Page 72 of My Trojan Horse Majesty

Drago screams then, and I can’t help laughing. “See?”

“I had no idea horses were so smart,” tallish man says. “That’s amazing.”

“This one’s a little unique,” I say. “He kind of tries to kill everyone but me.”

They shift over and give us a wide berth. Almost as soon as they’re past, Drago poops.

“Really?” I ask. “You are such a teenage boy, deep down.”

He snorts.

“We’re almost down the mountain. Let’s just go.” But with hikers coming now, I realize that he might need to shift back soonish. For some reason, it only occurs to me then that his clothes are missing. He didn’t take them off when he shifted, and they didn’t rip or tear or anything.

They just. . .disappeared.

What’s going to happen when he shifts back?

Shoot.

“Umm.” I slide off his back and head for a little copse of pine trees. “Follow me, you naughty stallion.” I toss my head this time.

Thankfully, he listens. Chalk one up as a win for the trust exercise.

“We don’t have clothes,” I hiss. “I hope you have a plan for this.” I wince. “Because those hikers showed up, and now I’m worried there might be more of them.”

He whinnies loudly.

“Yeah, I was wondering that, too.” I touch his shoulder, close my eyes, and say, “I want you to be a man now.” Same ear-popping feeling. Same whoosh, and then I slowly open my eyes.

He’s naked. Totally and completely naked. Again.

And his smile issmug.

“Why are you smiling? This is a disaster.”

He shrugs. “Embarrassment is for people who don’t look good.”

“You can be arrested for being naked in public here,” I hiss. “There’s no ‘he’s hot’ exception!”

“Diplomatic,” he says slowly, his voice low, “immunity.”

“Oh, my, gosh.” I stomp down the trail ahead of him and nearly run into someone. As I back up, casting around for Leonid, I realize it’s Boris.

He sighs. “I brought him clothes—they’re in the car. I’ll get them.”

“How did they know where you were?”

Leonid’s strolling down the hill behind me, not even wincing from the rocks under his feet. And I can’t deny—hedoeslook good. Ugh. “I left my cell phone in the car. When I don’t answer it, and when it stops moving, they usually show up wherever I am. It’s very annoying.”

“Well, in this case, it’s handy. Because you need to get some clothes on!”

“You asked me a question, you know,” he says. “And you didn’t let me answer. That was rude.” He’s walking toward me, making eye contact, just chatting, like he’s nothanging brain.

“We can just talk about it later.” I cover my eyes with one hand, but I can’t help stealing just a little peek. I mean, he’s not wrong about. . . Okay, I think the soul bond’s wrecked my normal decency.

“It’s not the bond,” Leonid says. “The way I feel about you—it might be the soul thing, but it’s not the string that crazy witch tied between us. I like you because you’re bright. You’re innocent, even though you’re not dumb. You’re fiery, and you’re generous, and you’re considerate. I like all those things about you—but mostly, I don’t feel alone when you’re nearby for the first time in my entire life.”

I forget my other concerns, and I stare only at his face. “But that could be from the connection.” I blink. “Right?” Because I feel it too, whatever it is, the strange belief that he’s just what I need. That he’s like me, and that I can trust him.

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