“How kind of you to clear that up,” I mumbled. The edge of his lips twitched. I took a bite and groaned a little under my breath. The creamy rice porridge was sweetened with honey and had an assortment of blueberries. “I think my taste buds just had an orgasm.”
Maddox coughed. Then coughed again.
“You okay?” I patted his back. “Choke on your food? Don’t die on me, Captain. I’m sure you’ve been in many fights in your life and faced countless enemies. Do you really want porridge to be the thing to take you out?”
“Silence that rambling mouth of yours,” he said, his cheeks pinker now than before. He slightly turned his body away from me. “I wish to eat in peace.”
“It’s because I said orgasm, isn’t it? Does it go against the knight’s code?”
“Evan, I swear to the gods.” He pinched his eyes closed, and as his lips started to twitch, he tightened his jaw and gritted his teeth together. Like he was trying his hardest to refrain from laughing. “Finish your breakfast without another world, or Iwillgag you.”
His gaze met mine again. I blinked at him. When I opened my mouth, his brow arched, as if to imply he dared me to say something.
“Gag me with what exactly?” I asked, unable to help myself. “A rope, piece of cloth, or…” My gaze dropped to his pants, and my cheeks heated at the bulge staring back at me. “What would my tombstone say in that case? Death by knightly sausage. The hero of meats.”
Maddox made some kind of choking noise before turning his face away from me. He stood and walked away from the firepit, and although I could only see the back of him, his shoulders shook.
He had stepped away to laugh.
That’s when I realized Captain Ice wasn’t nearly as cold as he led people to believe. Beneath all that snarl? He was a hot-blooded male who laughed at perverted jokes like the rest of us.
After breakfast, Maddox met with the scouts who’d recently returned. I wasn’t allowed to listen in, but I could see them from my spot near the fire. The captain’s grave expression told me the news they brought wasn’t good. He nodded, exchanged a few more words, then dismissed them before approaching me.
“Everything okay?” I asked, standing up.
“I have business elsewhere,” he said. “Can I trust you to behave while I’m gone?”
“What business? Where are you going?”
“I need to speak with the king.”
“Why? Did the scouts have bad news?”
He stared at me for a few moments. “That’s no concern of yours.” Slowly, he was reverting back to his icy self. “Before I set out, I need to know what you plan to do. You say you’re a traveler. Where is your next destination?”
“Honestly? I have no idea.” Lupin had said returning to my world was impossible, which didn’t leave me many options. “If it’s okay, I’d like to stay in Bremloc. At least for now.”
“Very well.” He straightened his stance, chin tipping up. Maybe I was mistaken, but he looked pleased by my answer. “In that case, you’ll stay here for the day.”
“How long will you be gone?”
Maddox called Callum over. “Watch over him until I return.”
“Yes, sir,” Callum responded.
“You’re going to ignore me?” I asked.
Maddox stepped closer. He didn’t touch me, but he stood so close I felt the heat of his body. “Ignore you? As if that’s possible. You’ve been a pain in my backside since I found you.”
If that was true, why did he look like he was seconds away from smiling?
After looking at me one final time, Maddox left the area. I stared after him, confused by the little flutters in my belly. Was I crushing on him? It had only been a day. Well, two if I counted yesterday.
“Come with me,” Callum said, smile bright. “I’ll show you around.”
***
The tour was brief but informative. The knights slept in barracks, dispersed between several buildings, and the officers had their own rooms. There was also a mess hall where they dined together, played cards, and relaxed. Callum then showed me the stables, the training grounds, and the kitchens.
