| |
I swear, I’ll kill him when we’re alone after this, Astrid mused as she was flipping through the menu. The listings went on and on with the authentic Romanian cuisine that she wanted.
However, a certain bloody male was making her blood boil to its limit.
Both of them were sitting at the table that overlooked the windows adjacent to the streets. The pedestrians were walking about to reach their destination as Astrid flipped her menu again.
“Have you decided what you want, dragul meu? We don’t want the waiter to wait for our order,” Aaron teased as he placed his order.
Astrid glared at him when her husband gave his menu to the waiter. He was provoking her to lose her temper in public. However, he forgot with whom he was dealing with.
Astrid didn’t become the Huntress of the Order if a small, petty thing bothered her until she could lose her temper right away.
“Don’t rush me, min kjærlighet. You know I like to think over my decision until the best one speaks out to me,” she replied sweetly with a saccharine smile on her lips.
Aaron saw right through her. Fine, it took two to tango. Let’s play this game then, dragul meu, his eyes whispered between them as Astrid closed the menu and smiled at the waiter.
“I’ll have the sarmale and ciorbă de perişoare, please. Thank you,” she ordered as the waiter wrote them down.
“Would you like red or white wine with your meal?” the waiter asked.
“Red, please. Thank you,” Aaron replied as Astrid gave her menu to the waiter. The waiter walked away as Astrid looked out the window.
“Dragul meu,” Aaron called after her. She ignored him as she was still angry with his accusation from before.
“Are you going to ignore me for the entirety of our meal together?” he asked as Astrid glared murderously at her husband.
“Yes, if I have to prove my point,” she replied. Aaron arched his eyebrow.
“And what is it the point that you’re trying to prove, dragul meu?” he asked, furrowing his eyebrow. Astrid rolled her eyes as she knew that her husband would forget immediately the accusation that pierced her heart.
If she didn’t make her stand about it now, Aaron would be making the same mistake again and again in their relationship which might affect their compatibility together in the future.
“Men. Always blame the women for overreacting when they refuse to look at themselves on how they could forget such an important thing at an important time,” she mumbled but Astrid knew with his acute hearing, Aaron could hear her statement all the same.
“If you refuse to tell me, dragul meu, how I can improve of what I am lacking, and clearly, I’m lacking right now,” Aaron groveled as Astrid smiled sweetly.
“Well, if you must know, min kjærlighet, it would seem that you think of me as a serial killer without motives when you’re suggesting that I would harm your cousins when we decided to visit them later in Cluj-Napoca. It... hurts to know that my husband—the one that I cherish the most—would think me less than something equivalent to a psychopath,” Astrid whispered as she twisted her hands on the table.
It hurt. It always hurt whenever she knew that Aaron would always think of her as someone capable of harming his family.
However, what about her side of the family? Would she give a thought that Aaron could hurt her uncle and Freya when they visited them in Norway in the future?
God’s honest answer: never. She knew Aaron was an honourable man hence she knew that he would never harm her family.
Thus, it hurt when he would think otherwise of her toward his family.
“Dragul meu, you know I would never think you like that. If I did, I’m sorry. It was never my intention to do so,” Aaron whispered huskily as he pulled her hand into his cocoon of warmth.
Astrid smiled softly but it didn’t reach her eyes. They stared at each other before Aaron sighed loudly. She arched her eyebrow for Astrid was adept enough to read her husband.
That sigh meant he was thinking something serious.
“What it is, min kjærlighet? I knew you had something on your mind. Perhaps you would like to share with me?” Astrid probed as she squeezed Aaron’s hand.
Aaron smiled, squeezing her hand back. He sighed again before he cleared his throat as they stared at each other.
“It was nothing but I might share with you now, dragul meu. Aline and her husband were newlyweds hence Kyle’s condition is a little fragile. He might act irrationally when his mate is in proximity to another male. So...” he trailed off as Astrid arched her eyebrow.
“You’re afraid that he might attack you. Is that what you’re so worried about, min kjærlighet?” Astrid asked. Aaron stared at her before nodding his head.
“If he did, you know I would—”
“That’s the thing, dragul meu. I don’t want you to put yourself in danger. Plus, Alina might not like it if another female comes close to her mate. She might... attack you if you did, dragul meu,” Aaron replied as he squeezed her hand.
Astrid thought it over. Perhaps, it was not about her skills that made Aaron think the way he did. It was her safety that he was worried about when they decided to go on their honeymoon in Cluj-Napoca.
Maybe they didn’t have to go if the situation was dire enough with more cons than pros to spend their time there.
“If you think we would be in danger, min kjærlighet, maybe we can go there another time. It’s not like your humble crib will not suffice to be our honeymoon destination. I must say, it has everything that we need to spend our time sufficiently with each other,” Astrid said huskily. Her violet eyes glistened with mischief.
Aaron smirked, shaking his head as he kissed her knuckles. Astrid smiled at the sweet gesture that her husband showed toward her.
“Alas, we will be going there. Also, dragul meu still called themselves the ancient name for our species. Perhaps, try not to be provoked when they refer to it in your presence,” Aaron warned her. Astrid arched her eyebrow at his request.
“What do you mean, min kjærlighet? Are you saying that they are comfortable referring to themselves as vampires?” she asked. Astrid tilted her head as she was confused.
Perhaps it took courage to be comfortable with one’s skin. Maybe she ought to learn one or two things from Alina and Kyle during their stay later.
Aaron shrugged. “What can I say, dragul meu? Supposedly, Alina was the next heir if her brother, Luke Dalca ever disappeared during the coronation later. However, if he ever shows up during the coronation, Alina would step down and be the heir apparent until Luke finds his mate and produces an heir,” Aaron explained thoroughly.
Astrid arched her eyebrow at him. Her husband only smiled at the confusion that was showing on her face as Aaron brushed his lips against her knuckles.
“You know I have no idea of what you just said, min kjærlighet,” she stated, laughing without a care. Aaron just shrugged as they waited for their meals.