The Duke's Masked Wife

"This is a lot more than what I was expecting tonight, Alessandra. I certainly did not think you had it in you to be this bold but I am enjoying this. It is not too late for you to get up before you die of nervousness."

Edgar kept his hands by his side in order to avoid touching her until she said something to let him know that she was comfortable. This was a little pointless considering she was sitting right above something that would soon have her running for the hills once she noticed. Though, he had a feeling that she already did.

"I am hungry," Alessandra ignored Edgar and reached for a plate to start eating. If her mouth was full she would have no way to reply to Edgar trying to make her more nervous than she already was.

She placed a second plate beside her own so that Edgar wouldn't have to reach far to get his food. Alessandra quickly picked up her fork and knife to start cutting into the meat prepared for them tonight.

"Feed me," Edgar said from behind her.

"You are not a child," Alessandra replied. There was no way on this earth she would sit on his lap and causally feed him at the same time. Sitting on his lap was all that she could handle right now.

"My hands are full," Edgar felt her jolt when he placed his hands on her waist. It was certainly too easy to make her react and this was considered child's play in his eyes. Alessandra would not be able to handle it if he pushed his teasing to another level.

"Please release me. If you have no plans to sit and eat, it was pointless for me to sit on your lap," Alessandra began to get up but as she moved, Edgar's hands tightened the grip around her waist. "Edgar," she whined.

"I'm sure both of us are tidy enough to not drop food on the bed. One of us could have sat there. Why didn't my shy little wife think of that? I am enjoying this position too much for you to leave now. A little friendly advice, you should stop moving so much before another problem arises." Edgar felt his body reacting to her every movement and knew trouble wasn't too far away.

"I am not going to continue sitting on your lap simply because you enjoy it. You should have told me you would be willing to sit on the bed. When will your teasing end?" Alessandra tried to wiggle her way out of Edgar's grip and when that didn't work she resorted to pinching his hands.

"You are doing nothing but enticing me, Alessandra. At this moment, a little pain never ruins the fun. Eat and then I will let you go. Who knows when you will ever be this brave to sit on my lap again? Can you be so kind as to feed me some of the meat you just cut?" Edgar asked, fully enjoying the fact she was fuming with anger that could not break away.

With her back against his bare chest, they offered each other warmth from the cold wind and they were not in need of the fire Edgar had started.

Alessandra sighed, knowing it was pointless to try fighting against someone as strong as Edgar and someone who was determined to enjoy this moment to the fullest. She could only blame herself for falling into the trap she set up without realizing it. The sooner they both ate, the sooner she could be released and go to bed.

"Did you enjoy turning that room into a place for you to paint? Alfred informed me about it."

Alessandra gladly welcomed a shift in their conversation. "It feels nice to have a separate space for painting and not have to fill my bedroom with canvas and paint. Unfortunately, there are not enough shelves in that room to properly store everything you bought. Can I have someone add more shelves or can I have boxes made to make the room more organized?" Alessandra politely asked.

"It would look better with more shelves. Speak with Alfred tomorrow to have someone here create shelves for you. Unless you are plotting against royalty, you do not have to ask to do something. Are you really not going to feed me?" Edgar asked after watching her place food in her mouth a second time.

He was enjoying the fun but also hungry and wished to eat.

"You can eat if you would just release me but you wish to make it difficult for yourself." Contrary to what she said, Alessandra began cutting into the beef to offer some to Edgar from his plate.  She could not be cruel enough to withhold food from him. "Here," she held out a fork for him to take.

As soon as he released one hand to take the fork, she planned to jump out of his lap.

Edgar's eyes looked at the fork awaiting to be taken from Alessandra's hand and then back up at Alessandra staring down at him. "You cannot fool me so easily, Alessandra. You are dealing with a man who predicts the moves of his enemies on a daily basis," he stated then opened his mouth for her to feed him.

"Just take it," she shoved the fork with meat to his mouth but then instantly regretted it. "I'm so sorry. That was really dangerous of me to do. Did I hurt your lip?"

Edgar ran his tongue against his bottom lip in case there was any blood from where the fork had poked him. "You are good at finding small ways to cause me pain. I think I should sleep with one eye open tonight. The meat stopped the impact from being more hurtful than it could have been."

"I wasn't trying to hurt you purposely. Here," Alessandra offered the fork with the meat more gently the second time. "If you let me go and feed yourself, we wouldn't have ended up like this. Dinner will take twice as long as it should because I have to cut meat for both of us. I want to retire to bed soon, Edgar. Sleep is quickly taking over my body."

"Very well," Edgar released her, putting an end to his fun.

Alessandra quickly sat up from his lap before he could change his mind. She could never say it out loud but she missed sitting on his lap the moment she stood up. "I will stand and eat. We might be careful but crumbs can still find their way onto the bed and you had enough bad luck with ants already."

"Sit here," he pushed the chair toward her. "What sort of man would I be to let you stand while I sit down? Do not argue with me, Alessandra," he stopped her from trying to object the moment her mouth opened.

Alessandra sat down in the chair while Edgar sat on the edge of the table to her right. He picked up his plate in his hands and began to eat along with Alessandra. Soon, silence fell upon the room and the only thing to be heard was the sound of their metal utensils clinking against the plates.