Chapter 5

Andrew

Fuck.

Of all the times for Fergus to actually take an interest in things, now is when he chooses to do so?

That man is a thorn in my damned side.

I’m buttoning up my pants and hauling my shirt back on, all the while trying to be as quiet as possible; I don’t want to give Fergus any reason to quicken his pace.

I glance over at Ash, and the poor girl is terrified. She’s got a look of panic on her face as she’s fumbling with her clothes, her hands shaking and barely able to get herself back to rights.

I give her a warm smile as I take one of her hands into my own and help her back into her dress, whispering to her.

“Shhh, it’ll be all right, princess,” I say as I lace her up, “we’ve still got a moment or two, and we’re almost done.”

I brush my thumb against her cheek softly as I tuck a few stray locks from her face behind her ear, kissing the top of her head.

“What the hell do we say we were doing when he gets here?” she hisses quietly, looking around. “We’re alone in the woods and sweaty!”

I give her a confident smile and shake my head, adjusting her neckline for her as she smooths her hair.

“Don’t worry,” I coo. “I’ve got it covered. We’re alone in the forest because you mentioned wanting to go for a walk. I wouldn’t be much of a man if I let a lady walk alone in the woods, would I?”

“I suppose not…”

“And,” I add with a shrug, “it’s a warm day, hot even. We were walking at a brisk pace, talking about the alliance, and worked up a bit of a sweat.”

She nods and goes to stand, but I grab her wrist and keep her in place, to which her eyes widen, and she looks at me like I’ve got three heads.

“Which is why,” I purr, pulling her back down onto the ground with me, “we’re sitting here against the tree; we worked up a sweat with our walk and are taking a much-needed break. I insisted that we stop, so as not to tire you out.”

Not a bad plan of execution, if I do say so myself.

I get Ash back to looking presentable and just manage to smooth my shirt and do up the last button when Fergus comes into view.

He glances at us and looks skeptical and irritated, and I offer him my best fake smile as he approaches.

“Fergus,” I call, ushering him over with a wave of my hand. “We’re over here.”

He stalks over and gives us both a disapproving look, his eyes darting back and forth between us as he speaks.

“And what, pray tell,” he asks with a scowl, “are you two doing out here?”

He looks at Ash and questions her, his eyes wide.

“What are you doing out here with him? Alone? I’ve been looking all over for you.”

I give her a quick nod, and she looks back at Fergus with a smile, her lie spilling from her lips as smooth as honey.

“Oh, I wanted to go for a walk, and Andrew here, offered to escort me, so I wasn’t alone in the woods.”

He looks at me, squinting, not sure if he believes her yet, and she continues to offer an explanation.

“You see, we were discussing the impending alliance, and we got to talking and walking, and before I knew it, I was quite tired—as you can see.”

She gestures to the soft sheen on her skin as she continues; offering her betrothed—ugh—a tired and convincing smile.

“I insisted that we sit down; I got so winded, and I didn’t want to trip and ruin my dress. Although,” she adds as she glances down, “I did snag it a few times on the trees and bushes; I may have to have it tailored a bit.”

Oh, she’s good.

“Yes,” I chime in, shrugging. “You know how these women get; eager to take walks through the woods, but then once they’re in here, they’re all left feet, tripping and nearly ruining their dresses.”

“I see,” he says, seemingly convinced as he sits down with some reservation onto a tree stump across from them, though not without dusting it down first. “Well, I’m glad I found you at least; even if it did take time out of my day to do so.”

He looks at Ash with what seems like annoyance, shaking his head.

“Well, at least you had him to stop you from doing anything stupid.”

Ash looks down into her lap and nods, her cheeks flush with embarrassment.

Did he really just speak to her like that? She’s his future wife, and this is the impression he’s setting for her? What an ass.

I clear my throat and stand, looking at Fergus as I speak.

“Well,” I say, “might as well head back now.”

Fergus nods and stands as well, and then starts to head back in the direction he came, without so much as even offering to help Ash up off of the ground.

He looks back at her and gestures for her to follow, and then starts walking again.

She purses her lips together and goes to stand, and I offer her my hand, helping her up.

Doesn’t even help his fiancé up off of the ground. The bastard.

We catch up with him and much to my dismay; he wants to discuss the alliance.

“You know,” he quips, “it’s a good thing that this whole thing was arranged. Otherwise, I’m not sure what sort of a state you’d be in.”

He looks at Ash.

“Well—” she starts to say, but Fergus cuts her off with a wave of his hand before she can continue speaking.

“Oh, my dear,” he chortles, snickering, “you don’t know the whole story. This is truly beneficial for you and your people. You should be very thankful.”

Is he serious right now? This is the woman that he’s going to marry, and he’s talking down to her like she’s not worthy of him.

I can’t believe how rude he’s being to her, and I can’t, for the life of me, figure out why he would have reason to.

As we make our way through the woods, he and I continue to chat about the incoming marriage and alliance—Ash staying mostly silent—and I realize just how awful this situation is.

Not only does Fergus seem to be disinterested in Ash, but he has absolutely no issue with airing his disdain of her country out in the open.

The way he speaks to her—no, speaks down to her—is definitely not the way a man should speak to his fiancé.

Every now and then, Ash looks over at me longingly, briefly enough that it’s not suspicious, but I’m pretty sure that Fergus notices a few times. I give her an empathetic smile, wishing I could give her some words of comfort.

Fergus is probably not chalking it up too much, given the fact that he’s ignoring it and doesn’t seem at all concerned with the fact that his fiancé is looking at another man.

As we get closer to the forest’s opening, I can tell that Ash is feeling dismal; she’s not as chipper as she was, she’s kept silent, and her gaze is cast downward at her feet as she walks. When Fergus speaks to her and expects an answer from her, she either just nods or mumbles something in response.

My heart aches as we part ways, and her gaze lingers on me, eyes sad and full of defeat.

That bastard doesn’t deserve her. Hell, he doesn’t deserve a woman half as good as her.

She’s beautiful, charming, adventurous, and more captivating than any other woman I’ve met in my life.

As they’re walking away, he catches her looking at me and frowns, taking her wrist in his hand and urging her along, nearly tripping her.

My hands ball up into fists at my side, and I take a deep breath to steady myself and calm my rising temper.

I knew I wanted her, obviously—I wouldn’t have run off into the woods for a quickie with her otherwise. But I’m only now realizing just how much.

Not only for my own selfish reasons, but for her, too. She deserves someone who will cherish her, treat her right, fuck her daily, and make sure she knows just how god damn beautiful she is, and tells her every day.

Fergus isn’t going to do any of that and wouldn’t do it half as well as I could anyway.

I know I shouldn’t be thinking of her this way—she needs to marry him for the alliance, after all.

But I can’t help myself. I want her, and I know she wants me too.

Of all the women I could fall for, it figures I’d pick the one betrothed for a peace alliance.

Way to go Andrew, way to go.