My Wife, My Rules – 38. chapter

Aiden turned to Tess and felt a strong need to make her relax. For the doctor. For her aching wrists. And most of all because this was on him.

“Lie down,” he ordered gently.

“No,” she refused firmly.

He had forgotten this was a time when she wouldn’t obey him. He couldn’t bind her. That didn’t mean things wouldn’t go as he wanted.

She sat on the bed, or more precisely, on a pillow, knees tucked beneath her chin. Aiden knelt on the mattress directly in front of her and watched her for a moment. Then he reached out, caught her ankles in his hands, and pulled her toward him in one hard motion, so that her legs spread around him while he knelt between her thighs. He placed his palm on her belly and pressed her back into the bed. He slid lower between her legs until his head was level with her pelvis. With his free hand he pushed one thigh aside and held it there, and he laid his weight over the other.

Tess drew a deep breath, sharp, almost irritated. She braced her hands on the mattress as if to scramble back, but he already had her. His weight blocked one leg. His hand held the other firmly apart. And the palm on her belly pinned her exactly where he wanted her.

“Don’t…” she whispered, her voice breaking.

Aiden didn’t answer. He only bent lower and kissed her belly just above the curls. Softly, with such tenderness her throat closed. Then he moved lower. His lips traced her pubic bones, first one side, then the other, as if he were soothing her. He stroked her with his gaze, his breath, the warmth of his face, yet every movement aimed exactly where she didn’t want it.

She felt her sex tighten with a mix of defiance and anticipation. She felt her own wetness too. Unwanted. Betraying. Impossible to stop.

“You know it’s no use resisting me,” he murmured. “Don’t wear yourself out over it.”

Then he touched her. First with his tongue, just the tip, light, almost a suggestion. Tess jerked, tried to roll aside, but the hand on her belly held firm, pressing her to the mattress. He moved his tongue slowly along her, all the way to her most sensitive place. Then he withdrew.

She held her breath. Whimpered again.

“I don’t want this…”

“But I do,” he answered softly as he returned to her. This time deeper, wetter, with heavier breath. Tess tried not to move, but her body failed her. Her hips lifted. Her chest tightened. A disobedient body that had long belonged to him.

With every sweep of his tongue, every slow circle, Aiden knew how close she was. He pressed himself more firmly between her legs, his face buried deep between her thighs, holding her in his hand like something fragile, yet with no chance of escape.

Deliberately, he wasn’t pushing her into orgasm. He was only keeping her from stopping it. He wanted her to feel good for as long as possible. Tess writhed beneath him, caught in a tension she couldn’t control. She twisted gently under his hands, searching for her own rhythm, but each time he took it back from her. He set the pace, the direction, the depth, and the duration. She could only breathe.

“Stop…” her lower lip trembled, but the voice was different now. Not an order at all.

Aiden smiled. He said nothing. Then he went back to her, more thoroughly. Not rougher, but with more weight, more certainty. Until at last her whole body shook and she thrust her pelvis hard into his mouth.

He wasn’t sure how many orgasms she had. He’d stopped counting somehow. But from the first he knew that whenever she said enough, he would obey. He didn’t want to torment her today. That wasn’t his aim. Even so, it was much, much later before he lay beside her, watching contentedly as she rested.

A soft, gentle knock came long after Tess had climbed out of bed. Aiden opened the door only a little, just enough for Mary to see his face.

“Come in,” he said quietly.

She didn’t understand, but she obeyed.

“Mary, you have to promise you won’t scream.”

“You know I’ve never been one for that,” she smiled at him kindly, as she had for decades.

He nodded and stepped aside.

Tess sat on the bed, bare feet on the floor, hair falling to her shoulders. Her eyes were large and dark, fixed on the visitor. When she recognized the kindhearted cook, she let out a breath and smiled faintly.

Mary covered her mouth and stood frozen for several long seconds. Then, very slowly, she stepped forward.

“Oh, dear girl!”

Tess nodded a little, and Mary smiled. Shaken, but sincere.

“I knew there was something not right about that woman! Are you well, dear?”

She frowned at the bandages on Tess’s wrists.

“I am, Mary. Thank you.”

“I knew it. I knew something was wrong. You’re hungry, aren’t you? That’s why I’m here!”

“Yes,” Aiden said. “It’s getting harder to explain to Viktoria why I keep bringing my meals upstairs.”

“I’ll go at once,” the cook said, turning sharply.

“No need now,” Tess stopped her. “We’ve eaten. Perhaps for supper, if you could.”

“All right. And what about something sweet?”

Tess smiled shyly, and Mary was already at the door.

“I’ll be right back!”

Aiden unlocked the door, realized there was no point in locking it, and simply closed it, staying by it. He was right. Mary returned quickly.

She sat beside Tess on the bed, and Tess didn’t mind.

“Tess? I’ll leave you here for a bit,” Aiden said. He had something to arrange. “Mary, I’ll lock the door. Don’t be alarmed.”

He locked the chamber from outside, went down the stairs, crossed the yard to the stables, and found an old storage chest at the back. Heavy. Double. With a lid that only opened halfway. It had long held iron grates and braces once used in ceiling repairs. He knew several still remained.

He opened the chest and pulled one out. A thick, curved iron plate, nearly a yard long, pierced with holes along the sides. It wasn’t heavy. But set crosswise across the corridor, it would brace against both stone walls. That was the point. He took five or six.

He entered the passage. Dark, but he knew it by heart. Only a few steps, then the door that led into their chamber. Tess’s secret path to the outdoors. He had to make it impassable.

Slowly, steadily, without hesitation, he wedged the iron braces across the narrow passage, one above another. No way to crawl under. No way to climb over. Each was pressed between stone and wall, into its niche. They all held. Firm. Silent. Effortless.

From inside, Tess could reach only as far as the library opening. Nothing more. So even if he couldn’t bind her, she wouldn’t escape.

When he finished, he stepped back and checked every point of pressure.

Even if she tried to pull them out, she wouldn’t manage it. She didn’t have the strength. Not even with a tool.

He turned and went back the same way, leaving the stone walls behind him. The iron stayed where it belonged.

When he returned to the chamber, Mary sat on a chair and Tess on the bed. They were talking about sweet bread, vanilla, and other things that didn’t trouble him at all. He smiled, though he knew Tess would soon learn what he’d done.

I had to, kitty. But it won’t be for long.

Aiden walked Mary back to the kitchen. He deliberately left Tess alone and unbound. He gave it only a few minutes, knowing she’d seize the chance at once. Then he quietly opened the chamber door again and closed it behind him.

Tess stood before the slid aside library panel, staring at the iron plates without moving. Her arms hung loose at her sides, and beneath both of them, several pieces of clothing lay on the floor. She had clearly only snatched them up in haste when she’d rushed to the library.

Aiden quietly settled his hips against a piece of furniture directly behind her, crossing his ankles, hands tucked into his trouser pockets. He waited. Long minutes passed before she finally turned and saw him. She looked at him without any emotion on her face. He met her gaze, steady and direct.

“I can’t bind you, but you won’t run from me,” he said firmly. “Can you steal the door key from me at night? Be my guest. Walk out the main entrance if you wish. Pass through the many servants constantly moving through the house. Maybe no one will notice. Maybe Viktoria won’t learn of you.”

She pressed her lips together in anger.

“Tess, in this whole world there’s only one person who can take you from me,” he softened his tone a little. “You. If you ever stop loving me… if I learn you truly don’t want me, I’ll let you go wherever you wish. We’ll buy you a house anywhere you like. You’ll arrange it as you please. You’ll always have unlimited access to money. Everything you need. But until then…”

He stepped closer, slid a hand into her hair, and kissed her.

“While you love me, no crazy woman will take you from me. No one else either. For now, you’re still mine.”

Tess didn’t resist, but she didn’t exactly cooperate either. He didn’t mind. He needed to go to his study and send a letter. Not that he didn’t enjoy raping his wife, but by now he wanted his obedient kitty back.