Page 43 of The Prince and His Stolen Groom
Remembering the imp bite, I sighed and pushed myself up on my elbows. “Alright, help me up.”
He grabbed my hand and pulled, then I hopped to the couch, collapsing for the second time today. Even though getting here hurt, it was a brilliant idea. The cushions were much more comfortable.
“Do you have a first aid kit?”
“Both bathrooms under the sinks and one in the toy chest.”
“I thought you weren’t into that kind of play,” Brendon said, his tone forcefully teasing, like he was trying to lighten the mood.
I don’t know why he was trying so hard, I wasthe one who fucked up. It had ‘evil mage’ written all over it. I wasn’t sure if we were directtargets or if the magic tower had simply drawn their attention. Either way, the whole thing was my fault and I’d somehow dragged Brendon into it.
“I’m sorry,” I said suddenly, wanting him to know none of this was intentional.
The only response I got was the clinking and shuffling of items coming from the bathroom. When Brendon emerged, first-aid kit in hand, he ordered, “Take off your pants.”
His authoritative tone might have been sexy if it wasn’t an emergency. To get my pants off, I had to remove my boots, which was difficult while reclining on a couch. Brendon watched me struggle with the laces for a minute, his lips twitching suspiciously, before setting the kit on the coffee table and coming over.
“Here, let me.”
I covered my eyes with one of my arms, horribly embarrassed as he pulled my boots and socks off. I thought he’d finish there and let me handle the rest, but then his hands traveled slowly up the sides of my legs. Half my brain cried out:what are you doing? Stop it, this is not the time! Emergency, remember?The other half was cheering him on. Caught between admonishment and begging, I didn’t say anything.
His deft fingers popped open my buttons one by one, then he slipped under the fabric and lowered it inch by agonizing inch. The right leg gave him a little bit of trouble since blood had stuck the fabric to my skin. He slowed his pace further, his touch gentle as he tried to reduce the pain and trouble. I bit down hard on my lip to suppress a groan—a real one this time. I did not find that kind of pain sexy.
Once my legs were bare, he settled himself between them and rested my right leg on his lap. With careful dabs, he cleaned each puncture mark with a cotton swab and antiseptic.
“I’m sorry,” I repeated, because I wasn’t sure if he hadn’t heard me the first time or if he’d ignored me.
He remained focused on his work. “For what?”
I hesitated before saying, “For everything?”
“Apologies should be sincere and specific.”
I thought back on every crime and slight I’d committed against him, not sure where to begin. “I’m sorry I kidnapped you, which—intentionally or not—led you to be in this tower, attacked by potentially carnivorous plants.” And possibly a dragon. I didn’t add that only because I wasn’t sure if what I’d seen was real or a trick of the foliage.
“Why did you kidnap me anyway?”
I sighed and rubbed a hand down my face. “Franny—”
“I don’t mean why did you want to stop the wedding. I mean why did you jump straight to kidnapping?”
I peeked at him from between my fingers. “I just wanted to talk to you at first, about alternatives. But you seemed so …” I remembered the way his blue eyes crinkled when he smiled, his bright voice as he told me ‘I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time.’ “Happy. At the thought of marrying Franny.”
He groaned and leaned his head back against the edge of the couch. “Rick.”
I bit my lip and continued, “When I saw that, I panicked, and just sort of went with Plan B—”
“Rick,” he repeated, grabbing my hand, and pulling it away from my face. “I was lying through my goddamn teeth.”
I stared at him, only half-registering movement as he twined our fingers together. “What?”
“I left the Tipped Over Cup, alone, to catch my breath and … look for an escape route,” he confessed.
My mouth fell open and I gawked at him in surprise. “You were going torun away?” I demanded. “Wait, if you were planning to bail on the wedding anyway, why were you so mad when I kidnapped you?”
He arched an eyebrow at me. “Let’s see—in the first option, I gained freedom from an unwanted marriage and the chance to choose my own future. In the second option, I was locked in a fucking tower.” He waved his free hand to indicate the space around us. “Worse, I thought my kidnapper was my ownbride. Which meant that not only did shenotwant to marry me, but she was willing to go to some pretty extreme measures to prevent the wedding.”
He finally dropped my hand and picked up the bandages instead. I closed my palm, cold and empty, and tucked my fist against my side.
