Apparently, I'm the Infamous Earl's Legendary Bride

Book 1: A Girl in Another World - Chapter 13

I licked my lips. My face felt hot with embarrassment. Finally, I managed to find my voice, though a bit hoarse, and I said, "Uh, thank you."

He didn't comment and continued walking until we were a good distance away from the corpses of the orcs. I noticed a stallion. "Oh, wow! It's beautiful, that stallion."

"He's mine," the man said.

Close, he plopped me on the saddle and then easily climbed on behind. Reaching over for the reins, he started the beast.

The feeling of having his mighty chest—warm and hard—rubbing against my back was very nice, I had to admit.

I cleared my throat and asked, "Sir, where are you taking me?"

"To clean up," he said. "Your face is covered in dirt and blood."

I widened my eyes in shock. No wonder he was staring at me.

I felt my face flushing even hotter with even more embarrassment. I tried to inconspicuously clean my face, but he noticed and said, "Leave it until we get to a water source. Orc blood can have diseases. It's best to be careful."

Ah, I did not know that. I stopped immediately and wondered how far the waterfall was from here. I wanted to clean myself as soon as possible. Of course, I could always summon my water magic and clean myself, but Mr. Hunky was here, and I couldn't afford to show off my skill.

Feeling the need to make conversation, I asked, "Sir, may I ask for your name?"

"Aldric," he said.

That was it? Just Aldric? No last name? Gosh! He was not a very talkative one, was he?

I said, "I'm Quinn, sir. Quinn Fairchild."

I added my last name because I wanted to encourage him to add his, too. I, however, was sorely disappointed when he said, "These woods are no place for a slight lad like you, Quinn."

Was it just me or did it sound like he was reprimanding me?

"Monsters make the woods their homes. Your mother would have taught you that as a child."

I shifted and turned my head slightly to look at him. My gaze met with his strong jawline. I could see stubble, and boy, I wanted to run my fingers across it and feel the roughness of his facial hair and the warmness of his skin. I shifted my eyes to his lips and licked my own involuntarily in temptation.

I said, "She did, my mother I mean, told me about that." It was a lie, of course. I hadn't been born here, nor had I grown up here. I continued. "I was just exploring, and I suppose I, uh..."

"You're very slight for a boy," he said abruptly. "How old are you?"

"Eighteen, sir," I said.

He snorted. "Eighteen, my backside."

Did he just say my backside?

I turned to look at him again. "I am really eighteen, sir," I said. I'm actually twenty-five on the inside if you must know.

He shifted his gaze to me, and I stared at him. I noted a slight smile broke out as he said, "You're a pipsqueak. My ten-year-old son is almost as big as you are."

I nearly dropped my mouth open, and my heart sank.

Son? He had a son! So, he was already married. Damn! And here I was planning on flirting, and with a man who thought I was no taller than his ten-year-old son at that.

I snapped, "Well, excuse me for being a pipsqueak. Some people are just born small."

"Is that so?" he said.