242 A thorn in Edgar's side (3)

"I wish I could stay longer and hear about your new life but I must go before anyone questions where I have been," Mario stood up from his seat. Just seeing that she was living better than when she was with the Barretts was enough for right now. He had to swallow the feelings he had ignored for years and accept that Edgar was the better man to keep Alessandra happy and protected.

Mario offered a hand to help Alessandra up from her seat which she gladly accepted.

Though Alessandra did not have any romantic feelings for Mario, she still considered him to be a good friend who will always have a special place in her heart. Alessandra wished Mario and Edgar could get along but with Mario leaving town once his debts were paid, there was no point in a friendship between the two men.

'Edgar's so petty that once he learns Mario is leaving town he would start being nice and even offer Mario money to help him leave town quickly,' Alessandra thought.

"I should have brought you some rum as a going-away present but it probably wouldn't compare to what you must get to drink here," said Mario.

"I mostly have been drinking wine. Wait here," Alessandra told Mario when they exited the room and found Edgar sitting at the bottom of the stairs. She walked over to Edgar to ask a favor that would help Mario be able to leave town when he was ready.

"That was quick," Edgar said, not caring to hide the happiness in his voice.

"Edgar, I have a favor-"

"I hope you are not asking me to let him stay here. I have been kind enough to let him speak to you in private when he clearly likes you," Edgar interjected, letting her know the cook could not stay before she could plead for it to happen. He accepted he could not make her turn away a friend she cherished but he could not get rid of his dislike for the man.

"It is a pain to have to admit you were right about his feelings toward me," Alessandra sighed.

Edgar licked his lips and released a dry laugh. "Did that fool confess his feelings to a married woman? To my wife? Expecting what exactly? What did he tell you?"

"You can relax, Edgar. He just asked what would have happened between us if I had run away with him. Mario will be leaving town once he pays off his debts," Alessandra quickly spoke to make Edgar happy once again. "He doesn't want to be a pawn to be used against me in the future. I was wondering if you could offer him money to help him leave town when the time comes?"

"I'd offer him a carriage to get him out of town tonight. What's in it for me?" Edgar asked.

Alessandra thought having Mario leave town would be enough for Edgar to do this. "He will be leaving town. Why do you need to gain something else?"

"No one knows that he is here right now besides my people. I can capture and send him far out of town against his will if I wanted to without having to give him money. You need to offer me something to be nice to him. How about a kiss?" He suggested.

As the days passed by, Alessandra found Edgar's pettiness to reach new levels.

"Fine," she agreed. "After he leaves-"

"I am too impatient to wait," Edgar pulled her against his body and hugged her tightly so she would not be able to step away. His emotions were all over the place right now so he knew if he kissed her on the lips right now he wouldn't be thinking straight to stop her mask from potentially falling off. Edgar opted to leave a trail of kisses from her jaw down to the tip of her exposed chest.

Yes, he was jealous although there was no possible way for Mario to steal Alessandra away from him. Edgar felt her shudder each time his lips touched her skin which prompted him to continue. Her hands were placed on his chest to push him away but as he neared her bust, Alessandra's plan was long forgotten.

Once he calmed his emotions now that he was touching her, Edgar desired to feel the softness of her lips once more. Between her breast and her lips, he didn't know what excited him more. Edgar gently grabbed a handful of her hair to position her to look up at him to make it easier for him to kiss her.

While Alessandra closed her eyes after their lips touched and they started to kiss as they had done before, Edgar kept his eyes open to watch the man fuming with anger not too far away from them.

Mario found the sight of the couple doing as they pleased like no one else was around to be appalling. He knew it was this dirty Duke's doing and not Alessandra who was normally shy. Mario wanted to look away but it was hard for him to do. His heart ached now more than ever seeing the woman he denied feelings for in the arms of another man.

The final straw for Mario was the low moan he could hear exit Alessandra's mouth. His hands shook with anger to slap the man who was watching him while kissing Alessandra. Mario angrily walked toward the front door to get away from the sight.

If Edgar could, he would strap Mario to a chair and force the annoying man to watch him make love to Alessandra and then kill the man for seeing the beautiful expressions Alessandra would make and hearing her sweet voice. Whatever it took to show the cook that Alessandra had long slipped out of his fingers and belonged to someone else.

Now that Mario was gone, Edgar released the hold he had on Alessandra and stopped the moment before it would go any further right here on the stairs. He could only think of kissing every inch of her body to mark her as his.

Alessandra turned around to apologize to Mario but found he had already left. She took a deep breath to settle herself after what she had done in front of Mario before turning to face her jealous husband. "For the rest of the day, please stay away from me, Edgar. It was not right for you to do that in front of Mario."