The Possessive Lord's Contract Wife

Iris couldn’t pinpoint when their positions had shifted. She had found herself with her back pressed against the door and Zayne leading the charge.

His right hand slipped to her waist, while his left rested at the back of her head, acting as a cushion should she collide with the door.

Iris followed Zayne’s lead in the kiss. She tried not to make too many sounds, fearing the passing maids might overhear and expose them.

"Wait. Hold on," Zayne said suddenly, stepping back.

Iris leaned forward, unwilling to let the moment end. "Why?"

"I’m a bit too happy," Zayne confessed, almost ashamed.

Iris tilted her head, puzzled. "You want to stop because you are happy? I would understand if you were sad, but not happy."

Zayne clenched his hand. "You truly don’t understand. I am a bit too happy, and for a moment, I forgot where I stand."

Iris lifted her hands to cradle his face, feeling him flinch beneath her touch. "Be out with it, Zayne. You can be blunt with me, or will you not do so until there is a ring on my hand?"

"Why must you force me to say it?" Zayne muttered. "You are a woman, and I am a man."

"Yes. I noticed it from the very first day I saw you," Iris replied.

Zayne covered his face with his palm. "You are torturing me, aren’t you?"

"Indeed, I am. I have come to realise what you spoke of, and I suppose it is time that we get out of here. You must leave before someone finds out that you were here and that we were together. I will write to you while I am away," Iris said, though her chest ached at the thought of parting.

"Surely, the countess will not be against you having a visitor-"

Iris placed her finger on Zayne’s lips to silence him. "Do not think about it. A lady of her status would not be pleased to have a man visiting any lady at her home unless they are married. Being engaged doesn’t mean we can do as we please."

"And no," Iris quickly added as his lips parted. "We won’t have a rushed wedding. I must meet your family in due time. It can only happen after I have returned."

"Why are you going away?" Zayne asked.

"Because of the trouble between Damien and his aunt. Well, with her husband. That is why he is sending Eloise away. I don’t think we shall return until the matter is resolved. Reece is also leaving to return to his wife," Iris explained.

"Is that so?" Zayne murmured, already deciding he would offer Damien a hand. "I’m sure you will be back before you know it. Enjoy yourself with the countess. When you return, I shall have the ring ready and set up a meeting with my mother."

"What of your father?" Iris asked, curious how that would go.

"He listens to all that she says. As long as she is fully on board, he won’t have a different thought. She is not a scary woman," Zayne assured her. "She only appears that way, but she is very kind."

"I can’t recall if I have seen her before, and how certain can you be? You are her son, so she will be kind to you," Iris said, though she wasn’t worried. As long as she walked in with confidence, the meeting would go well.

"That is not the case for me. I bother my mother quite a bit, so she is angry with me at times. I always send her flowers to calm her and promise that I would soon take a wife. She is the only one I tell that lie to," Zayne admitted.

Iris poked his chest. "You sound like a troublesome child. Do I want such a troublesome husband?"

Zayne caught her hand. "Yes, you do," he replied, leaning down.

Iris dodged his lips and moved to open the door. "If we stay any longer, we are bound to be caught. I shall go first, and then you may leave after some time has passed."

She opened the door, ready to slip out, but froze in panic upon meeting Reece’s eyes.

Reece did a double take as he didn’t believe his eyes. "You!"

Iris slammed the door shut and locked it. She turned to Zayne, panicking. "As big as this estate is, how is it possible that he passes the one door we are hiding behind? Why didn’t you move to be out of sight?" she demanded, pressing her fingers to her temple.

"I must admit that I was in a trance, and you didn’t give me enough time to prepare to be sneaky. Nothing happened between us," Zayne said calmly, seeing no reason to panic. "We kissed because we got engaged."

"If that were the case, we would not have hidden away here. We look guilty," Iris pointed out.

"Because you closed the door. Now, you have planted a seed that we were doing far more than kissing. Let me go to your brother to explain it," Zayne said, stepping forward, but Iris blocked his path.

"Your appearance isn’t proper. Your hair is still a bit of a mess," Iris said, fussing over him.

"That was from me running to find you. I wish it were because you were running your fingers through my hair. If we are going to be accused of doing so, shouldn’t we enjoy ourselves and do it for a moment?" Zayne asked, now seeking to continue.

Iris tapped his arm. "No."

"Iris? Iris!"

She stepped away from the door after hearing her name and the pounding that followed.

Zayne allowed Iris to cower behind him. "I will let him inside and share that we are engaged. I might lose his favour since there isn’t a ring. I should have travelled with it."

"We only need to tell him," Iris said, gathering her courage.

Zayne moved to open the door.

Once Reece saw the two alone together, his anger grew.

"You should step inside so we can speak in private. Think about this before you act," Zayne said, stepping back as Reece advanced.

"Give me one good reason I shouldn’t hit you right now," Reece said, grabbing Zayne’s shirt.

"The two of you are determined to wrinkle my good shirt. It isn’t as it looks," Zayne said, raising his hands in surrender.

Iris closed the door so the maids couldn’t pry, then spoke quickly. "Brother, it truly isn’t as it appears. Nothing more than a kiss occurred, and that only happened because I agreed to be engaged. Can I not kiss him then?"

"No!" Reece exclaimed.

"Why not?" Iris asked, folding her arms.

Reece was unable to find a good reason beyond the shock of seeing his little sister so grown. "I don’t have a good reason."

"Then, can you please unhand my shirt? I’ll come shirtless next time since you two like a lot of tugging. I’m sorry," Zayne said, his tone half-apologetic, half-playful, as both siblings turned to glare at him.

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