Maddox hopped off his horse and strode toward me, his expression hard.
“Hey, handsome,” I said, going for cute and flirty. It had worked in the past. “Damn, look at you. Dressed in all black and looking like a snack.”
“Why is it every time you venture off on your own, you return to me injured?” he growled, giving me the up-down. His voice was just as hard as his expression, but beneath the growly irritation, I heard the worry he couldn’t fully hide. Saw it in his eyes, too, as they fell to my hurt ankle. “You’re limping.”
“It’s nothing. I’m fi—”
Maddox pulled me into a crushing hug. That’s when I felt the ever-so-subtle tremble in his large body. “You worried me. Coming home and not knowing where you were?” He pressed kisses into my hair as another quake went through him. “If anything happened to you…”
“I promise I’m okay,” I managed to say through the lump in my throat. “I didn’t mean to worry you. Kuya and I had some free time and thought it would be fun to visit the market. Then we got caught in the storm and found a place to lay low until it passed.”
His arms tightened around me. “Were you scared during the storm?”
“Are you kidding? I’m Evan, Prince of Thorns and Lord of the Muffins. Storms don’t scare me one bit.”
“That’s my boy,” Duke said from atop his horse.
“Your boy?” Callum retorted. “Say that again and you may find your throat slit.”
“The captain wouldn’t dare.” Duke winked at Maddox. “He’d miss me too much.”
Maddox gave a slight shake of his head before examining me, his eyes gleaming with that same worry from earlier. “How did you hurt yourself? Or did someone else hurt you? Tell me their name, and I’ll hunt them down.”
“I fell,” I said, expelling a nervous laugh—that most definitely amped up his suspicion.
“You falling? I can believe.” He grabbed my chin and forced my face up. “But there’s something you’re hiding behind those green eyes.”
I didn’t want to mention Lake in front of everyone. Certainly didn’t want anyone else to hear that he’d snatched me and carried me into the woods. And kissed me—which I fully intended to disclose to Maddox and Briar. Honesty was the key to a healthy relationship. Plus, the guilt would eat me alive otherwise.
But for now?
I snuggled into Maddox’s chest, my stomach fluttering at his familiar scent. “I’ll tell you everything once we get home.”
“I’ll hold you to that.” Maddox placed me on his stallion and swung up into the saddle behind me, arms coming around me to grab the reins.
“Evan, your presents!” Kuya was on the back of Sawyer’s horse and held up my bag.
“Presents?” Maddox asked me.
“For you and Briar.”
A soft smile crossed his face before he moved the horse in that direction, coming up beside Prince Sawyer’s white steed. Kuya handed over the bag, and I thanked him as I brought it to my chest.
Maddox allowed Prince Sawyer and Sir Noah to lead the way before guiding the horse toward the castle gates. Callum, Duke, and Baden followed behind us.
“Where’s Quincy?” I asked.
Baden snorted. “In the medical ward. The fool got hit with an arrow.”
“What? Is he okay?”
“Yes,” Duke answered, mirroring Baden’s amusement. “Though, I’m not sure the same can be said for his pride.”
I blinked.
“The arrow caught him in the backside,” Callum explained. “He was getting on his horse when it struck the left side of his rear.”
“The padding saved him.” Baden coughed to cover a laugh. “Your cooking is more than likely to thank for that. It’s all of those extra helpings.”
