Survive As The Brute's Wife

Maximus heard a thudding noise as he entered the room. He ran inside wondering if it was Felixa who fell. But she was standing but she was acting odd standing near the table.

He took a glance at the table to see the books he brought were scattered. It was neatly arranged some time ago.

«Was she reading those books? Did I startle her by entering? She can read if she wants… Ugh! How can I make her more assertive? How can I make her believe that everything is hers to take?»

Felixa composed her crazily beating heart seeing the book she threw not entirely hidden under the table. But as Maximus approached her, she greeted Maximus with a smile.

[I did nothing wrong!]

She told herself again and again. She didn't seek that book. That book found her and it is not her fault. But when Maximus walked past her towards the table, her heart skipped a beat.

"Did you take a look at the books I brought for you, Lexa?" Maximus asked pointing at the books.

Felixa bowed and she saw "that book" very close to Maximus' shoes. If he even moved his foot a little bit, he'd feel that book and he'd definitely check that book. She didn't want that to happen. She didn't want him to know that she read that book.

"No," she squeezed herself in between Maximus and the table and pushed the book deep inside with her foot. Her heart was pumping hard and she felt her face burn.

Maximus looked down at the little woman getting this close to him on a rare occasion and his heart filled with joy. Those blinking blue eyes and those blushing cheeks made his desire rise. 

He leaned towards her face and his lips curved to a smirk when she tried to step back.

«You cannot escape, my little wife…»

Felixa's heart started to pound faster when his face magnified in front of her and this time for another reason. Her eyes ended up on his lips and an odd sensation formed in her lower abdomen. She tried to take a step back already forgetting the table behind her. 

But then she saw the smirk on his face and she pouted. She decided to get out of this bind. She tried to take a step to her left but she was blocked by his strong arm. Through the thin fabric she was wearing, she felt his bulging nerves on his sculpted forearms as he held the rim of the table. 

"Ah," he raised his eyebrows and blocked her right with his left hand. "Where are you going?"

His minty breath fell on her face and she blinked her eyes faster to manage the tingle on her face.

"You smell very pleasant…"

She didn't know how she said those words but she did. Not wanting to see that exaggerated smirk she was sure would ornate his handsome face, she bowed her head. 

"I do?" He started to chuckle. 

She tried to look up but her eyes didn't go further up and lingered on his crotch. She remembered the other day when they were standing this close and his…

[That stick between the legs I saw in that picture… Was that… So that goes inside my…]

She bowed and looked at her crotch.

"Lexa?"

His deep, vibrating voice made her hunch up her shoulders. Her entire face was burning up and she knew she has blushed beet-red.

"Lexa, look at me," he was amused. 

She didn't want to amuse him. She is not a jester. She wanted to look at his face, but upon her inability to do so, she reached her hand and picked up a book.

"Help me understand this," she pressed the book on his chest and pushed him back.

He chuckled. But he grabbed the book along with her hand and took a step back.

"Don't laugh," she mumbled with a pout.

She pulled her hand out of his grip and he let go of her hands without much struggle. She darted to the sofa the moment she was free to move.

Maximus watched her back with a pleased smile. After what happened earlier in the day, he thought that she might be in a bad mood. But seeing her lively made him relieved.

He looked at the book in his hand and it was the ancient spells that could summon the higher-level beasts. The ones she had already summoned. He chose this book to observe how much she remembers. He knows that she could see the cat because she is a summoner.

«But how much does she know about Kefir and the others?»

He turned back at the table. He just now remembered that one book he sneaked inside the other books. He was desperate and he figured out that depending on Flavia to teach her anything is futile. So he decided to take matters into his own hands and chose that book with careful consideration. Other books involved ropes, whips, and whatnot, but he was not very confident about that stuff.

After all, this would be the first time he would be doing anything of this sort in his life. It's all new to him too.

«But where is that book? I don't find that book on the table… Don't tell me…»

His lips curved to a smile as he looked at Felixa. He took another glance and saw the book under the table.

«So my wife already read that book? Is that why she acted this way? Adorable!»

He went to the sofa deciding not to bring it up. The more she reads that book and gets "excited" the better it would be for him. He is already burning in passion and when her desires awakens and she starts to burn, both of them can quench their thirst together.

He was happy.

Felixa observed Maximus as he explained each of the symbols and the beasts they would summon. There were drawings of the beasts and there recognized the lion and the phoenix she saw in her memories.

[They are the beasts that were summoned? They stood beside Luke on the battlefield… Was Luke the one who summoned them? He was a powerful summoner?]

She saw the writings and as Maximus started to teach her the pronunciation and as he spoke each of those spells, she started remembering the past.

Her memories of the past where she learned those spells in the dark in the library that was meant for the aristocrats came to her memory. Tubby was standing guard by the door to protect her. But she didn't know how she had access to the library in the academy that was meant for the aristocrats. The Thanes weren't allowed anywhere near the facilities of the aristocrats and they had separate facilities. They won't even be allowed to enter the building of the aristocrats.

[Did Luke help us get in?]

Thinking about it all made her whole body ache. Her stomach hurt more.

"Lexa?" Maximus called her and she looked at him.

"Yes…" she smiled and got the book from his hand.

Turning the pages, she started reading the spells fluently. It was surprising for her. She couldn't read them some time ago, but now that Maximus taught her, she remembered it all.

The ancient language the scripts are written in is not spoken by commoners anymore. That language had become almost extinct even in her time and she was surprised that Maximus can read it three hundred years later.

Maximus observed her and he could feel that she is pondering something very seriously. But judging by her eye and lip movements, he could sense that she could read those verses now.

He was confused. He believed her when she said that she couldn't read those words. After all, she is not a very good liar. He remembered everything, but it seems like she forgot a lot from their past.  But it is good news if she could remember the past. It would aid in his wishes.

Her awakening might be slow but it is necessary for his plans.

"This language… who speaks this?" Felixa asked.

"Only a handful of people could read this language these days," Maximus leaned on the backrest of the sofa and leisurely placed his arm around her.

"So you learned the language because you wanted to be a summoner?" Felixa asked with her eyes wide.

Maximus opened his mouth but nothing came out as if he is carefully choosing his words.

"I did not..." he said holding his head and said nothing else.

Felixa stared at him for some time but there was no sign of him answering her.

[He is very… He never lets me see his true self. But then, I am lying to him too.]

She had an odd feeling in her heart that Maximus might be someone who is not just the heir of Adonis Lukyan. He should be more than that.

His obsession with the Hashomer, him offering the dagger for her to fight, him squeezing out her blood…

[That story Flavia said…]

"Flavia told me the myth of the Maiden of the Dagwood tree today," she said closing the book and placing it on the table.

"She did?" Maximus raised his eyebrows as his face got filled with an odd expression.

"What do you think?"