My Wife, My Rules – 16. chapter

Tess dressed before the mirror, checking her overall appearance. Aiden stepped behind her, rested his hands on her shoulders, and pressed a gentle kiss to her neck.

“How do you feel?” he asked, checking on her.

“Very well,” she smiled that beautiful smile of hers.

“Nothing hurts?”

“No. I’m fine,” she repeated patiently, for the umpteenth time already.

“How fine exactly?” he asked. “Would you like to go for a walk?”

“We can,” she nodded. “It’s beautiful outside.”

He watched her in the mirror.

There could not be no feeling behind a look like that, he thought. Then he turned, brought Tess a light cloak, and draped it over her shoulders.

“I want to show you something,” he said softly. His gaze was thoughtful and unusually tender. He crossed to the bookcase. Tess turned toward him. Aiden knelt before the wall, carefully slid the lower row of books aside, and found an almost invisible catch with his fingers. A quiet click. Tess grew alert, but waited. Half the shelf shifted with a creak, revealing a narrow entrance into darkness beyond the wall.

“Don’t be afraid. There is light there,” he whispered, seeing her surprise. He went first, reached for a lantern hanging from a hook inside, and lit it. Golden light spread over stone walls. The air was cool and damp like a cellar, yet carried something calming. The tunnel was higher than she expected. She could stand upright. The walls were dressed stone, here and there veiled with moss. Her steps echoed in a hollow whisper. Ahead, she heard Aiden speak.

“This tunnel was here long before I was born. It once led to an old storehouse at the edge of the property. No one uses it now. Only me.”

After a few meters he stopped and pointed to a small side alcove. “There’s an exit to the stables,” he said. A wooden door lay hidden behind an old screen. “You can pass through unnoticed. If you go with a horse, though, you must cross the yard afterward. The tunnel is too narrow.”

Tess nodded, awed and delighted. She took in every detail, the drops of water sliding down the wall, the scent of damp earth, the cold breath of air brushing her ankles like a quiet spirit. Soon the tunnel began to rise slowly. The light ahead was not sharp, only soft and bluish, daylight filtered through green leaves.

When they stepped out, quiet, untouched nature closed around them. Trees whispered lazily as a light breeze stroked their branches. A stream gleamed in the shimmer of light across the meadow. Its banks were overgrown with wild mint and stunted willows. Water murmured and skipped over stones, small silver pools mirroring the sky.

Tess stopped at the meadow’s edge, transfixed. “It’s…”

“Your new place,” Aiden said quietly. He stood close behind her, hands gliding lightly over her sides without holding her. He was simply there.

Tess smiled, her eyes growing wet. She took a few steps to the water and then straight into it, barely managing to slip off her shoes. She moved slowly, carefully, yet forward. The stream whispered between stones, clean and barely ankle-deep, but so cold it raised gooseflesh at the first touch. She hissed softly and kept going, toes working through pebbles as she tried to grow used to the chill.

Aiden sat a little higher on a fallen trunk, elbows on knees, hands clasped, watching her. He replayed their recent days in his mind and looked at her with love.

Tess glanced back over her shoulder as if she felt his gaze. She stopped mid-current, sunlight caught directly in her hair. Her eyes shone with unmistakable happiness.

“Don’t you want to take off your shoes?” she asked softly.

He smiled. “I prefer to watch.”

She lowered her gaze to her legs, bare to the knees as she held her skirt above them. She waded closer until she stood as near and as directly in front of him as she could.

He smiled, his indulgent, superior smile.

“I’m listening,” he prompted her.

“To what?”

“You want to ask me something. You’re just deciding how.”

She tilted her head. “It’s not that I don’t know how. More what. All right, I’ll split it into two parts. Why am I here only now? And why am I here at all?”

He nodded, glanced past her for a moment to shape the answer.

“It took this long because I am not exactly thrilled by the thought of you moving around outside alone, unprotected. I don’t like imagining you anywhere without me.” He paused. “But this answers the second question as well. I want to give you everything I can so you’ll be happy. Typical feminine gifts are, unfortunately, useless with you. Dresses and jewels burden you. I won’t win you with those.” He gestured to the meadow. “This is how I will win you over.” He breathed out. “And I keep reminding myself how we met. You were alone and you made me work for it. I couldn’t catch you. If I hadn’t caught your interest, if you hadn’t wanted to somewhere inside, I would never have gotten you to the courtyard. I hope you’ll do the same with anyone else, if ever you must.”

She watched him in silence. He was always direct and honest, but she could not recall seeing him this vulnerable. He did not seem troubled by it. He looked at her with his heart open.

“You are not obligated to give me anything,” she said gently.

“I am your husband. I have the right from God to use your body and the duty to see that all your needs and desires are met.” And besides, I love you, by the way.

She took a few steps out of the water until she was close to him. He did not move, remaining with his elbows on his knees, only lifted his head.

“Shall we go?” Tess said. “You have a visit soon.”

She looked down at him and, despite her words, slowly lifted her skirt above her undergarments. He drew a long, steady breath, watching his private gate to paradise now veiled in satin. He smiled and thanked God he had come twice a little while ago. Otherwise she would have had him completely at her mercy. Not that he would have minded. He still could not resist a small threat.

“Do you realize I could take you right here?”

“You think? In this cold?” she teased. “Trying to embarrass yourself?”

He laughed from the heart, and she joined him.

The way back through the tunnel took longer. Tess stopped several times, wanting to study the stone niches, to trail her hand along the rough walls, to pause near the stable door and listen, laughing, to muffled nickers. Aiden let her. He did not hurry her or lead. He simply walked beside her, like a guardian of a treasure. When they returned to the chamber, the sun hung low, bathing the room in warm light.

“Tess,” he began softly as they set aside their coats. She looked at him, and his tone immediately firmed.

“You may go wherever you wish, whenever you wish. You are my wife, not my prisoner. But if you use that passage, I want you home by sunset.” Something unyielding showed in his eyes.

She straightened slightly, as if to speak, but remained silent.

“You must never be alone in the woods after dark. Never.”

His voice was deep and calm. Not a threat. A rule.

Tess only nodded.