Falling for the Wrong Man (Mature 18+)

Chapter 6 - Last night together before the wedding

The next day, Jess and Lydia stayed together in Lydia's quarters. Gabriel left early to go to school for the day. He was a clever boy and loved to learn. All the young men attended school until they were eighteen. Boys lived in their mother's quarters until they were ten years old and then lived in dorms at the school. It was not proper for boys to remain in their father's households after the age of ten because the older men agreed that teenage boys often caused problems with their half-sisters or the younger wives of their own fathers.

At eighteen, boys were presented at the ball. The older men bid for them in the same way they bid for the girls. Each man had his own powerful army that contributed to the military effort and was used to defend his vast estate holdings. A man with a weak army left his household open to plunder. Over the last twenty years, as the men grew richer and more powerful, very few men had been plundered. Fathers did not like to send their own sons into war, so the sons were sold and traded for money and to form strong alliances with others. The truth was, there were too many young men for the way their society was structured. An older man took many women as wives and fathered many children. Not all those sons could marry to the same extent as their fathers. The war meant only the bravest and most powerful survived the fighting. The only other option was an academic career which was reserved for the smartest and highest ranking. Those sons were sent to places of higher education where they studied for ten years, becoming experts in all the careers needed for their society. A man who took an academic career, was indentured to work for another twenty years after graduating unless his father died, and he was the first in line to inherit his estate.

Adriel was about to graduate. He had already been sold into the army of a friend of his father. Many of his own brothers were already there, so he knew he would be protected and given lighter duties than those sent straight into battle. However, before he could think too much about his future, Adriel badly wanted to see Jess. Since he watched her father's men drag her up the rocky cliff face and take her home, he had been anxious about her fate. He thought about breaking into her father's estate and taking her away. He thought about the two of them running away together. He imagined marrying her and buying some land. He had a plan that they could live as farmers, caring for the land and raising a family. Yet, in reality he knew none of this would happen. His one hope was that her younger brother would help him gain access to her mother's quarters and they might talk and say goodbye. Lydia's quarters were on the ground level and had a small courtyard that was accessible through a locked gate from the outer gardens. Adriel thought that if Gabriel left the gate open, he could steal through the outer gardens, carefully avoiding the field hands who worked and secured the area and gain access to Lydia's home. He knew Lydia would not want him there, but he only wanted to see Jess for a few moments to make sure she was alright. Or at least that is what he told himself. It was just to check on her welfare.

The reality was that he loved her deeply. He couldn't get her face and body out of his mind. Her long, white legs that she displayed to him as she raised her skirt to see the bruising from her fall made him feel crazy. The softness and fullness of her breasts that rose and fell as she breathed. When he held her close to him, the way her breasts pressed against his chest as she clung to him and the way she watched him with those large, blue innocent eyes. He had wanted her so badly the night they were together, but he feared the consequences of such an action. He knew she was promised to Jabez and if he ruined her, there were too many risks for his family and for Jess herself. Now he waited for Gabriel to bring him news. The boy was late to their meeting point but when he finally arrived, he nodded and confirmed the plan would go ahead. Adriel let out a sigh of relief wondering how he would make the next few hours pass without going mad.

Jess and Lydia knew nothing about this plan. They spend the day with Tabitha talking and laughing together. Although they enjoyed each-others company, the feeling was sad because it would be their last time together. Soon Tabitha had to leave, and Jess stayed to eat a light meal with her mother and Gabriel alone in the quarters. As it was a last night, they were not expected to attend the family meal in the great hall.