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“Myrina, come have some of this great food,” she excitedly urged me, scooping a portion from all the bowls onto her plate.
"Somebody's got a big appetite," Sam suddenly said teasingly, sitting beside Mr. Baldur and watching Aza with amusement.
Aza stopped mid-motion, put the spoon back in the bowl, and began to eat without responding to his comment.
"Lady Myrina, you should also get some food. If you're not quick, your tablemate won't leave anything for you," the assistant teased, grinning mischievously at me.
“Sam, don’t bother the ladies,” Mr. Baldur now interfered, glaring challengingly at me across the table. “If Miss Myrina doesn’t have an appetite now, I’m sure we can find another way to satisfy herhungerlater.”
Curiously, he tilted his head and watched me like the wolf watches the sheep. His ambiguous words shot hotly into my lap.
"What makes you think, Mr. Baldur, you would be able to satisfy my hunger?" I returned with a sweet smile. "Is it not true, Aza? I am known for my insatiable appetite," I said to my friend, who giggled softly beside me. Sam began to chuckle, and Mr. Baldur's eyes widened. Lust mixed with surprise.
What you can do, I can do for a long time,I thought, avoiding my father’s gaze, who had overheard the exchange and was staring at me in horror.
Is that a challenge? Because I love challenges,I heard my host’s voice in my head. I studiously ignored it. It was just a product of my imagination, unlike the sudden touch on my foot that made me jump up.
With an almost innocent expression, Mr. Baldur now looked at me while he calmly took a bite in his mouth and, at the same time, tenderly stroked my calf with his foot. Slowly, he moved from there up my leg until he reached the inside of my thigh.
My attempt not to let anyone notice threatened to fail because my breathing and heartbeat accelerated. Only with difficulty could I concentrate on my filled plate.
Somehow, I had to save myself from this precarious situation. But how?
"Mrs. Baldur, how do you like New York? Have you been able to settle in yet? Mr. Baldur is certainly a busy man," I directed his wife's attention to her husband and, at the same time, moved the chair back a bit, which at least limited my counterpart's reach a bit.
Chris, who was sitting next to me, elbowed me in the ribs.
“Can you please shut your mouth already?” he whispered, pissed off. “What the hell is going on? You’re puttingallof us in danger.”
But to everyone’s surprise, Mrs. Baldur smiled openly at me.
"At first, settling in this hectic city was hard because I come from a rather quiet area. But please call me Zuri, Myrina. The title Mrs. Baldur is not …” She hesitated briefly. “… appropriate.”
Nervously, I nibbled at the napkin lying on my lap.Zuri?Now I was really losing my mind. Uncertain, I lowered my eyes and, to the delight of my family, didn't say another word for the rest of the dinner, Mr. Baldur not taking his eyes off me.
"Come on, you two," Chris whispered to Aza and me after we got up from the dinner table, pulling us through a glass doorway onto a comfortably furnished patio at the back of the house. Sitting areas were everywhere, inviting us to rest, read, and more, vehemently pushing aside the thought Mr. Baldur had already planted in my head while examining the porch.
"The three of us wait out here until the reception is over. Dad, Rick, and Jordy are trying to socialize, and Stephan is our watchful ear among the other guests. So we just put you, my dear cheeky sister, out of sight," Chris said sternly as soon as we sat on one of the soft sofas.
"Mr. Johnson!" we suddenly heard a squeaky male voice say, and the next moment, the Cardinal was standing at our seats. "A word!"
Reluctantly, Chris rose and followed the clergyman back inside to the reception. Of course, not without a warning look in our direction, which clearly said we were not allowed to move from the spot.
"It's beautiful here," I sighed and let myself fall deeper into the cozy pillows, closing my eyes and breathing in the tantalizing sea breeze blowing towards us from the beach. I would love to lie in the sand now, listening to the sound of the waves and watching for shooting stars.
"Yes, it is. It's a dream," Aza said, and she, too, snuggled in further.
“Mr. Baldur is a generous host,” she said suddenly. “And very handsome.”
A laugh escaped my throat. "Andveryself-conscious," I chuckled. Apparently, it had been too much wine, after all.
“He was watching you the whole time.” My friend looked over at me.
"That … that's not true," I stammered, feeling my cheeks get all hot. "Besides, it doesn't matter at all either. I'm engaged, and he's married!" I exclaimed louder than I wanted to.
“Is he? I wouldn’t be so sure,” she poked further. Uneasily, I slid even deeper into the seat.
“And what is it between you and Sam?” I tried to change the subject.
