Wicked Chase

♚ Chapter Twenty-Seven

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN 

Paranoia began to settle within me a few days after what had happened in the sparring room. Ronan and I kept having more frequent meals together and while I certainly did enjoy his company, especially his dedication to make his relationship with his daughter - me - work, I was constantly on edge, watching whatever left my mouth. Had Brice told Ronan or not? I couldn't tell if Ronan knew or he didn't and if he knew he wasn't saying anything which would be unusually strange seeing the fact that Alastair pushed his feelings away for me for so long because he was frightened of what Ronan would do to him, specifically of his job that provided for Anthony's health care.

"How is training going?" My father asked as he neatly cut a piece of his steak and put it in his mouth with his silverware fork.

"Tiring," I sighed, using my hands to dip the soft, filling bread into the steaming curry. "Brice and Alastair keep drilling me."

"Are you sure your training with Alastair is that tiring?"

My heart stopped for just a millisecond before it began to beat faster and harder against my ribcage. Was Ronan hinting at what I thought he was hinting at or was it my paranoia taking over again? I tried to calm my breathing and sound as calm and collected as he did, still looking at my food and eating while speaking just like he did, but I couldn't.

I don't know what compelled me to draw my gaze up from my plate to my father who was quietly still eating his meal. I knew that he was aware of my gaze on him but he didn't look up. He continued eating his meal.

"What do you mean?" I asked and silently berated myself for sounding breathless, like I was nervous and anxious. "Are you trying to say that Alastair is not spending all the time of training teaching me to defend and fight?"

This time he looked up at me, his eyebrows raised high and he pressed his lips together like he was trying to hold back a laugh that would splatter all the food in his mouth out. After he swallowed he said, "I never said any such thing nor did I think of such." He paused his eyes now not leaving my face as they gauged in my reaction but I willed my expression to be passive though I knew I was failing because I was never one to mask my emotions so easily. It was quite funny that I found it easy to read people and yet I couldn't stop people from reading me because I couldn't mask my emotions well. Maybe Alastair could give me teaching lessons on how to mask my emotions... Or he could give me teaching lessons in the bedroom, in bed, without clothes. That would be preferable.

I flushed instantly as the images and the feels of last night's 'adventure' spread through me. Gosh, how could I even be thinking about that when my father was right in front of me.

"Is there something that I should know?" Ronan asked and my heart started hammering faster against my ribcage, roaring loudly in my ears as the warning bells rang off distantly. Oh Gosh, no. This is not happening. Not now. Not ever. "Is Alastair not spending his time with you wisely...appropriately?"

No no no. Not now, I silently begged.

Instead of showing just how nervous I was I said, "of course not. Alastair wouldn't dare." But there was a tremble in my voice, a tremble that suggested otherwise - that Alastair actually did dare - but if Ronan caught that tremble or not he didn't say but by the expression he wore I knew that he caught onto my tremble.

He laughed then, his laugh a little booming that I tried not to visibly flinch. "It would have been scandalous, wouldn't it? I bet the maids, oh and definitely the Royals, would have something to gossip over."

I willed myself to laugh but it sounded shaky and nervous. Biting my bottom lip a question whizzed past my mind and after a few seconds of contemplation I voiced the question that kept whizzing around in my mind. "Can you change any rules if you wish to?" I asked, holding my breath as I waited for his response.