Page 22 of Forbidden Noble
“Technicalities only you call me on.”
Suddenly her heart was lighter. There wasn’t some dark secret or foreboding in that--not like his house, though it was gorgeous in its way. “That’s it? That’s the secret? You liked me?”
They passed a library that had huge stacks of books that needed to be shelved all piled on a desk. They left the great room and climbed a curvy set of stairs. “Is that so hard to believe? We spent every day together as I showed you around Europe.”
She laughed and watched her steps, thankful she wore a knee-length dress and not one of those medieval gowns of old. And he was right, they’d had fun, which made the time fly. “It’s hard, because I wanted you too. You were the star of my fantasies, and then you surpassed what I'd ever imagined.”
A rather cocky grin grew on his face when he guided her toward a set of doors. “You never once let on, always mentioning that book of yours.”
Astorre opened both doors. A huge grand fireplace was lit for them, but the room also had electric lights from a chandelier. A bed was draped in royal blue and gold that matched the curtains of the archer stations. She could barely speak due to the awe inside her that this was all real. “I… I know how to bottle my disappointment, after years of doing it. I thought my crush was absolutely one-sided.”
Astorre closed the door behind them with a loud echo. “We should send Max a thank you card.”
He walked her to a small balcony off to the side and held the curtain for her to proceed out the modern glass door.
They looked down upon the medieval town. Rolling green hills were on one side, and the sharp jagged coastline on the other. Fog surrounded them. When the weather was clear, the view would be magnificent. She felt as if she was some ancient queen. “This is your house?”
“Yes.” He traced her backside until she straightened. He sighed and gestured to the thick white clouds. “More fog.” His lips pressed together. “And there are bats here.”
Her heart fluttered. Seriously? “Why do you have bats? You can have them removed, you know.”
A smile curved on his face and he shook his head. “Not in the house. They live in the cave near the sea and I like them.”
Well, a cave wasn’t that bad. She glanced around and could only imagine the place was even more glorious in the sunshine. “You do?”
He explained in a deep voice, “The bats warn anyone who travels on the sea road to the nature of Montelino Bay.”
A huge laugh escaped from her as she looked at him. His face turned red like maybe he was teasing her. She fixed his shirt collar. “Well, I’m eager to meet your sister. Where is she?”
They walked inside as mist began to fall that would soon be drops of rain. “We’ll find her around somewhere when I show you the house. But I wanted you to see our bedroom first.”
A place where she wouldn't meet Olivia, she thought, as she headed toward a gold couch with blue trim in a sitting area of the room. Did he not want her to meet his sister? She sank down. “I like your idea. Question first: I’ve read a few fairy tales in my day, so I’m wondering if there is a forbidden part of the house?”
He slumped into the seat beside her like a physical toll had been taken on his body. “Would you respect that if there were?”
Did he think so poorly of her? She scooted her knees closer to him. “Yes, if there was a good reason.”
He caressed her thigh. “There isn’t any room forbidden to you. But if you don’t want to hear the stories ofthatroom, don’t ask.”
Was he referring to his parents? “Was this where your parents…?”
“No. That was the library.”
No wonder he'd raced by without pointing it out to her. Her heart beat wildly but she didn’t want to let on as she said, “I don’t scare easy. I’m also not a fool, Astorre. I meant what I said earlier that Max and men like him are mostly just bothersome. I’d never be in love with any guy who wears his collar up.”
His eyes widened like she’d just shot him with an arrow. “Seriously?”
She leaned closer. “Yeah, it’s like Bad Guy Look, 101.”
He nodded like he’d take that lesson to heart. “I’ll remember that.”
In almost every movie with a bad guy, if he had a collar, he wore it high. As far as she could tell in life, it was an apt way of pointing out a jerk too. “You dress too nice to ever worry about it.”
He kissed her hand. “If my collar ever goes high, please fix it. I don’t want my wife to start thinking bad about me.”
“Good to know.” She laughed but then he trailed his lips from her hand to her wrist, then to her elbow. Her body grew warm.
Maybe one more time before they met anyone else would be great. The Astorre she'd married wasn’t anything like the man who'd showed her around for weeks. He was sexier, kinder, and sweeter than he’d been before. Maybe together, they really did have that shot at happiness.
