Forbidden Heat

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A Moment Like This

Edward let go of me after a while and I paused to catch my breath. My body slightly trembling from his surprising kiss. He grinned at me a little but didn't say anything. We looked at our reflection in the mirror. I think we look a little like a couple with our matching outfit. I'm not sure how Edward felt about wearing light pink but I personal think it suits him quite well. If his eyes are the color of the green leaves then the pink of his shirt would be the color of the petals of flowers.

*Knock Knock Knock*

*Master Edward, dinner is ready as you have ordered," Ralph said from the other side of the door.

"Shall we?" Edward asked with a smile as he took my hand gently in his.

The moment, we stepped out of the dressing room and into the hallway, Edward's phone rang. Edward frowned a little when he saw who was calling.

*Sorry, Natalia. I have to take this. Can you wait here for a bit? Ralph can keep you company," Edward said hurriedly before he walked off to take the phone call.

"Sorry that you're stuck with an old man like me for the time being," Ralph said kindly as he bowed slightly to me.

"No, not at all. I'm happy that you're here with me. You and Edward seem close, have you been with him for a long time?" I asked to make small talk with the kind old man.

"Oh yes. I've served him since he was a teenage boy, you see. He's been through a couple of rough patches as I'm sure he's already told you," Ralph replied in a respectable tone.

"I see. I'm sure he'll be fine. He's got you to support him after all," I said cheerfully trying to cheer the old man up. He must be very kind and professional. I mean, at his age, he's still working devotedly to his young master. There are a couple of very old butlers like him in the Rosenhall family as far as I was aware.

*Not at all, Miss Natalia. Try as we may, I have never seen Master Edward smile as much and as genuinely as he does when he is with you, My Lady. It may be too presumptuous of me to ask you for this but, please judge a man from his actions. His words may hold true or may be misleading; however, actions are much harder to misinterpret, Ralph said with a gentle smile as he bowed slightly to excuse his straightforwardness.

I could see where Ralph was coming from but sadly, in Edward's case, I find both his words and his actions to be very difficult to interpret. Even his actions could easily be misleading.

"I see. Thank you for your kind advice," I replied honestly.

*I kind of envy my other colleagues. You see, they get to serve Master Edward much more frequently than I do because he rarely visits this place. In fact, you're the first guest he's ever brought here. It shouldn't be very surprising though; this mansion was built here because this place holds many precious memories for the Master," Ralph said with a sadness in his voice.

"What memories?" I asked intriguingly.

"Oh, if the Master has not told you about it then it is not my place to do so. However, this place holds many miserable yet precious memories for Master Edward," Ralph replied.

Since it was clear that I would not be getting any more details from the old man, I decided to ask something of my own.

"Do you know who I am?" I asked bluntly. From what he's seen and said, I'm sure that he knows what kind of relationship I have with Edward. We're not officially dating or anything, but it must be obvious to him that we are intimate. His reactions, however, does not match well if he knew that I am in fact Edward's step niece.

"Yes, Miss Natalia. I've known you for much longer than you think..." Ralph mumbled softly that I could hardly hear him. That's strange, I'm sure this is our first time meeting...

Before I could ask for more details, Edward returned from his phone call.

"I'm done, sorry it took longer than I wanted it to. Let's go for dinner?" Edward said warmly as he hooked my arm in his.

Ralph bowed low as we walked past.

"Did that old man tell you any of his old tales? He likes to run his mouth in front of guests so pay him no mind," Edward said as he led me through the hallway of the large house.

"I found him very friendly. I like him. Where are we going?" I replied as Edward continued to drag me along.

*Dinner with the stars," Edward replied simply as he pointed upwards.

Soon we were standing at the bottom of a winding staircase. Looking up, I could tell that we would be climbing up quite high. Is this, the stargazing tower that he mentioned before?

*Yup, this is the way up to the stargazing tower. It's a walk up for sure but I think the walk is interesting rather than installing an elevator here," Edward replied to my unasked question as he pulled me along.

We walked up together up the spiraling staircase. I don't know how much or how high we've climbed but my unfit legs were getting a little tired. Edward slowed down to support me as it was clear that this climb was above my physical abilities.

"Umm...I don't mean this in a naughty way but...if you want, I can carry you up," Edward suggested hesitantly as he peered into my face. My face must be red from exerting myself. When did I get so unfit? I wondered how much longer is the climb. I sucked in a couple of deep breaths and decided to continue climbing on my own two feet. "It's ok. I can handle this. Thank you for the offer though," I replied with a tight smile.

After what felt like half a century, I finally made it up to the stargazing hall. I survived! I swear I will start working out and cut down on the red velvet and cheesecake that Reiner loves to serve. Edward did break a sweat and neither was he panting. Clearly, the walk up here was a breeze to him and a full-blown tornado to me.

The sight that greeted me was amazing. We were higher up than I thought and just as Edward had promised, I could see so many bright stars in the dark sky. They shined like precious jewels decorating the sky. It was such a sight to behold that I was awestruck. Living in the city, it was almost impossible to see the stars as clearly as this. Since the mansion was away from the city and there were no other buildings around, I had an unobstructed view of the open night sky that stretched as far as my eyes could see. All that space now filled with twinkling stars.

"Wow...this surely is such a sight!" I exclaimed as I stared at the sky above.

*Your reaction makes me feel like this tower was truly worth building," Edward replied with a soft laugh.

I felt his arms hugging me from behind as we gazed up at the stars. For a moment, I wish that time would stop. I felt like we may not be able to return to a moment like this after this dinner came to an end.

-To be continued...