arrangements, regardless of whether they were omega, alpha or a regular beta, got sympathy. Who wants to be married to their enemy nation? But I didn’t get that pity from anyone.”
He looked up at me, surprised and raising his brows. “Why? I understand why I had no sympathy, but not you. I hear nothing but good things about you.”
He still hadn’t opened up about why he was disliked, and when I asked, his body would go stiff, and he said he’d tell me later. Whatever it was, it had to be bad to get him removed from his military and have his fiancée not only break off the engagement but send out horrible rumors about him. However, his kindness and the fact that his friend had moved here with him made me wonder how bad his actions actually were .
I pushed some wandering braids from my face. “I didn’t get any sympathy because I’m a dreamer. A dreamer who didn’t appreciate her place. A dreamer who was lucky enough to have parents who allowed her to do as she pleased even if it ultimately put me in this situation. Omegas are usually married by my age. People blamed me for being too picky. They thought I was arrogant. Despite having my own successful business and getting to travel between realms, others still saw me as a disappointment to my parents. Some even said so to my face. I wasn’t to wait for true love. I had a duty to fulfill: to marry and have more omegas and alphas to strengthen our kingdom. That was my role, and I rebuked it. It seems the realm has now told me that I was foolish.”
Aaron blew out a breath and ran a hand through his damp hair. “I’m sorry, Rabbit. I would say that you are still free to be with someone else. There are some omegas who are in polyamorous relationships, but I wouldn’t like that. I realize how selfish that is of me.”
I rolled my eyes. He didn’t want to love me but didn’t want me to find love, either. Not that I wanted such an arrangement. But why would he care? Was it his alpha ego?
He looked down at his hands, which were entwined together. He suddenly looked vulnerable then, something I wasn’t expecting. “I do like you, Melina. I wish things could be different for us.”
My heart stilled. He seemed to care about my well-being. But it also hurt because I was starting to like him, too, and his unwillingness to give his heart was beyond frustrating. Why couldn’t he open up to me?
I closed my eyes and shook my head, replaying his words in my head. Could he love me one day? If he didn’t want me now, maybe that would change. I wish I understood him better. Something or someone was holding him back. He kept giving in to others over and over. Doing what pleased his leadership and not himself. I opened my eyes again, staring over at Aaron, who looked more exposed than I was used to. “Aaron, what do you want?”
He looked at me with quizzical eyes, lips parted, but it took him a minute to respond. “To see you happy.”
I waited that long just for that generic answer? “Silly, it’s okay to think of yourself. What do you want for your own happiness? Forget others.”
“I can’t. It’s my duty to?”
I raised my hand to cut him off. “Forget duty for a moment. Let’s play pretend. If you were truly free, what would you want?”
He looked utterly confused as if I had asked him to solve an archaic magical equation. He couldn’t be that altruistic, could he?
“No one’s ever asked me that before,” he replied in a low voice. “Seems foolish to even think about it in this life. It doesn’t ultimately matter when you don’t have choices. Maybe I do have what I want now. I can work in architecture.”
I tried my best not to scoff. He couldn’t even dream. What tight hold did the Nodoorians have on their people? Could he have been so restricted that he thought he was living the dream now? Yes, he could do the work he liked, but it was also within the former enemy territory where people looked upon him with disdain. I couldn’t imagine the Nodoorians would be fully accepted in our lifetime here.
I pursed my lips. He had to be lying. If not, I might feel sorry for him. “Why do you hate love? You can’t keep punishing yourself for that accident.”
He frowned. “I don’t hate love, but I deserve not to have it. Hearing about how I killed someone I cared about and couldn’t protect her should be enough to give you pause about me. Even if it was an accident, I did the opposite of what you are supposed to do for those you are sworn to lead. Melina, I’ve done even more things that make me feel I do not deserve love. Things you might hate me for. Things that prevent me from opening my heart in that way. I’m not ready to talk about it now, but I want you to know that what I’ve done in the past doesn’t reflect how I will treat you, protect you, or care for you now. I wish they could have paired you with someone more deserving of you.”
What more was he hiding? He had to know I didn’t fault him for that soldier’s death. I could see the pain it caused him. I didn’t believe he was the monster the rumors had labeled him. He just didn’t seem like it. What could he have done more that was so bad that he thought I would hate him or be frightened if I knew the truth? Why did he tell me anything at all if he couldn’t tell me everything? It was so frustrating.
“Aaron, I think you are harder on yourself than you need to be. I just want you to feel free.”
He considered me, his brows furrowed as if he were struggling to process my words, and it broke a tiny piece of my heart to see him so affected by something I thought should be so simple. He then sat straight, eyes crinkling with a smile, his mask. I would not break through to him today. “I do, however, know something that would make me happy.”
I momentarily shook my head of the negative thoughts , excited for the answer. “Yes?”
“Put my clothes back in our room.”
I chuckled. That was not the answer I was expecting. “I can put them in the guest room.”
“You insist upon yourself.”
“I could say the same for you.” I snapped my fingers, using my magic to return his clothes to the top floor. “Done.”
He got up, and I turned away to work on the dishes again. “Oh, and wife.”
I paused. “Yes, husband.”
“Next trick you pull on me, I will start going to bed completely naked and chain you to me each night. No going back.”
I dropped my jaw and spun around. “You wouldn’t.
He gave me a sinister grin. “Try me, Rabbit. So will you be good for me from now on?”
“You’re being ridiculous.”
“So, what I’m hearing is you want my naked body wrapped around you every night.”
I mean, it wasn’t a bad thought. Hell, I was already envisioning it, and I kind of liked it. Of course, he didn’t need to know that. And I wasn’t sure he wouldn’t make good on his promise. Not to mention how I would get free of being chained to him. He was quite strong as an alpha Fae. Also, we already had proof that my body very much liked his. My heart quickened at remembering our time together that fateful morning. Nope, that would be my downfall.
“Fine, no more tricks,” I growled.
He leaned into me, with a playful smile, eyes squinted in mischief. “Good girl,” he whispered in a breath that fluttered my core. He then walked away, leaving me a pool of lusty liquid.
He was trouble, and I was running out of ideas. It was time to change my approach.