The One You Chose [ON HOLD]

Chapter 15

RECAP:

"I'm sorry," I whispered softly. "I didn't want to spoil tonight for you..."

Another gentle kiss to the lips shut me up. “Sleep well, darling.” He slipped his arm under my neck and hugged me closer. I kissed him back gratefully before snuggling up to him.

 Everything would be alright.

 I hope.

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CHAPTER 15

Ian was absolutely gleeful when he found out about Alric and me. True, it was all thanks to my big mouth but I was kind of hoping he wouldn’t find out about it in a long long time. With him rubbing it in our faces, Alric and I might get even more awkward.

I let the big fish slip when we were just about to depart for our so-called mission. I was a wreck that day. What happened between Alric and me the previous night made me feel so… embarrassed. I couldn’t look him in the eye and I would jump every time his skin brushed against mine. But at the same time, all I wanted to do was for him to shower me with attention and maybe even steal a kiss or two.

I was so preoccupied with my thoughts that my boot slipped as I mounted Karon. I let out a yelp of surprise before closing my eyes and wait for the incoming pain. It never came. Instead, I fell right into Alric’s ever-present arms. I suddenly found myself lost in his pair of molten emeralds. “Thanks,” I managed to stutter without breaking eye contact. I could stare at his eyes all day.

“You’re welcome,” he replied coolly, as a smirk played along his lips. Then he whispered, “You may want to let go now, darling. You’re getting pretty heavy.”

Mildly insulted, I unwrapped my arms around his neck. “Funny. You didn’t seem to think I was heavy when you carried me all the way to your room last night,” I snorted and began to climb my horse again. The sudden silence made me freeze in my tracks.

Cussing under my breath as I realized my stupidity, I turned around ever so slowly. As I expected, Ian was grinning like an absolute idiot. Dammit. “What I meant was…erm…” I struggled to come up with something to save my sorry butt.

Ian strolled to my side and casually wrapped his arm around my shoulder. “So, Alric’s bedroom, eh?” he said coyly. His eyebrows jumped up and down suggestively and I felt the blood rush up to my cheeks. Of course, it only made the nincompoop’s eyes grow wider with excitement. “You’re blushing,” he smirked.

“It’s not what you think!” I spluttered. I glanced at Alric for back-up. So did Ian.

“Well?” Ian demanded.

Alric coolly ran a hand through his hair. “Don’t make a big deal out of it, Ian,” he replied. I gave the nosey fox a triumphant look.

“Ha! You see? I told you we—“ I began.

“We just had a bit of fun, that’s all,” Alric added with equal nonchalance as he mounted his steed. My jaw dropped in the middle of my gloating. When I saw the smugness in Ian’s eyes, I shot Alric a murderous look. The man just chuckled and shrugged his shoulders.

“Oh, go crawl into a pit and rot,” I snarled at the both of them. I mounted Karon and rode on without the troublesome pair.

*****

“Remind me again why we didn’t take the path to the clearing?” I asked miserably as I ducked another low branch. Karon gave a short snort as if to agree with my question. We had been travelling in the thick uncharted forests located at the north of the castle. At first the environment was pretty pleasant: trees of different kinds, each with its own variety of colorful berries and small, furry inhabitants. How that pleasant sight slowly morphed into a dark and eerie forest that was so dense I could barely make out sunlight, I will never know.