Page 51 of Reckless
I did it. It worked. Maybe I should pray more.
“I—I wasn’t ready!” I pant, taking a step away before smoothing out my rumpled shirt.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” he mocks, exasperated, “I just assumed that ‘get me up there’ implied you were ready toget up there.”
I glance up at the men around us, hidden in shadows. The blanket of darkness is the only reason I was able to get away with the sloppy stunt I just pulled without anyone seeing. “I’m just… nervous, okay? Give me a second.”
“Take your time,” he grinds out between clenched teeth, not meaning a single word.
I look away from the agitation so blatantly displayed across his face. Taking a deep breath, I play the part of the anxious captive, complete with fidgeting fingers and shifting feet.
“All right,” I finally say.
“All right, what?” he asks slowly. “I want to hear you say it, so I don’t get ambushed again.”
I offer him a dull look. “All right, I’m ready.”
“You sure about that? Should I expect a black eye or—”
“Just get me on the damn horse, Azer.”
He takes a slow step behind me then, holding my gaze while sliding rough palms onto my hips. I swallow at the sheer intimacy of a moment that is intended to be nothing of the sort.
He’s lifting me onto the horse that’s carrying me to my doom, for Plague’s sake.
And yet, my cheeks are heating in the middle of a sunless desert. And I hate it—hate him.Right?
He pulls me close, holds me like a breath, knowing it’s only a matter of time before he needs to let me go.
And then he’s lifting me, guiding my foot into a stirrup. I swing my other leg over the beast, shaky and slow. I’m clutching the saddle, every muscle taught and ready to throw myself off if need be. But right as I’m considering doing just that, he’s suddenly behind me, solid and pressed against my spine.
“I think,” I say quietly, “I’d be more comfortable in the back.”
“Oh, I’m sure,” he murmurs, so close to my ear, I suppress a shiver. “But I want you where I can see you.”
He reaches around me then, forearms framing my waist as he grips the reins. I roll my eyes at where his hands rest on my thighs. “Is this really necessary?”
“What, you know how to steer a horse?”
I lean slightly against his chest. “I’m a fast learner.”
He huffs, stirring my hair. “Yes, a fast learner that would head straight back to Dor.”
“You think so little of me, Highness.”
A laugh. “No, I think so often of you. Which is why I know exactly what you would do.”
I swallow, slouching as I let the silence settle over us. Minutes tick by, tempting me to talk, if only out of boredom.
“What will he do to me?”
He’s tucked so closely behind that I can feel his body tense when the question slips from my mouth. I suddenly have the prince shifting uncomfortably, sighing onto the back on my neck. I’ve tried not to think of Kitt, of how I may have helped mold him into a replica of the king I drove a sword through.
“I…,” Kai starts, ducking his head, “I’m not sure.”
“What is he like?” I say softly. “Myking?”
“He’s like you left him.” His voice is dull. “A shell of a man, stepping into the shoes of a king.”
