Chapter 32
Chapter Thirty-Two
It was the sun coming through the window that woke her up.
It landed on her face and she opened her eyes lazily, seeing the curtains flutter.
She sighed, a wonderful sense of peacefulness settled in her body.
She blinked her heavy eyelids, and his form came into focus, sitting on a chair across from the bed.
He was fully dressed and smiling at her.
It all came back with a crash, and she snapped awake.
She grabbed the blankets and pulled them up to her chin as she sat up rigidly in the bed.
But a sharp pain went straight up through her middle, and she doubled over with a groan before reaching out to pile more blankets in front of her.
She looked up sheepishly to see the amusement in his expression and then buried her face in the covers for a moment before sitting up and addressing him.
“Is it late?” she asked. She straightened her hair and tried to appear calm.
“Just after dawn,” he said.
“You look awfully smug this morning,” Alex said.
“Why wouldn’t I?” he said, still grinning.
She felt that rush coming over her body again as she looked at him, but this time it was so much more intense because she knew where it could lead, what he could do to her.
She ached with a desperate desire against that new soreness deep inside her as far too many feelings bubbled up.
But she fought it all down and changed the subject.
“So now you must tell me,” she said, trying to compose herself. “What came of your adventure? I know nothing of the success or failure of the mission.”
“Alex,” he said, his tone changing, “I am so sorry I could not wait—”
She cut him off, “I understand why you left. I do. I am, however, interested in your progress.”
“Well, we did not capture the ‘leader’,” he said.
“We tracked Giroux and his men to their new camp and waited for him to show until the last possible moment. But I had made a promise,” he said, leaning forward in the chair, his eyes turning smoky again.
“I couldn’t miss the ball. And I was indeed rewarded for making good on my word.
” He grinned arrogantly at her, and Alex, overcome, looked down at her hands.
“Yes, yes,” she said, feeling herself flush. “And there shall be a band of minstrels playing for you when you leave my room.” She cleared her throat and adjusted her pile of blankets. “But the men? Is everyone okay?”
“Everyone is okay,” said Philippe. “Tired, beaten up, but well. Franc and Luc are in Aliette with wounds, but they should be fine.”
“And what transpired to give you your scars?” she asked.
Philippe finally shifted his focus, much to her relief, and gave her the details of the last week.
After a rough fight, they had indeed overwhelmed the rebels.
They brought the captured men to be detained in Aliette, where they waited now in holding cells.
Philippe planned to take them back to Chevalerie.
There they would be interrogated. The leader was still at large, but Philippe indicated he had some ideas about where they might find the man.
Until then, he was fairly confident that the problem would abate, now that the captain was cut off from his lackeys.
“So, it’s back to Aliette and then Chevalerie?” Alex asked.
“Yes. I have sent Claude and Auguste ahead. Laurent and Henri will travel with us.”
“Our party has dwindled,” she said.
“But I am very happy to have recovered our guide,” he said with a grin.
Within the hour, Philippe had finished the rest of his own preparations.
There had not been a band playing for him when he walked out of Alex’s room.
In fact, everyone he came across was too tired from the night before to really notice.
But he would have liked it. He indeed felt deserving of an award.
Emily sleepily bade him farewell before she and Alex embraced and shared promises to stay in touch.
The Marquis was absent, having already left for his morning ride.
Philippe would have liked to talk with him again, but nothing had changed since they’d spoken the day before.
The problem had not been solved to satisfaction, but it had been contained for the time being.
He could get his troops back to Chevalerie and decide on a new plan with his father.
He felt at least with Giroux and the others in captivity, they had bought themselves enough time to refresh and reorganize.
They would return to Aliette that day, wait for reinforcements to take over the prisoners and then get back to Chevalerie as soon as possible, which, as long as they did not linger, could be achieved in just a few days.
At that point, another phase would begin in which they would need to get information out of these guys, and that could get brutal.
Though he felt more and more confident about his theories, he had yet to share his thoughts with anyone but his father.
If he was indeed correct, the situation would have to be handled with extreme care.
He needed council. And he needed to regroup.
The morning was still young, and as they rode towards Aliette at a gallop, he breathed in the fresh air.
He felt reborn. He watched Alex just ahead of him, with pride filling his heart.
Her hair flowed behind her as she rode, and he remembered how it had cascaded across her naked skin the night before.
When he woke up that morning, with her body still pressed into his, he had to restrain himself.
He wanted her again, immediately, with a violent desire.
But he didn’t want to overwhelm her. There’d be plenty of time for that later, he thought smugly.
He wondered what she was thinking. Was she as relieved and excited as he was that they had crossed this boundary between them?
She was flustered, nervous, and adorable that morning, and he knew it may take her a little while to relax in his presence again, but they had buried so many obstacles, he could stand to be patient a little while longer.
Presently, they approached a tight canyon and the group slowed. Philippe angled his horse next to hers as Laurent and Henri stretched out up ahead. Alex looked back at him playfully. His body began to respond. She was thinking about it too, he thought as he sidled his horse closer.
He could not wait to get her home and all to himself.
“Hey,” he said, coming up next to her. The closer he got, the more heat he felt under his clothes.
“Monsieur,” she responded.
“Monsieur?” he asked. “Have we not put away the formalities?”
She just smiled and looked away.
They continued down the trail, guiding their horses over the rocks. It was strange that after all that had happened, he felt at a loss for words. He continued speaking, refusing to let any awkwardness creep between them. “Are you as pleased as I am with the events of last night?” he persisted.
“It was nice,” she said quietly.
“Just nice?” he coaxed, looking for some sign she would welcome him into her bed again, preferably very soon. But she stiffened, and it was his first indication that maybe Alex wasn’t thinking the same as he was.
“You can be satisfied with your performance, if that’s what you are asking.” There was still a teasing tone in her voice, but he felt the distance coming back, an earthquake threatening to rumble a chasm between them.
“Well, I’m glad for that Alex, but it’s not what I’m asking.” He turned his head so he could lower his voice. “I’d actually like to hear that you like me a little more than you did before last night.”
She gave a laugh. “Well, you did not go down in any estimation.”
“I suppose that’s a start,” he smirked, gratification running through him again. His voice softened. “Was it what you’d hoped for?” he asked.
“Philippe, we shouldn’t talk about such things out here. It isn’t proper.”
“What we did last night wasn’t proper.”
“Yes, but now we are in the open.”
“I don’t care,” he said.
She blew a strand of hair out of her face in frustration. Then she turned to him. “It was far more than I expected,” she smiled with her eyes cast down. “It was wonderful. And I thank you for treating me so well.”
The pride her words caused was almost out of control. She was his woman now, and he had pleased her. It was enough to send him to the moon. He could have soared in the feeling for the rest of the day. That is, until her next sentence brought him back down to earth.
“It shall be a memory I treasure throughout my life.”
He paused for a moment, wondering if he was detecting the correct tone in her voice. “I had hoped,” he caged, “to give you many more memories.”
She laughed. “You don’t have to patronize me.”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
She shrugged. “I asked for the experience, and you gave it to me. Surely, you have your next conquest in mind already.”
“What conquest? Do you think you were a conquest?”
She looked at him, rolled her eyes and then laughed again. “For once, I promise I am not upset with you. I knew what I was getting into. I wished to know what sex would be like. And who better to show me?”
His heart was beating too slowly. Or maybe her words were coming too fast. “No, no, no. Alex,” he said. “That was not just sex.”
“Philippe,” she deadpanned. “Of course it was.”
“Alex.” He stopped his horse. “Alex,” he called again. She stopped and looked at him. The men up ahead shot curious glances at the two of them, but seeing Philippe’s contorted face, they hid their stares and continued moving forward.
“I—I,” he stammered. He didn’t quite know what to say.
He hadn’t even considered the possibility that his intentions were unclear.
She stared back at him. He felt that if he just found the correct words, he could make things right, but he didn’t know what he had done wrong or why she was acting so coldly.
So, what could he say to fix it? “It wasn’t just sex,” he said. “For me.”
She looked at him squarely. “It has always been ‘just sex’ for you.”
He took the words to the gut. “In the past perhaps,” he trailed off.
“This is not about the past.”
He could not understand why she continued to push him away. It turned him suddenly defensive. “Then what is it about?” he snapped, his voice rising. “You clearly still aim to make me pay for what I did six years ago.”
“I am not still mad about that,” she said.
“But I cannot see where this will lead.” Her voice matched his.
“What do you want, Philippe? Do you want me to go be your mistress? So you can have me when you wish, and I can die on the vine wondering when you will come visit me again? I have seen you do it to other girls. You forget that I watched you play for many years. I do not wish to get tangled up in that game.”
“I never said that’s what I wanted,” he said, his voice low.
“Then what do you want?” she shot back, exasperation evident.
He had an opportunity, he knew it, right there to tell her he wanted to bring her back to Chevalerie and make her his forever, in any way she wanted.
But he was sure anything that came out of his mouth would be wrong.
Did she want to be married? Did she want to run away together?
He just didn’t know, and before he could say a word, she turned her horse in the opposite direction.
“This is ridiculous,” she scoffed.
“Where are you going?” he called.
“Back to Ponce. I will find work there.”
“You are not relieved,” he shouted, unbelieving that she was turning away.
“I think I am,” she said. “I’m sure the Duke’s son can find his own way home.”
“You won’t get paid,” he sputtered, trying to think of any reason to get her to stay.
“I’ll take last night as payment,” she said over her shoulder as she kicked her horse into a gallop.
“Alex!” he shouted after her.