Page 17 of Kingdom of Faewood

Which meant I was entirely in over my head if I’d hoped to slow them.

“Are you a stag shifter too?” I asked Jax.

He made a noise, and I had a feeling he was smirking, but that damned mask covered his expression. “That would be telling.”

Huffing, I aggressively snatched the plate from the ground and began to force the food into my mouth while I collected my thoughts. Since I was apparently going to ride Phillen, that meant I would have an even harder time impeding our journey.

As I finished the dry meal, Jax lifted pack after pack to his friends’ backs until all of their supplies were secured. Long bows were also stored on each shifter, and numerous quivers of arrows were strapped to them. It seemed to be their preferred weapon of choice.

But even those huge bows didn’t appear awkwardly packed on the stags. And none of the males so much as staggered under their supplies’ weight.

Once everything was secure, only Phillen’s back remained bare. With a sickening lurch of my stomach, I realized they truly intended for me to ride him.

Finally done eating, I drank the cup of water, then wiped my mouth.

“Ready?” Jax sauntered toward me.

“Wait.” I held up my hands when he neared.

He paused, staying rooted to the spot several feet away. Once again, his gaze was unnervingly intent.

I chewed on my lower lip, and for the briefest moment, Jax’s gaze dipped to watch the movement, but just as fast, he snapped his eyes up.

“I can’t ride him. I don’t know how to ride.” I made a show of twisting my hands even though my claim wasn’t entirely true. I was fairly versed in riding domals, but I wasn’t practiced in riding any animal bareback.

“You’re worried about falling?”

“Wouldn’t you be?”

He prowled closer to me, and his eyes crinkled in the corners. “No need to be concerned. I won’t let you fall.”

My brows pinched together, and I cocked my head. “You won’t let me—” My eyes flashed wide. “Wait, you’re going to ride on Phillen’s backwithme?”

Phillen let out a loud snort, and I couldn’t tell if he was enjoying my horror or if he was as offended as me.

One of Jax’s dark eyebrows quirked up. “Of course, I’ll ride with you. How else can we trust you to stay atop him and not tumble off?”

“Is that how you took me last night? You were riding Phillen?” I didn’t remember many details about my abduction, but I distinctly remembered the feel of an arm sliding around my waist and the memorable sound of hoofbeats.

“Perhaps.”

I ground my teeth together at another vague answer. “Perhaps?”

But instead of divulging anything further, the Dark Raider nodded toward Phillen. “Enough questions, Little Lorafin. We’re leaving.Now.”

Even though I’dbeen worried about falling off Phillen, it’d been for naught. Once I was on the stag, Jax straddled the natural groove of Phillen’s back just behind me. My captor’s solid chest and muscled thighs slid snugly against me. And to make matters worse, he also snaked an arm around my waist to hold me in a firm grip.

All breath left me.Stars and galaxy.

I felt every hard line of Jax, every divot, every pulse in his veins, every breath in his chest. All of him was molded to me like a form-fitting glove. Not one inch of my back remained untouched.

My heart throbbed in time with my aching limbs. Sitting like this made my abused muscles scream.

“Let’s go!” Jax called.

I jolted when Phillen abruptly took off at a brisk trot, but Jax’s grip only tightened.

“You can hold onto his mane if you want.” He nodded toward the thicker hair around Phillen’s neck. “Phil won’t mind.”

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