“And you didn’t use it!?”
“The bear ran off. You have nothing to worry about.”
Nothing I can do convinces Cullen at first. She argues with me for what feels like an hour, before I coax her to a much lower branch. Getting her to jump into my arms proves even more difficult, but eventually I swear to her that I won’t let any creature harm her and she leaps into my arms.
Once I wrap my arms around her, Cullen wrestles herself away from me and stands on her own two feet, looking a little shaken up but otherwise totally fine.
“Thank you,” she says huffily, peeling herself away from me. “I would have found my way back… if it weren’t for the bear.”
It’s hard for me to hold back a smirk. I strongly doubt she would have found her way back given how long she’s apparently been gone, how far she is from the main path, and how dark it is outside. I’m lucky that I found her myself.
“Of course.”
“But thanks,” she says.
“You’re my wife. It’s my job to keep you safe.”
She says nothing in response to that. I wonder if I’ve made it awkward between us. I think she must have understood me.
“I’m sorry for ruining your date,” she mumbles. “Or wherever you were.”
“My date?”
“I thought–”
“I didn’t have a date tonight,” I answer tersely. “This way…”
I put my hand on Cullen’s lower back and guide her back on the path towards my house.
Date?
What on earth does she mean by that?
Chapter Ten
Cullen
Implying that Padraic went on a date appears to have upset him pretty deeply. I don’t understand how I could have gotten it wrong. He’s ignored me ever since I got here, but he doesn’t take his hand off my lower back throughout our entire walk back towards his house. I was pretty far off the trail. It’s a quiet walk back together, but it’s over two miles, which means that he walked all that way alone just to find me. He could have sent his staff. I’ve never actually seen him work this hard for anything.
Once we’re inside, I feel sweaty and gross. Padraic stops me at the front door and I’m expecting him to tell me off for breaking his rules, especially because of the wrinkled expression on his face. Instead of yelling, he reaches for something in my hair and pulls out… a twig from some kind of pine tree and drops it on the ground.
“I’m glad the bear didn’t get you,” he says with a gruff voice. “I need you to know, Cullen, that I take our marriage seriously. I have no intentions of being with any other woman.”
There’s a flicker of anger across his face. There it is. This is where he’s going to lose control with me and expose his harshness. I bite down on my lower lip, expecting Padraic toinflict more pain. Instead, he presses his thumb to my lips and sighs.
“You’re cold. I’ll have Jelena run you a bath,” he mutters. “Come see me afterwards.”
I nod. Padraic doesn’t take his eyes off me, so I correctly assume he isn’t finished with his instructions.
“Wear something comfortable, not fancy. It’s a bit late for my fancier plans.”
I don’t know what he means, but I’m so shocked that he isn’t yelling at me. I just nod and when Padraic dismisses me, I rush to my private bathroom. I pick out some comfortable clothing and by the time I choose, Jelena enters my suite and runs the bath for me. She gives me some options for what scents I want in my bubble bath, and I choose a mixture of lavender and vanilla. Warm, classic, evening scents.
Jelena leaves when the bath is full and so warm there’s steam. Even if I’ve been indoors for several minutes, my body has barely warmed up.
“Do you need anything else?” Jelena asks.
“This is perfect. Thanks.”