Page 65 of Escaping Wonderland

Shadow held his stance until the female had vanished into the crowd before twirling the knife between his fingers—as effortlessly as a person might scratch their cheek—and sheathing it on his belt. “Give people some mind-altering substances and they forget all their manners.”

“Did you take them when you came here?” Alice asked, staring at the sheathed knife.

He turned his head to scan their surroundings and shrugged. “They never had an effect on me. Didn’t see a point after the first few tries.”

Alice glanced up at him. “You tried? You wanted to feel…likethat? Like you’re no longer in control of yourself?”

Shadow sighed and flicked his gaze to hers briefly. In that instant, she saw vulnerability in his eyes, saw the underlying sorrow that he almost never exposed.

“I just wanted to feel…something. Something other than empty and alone. Something…good. I don’t know if I’ve ever been happy until you came along… But this is hardly the time.” He pointed toward a door on the far side of the room—a large, rectangular door that was covered in red, velvety material. The guards posted in front of it were two scaly aliens who looked like hybrids between dragons and bodybuilders. “Bokki and Grithis are through there. I can’t allow the guards to see me, or there will be more trouble than we can deal with.”

“You want me to go inalone?”

“I’ll be with you. Just…out of sight.”

Of course he’d remain close. Alice should’ve known that. But the thought of walking into the unknown unsettled her—especially in a place so reminiscent of the Hatter’s. If that female alien had wanted ataste, what would everyone else want? How was Alice going to get past those guards?

This is our only way forward.

Alice and Shadow needed information, needed answers, so they could escape Wonderland. And once they were out, once they weresafe, she could let herself forget most of her experiences here—all but those with Shadow—like they’d been nothing more than a particularly vivid nightmare.

“Okay.” She took in a deep breath, released it, and stepped away from Shadow. “I’m sure they’ll let me in considering I’m a…you know. Adolly.”

One that’s been played with a little too hard, perhaps, considering my appearance.

She slipped her hands under her skirt, hooked the waist of her pants with her thumbs, and shoved them down. She kicked the pants aside; they disappeared under the feet of the nearby dancers.

“Uh…whatare you doing, Alice?” Shadow asked, ears perking. “I know I wasn’t happy when you first put those on, but I’ve changed my mind. Put them back on, now!”

Reaching up, she ran her fingers through her hair, working out some of the tangles. “I’m a dolly here, Shadow.” She tore her eyes away from the door and looked at him. “I need to look the part if I want them to let me through.”

Despite the loud music, she clearly heard Shadow’s frustrated growl.

His ears fell flat. “If any of them get handsy, I will start cutting their hands off.”

Strangely turned on by Shadow’s threats of violence in her honor, Alice smiled. She stepped up against him, slipped her arms around his neck, and drew his face down close to hers.

“I trust that you will,” she said before kissing him deeply.

Shadow groaned against her mouth and gave in to her kiss; within a moment, his hands had slipped beneath her skirt to cup her bare ass cheeks, giving them a squeeze. “Remember, sweet Alice—you’remine,” he said against her lips.

She ground her pelvis against him as a bolt of desire flared in her core, causing her sex to clench in need. She moaned. “Yours.”

He purred appreciatively, and his cock hardened as though straining for her through his pants. “I don’t want anything morethan I want you right now, but we have some people we need to threaten first.”

Alice groaned, rested her forehead against his, and closed her eyes. Her body thrummed with the need to be touched, the need to feel his hands sliding over her skin, the need to feel him inside her. But her fear—of something going wrong, of losing him to true death—was stronger than her desire right now. “Be careful, okay?”

He brushed the backs of his fingers down her face, from cheekbone to chin. “Only as careful as I need to be to keep you safe.”

She tilted her head back and opened her eyes to meet his. “I love you.”

He smiled; the expression was warm, genuine, and charming. “I love you, too, my sweet, sweet Alice.”

Her heart leapt with those words. Even though she’d heard them before, they still made her breath quicken.

Alice pulled away from him, and he released her reluctantly. One of his hands lingered on her ass, as hot as a branding iron, but he’d been right—now wasn’t the time. Turning toward the large velvet door, Alice stepped out of Shadow’s touch and slipped into the crowd.

CHAPTER 18

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