Chapter 8

CHAPTER EIGHT

S elina was happy to be outside.

Although the picnic had also been outdoors, there was far too much involved for her to enjoy it as she wished. There had just been too much noise, too many people, and… Aaron .

He was here as well, now, but they had slipped into an easy silence that she appreciated. She didn’t feel like fighting him today, and he felt the same way about her by the looks of things.

She only wished to understand the motivations behind his actions lately. Even if it was for the sake of their bet, she couldn’t understand how he found the time to pursue her with the interest of seducing her at every chance he got.

It irked her to no end how he believed that, eventually, she would fall for him.

Selina swore every moment she could that she would not, but it seemed that the price she had to pay was the Duke’s permanent residence in her mind.

“Shall we split up here?” Samuel suggested as they came to a divided path in the woods at the edge of his estate.

The men agreed, most of them picking the path that led straight down or right as it seemed that the trees were spaced out more on those sides, and they could easily spot their prey.

Selina could hear water running along the path on the right, and she knew it was likely that some animals had gathered around the water source for a drink. She looked around for someone to accompany her, a little disappointed when she noticed Isaac already heading off with a group of men.

She had hoped they could grow closer on the hunt, but he seemed occupied with the men and hadn’t glanced at her since they had set off.

With a sigh, she marched off on her own in a different direction than all the other men had gone. The trees on this side were in close clusters, providing her with an excellent shield from the sight of her prey. Selina advanced quietly, lowering her gaze to spot any footprints that might belong to any animals.

It only took a few minutes before she spotted wide hoof-prints in the dirt, telling her that a wild boar was nearby.

Excitedly, she followed the trail, soon arriving at an opening with a boar grazing right in the middle. Selina could hardly believe her luck as she had not hunted for quite some time now due to her father’s poor health.

“I need to get closer,” she mumbled to herself as she advanced forward.

In her excitement, she had forgotten to be weary of her footsteps and accidentally stepped on a twig. The sound seemed to echo in the trees, and the grazing animal stopped with a harsh snort, looking up to find Selina almost immediately.

She quickly took aim and fired but missed, panic filling her veins as she turned around and ran as fast as she could. It was hard, navigating through the unfamiliar woods, but she did her best to move quickly, taking cover behind a tree when she had put enough distance between herself and the animal.

Selina did her best not to make any noise this time as she breathed deeply, nervous as the beast slowed down slightly, its snorts premating the quiet air around them.

Please, Selina prayed, pressing her hands over her mouth as she squeezed her eyes shut. Please, God, let it just —

“Over here, you ugly brute!”

Selina’s eyes darted open at the sound of the familiar voice, and her heart seemed to beat even faster when the boar snorted angrily and turned around to chase whoever had caught its attention.

Slowly, she peered around the tree, her heart sinking as she confirmed her worst fears.

Aaron had called the boar to him and was now fleeing as the angry animal charged at him. With astounding agility, the Duke climbed up a tree, out of the boar’s reach. It clearly infuriated the boar, causing it to charge at the tree a few times.

Aaron held on as tightly as he could, and thankfully, the failed attempts to dislodge him from the tree inspired the boar to seek trouble elsewhere. It wandered off with a huff, and Selina waited until he was out of sight before approaching the tree Aaron was in.

Before she could speak, he shot a question at her as he climbed down.

“Are you insane?”

She rolled her eyes. “I had it under control.”

“Of course, you did. Was that before or after it nearly trampled you down?”

Selina’s lips parted to retort, but a gasp ripped out of her throat instead as Aaron lost his footing and fell down the rest of the way.

“Oh my — Your Grace? Are you all right?” she ran to his side quickly.

A groan in response was what she received from Aaron, who rolled over onto his back and breathed heavily.

“Do… you ever stay out of trouble?” he winced as he slowly sat up.

“You were the one who followed me,” she all but whined, her eyes flitting over him in concern. “And how did you even find me? Were you following me this whole time?”

“Of course,” Aaron coughed slightly. “I know firsthand just how good you are at hunting, and no one else would have been able to keep up with you, regardless. Someone had to keep an eye on you.”

He rubbed at a spot on his torso and winced, his pained expression filling Selina with guilt.

“But… why?”

Selina knew that although they had a few civil moments, Aaron disliked her intensely — perhaps just as much as she disliked him. So… why would he go this far to ensure her well-being?

Why would he put himself in harm’s way for her safety?

“Like it or not, you are my responsibility, Lady Selina. And I take my responsibilities seriously. Every single one of them,” he replied, still experimentally running his fingers over his midsection, seemingly to determine the location of his injuries.

His tone made her feel as though she should have expected as much. However, it was still genuinely unexpected and heroic for him to put himself in danger on her behalf simply because her brother-in-law asked him to look after her.

“It goes without saying — what you did was incredibly reckless. If I hadn’t been here to draw the beast’s attention, he would have inevitably sniffed you out, and you would have been stomped to death. I know that I have made some… judgmental remarks about your decision-making habits, but I really need you to start making smarter choices,” he scolded her gruffly, finally attempting to rise off the ground.

Selina couldn’t bear to watch him struggle, so she held her hands out for him.

“Let me,” she mumbled, refusing to look right at him.

Aaron was silent for a moment then his hands closed around hers, warm and large, and she pulled him up to his feet, ignoring how his touch caused heat to spread through her body.

He tried to pull away as soon as he gained balance on his feet, but she shook her head, pressing herself close to him as she wrapped an arm around his waist.

“You can lean against me. At least until we get back to the estate.”

She expected him to argue, to bring up how improper it was for them to be this close. Still, it would seem the situation deemed it acceptable — at least by his standards — and he begrudgingly agreed.

The walk back to the estate was excruciating because neither of them said anything. The silence gave Selina far too much time to focus on every part of his body that was in contact with hers.

She was aware of his slightly pained breathing, irritated by the smudge of dirt across his cheeks that did nothing to dampen his good looks, and saddened by the fact that he had gotten hurt over her recklessness.

But by the time they had returned to the estate, Selina’s emotions were causing turmoil with her. Some servants hurriedly retrieved him from her grasp to take him back to his room, and the butler assured her he would be well taken care of.

She had tried to believe his words but couldn’t help but feel worse with every passing moment. The guilt felt like a weight on her shoulders that increased steadily, and she could not freely interact with anyone else for the rest of the day.

Eventually, she thought that perhaps she might be able to do something to help him.

“Claire?” she called out to the maid assigned to her on her first night.

“Yes, My Lady?” The younger girl came into the room and curtsied politely.

“Might I have some salve? Something that can soothe wounds and ease pain?” Selina asked.

The maid’s brows furrowed in concern. “Are you hurt, My Lady?”

“Oh no, not me. It’s… for a friend.” Selina hastily shook her head.

“Ah,” Clair nodded, reaching into her apron pocket.

She pulled out a small ointment pot and held it to Selina.

“There is a maid — my friend who works in the kitchen — and she is quite clumsy, so I always have some salve on me to treat her injuries. That is a fresh pot I just refilled.”

Selina sighed in relief, holding it close to her chest gratefully.

“Thank you!”

It was easy to sneakily make her way to Aaron’s room as the guests had distracted themselves with a riveting game of cards, and those who weren’t playing had gathered to watch instead. This meant the hallways were clear, and in minutes, Selina arrived.

Not wanting to be spotted, she entered quickly without knocking, startling Aaron.

“Who’s there? Don’t you know how to… Lady Selina? What are you doing here?” He stared at her in surprise. “It is highly improper to enter a man’s room like this. I really hope you do not make a habit out of —”

“Thank you,” she cut in. “For saving me earlier. Although I’m sure you will later claim that you wished you hadn’t because that is the sort of wishy-washy person that you are — I am still… thankful. Grateful. Thank you.”

“I must have hit my head when I fell because this must be a hallucination. I never would have guessed that you were capable of expressing gratitude, Lady Selina.” He smirked at her.

She rolled her eyes and stepped forward to drop the salve on his nightstand.

“Yes, well, I am full of surprises. You should rub that over your wounds. I’ve heard it works wonders,” she stated flatly and turned to leave.

“You should do it.”

Against her better judgment, Selina stopped and turned back to face him.

“I beg your pardon?”

“I won’t be able to do it myself as I am quite hurt, you see. So it would be greatly appreciated if you helped me apply it,” he told her.

Odd , she thought, he seemed fine when I walked in moments ago.

But he had saved her life, so she did owe him.

“All right, fine. Where were you hurt?” she inquired.

He gingerly rested his hand on a spot on his lower torso, and she belatedly realized that he would have to remove his shirt, so she could apply the salve.

Swallowing hard, she gestured to him to lift his shirt, unsurprised when he shook his head.

“My wrist hurt a bit after I fell, so you will have to do it yourself,” he stated, his tone suspiciously light to be innocent.

Cursing in her head, she undid the buttons of his shirt slowly, distracted by how fit he looked and felt beneath the fabric.

There was a light dusting of dark hair across his chest, but the skin of his torso and stomach were perfectly smooth. His muscles looked as though they were carved from stone, and her fingers itched to run along the groves and dips of them.

“Do you like what you see?”

Her eyes snapped to his, and she pulled her hands off his now-open shirt.

“It’s nothing special enough for me to be interested in,” she scowled, twisting open the lid of the ointment pot.

“If you say so,” he shrugged off his shirt and tossed it aside. “However, that pretty blush spreading across your cheeks says otherwise.”

Selina bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself from retorting. She dipped two fingers into the salve and carefully applied them to the bruise on his side.

Being this close to him brought memories of the way he had snuck her away and pleasured her the day before, and it made her nervous as she was still unable to make heads or tails of what that meant.

It had taken more strength than she thought she’d had to hold a civil conversation with him earlier that day — or at least civil by their standards. And now, he was here, without a shirt, smirking at her as she tended to his wound. The heat of his skin beneath her fingers seemed to spread to her own body, slowly snuffing out the breath in her lungs and consuming the thoughts in her head.

“Your fingers are shaking.”

Selina paused, pulling her hand away from his skin.

“I think that’s enough —”

“Are you nervous, Selina?”

There it was again. The way he said her name rendered her helpless beneath his sharp gaze.

She tried to inhale, but it seemed as though her lungs were full of holes, and air kept spilling out no matter how hard she tried to keep breathing.

Then his hands pulled her closer to him, and the unrest within her mind quieted.

“Relax,” he murmured, leaning in so close their noses brushed. “It’s only me.”

“That’s the problem,” she whispered back to him.

“Is that so?”

His fingers came up to trace the line of her jaw, lightly holding her in place as he smirked at her.

“You are truly precious,” he muttered quietly.

And just as she thought he would kiss her — began to hope he would do so, even — he lowered his hands and leaned back.

“Thank you for your concern, Lady Selina. You may return to your room now,” Aaron said suddenly, his tone oddly strained.

Selina felt a wave of disappointment wash over her, followed by embarrassment. Quickly, she rose to her feet with a curt nod.

“Right. Of course. I – thank you, again, Your Grace. I do hope you feel better soon,” she blurted, turning away to walk to the door.

A part of her wished he could call her name again, not wanting to leave.

But silence followed her all the way to the door and then out of it, causing her cheeks to burn with humiliation as she returned back to her room.