Fuck, fuck, fuck. What was wrong with it? What was wrong with me? My chest felt hot and itchy, or maybe achy, like my ears. I wanted to scratch and pull at my ribcage to soothe the feeling. But I couldn’t move. I didn’t want to move, but I couldn’t relax either. And for the life of me I couldn’t take my eyes off Esmeralda. I just…

I wanted to go to her. See her from closer. Hear her laugh from closer. Feel her closer.

I didn’t recall urging Big Guns towards her, but he started moving under me, taking me where I was being pulled by some invisible string. Esmeralda flashed me a big, beautiful grin, and a new wave of hot blood attacked my face.

Fuck. Did I—towards Esmeralda—this feeling—I, uh…attraction…

She steered Bucky to meet me halfway, and I started panicking.

Was it showing on my face? Could she tell how much she affected me? Had she noticed I couldn’t—hadn’t taken my eyes off her? That she had messed with my head?

Would she think it was weird? That I was weird for finding myself attracted to her in such a short amount of time? Especially when I’d been horrible to her for one of those days and nights.

What if she thought I was a creepy old man for being attracted to her? I was going on thirty this year, and she was twenty-two—no, twenty-three. Shit.

My brows sunk and scrunched as my thoughts spiralled. I tugged at my earlobe, trying to get rid of any lingering evidence of what she’d done to me.

Esmeralda pulled Bucky to a stop next to Big Guns. “What was that about never losing, huh? I don’t lose.” She mimicked a deep male voice. “That was it, wasn’t it?”

I relaxed a little under her teasing. Maybe she hadn’t noticed the tsunami that was threatening to drown me because of her. “I don’t sound like that,” I muttered.

She giggled, swaying with the back-and-forth steps of an eager Bucky. I stared down into his eyes sternly, warning him not to get overexcited now that he’d had a good, hard run. As if he could read human expressions to know what I meant.

“Ooph, just look at that glare.” She gave a mocking pout. “Are we sulking now, Mr Perfect Prince?”

I thought I hated that nickname. But why didn’t it sound so bad when she used it? Why was she so cute? And yet that mischievous swirl of light in her eyes caused my teeth to clench.

“What?” she sassed. “If you have something to say, say it.”

Something sharp jabbed through me, riling me in a warm, prickly way. The feeling was newly awoken. One I’d suppressed, but still secretly wanted. It caused my hands to twitch around Big Guns’ reins, so tempted to reach for her. To yank her onto my saddle, slam my mouth down on hers, and kiss that grin off her face.

She would probably think there was something wrong with me if she knew what I was thinking. I was a prince, a gentleman, after all. I wasn’t supposed to want to be so…rough. I wasn’t supposed to want to kiss her so hard and long that she almost passed out in my arms.

I needed to look away from Esmeralda so I could quickly bury the thought into the corner of my brain I refused to peer into. So, I dragged Big Guns around and rode slowly to the three poles near the edge of the forest to tie the horses to.

“Kai. Hey, wait.” I heard Bucky push into a trot before they appeared by my side again. “Are you giving me the silent treatment now?”

Damn it, she shouldn’t be allowed to have such beautiful eyes that she practically wielded as a weapon of mass seduction.

I swallowed hard. “No.”

“Did you let me win on purpose?”

I had no idea. Honestly, I hadn’t actually been that focused on the race. Not knowing what to say, I stayed silent.

“Hey. You better not have let me win on purpose.”

“Or what?” I asked blankly.

She took a breath to answer. “I’ll push you off Big Guns if you did.”

A little taken aback, I glared into her playful, wide-eyed stare of conviction. Then down to the gap between us. “Your arms aren’t long enough to reach me.”

I nudged Big Guns into a trot with the heel of my boots, rushing ahead of Esmeralda and questioning what the bloody fuck possessed me to say that.

But when she shrieked an outraged laugh behind me, knowing I’d done that—made her laugh—felt really fucking good.

Chapter Eleven