Chapter Five: I Dare You

There was no honeymoon, not that I expected one; everything else seems to be at par with the events of my previous life, including that the Alpha did not come home.

By the time I left the courthouse, believe it or not, a few seconds after him, he was already gone, and another car took me to his mansion, to our home—well, to his home.

By assigning a separate driver, he made it clear to everyone in his mansion that he didn’t care about me enough to be the one to introduce me to his staff or give me a tour of his home; I don’t know why he pulled the same disappearing act as last time when our cheap wedding must have made his feelings clear to everyone around.

It’s been three days since our wedding and three days since I last saw him, in the past he stayed away for two weeks and only returned because we needed to attend a gala together, so I guess I’m free for about a week and a half.

Even now, as I walk down the hall bored out of my mind because I am not in charge of anything, as per the Alpha’s request, I can hear some maids giggle and mock me.

It’s still better than home. Here, no one pours cold water on me. They don't talk down to me, well, not to my face, which is fine.

Last time, they grew bolder after his mate Elaine came along. This time, I’ll be long gone by then.

There are a few workers I need to keep my eye on; funnily enough, I don’t remember when Simon became my driver; no one seems to know him now, no matter how much I describe him, meaning he isn’t here yet.

 I need to pay attention to when he comes and who introduces him to work here.

 Aside from that, my heat is in three days; I should have enough toys to tide me over, but isn’t that a little lonely? A newlywed who still uses toys during their heat—Hah, why does that almost sound like a title for a gossip column?

My gaze turns to the large and expansive window in the hallway; I can see beyond the gardens and pool to where a field of horses graze.

I don’t know how to ride them, but the image of wind in my hair and what I imagine freedom at my fingertips feels like beams too clear to ignore.

I want to learn.

The door beside me opens abruptly, jostling me before a familiar scent floods my nostrils.

“P-parker?”

I ask, and the brown-eyed gentleman next to the butler lifts his gaze to me.

“Ruby.”

He breathes my name, and the butler's expression towards the man turns to a deathly glare.

"The lady of the house is Mrs Clive to you, Mr Gerret."

Parker Gerret, my first crush in the academy and a man whose existence I ignored in the past because he was proof of how bitter it would taste to love someone like me.

"Ah, I beg your pardo-"

“Just Ruby is fine.”

I correct almost instantly, interrupting him and earning the butler’s glare.

I am no longer looking for love from anyone but my true mate, so I don’t need to ignore him this time.

“It’s been ages. Do you have time to sit down, maybe eat with me? It is lunchtime?”

His frown is telling. Then again, our story’s ending was tragic.

“Are you certain? I don’t want you to have to feign politeness just because I am your husband’s accountant, and we will be seeing each other often.”

“I am certain.”

I clarify before turning to the butler.

“Have the kitchens serve whatever they have prepared in the private dining room. Also, tell the people in charge of the stables that I will visit tomorrow; they should prepare their friendliest horse.”

The butler nods, guides us to the dining area then vanishes to take care of the tasks I laid out.

“You know how to ride a horse?”

His question comes as soon as we settle in the privacy of the blue and small dining room; anyone can tell it is aimed at politeness.

Instead of answering, I watch him fiddle with his fingers.

He still has the worst poker face, perhaps why, as a teenager, I was drawn to him; there were too many scheming adults for him not to shine in my eyes.

 "Can...am I allowed to say that I am sorry?"

He asks, finally cracking under the pressure of the silence my lack of response presented.

"Why are you apologising?"

I ask as I lean on my chair.

"I--I had no choice but to take the money your mother offered. I was just the kid of a janitor; that’s the only-"

"Parker, I am not mad at you. I understand how my mother is. I mean, then, it hurt that my boyfriend chose millions over me, but I get it now. My boyfriend was a financial genius."

He winces at my praise.

Our story was a tragic cliché. He was my first crush—looking back; perhaps he wasn’t even that; he was just the first one who was kind to me without an ulterior motive. So, of course, I was drawn to him. But I was a Clive, and he was the janitor’s son who got into an elite school via scholarship.

“It was hard for me too, Ruby. Especially after-”

“You were a virgin too; I mean, unless you lied to me?”

“No, I was one. You were my first.”

He reaffirms.

“And I was yours, so...our parting was hard on both of us, don’t apologise anymore. Let us start afresh!”

His hand moves over his chest before he slumps over.

"Thank you."

He says the words as if my careless ‘let us start afresh’ have cleared him of a burden that weighed heavy on him.

Like most teenagers, we had our first and last night together at prom, but unlike most, rumours circulated. Overnight, I became the school slut and he, the boy who made millions and left the country to study abroad.

The small grudge stemming from my thoughts on ‘why he didn’t choose me’ vanish at the wobble in his ‘thank you’.

Does my forgiveness really mean that much to him?

If so, then I am glad my first time having sex was with him.

A knock sounds on the door, and lunch is served; the meal is quiet, but once the table is cleared and tea is brought to help the meal digest, the conversation continues.

“You are priceless, Ruby. I know Adrian can be a little harsh, but I am glad you are with someone as kind as him.”

Kind?

Wow, even his accountant is allowed to call him by his name.

Just...wow.

“Are you trying to mock me or feign politeness? I am a Clive; the Alpha detests my family. I mean, for God’s sake, you are his accountant. You know how much we spent on the wedding, so where is his kindness? That he didn’t leave me at the altar? That he actually dressed formally for the occasion? That-”

Ah, my voice is growing louder. I do not mean to yell at him.

Embarrassed, I clear my throat before continuing.

“If someone were priceless to you, how would you treat them, Parker?”

My question seems to catch him by surprise. I half expect him to go general and offer a generic evasive answer, but he leans in, pushes his cup of green tea aside and takes my hand.

“I would tell them that they are priceless. I would hold their hand when they let me.”

A flutter finds my belly.

Isn’t he too smooth?

“I would listen to them when they speak and-”

“You must have one lucky lady waiting for you back at home.”

I interrupt.

“I am alone, Ruby. Relationships grew difficult after you.”

The room grows silent after his confession.

I do not want to hear such words from someone who has broken my heart before.

An awkwardness follows when I peel my hand from his to cross them over my chest, but the tenderness of my nipples through the bra makes me wince.

Right...my heat.

Wait, I can spend it with him. The Alpha certainly wouldn’t care.

"Your mother was an equestrian instructor for the academy, right?"

He nods at my question; I do not care whether he can tell I changed the topic.

"You still remember that?"

"I do. Hah…I remember too much.”

I respond with what should be a polite smile; only the lump in my throat makes my voice tremble.

I hate the harrowing tone my voice takes, so I clear my throat to continue.

"I would love it if you could stop by tomorrow and teach me how to ride a horse."

"Wouldn't an actual instructor be more suitable?"

"You know what I am asking, Parker."

His posture shifts, and he leans back more confidently in his seat, an act that would fool anyone, but he has the habit of tapping his feet when he is deep in thought.

"Do you still like me?"

"I like your company. It’s been hard to find someone to talk to. The Alpha makes no secret about how he feels about me, and I want to know how one treats what one deems ‘priceless’."

A stillness follows my response.

“Ruby, he is my employer.”

"He won’t care. Trust me. If anything, he might thank you for taking care of things he would rather not. But at most, he will demand that we are discreet so, no rumours arise from, you know…you teaching me how to ‘ride a horse’. So, are you free tomorrow?”

For a moment, he says nothing before his lips curl into a soft smile.

“I am.”

Mother is right; men are easy.

**

The late afternoon sun is warm but not enough that the chilly wind does not cause me to shudder. The horse I am riding is white with some soft brown patches that add to its beauty.

I envisioned this moment differently—Parker would be seated behind me, his hands around my waist and his pelvis grinding his hard shaft against my back each time the horse moved, but instead, he spent the afternoon teaching me how to ride by walking and leading it.

I thought he was nervous at first, but it’s now four p.m., I doubt that.

"I think we can stop here today, Ruby."

"Yap."

I utter, then throw my leg over the horse to climb down, my leg sticks on something causing me to lose my footing, but his hands on my waist steady me.

"I got you."

He utters with a smile.

"Thank you, Parker."

The proximity halts me.

His cologne smells divine, but it’s my sensitive chest against him that keeps me from pulling away.

His hands do not leave my waist.

"I called you here to seduce you; you know that, right, Parker?"

"I…do, but Ruby, you are married. This isn't rig-"

My hand lifts to his shoulders, and his excuses cease.

He must have had a change of heart while we were apart. How annoying.

Using his nape, I lower him to my height before the scent of grass that mingled nicely with his cologne clears and is replaced wholly by that of the ocean.

My body freezes. I know his scent all too well.

"Four days? That is the maximum you could stay without spreading your legs to something?"

Alpha Adrian spits in his deep voice.

I hate the rubbery feeling in my legs and the hammer of my heart in my chest. I have done nothing wrong, yet…

Why the hell is he even back this early? I am supposed to have at least a week alone.

"Go ahead, Parker."

He continues, the stillness in his voice sending delicious shudders through my spine.

"Kiss my wife. I dare you."