AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Both of them would look up every few minutes and gaze around the length of the library and then steal a glance at each other. There was just something about being trapped inside a room together that was distracting enough already.
They both knew they needed to either get up and leave or would eventually have to succumb to their fate and converse with one another. Astrid, for sure, knew she could not continue reading the novel, since she was already bored out of her mind and had not even read two complete pages.
“In order to read, ye will need to look at the book and nae me.” Flynn’s voice suddenly shook her out of her trance, and she realized she had been looking straight at him while being lost in thought, which made it seem as if she had been staring at him all along.
“I wasnae looking at ye,” she replied hastily, a blush creeping across her neck and face.
“Certainly, I completely believe ye,” he drawled and shut the heavy volume in his lap as if he too had no desire to continue reading.
“Dinnae be absurd, Flynn,” she said with a shrug, determined to act nonchalant as if being caught staring at him was indeed a mistake, and she resumed reading.
The words on the page blurred in comparison to the man sitting less than three feet away from her, and she knew that trying to read was no longer going to work.
She finally closed the novel and set it to one side, now actually turning to look at the man she was betrothed to. A mischievous smile appeared on his face as if he had already been expecting her to do that.
Astrid watched as he followed suit and closed the book in his hand as well before standing up and coming to sit right beside her. She moved back slightly to create some distance between them as they sat together on the small sofa.
“Was I really being absurd, Astrid?”
She smiled and shook her head before answering, “I am just upset about being locked up in here and cannae focus on reading, otherwise I would have been reading.”
He shook his head as he laughed softly, and Astrid could not help but marvel once again at how handsome he was. His features up close were even more pronounced and beautiful, and he truly looked as if he had been sculpted out separate from the rest.
She had the insane urge to touch his face softly, but she knew that touching him would only ever lead to one thing between them.
“Well, I dinnae ken about ye, but I am bored,” he said, leaning back into the sofa and settling his large form on it comfortably.
“What do ye suggest we do about it?”
“Play a game of cards perhaps?” he suggested, and Astrid was immediately intrigued.
“What kind of a game?” she asked suspiciously, knowing perfectly well that Flynn would never play a simple card game with her.
The glint in his eyes said otherwise as well, and it was evident that he definitely meant something more wicked.
“A simple card game with a rule or two different,” he explained.
Astrid shook her head knowingly, and she was surprised at how well she had come to know him. “What will those rules be?”
“We will play a hand. If I lose, I will remove an item of clothing, and if ye lose—”
“I am nae removing me clothes in front of ye, Flynn,” she interjected.
“Will ye at least listen to me first before speaking?” He cocked an eyebrow as he assumed his domineering tone.
“Continue,” she said softly, smiling beautifully to pacify him.
“Every time ye lose, ye will kiss me.”
“Kiss ye where?” Astrid asked, her eyes widening at the rules he had just announced.
It was not as if she had never kissed him before, or as if she did not wish to kiss him at all, but she knew that kissing him had never ended in a good way for her, since the two of them always ended up wanting more. She did not know if it was the right thing to do or even the right game to play.
“On the lips,” he replied easily, and Astrid was intrigued once again.
She did wish to kiss him right about now. His proximity did things to her that no one else ever could, and whenever he was nearby, she wanted him even closer. Even now, despite the distance between them on the sofa, she was immensely attracted to him and felt a certain pull, a pull she could not justify.
“All right then, let’s play,” she found herself agreeing, even though the rational part of her mind was completely against it.
