The Beastkeeper's Bride

26: Contingencies in Motion

26: Contingencies in Motion

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"Eat."

Millie tilted her chin up to consider him as he settled beside her, straddling the bench and sidling so close she was practically wedged between Blayne's solid thighs. He set a two bowls of aromatic stew to the side of the journal where she had been sketching depictions of the Llaelleanoid onto one of the clean pages. She considered the spread before her, placed by him as she worked- trays of intricately cut fruit, sliced and buttered bread, and a sweetly honeyed cake sat amidst a lit oil lamp and her stationery. There was more food before her than she had seen in weeks- possibly months prior to her father's death once she isolated herself entirely from society's events.

Do draëllian men prefer more robust women? she teased, turning her head to regard him with a quirk of her lips.

"I do not care what other men prefer," Blayne murmured, offering her a hunk of bread that he had dipped into her stew and bringing it to her lips coaxingly. Truth be told, if it hadn't smelt as good as it did and if she was not aware that he had been preparing it for the past hour, she would have declined his offering. But she accepted the morsel and closed her lips around it, silently moaning her appreciation. Everything he did was exquisite perfection- from his lovemaking to his cooking, Millie doubted she would be able to find a single fault. "My concern is only for you and your needs. Several days ago, my wife was gaunt and famished. While I live and breathe, you shall never have to suffer for anything again."

Her heart swelled to aching capacity and her eyes began to burn and prick. Though Millie knew their short reprieve together as a married couple would surely come to an end soon as she set out to reinstate herself as the Duchess of Ravensfield, and subsequently Blayne's acceptance into society as the Duke of Ravensfield, she couldn't help imagine the possibility that their life together would always be like this- full of promise, of words and acts of appreciation and acceptance, of companionship and comradery. The last two days with Blayne had awakened a need in her that she had long repressed. After Lillian's disappearance, she had embraced her loneliness, concealing the enormity of her longing for someone to confide in and take comfort from under the cloak of her anger, her regality. It had been a tireless effort to prove to herself, and others, that she did not adhere to relying on any other person for anything. Her repression worked so well at times she forgot those feelings even existed.

Now, they burst to the fore in a tumultuous bout of emotion she couldn't, even if she tried, repress. Blayne draped his tail across her bare thighs, tightening his possessive embrace upon her as he pulled her against his chest.

You should not say things that make me feel vulnerable, she admonished lightly as his lips pressed to her temple. Especially when we are together in society.

"Noted." His smile, however, told her otherwise. "And when we are out in society, my sweet duchess, do you still intend to document all your findings?" For emphasis, he flicked the tip of his tail over the fresh pages of the journal she had been working in.

You do not think it is important?

"It is a... significant task to complete."

She studied the page for a moment, the crude depiction of her Llaelleanoid along with a few scribed notes she had observed from its behaviour the last two days. Do you know how many creatures exist?

"Truthfully, we have not kept records, but an easy summation would be hundreds."

Would it not serve your purpose to collect the concise numbers of each genus or species for monitoring and sustainability? At least, your data could be collated and tracking-