AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’ve come to help you dress.”
That’s worse.
Correcting her posture, Ace gave a small smile. “Tell me, Posy, does Rehan require assistance in dressing each day?”Like a child,she added mentally but didn’t speak aloud. This was a good opportunity to learn a little bit more about her husband-to-be.
“Oh.” The gray-haired woman’s dark eyes swept around as if looking for her master to suddenly appear. “Mr. Delmario only needs assistance on the rarest occasion or perhaps with a difficult tie on a frustrating day.”
“Then I wish the same for myself. I will only ask for help with something difficult.” She lifted the pile, the boots hanging from her fingertips. “This seems simple enough. Could you point me to a powder room to change?”
“Yes, Miss Angel Ace.” Posy bowed.
“Just Ace.”
The maid dipped her chin but did not correct herself. Instead, she pointed Ace to the powder room with one short arm.
“Thank you.” Ace tried to keep her head held high to look like a proper lady as she walked calmly into the bathroom. Posy’s attention burned between her shoulder blades with every step.
Why do they look at me like that?She groaned internally.
They know you were re-made by the gods. They recognize your holy fire. You’ll have the best luck with people who truly believe in what you are.Bedesh’s warm friendly voice followed her into the room. While the god of luck always meant well, Ace couldn’t help but feel her skin crawl at the thought of anyone worshiping her in any way.
She closed the door, twisting the lock with a solidclick. Unfocused on the small details of the room that she would ordinarily find quite charming, she slipped from her dirty clothes. Hurriedly, she splashed water across her face, scrubbed at her underarms and other bodily creases. It couldn’t be good to let the two of them have much alone time together.
While she was certain all her secrets were out in the open now, a nervous jitter still vibrated somewhere under her rib cage. What if she walked outside to find Shelby upset again? What if Rehan got upset? She’d been in the middle of enough of her sisters’ bickering growing up that she knew how much she hated the idea of choosing a side. Oh gods, what if she walked outside it and it was an all-out brawl? How was she supposed to get in the middle of two men throwing fists?
The idea sent her shoving her arms and legs into the outfit without much care as to how sloppy it looked on her body. Fabric hung off her, possibly three sizes larger than she ought to wear. Eyes pinned on the door as if it could answer the question of what was happening out there without her, she laced the front of the shirt.
Hadn’t they been alone this morning before she’d made her sudden appearance?
Gods. What had they talked about alone then?
Now her mind spun ideas, each one wilder than the next. Only half lacing the heavy boots, she threw herself out of the powder room, earning herself an audible gasp from Posy as she darted out of the way.
If there had been conversation it stopped completely when Ace catapulted herself right out of Rehan’s home. The front door slammed back on the house, rattling the nearest windows. Momentum carried her forward off the porch, her upper half unable to stop as suddenly as her feet.
“Woah.” Rehan hooked an arm around her waist. “We aren’t inthatbig of a hurry.”
Even without being able to see his face, Ace could sense the smile in his voice. Her back slid against his chest as he pulled her close to him and lowered her safely to the ground.
“No need to throw yourself face-first off his porch. I’ve already seen enough heroics to last a lifetime.” Shelby pulled open the door to a modest coach, painted a deep green to match the forest around them.
Rehan’s grip was firm and steady against her, his body solid and unmoving. She gave his hand a little pat, noticing the little nicks and scars along his knuckles. Straightening her baggy shirt and tucking it into the waist of her pants she stepped out between the two.
“What were you talking about out here?” She hoped she was the image of nonchalance but after another loud—admittedly chaotic—entrance, the sweat that had built in her palms and on her forehead, as well as her panting breaths, she really doubted she looked anything other than crazy.
A furrowed brow look was exchanged between the men before Shelby rolled his eyes. “Literally nothing.” He pointed into the carriage. “Can we leave now?”
“Um, yes.” Frizzing waves poked out around Ace’s face, framing her flushed cheeks. Carefully, she tried to tame it by combing it back with her fingertips and tucking it behind her ears.
Warmth met the small of her back, not near enough to be a touch but close enough she could tell Rehan’s hand was hovering behind her. Probably waiting for her to trip over her own two feet. He’d seen her take much harsher falls.
“You okay?”
She turned her cheek to look toward Rehan and the concern shining in his sunset eyes. “I’m fine. Just eager to get going I suppose.”
Liar,Ramdon whispered. The god of mischief could feel the wildness she was barely tethering back inside of her. Her impulsive nature mixed with these feelings of unease was a flame he was happy to fan.
Queen Ambrose
