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He gently put a hand at her elbow and Nora stood. After wrapping her hand around his bicep, River gave one last glare around the room and led his female outside.
The further away from the ice cream place they walked, the more Nora relaxed and stared at him. He whispered, "Not here. We can talk once we get home."
She finally nodded and picked up her pace.
River matched it easily and it wasn't long before they were inside the family section of Leo's gaming hell, inside one of the parlors.
Time to talk about his impromptu engagement and what the fuck they were going to do from here.
* * *
Nora hatedhow she'd frozen at Prudence's words. They'd been at school together as young children, and the female had never liked Nora, even before she'd been sold off by her father.
But as upset as she'd been at the vampire's words, it only reinforced what she'd feared since being blooded by River Vale—her past would never fully go away and she wouldn't ever be able to attempt a normal life.
Not even if day by day, she started to want one with a certain fae witch who could make her forget her decade of hell whenever she was with him.
However, the dream of a happy future had been smashed to pieces after today. And as she'd tried desperately not to panic or give in to tears, River had declared they were betrothed and threatened anyone who spoke poorly of her.
She had no idea why he said it, but had merely sat in shock for at least a minute before being herded out the door.
The further they walked from the tea shop, the less she thought about Prudence and the more she wonderedwhyRiver would declare such a thing in public. Surely he knew Leo would hear of it, and most likely force them to wed.
And while the idea of being married to River wasn't entirely unpleasant, she didn't think he really wanted her. Damaged, afraid of intimacy, and barely able to walk outside—what male in his right mind would marry her?
As soon as River shut the door to the first empty room they came across inside Leo's building, he turned toward her and she blurted, "Why did you say we were betrothed?"
Running a hand through his hair, he sighed. "I don't know. I wanted to protect you, and given how things work in this time, declaring we were engaged seemed to give me more power to do it. Was I wrong?"
She shook her head. "No, females are still, mostly, considered property under the law. But I don't think you fully understand what you've done."
Releasing his hair, he took a step toward her. "Well, maybe this is the best way to do things."
She searched his gaze. "I don't understand."
He paced to the fireplace and back again. "I'm your fated lord, right?"
"Yes, but—"
"Just hear me out, okay? And then I'll sit and listen to whatever you have to say, let you slap me, whatever, but I just need to get this out."
Nora nodded slowly. "All right."
"I have this deep-seated need to protect you, to help you, to try and make you smile and laugh. I don't really understand it at all. I mean, fuck, fae witches don't have fated ones. And yet, I can't seem to resist it, resist you." He took a step closer to her. "Plus after what that bitch said today, it reminded me of something Khan had offered to me earlier—a way to help you."
Nora frowned, unsure of why a fae witch Dark Lord would think of her. "Help me?"
"Yeah. If we're married, we could live together in the fae witch territory. And he said something about shorter lifespans, or not listening to gossip, or some shit like that. But it boiled down to you having a fresh start." He reached out to take her hand and she let him. "And after that harpy tried to shame you, it was all I could think about—marrying you to protect you. It was stupid, I know that. And maybe I'm going to regret being a fucking white knight one day. But to break off the engagement now will put more damn shame and gossip focused on you, won't it?"
She glanced away. "Yes."
He tightened his grip on her hand and Nora met his eyes again. "Then how about this—we can marry to protect you and move to the fae witch area. I mean, I know it sounds crazy, but my sisters made me watch a movie about some chick being engaged to a guy so she could get a visa back when I was a teenager. This is kind of like that, a marriage of convenience, so I don't think it's unheard of."
Nora simply stared. It sounded too good to be true—a male wanting to protect her by giving her a new beginning in a different territory. A marriage of convenience she wouldn't dread, with a male who seemed to bring out new sides of herself on a daily basis.
And yet, that part of her that felt dirty, and unworthy, and ashamed wouldn't quiet down. Breaking the engagement would make things even worse and Nora would probably have to move to the country to have any sort of freedom again, which she really didn't want to do. And yet, such an understanding, handsome, good male deserved so much better than her.
Someone who could walk down the street with him, do more than kiss him, maybe even love him.
