My Wife, My Rules – 1. chapter

“Hello!”

A woman’s voice cut through the silence like a drop striking still water.

Aiden startled. He had been sitting on the crumbling wall of an old stone ruin, surrounded by a dense, fragrant forest that whispered only with the wind and the occasional crack of branches beneath small creatures moving unseen. He had walked for over an hour to reach the place. The path had been overgrown with grasses and moss, and deserted. He had already accepted that he would meet no one that day, and for that very reason the voice struck him like lightning from a clear sky.

He sprang to his feet and turned sharply toward where he thought the voice had come from.

Nothing. Only broken walls, a carpet of fallen leaves, and the long shadows of trees slowly lengthening.

“Hello!” he called, more cautiously.

“What are you doing here?”

The question carried innocent curiosity, yet proved beyond doubt that he had not imagined it. Someone was there. Even though he still saw no one.

He glanced at the small notebook resting in his hand, his fingers stiffening around it for a moment.

“Um…” He looked at the notebook in his hands.

“I’m taking notes,” he said, lifting his eyes to the worn stone walls.

“About what?”

The voice sounded closer this time, and yet she remained unseen. He turned quickly, but again found only cold, silent stone.

“About the places I’m getting to know,” he explained.

“And which ones have you gotten to know?”

The voice now seemed farther away. Or nearer. He had the sense that it was moving. That she was moving. His eyes searched for any sign of motion, a shadow, a silhouette. Nothing.

“There is a beautiful forest here,” he began slowly. “Unusual plants. A peculiar calm. And this place…” He gestured in a wide arc. “It has its own charm. Gentle. Unassuming. Like someone whispering into your ear so softly you are not sure you truly heard it.”

“It does,” she agreed, her tone soft.

“Would you come down to me?” he asked, with a slight smile.

“No,” she replied simply.

“All right.”

He nodded and moved carefully over the broken stones toward where the voice had last sounded. In some places, he could climb higher.

“And what would you like, then?” he called when he reached a height where someone might have been standing.

He caught a glimpse of a dress hem slipping behind the wall, but when he got there, there was nothing.

“Damn it,” he growled, and somewhere above him a ringing laugh sounded. Cool as mountain water, yet sparkling with cheek.

He climbed back down, his heart beating faster now, tension fluttering low in his belly. He knew the lady was watching him, but he had no idea from where.

“Do you think it’s a good idea to toy with me like this?” he called into the empty air.

“Why not?”

“Hm. I might catch you.”

That laugh again. Provocative. Lovely.

“You think so? And what then?”

He would have liked to threaten her a little, but instinctive gallantry restrained him.

“Well… you are not mine. There is very little I could do to you without your permission,” he admitted, reluctantly.

“So if I were yours, you would no longer need permission?” she asked.

In an instant, Aiden imagined how, if she were his lawful wife, he would hold her hands firmly for such insolent teasing and rape her hard.

“Not always,” he answered instead, choosing a more conciliatory reply while forcing the arousing image of sweet revenge from his mind.

“In any case,” the girl continued more matter-of-factly, “neither of those possibilities concerns you now.”

While he was filled with fire, she remained only a voice. But the sound of her footsteps came very near. He focused. Perhaps now. Perhaps he could get ahead of her. He climbed again to where her voice had just been. But when he got there, nothing. And from several yards away came her mocking laugh:

“Missed!”

He cursed under his breath again.

“You are nimble as a cat!” he shouted.

“Or perhaps you are simply clumsy!” she shot back, and her voice was pure mockery.

The insult made him clench his teeth and drive the depraved fantasies of punishment from his head.

“You could probably use a good spanking!”

“You can keep dreaming about that!”

His already half-hard dick had to agree painfully with her opinion. He could do nothing. He could not even catch a glimpse of her.

“Will you at least tell me your name?” he asked, trying not to sound defeated.

She left him waiting for a moment before answering.

“Tess.”

“A pleasure, Tess. I am Aiden,” he said, bowing, though no one stood before him. He knew she was watching.

“Take care, Aiden,” she said, and in the next moment there was only the distant rustle of footsteps retreating among the trees.

“No, no, no!” he shouted. “Stay!”