The Archduke's Songbird-Chapter 54: Her Request

"Why is your shirt open? Aren’t you cold?" Jessamyn tried to pull his shirt to cover his chest. But she couldn’t.

"I like to feel the night wind on my chest." He chuckled and even puffed his chest to make it harder for her. The ties were undone and she noticed that even his abdomen was not covered.

"Cover yourself! It’s...unsightly!" she shouted at him but he smirked at her.

"Is it really?"

Jessamyn mumbled curses under her breath. She was mostly angry at herself for minding his nakedness.

"It’s a fetish of mine... Also, I am holding you and the reins...I apologize, I cannot help you."

Jessamyn glared at him but he didn’t budge. "Then, let me sit at the back. I don’t want to ruin your fetish..." She squirmed but his hold on her waist tightened.

"Why? Are you not comfortable with my skin?" he asked.

She wanted to take a bite out of his chest. She was that mad. But she knew that guy would think of it as some provocation.

In the end, Jessamyn didn’t find the strength to get her wish. The intoxicating scent from his chest lulled her, and before she knew it, she was resting her head there. She was sixteen when he went to the war and there were countless days, she imagined laying on his bare chest. Now that she had the chance, she missed the other chest she was comfortable with.

Such is the play fate enacts.

Her thoughts went to the wolf she had seen earlier.

Why did he leave the moment Jerrick appeared? Is it because he doesn’t want to reveal himself to others? But why is he appearing in front of me? Could he be a shapeshifter and not the Lycaon Wulfhednar? Could he be working for the council too? Is he protecting me because we work for the same people?

She had a lot of questions.

Jerrick’s lips curved as she leaned on him. His heart pounded and all the blood rushed below his abdomen making him warm, but he controlled his desires. Sleeping with her that day had awakened his inner desires to the extent that he couldn’t hold back anymore. Being in her presence turned him on. He didn’t remember feeling such intense feelings after he joined the army.

He held her closer and her scent along with the night breeze kindled the flame of desires and he yearned for her touch.

He knew he couldn’t go farther than this. He could only go as far as she let him.

Just as they got closer to the castle, the horse slowed down and Jessamyn popped her head up. "Stop!" she pulled his shirt. "I smell jasmines..."

"No, you do not," Jerrick said.

"I do. I smell jas~"

"Don’t try to run away anymore..." he held her cheek and said in a stern tone.

Jessamyn gulped. He was squishing her cheeks and she couldn’t close her mouth properly. His eyes lingered a bit too much on her lips. Before she knew it, his face got closer to her.

Her heart pounded and her eyes watered. She couldn’t understand what he thinks of her. Am I just someone he lusts after?

"I came for a walk. I know I cannot run away," she said placing her hands over his hands on her cheek.

She tried to pry away his hands but his eyes met with hers. She tried to avoid his eyes knowing what that entails but she couldn’t keep away for long.

It might just have been a curse that befell her to misunderstand him all the time; otherwise, why would she think that she saw longing in his eyes? His glimmering eyes somehow reminded her of the eyes of the wolf she saw sometime earlier.

Could he be... Is he pretending to be limp so that no one doubts him? Why?

She inhaled sharply as she remembered something. "Cordelia Dahlberg," she said, her eyes wide.

"What?" Knitting his brows, he let go of her cheeks. He signaled the horse to move and it moved slowly.

"I heard rumors that Lady Cordelia Dahlberg wanted to marry you but you refused. Is there truth to it?" she asked.

Although Lady Cordelia was said to be betrothed to the Crown Prince, the lack of official announcement had caused a lot of confusion and concerns. One of the rumors she heard was that Lady Cordelia felt a profound devotion toward Jerrick the moment she saw him and was left heartbroken, unable to break the heartfelt connection she felt with him when he chose to marry Imogen.

She also heard she tried to get together with him after Imogen’s death but Jerrick didn’t give any answer and that was the reason her engagement with the Crown Prince was not announced yet.

She didn’t think there would be truth to such rumors. Why would the Crown Prince wait for a woman to change her mind to accept him? He was a conceited snob. His pride wouldn’t allow that. Also, he is the Crown Prince of the nation. He should act accordingly.

But Jessamyn’s heart yearned for answers and her mind had already made this connection. If Lady Cordelia was the Gemma Luna, since she felt the "soulful love" connection with Jerrick, he must be Lycaon Wulfhednar.

"The daughter of Duke Dahlberg is Cordelia?" he asked. He didn’t understand why she asked about that out of nowhere.

"How do you not know Lady Cordelia?" Jessamyn was annoyed thinking he was pretending. Lady Cordelia was a graceful and elegant beauty that no one could deny.

Even she found herself staring at her unconsciously when she first met her although her attitude toward her was unbecoming. But most of the nobles behaved that way with her to pander to Imogen—the Archduchess.

How can Jerrick not know Cordelia?

"Many women want to marry me. Which one is she?" Jerrick asked, his voice deep out of annoyance.

"She’s the one rumored to be betrothed to the Crown Prince," she said.

Jerrick pressed his lips. "Why does it matter?" He had heard about that woman and still didn’t understand what Jessamyn was getting at. Why should he care about that woman? She didn’t look like she just wanted to gossip with him.

"Jerrick," she clutched his shirt and looked at him with her big eyes.

Jerrick’s heart melted seeing her like that. A layer of mist formed in her eyes and her lips curved to a smile he was privy to in the past. For a moment, he thought he was holding the Jessamyn he knew and loved. "What?" he smiled. He was willing to offer his head on a silver platter if she asked for it.

"You don’t have to marry me. If you wanted to do Imogen a favor, you’ve already done her a great one by getting Ethan’s title back. I don’t like Imogen and you owe me nothing. Go... Be yourself and marry the one in your heart. Be happy...Imogen would have wanted that."

Jerrick bowed his head and gripped her arms. "What are you saying?" he asked.