Page 60 of The King's Maiden

With no intention of letting him know that, I gritted my teeth and refused to back down from his stare. “You do realize no one hasactuallyexplained The Quest to me, right?” I hated the note of breathlessness in my voice. “When you come out of nowhere and ask me to undress you, I genuinely don’t know where that’s coming from.”

He huffed a laugh. “And you jump to the assumption that I’m asking out of what? Sheer passion for you?”

“Having a thing for me wouldn’t be so crazy.” I brushed past his insult, jerking my hand in his grip.“Nothaving a thing for me and asking me to undress you? That, to me, sounds crazy.”

While he didn’t let me go, his grip loosened slightly. “And if I had a thing for you? Would you do it?”

I smothered the tiny voice in my brain shoutingyes.“No.”

A smile curved the corner of his mouth. “And why not?”

“Because I’m not a sex puppet, Landon. I don’t askhow highwhen you sayjump.”My heart rate kicked up. “And besides, it’s a moot point unless…Do you have a thing for me?”

He didn’t respond, his head cocking to the side as he eyed me curiously. After a few beats of prolonged staring, I tried to yank my hand out of his grip again.

His fingers tightened over my wrist. “You really don’t know anything about The Quest?”

I shook my head. “No. Care to enlighten me? Because if not, I’d like to finish unpacking.”

He eyed the clothes at his feet and my leggings before raking his gaze over my outfit.

For my first day, I’d chosen my comfiest but most unflattering pair of jeans. The boyfriend fit hid my curves perfectly, but I’d paired it with a white crop top to claim it was a sexy look if someone bitched.

It was less sexy after my run in with Brutus—streaked with grass and probably a bit of sweat under my arms.

Opting to forgo the cute booties I usually wore with these jeans, I completed the look with a pair of athletic tube socks—white with red stripes where they banded around my calf. My worn-out white sneakers, covered with dirt and bits of tree bark, had been haphazardly toed off somewhere near the chaise by the window.

I wasn’t a slob by nature, but the sound of his teeth gritting as he’d nudged my shoes into an acceptable spot had been totally worth acting like one.

Landon wrinkled his nose at my appearance, as if he hadn’t seen me right after my run for my life, but he full-on blanched when he caught sight of my sleep shirts. “What the fuck are you even putting in those drawers?”

“Clothes.You know, what people wear when they aren’t trying to impress a house full of egomaniacs.” I exaggerated a roll of my eyes, then pinned my stare on his hand—the one still entrapping my wrist. “Do you mind? I’d like to finish.”

Barking a laugh, he pointedly ignored my request. His eyes sparkled with amusement, warm flecks of amber glinting within the brown depths. “Are you sure there aren’t medsyouneed to take today?”

I tugged against his hold. “What’sthatsupposed to mean?”

He filched one of my oversized pajama shirts out of the drawer—a particular favorite with grumpy cats all over it—holding it up between us like it was a venomous snake.

“Just that you’ve clearly lost your mind if you think you’ll need any of this.”

I swallowed, my bravado weakening under a wave of lust that hit me at his implication. But I kept my voice steady and tried to sound as bored as possible when I responded, “Oh, gee. Let me guess. More lingerie?”

His fingers flexed over my wrist, a wolfish grin curving his full lips. “If I let you wear anything at all.”

Desire swirled in my belly, and I yanked on my wrist.

He released me, his eyes tracking my retreat and sizing me up like we’d entered a sparring ring without my awareness. I made a show of rubbing my arm, even though his grip had been gentle.

For a controlling brute throwing his weight around.

“As thrilling as that sounds for the next time you leave me locked in a room, or spank me into submission. I’d rather pass.” Crossing my arms over my chest, I squared off with him. And hid the way my nipples tightened under my shirt at the memory. “Thanks for that, by the way.”

He crossed his arms over his chest, mirroring my posture. “Trust me, you have more than that to look forward to if you want to win.”

“And are you actually going to tell me what that entails? Or just dangle it over my head like a carrot.”

He smirked. “Haven’t decided.”

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