Cruel Shame (Knights of Templar Academy #3) - Sofia Daniel Page 0,57
still felt jumpy from getting caught by Father Neapolitan.
Eventually, the students disappeared into their classroom and up the stairs, leaving me strolling the hallway with Orlando.
“So?” He drew out the syllable.
“Lady Liddell ended up looking like a twat, to be honest.”
Orlando wrapped a thick scarf around my neck and opened the door, letting out a blast of cold air. I was still pretty warm from running, and the scarf kept me toasty. We walked hand-in-hand through the academy’s back gardens.
At this time of the year, frost covered the low, geometric hedges that enclosed the flowerbeds, and the climbing roses that sprawled over the wooden pyramids now looked like the dying flower from Beauty and the Beast.
As we continued along the line of trees that bordered one side of the gardens, I told him how her attempt to frame me as a child of incest resulted in the archbishop out to be an acknowledgment that I was a Liddell.
He frowned. “Not quite.”
“What do you mean?”
“Nobody except those closest to Elizabeth know Father Neapolitan’s connection with the family,” he said.
“Shit, that’s right.” Strangely, a weight lifted from my chest. If Lady Liddell believed I wasn’t aware that the priest was the bastard son of the previous laird, she might not go to the effort of protecting her daughter’s birthright with my death.
“I heard you got pretty close to Ken over the weekend,” he said.
My eyes narrowed and I stared up into his face. The overcast day made his blond hair appear a rich caramel instead of the usual blond. He stared ahead, but his hazel eyes rotated to the side, seeming to study my reaction.
“What did you hear?” I asked
“He didn’t say anything directly,” Orlando said in a voice that sounded like he was fishing for information. “But you know what he’s like.”
My lips curled into a smile. A gust of wind rustled the trees overhead, and I turned my gaze from Orlando and back to the path. It swept down toward the high hedge that led to the surrounding fields. Kendrick didn’t seem the type who would dish out the dirty details to his friends.
I gave his warm hand a gentle squeeze. “Then what makes you think something happened between us?”
“First of all, he no longer mutters about you under his breath.” Orlando stopped at a wooden bench, released my hand, pulled me closer into his body. “Secondly, did you see that testosterone match he had with Adewale?”
“Yeah.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “Does he know Gideon isn’t interested in me in that way?”
Orlando shook his head and chuckled. “We’re waiting for Ken to work that out on his own.”
“Oh, dear.” I bit down on my lip. It wasn’t like any of the knights could run Gideon off, but I didn’t want my best friend suffering because Kendrick thought he was a rival. “Maybe I should say something.”
“Has Adewale come out of the closet?” Orlando asked.
I clutched at my head. It wasn’t my bloody secret to tell, was it? “Shit. I should stop meddling while I’m ahead.”
Orlando’s hand around my waist wandered down to my ass. He drew close enough for a kiss but ended up brushing his cheek against mine. “Let them work it out on their own.”
I placed both hands on his hard chest. His woolen waistcoat and blazer were too thick to work out if his heart was beating fast. Given the amount of times we’d kissed and how he’d once pleasured me with his tongue, this wasn’t one of those will he or won’t he situations. Even though I hadn’t said the words, Orlando was my boyfriend.
“Do we have to be on a dance floor before I can touch you?” he murmured into my ear.
“That hasn’t stopped you before.” We stood so close that the heat between our bodies became a furnace. Warmth surged between my legs, and I felt the ghost of something long and substantial against my belly.
“True.” Orlando wrapped his arms around my lower back, pulling us even closer, confirming that he was fully erect, and met my gaze with a pair of concerned, hazel eyes. “I know you like the twins.”
My gaze dropped to Orlando’s wide and full and curving lips. My own lips tingled with the need to be kissed. “So?”
“Are you planning on just dating them?”
I sucked in a deep breath as understanding trickled through my skull. He wanted to know if he and I had a chance. “The twins are stunning,” I said as I cupped his cheek.