Page 30 of Prince of the Northwest Forest
For the foreseeable future.
Even though that’s impossible, given that I’ll have to return to my realm soon.
After dinner, he and I eat mint chip ice cream, which I’ve never had before, as he plays “Queen Bitch.”
“Mint is my favorite flavor,” I admit.
Justice grins. “Mine, too. I knew you were my kind of man.”
His words hit me in the solar plexus. “You may be my kind of man, too.”
A wrinkle forms in his brow. He’s surely wondering if I meant that the way it sounded.
I did, Justice. I wish I could stay.
I just wish …
I justwish, period.
When he stands, I do, too, and I help him with the dishes. He washes, and I dry. I like how his tattooed forearms look covered in sudsy water, and I fall behind in my duties of wiping everything off with the flour-sack towel.
We put his kitchen back to rights, and then we stare at each other.
He’s about my height, just slightly smaller. I study his eyes, then his straight nose, then his lips, which part on an exhale. The lower one is slightly chapped. He’s getting some stubble on his cheeks.
My fingers itch to tug him to me.
Instead, I rub the back of my neck. “I—I should go. I’ve overstayed my welcome already, and you have to get up early.”
“You don’t need to leave. Do you want to watch a movie?”
I really fucking do, but I shouldn’t.
I shake my head. “No, thank you. I should go back to the hotel. But dinner was wonderful, and the company was even better.”
Justice’s ears turn a rosy shade of pink. I must remember to compliment him more.
Putting on my boots and strapping on my sword, I get ready to leave. “Thank you,” I say. “For everything.”
“See you tomorrow?” he asks shyly.
“Definitely.” I want to reach out and … do something. Shake his hand, hug him, do more. But no. I’m not going to lead him on. There’s no way I can be with him.
When I pull my cloak around my shoulders and step outside, flanked by Hazel and Martin, I feel like I’m leaving a realm: the realm of possibility with Justice.
Back in my hotel room, I lie on my bed in my underwear and stare at the ceiling, patting my stomach.
I really wanted to kiss Justice. And that’s not a feeling I’ve ever had before. What is it that I’m feeling for Justice Laurel?
I think it might be something more than friendship.
So, not only am I not as straight as I thought I was, I may have the seed of attraction to someone.
Tohim.
But does it matter? I’m going to have to marry some royal. I suppose I could take a lover on the side, in the tradition of royals everywhere, but that seems so distasteful.
I sigh and turn onto my side, reaching for my novel. I read a few pages, but competing thoughts return, and I set it aside.
