“He’s looking this way!” I hiss.
“Oh, forgive me!” Mina sighs, wiping a tear from her eye. “I can’t help it. This is too good!”
“Nothing about this is good!”
“This is good. This is very good for you, Alessia.”
Mina puts her hand on my shoulder, her warm smile halting my racing thoughts in their tracks. The way she looks at me feels more motherly than it does sisterly, even though she’s only five years older than me. Her hazel eyes sparkle with excitement as she takes my hands and squeezes them.
“I think you should go on that date.”
“What? No! I have things to do!” I protest.
Mina folds her arms over her chest, deadpanning. “Alessia, you have no meetings scheduled for this evening. You can attend to any extra work tomorrow. The paperwork will still be there.”
“But—!”
“Ah! No buts! You’re going!” Mina says, wagging her finger at me.
Before I can stop her, she puts her arms on my shoulders, guides me back to the training ring, and plants me in front of Aurelio. I gulp as he stares at me expectantly, his enthusiasm unchanged by my sudden departure.
“Well? Do you have an answer?” Aurelio prompts.
“She does! She’d be happy to go on that date with you,” Mina says.
“Mina!” I yelp.
Ignoring me, Mina puts her arm around my shoulder and asks, “Is there a specific time and place in mind? I can ask the other servants for help setting it up if you need it.”
“All I need are a couple of horses and a basket full of food,” Aurelio replies.
“Perfect! She’ll meet you at the stables in exactly one hour.”
“Wait, Mina—!” I start.
“Bye, Aurelio!” Mina chirps.
Without waiting for Aurelio’s response, she takes me by the hand and drags me upstairs, through the corridors, and into her room, where she tosses me a couple of towels and extra undergarments.
“Go ahead and get washed up! I’ll pick your clothes!”
Once again, not waiting for my reply, Mina hustles out of the room, leaving me alone in the large, relatively empty space. I sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose.
“Just when I thought I had him under control…Leave it to Mina to mess it all up,” I grumble.
I draw a bath and sit glumly in the enchanted waters, pulling my knees up to my chest. I’m not even sore after that battle with Aurelio. I handed his butt to him in two minutes, established my dominance over him, and was about to give him his first order, but he had to go and screw it up by flustering me. I swear he did it on purpose. He knows I’m not interested in anything romantic. This has to be a play at regaining some of the power he’s lost in this relationship.
I won’t let you win. Mina can’t save you forever.
I wash up, my face warmer than the bath water as I recall the way Aurelio looked at me mere moments ago. I’ve never been more attracted to a man in my life, seeing him so totally focused on me. He wasn’t looking at my body, but at my eyes. He got lost in my expression just as I got lost in his. He was at peace, submitting to me in the end, looking up as I held him down.
That shouldn’t have been hot. It should have disgusted me to see him perform so weakly, to submit so easily.
But here I am, wishing he’d look at me like that again, my whole body tingling from excitement at the mere thought of it.
Get a hold of yourself, Alessia!
I shake my head, washing up as fast as I can. Aurelio may be my husband, but I hold no feelings for him in my heart other than pure annoyance. He can play lover boy all he wants, but I see right through him. I know he just wants to lie around and do nothing all his life. He’s trying to one-up me, however he can just to earn a brief reprieve from the responsibilities of noble life. As much as I understand the sentiment, he is in no place to disregard the duties he willingly accepted. I’ve managed them all my life without complaint; the very least he can do is assist me in my daily administrative work.
