My Wife, My Rules – 9. chapter

First time here? Start with Chapter 1.

The following days passed in strained silence. Tess took to sitting in a chair with a book, sinking deep into its pages, yet every time Aiden so much as rose or passed nearby, she startled like a frightened little bird. She would lie down only once he pretended to be asleep. Though he never once tried to touch her, his mere presence stirred tremors of anxiety within her. Her gaze fled from him, her body pressed to the very edge of the mattress, taut as a drawn string.

And Aiden, though he did not pressure her, counted in his mind how many more evenings he could endure lying beside her. Mornings when he woke with a hard dick and breath held only by force of will. No touch. No kiss. Only heat hardening in his groin and tension spilling into his loins each night like a punishment.

The scream that split the silence of the house that day was one Aiden recognized at once. Tess. In that single syllable was fear so sharp it stopped his heart. He had just returned home. Without hesitation he ran upstairs, taking the steps two at a time. His head roared. The rest of the world fell silent. He burst through the bedchamber door so hard it struck the wall. Tess was not in sight.

He ran on into the small chamber beyond. The sight nearly knocked him back.

Tess stood surrounded by four women. Each held some part of her clothing. Her blouse was unfastened, or rather torn open, and her skirt pulled down to mid-thigh. Her eyes were wide with terror, her body rigid, as though poised either to flee or to collapse.

“Enough!!” he roared.

His voice came out of his throat raw and unforgiving. His breath came fast, his hands pulsing with restrained fury. The maids fell silent at once and withdrew their hands. His wife turned a panicked gaze to him, and it changed instantly into something near reverence. Relief and fear warred within her gaze, as though someone had finally come, yet she did not know what would follow.

“What the hell is going on here?!” Aiden demanded.

His voice cracked with strain. Tess said nothing. She only breathed hard and slowly drew the edges of her blouse back over her chest, covered now only by thin underlinen. Her fingers shook.

“The young mistress refuses to be undressed,” Eloise answered in an accusing, complaining tone. She was the older head housekeeper.

Her tone was irritated, contemptuous. Aiden’s eyes widened.

“Are you out of your minds?!!”

The air thickened. Tess seemed far away, one hand pressed to her chest as though trying to stop her heart from forcing its way through her ribs. Her breathing was short, broken, as though she were drowning.

“She is the lady of this house. If she does NOT WANT something, then she does NOT WANT IT!”

He sounded like someone who had just tried to turn the world upside down. His voice cracked like a whip. Tess looked at him, something childlike and wounded in her eyes. But Aiden’s gaze was fixed on Eloise.

“But she must bathe! The water is ready!” the woman argued.

Only then did it strike him. To fill the tub in the back chamber, the maids must have passed through this room countless times. Through her room. Around her. Every step, every stranger’s gaze must have been torment for Tess.

Aiden clenched his jaw so hard his teeth ground under the pressure.

“Enough!! Out!” he ordered angrily.

The women moved toward the door as he added,

“No one will ever touch my wife again unless she herself wishes it.”

His voice allowed no defiance. The words hung in the air like law.

The women paused, then hurried on.

“Is that clear?!” he roared even louder.

“Yes, my lord,” they answered at last and vanished. There was no need to tell them to close the door.

The silence that followed spread like oil across the floor. Thick. Unpleasant. Taut.

Aiden turned back to his terrified wife. Tears stood in her eyes but would not fall. She was like a broken statue, beautiful but fragile, with cracks no one saw until it shattered.

“Easy, kitty,” he whispered in that familiar tone of his.

It carried a soft, soothing promise of safety. Tess barely reacted, only stared at him and breathed hard.

“They are gone. Easy.”

The words he repeated were for her. For reassurance. For grounding. As though he spoke them directly into her soul.

“It is only me now. All is well. You are only with me. Safe,” he continued quietly.

She did not move, but nodded faintly. His voice was all she could hear, a lifeline pulling her back.

“Shhhhhh,” he whispered, slowly taking a small step toward her.

He was ready for her to flinch. She did not.

“You are safe,” he took another step.

Her body did not resist. She did not take her eyes from him and nodded again.

“I don’t want anyone to touch me. No one. Only you.”

His brows lifted slightly in surprise. Him? Was he allowed? Had she just told him he could touch her?

He smiled, grateful.

“All right,” he agreed softly and stepped all the way up to her.

Still she did not recoil. He took her head and gently rested it against himself.

“I will be the only one to touch you,” he repeated, thrilled by this new permission.

She nodded. He wrapped his other arm around her shoulders. For a moment he allowed himself to savor her closeness, then his gaze drifted to the tub filled with water. The air smelled of lavender soap, now oddly out of place.

“And you truly don’t wish to bathe?” he asked.

She slowly drew her head back and looked at the tub as well.

“Well… I do…”

He nodded.

“All right… Can you manage alone? If you don’t want anyone here.”

“I think so,” she said, stepping back from him.

“Good,” he nodded.

They stood in silence until Tess lifted a questioning look to him.

He returned the exact same look, and then realized.

“I am not leaving you here alone. Get that out of your head at once!” he exclaimed.