Page 12 of The Time Of Kings

“I told you, I am not a… thief…I er…”

My rant ended when he suddenly took a step closer as he now seemed to be fascinated with my dirty hair. Going so far as to take some of the loose muddy strands between his finger and thumb. He then rubbed them together, and I ended up sucking air in quickly when he stated in an assertive tone,

“You’re blonde.”

I swallowed hard and took another step back, jumping when my back hit the door.

“Er… yes, like… like a lot of girls, yes.”

Of course, the words just stumbled from my lips because the memory of the kidnapper saying to only take the blonde now slammed back into me. Along with every time Draven had seemed fascinated with my hair back in my own time and, of course,I knew why.

His prophesied girl who would be known to him by her golden fleece.

He suddenly tagged a strong arm around my waist and pulled me in closer, rendering my attempt to put more space between us useless.

“But I think we both know…you are not like other girls,”he replied and again, he watched as I swallowed another lump down my throat before mentally scrambling for a way out of this.Of course, the way his voice dropped in a sexy timbre wasn’t helping either.

“Well, according to you, I’m not a lady either.”

One side of his lip crept up in a very Draven-like smirk at my sour reply. Then he dipped his head to my ear and whispered,

“No…you are so much more.”

I couldn’t help but shudder, something he must have felt with such a firm hold on me. The reaction gave him cause enough for those delicious lips to lift further, transforming that devastating smirk of his into a full-blown grin.

“I… erm… I thought I was a thief,” I stated, and this time I felt his smile against my skin, as he must have found at least one place on me that wasn’t dirty. That, or he just didn’t care anymore.

“Hmm, yes, and I have a feeling you’re about to steal something very important indeed.”

I couldn’t help but blush, turning my head away from him to look to the side. Something that was pointless when trying to hide my reddened skin as he wouldn’t have been able to see anyway. Not with this muddy face of mine.

“Well lucky for me, it wasn’t your porcelain vase,” I teased, now seeing for myself that was what had been smashed on the floor in his anger.

He suddenly threw his head back and laughed. And no matter which time period I was in, it was a sound I adored, and it shot straight to the core of me.

“Forgive me in allowing you to witness my temper. Only I had believed for a short time in your trickery of having me think you had evaded my capture by sprouting wings and flying away,” he said with humour lacing his words.

“Knowing my luck, I would have flown too close to the sun like Icarus… although I like to think I wouldn’t have been foolish enough to use waxen wings.”

He raised a surprised brow and once again, the usual traits I loved and adored pulled at my heart. His outfit choice was the only thing strong enough to force me to remember that this wasn’t my Draven. Which was most likely why I bit my lip. Something he certainly noticed, as his gorgeous dark eyes homed in on them, making me let them go instantly.

“You know of Greek mythology?” he asked, finally leaving the sight of my lips. A pair that thankfully didn’t taste like mud anymore and, honestly, I didn’t know what I found stranger… That he was still holding me while I was covered in said mud, or that he was having a conversation with me at all?

Especially considering I was a strange muddy woman he had found hiding in his room. Unless of course, he knew who I was to him? After all, Pip wasn’t here this time to do her funky voodoo ‘she is not the droid you’re looking for’ Jedi mumbo. Surely not though. I mean, he what…? Saw the barest hint of blonde hair and that was it?Was that really all it would take?

“I can also read,” I teased, making him smile again.

“Ah so a well-educated thief then… I must say, I am becoming increasingly intrigued by the second,” he replied, and unfortunately for me, in this time period, having Draven’s increasing interest in me wasn’t a good thing. Not when I needed to blow this medieval popsicle stand and get back to my time traveling crew.

Although, truth be told, I had no clue what era I was actually in. I knew from the way he was dressed that I wasn’t actually in medieval England, despite currently having this conversation in a castle. Yet what I did know was that I didn’t belong here and finding Draven was definitely a big time-traveling mistake on my part. Because if there was one thing I had learned from the last time I dipped my toe in the time traveling pool, that was Draven was off the menu. Because no matter what age ofDraven I was dealing with, if he knew I was his Chosen One, then surviving this quest was no longer my biggest problem…

Escaping Draven was.

“Just as I am increasingly eager to get you out of these muddy clothes and into a warm bath.”

My eyes widened as I was flooded with hundreds of memories all at once of what happened every time Draven joined me for a bath. As if he knew precisely where my mind had ventured to, he chuckled, like he was pleased to discover I was not some frightful little virgin ready to jump at just the thought of him touching me.

However, letting Draven give me a bath was about as dangerous as taking up lion taming right now. Hence why I tried to disentangle myself from him, at the same time protesting,

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