Page 52 of Escaping Wonderland

Shadow opened his eyes and drew back to meet her gaze. “What?”

“Jor’calla said that before the king killed him. The kingknewme. Said he’d been looking for me. And his voice…” She shook her head, brow furrowed as though in pain. “It was so familiar, but I justcan’tremember.”

“Shh,” Shadow soothed, lifting a hand to her face to smooth his fingers gently across her brow. “It’s okay. It will come back to you, Alice. If anyone can remember despite this place, it’s you.”

She lowered her head onto his shoulder.

He pressed a kiss atop her hair. “So, we have a direction. If the king knows the way, and he’s heading to Rosecourt, that’s where we must go, as well. We’ll get an answer out of him one way or another.”

Placing his hands on her shoulders, Shadow eased Alice back slightly before reaching down to retrieve their clothing from the floor. “Let’s get dressed and be on our way. I fear we’ve worn out our welcome with our poor host.”

CHAPTER 14

After dressing—with Alice donning a pair of Miraxis’s pants—they left the praxian’s house and resumed their journey through the woods. Alice’s dress was clean thanks to Shadow, and she felt much better having her legs covered; she hadn’t realized just how uncomfortable it was to walk around in a short dress with no underwear on.

To say Shadow had been disappointed in her putting on the pants would’ve been an understatement. He’d vehemently objected to her wearing the praxian’s pants and had stood with arms folded across his chest and an almost comical scowl as she’d tugged them on. He’d muttered to himself about stabbing their host as they’d exited the building. Fortunately, he’d eased as they put the place and its owner behind them.

Though she had no idea how long she’d been in Wonderland—she had no means of tracking the passage of time in the real world, and time seemed to speed and slow here at random—this strange forest with its oversized vegetation already felt familiar, like she’d spent half her life here. And that made sense, even if part of her whispered that it wasn’t right, that itcouldn’t beright. This place seemedreal…wasn’t that enough? And it was almost comforting to be out here with Shadow again.

Alice didn’t bother asking where they were going or how long it would take to get there. Like Shadow had told her, he always wound up in the places he intended to go; she had confidence in that now.

Shadow maintained an easy stride, setting a pace Alice could keep up with without overexerting herself, and occasionally hummed as he walked. The tunes ranged from joyful and carefree to ominous and gloomy; Shadow himself seemed not to notice the extreme changes in his tone, though Alice sometimes caught glimpses of a worried glint in his eyes that suggested he was not as calm as he otherwise seemed.

She didn’t like seeing him so troubled. When she’d first met him, it seemed nothing could’ve shaken him, and to see him like this now…

She needed to ease his trouble, if only for a little while. Needed to distract him.

Alice edged closer to Shadow and slowed her pace just enough to fall into step behind him. Her eyes fell to his tail, which swayed back and forth restlessly. She grabbed it and gave it a tug.

Shadow jumped and snapped his head to the side to look at her over his shoulder.

Alice grinned and tugged his tail again. “I caught you by your tail.”

His ears perked up, and the corner of his mouth twitched in a smile. “That’s not fair.”

“Why isn’t it fair?”

He turned his head away, tilted his chin up, and huffed. “I wasn’t told we were playing a game.”

Alice chuckled, bringing his tail up to her cheek and nuzzling it. “That doesn’t change the fact thatIcaught you.”

Shadow pulled on his tail, but not hard enough to free it from her grasp. “Only because I let you.”

“How about we play another game?”

Alice’s fingers—which had been firmly around Shadow’s tail—suddenly closed on empty air; Shadow wasgone. An instant later, his hands settled on her hips from behind, and he drew her backside against his thighs.

“What sort of game, sweet Alice?” he asked huskily, his mouth so very close to her ear.

Alice inhaled sharply, both in startlement and pleasure. She grinned, wiggled her backside against him, and twisted her torso to look at him. “Nowthatis unfair.”

“Doesn’t change the fact thatIcaughtyou.”

She pecked a kiss on his lips. His gaze darkened and dropped to her mouth, and she felt the light prick of his claws through her clothes as his fingers flexed on her hips.

Desire flooded Alice; suddenly, she wished shewasn’twearing pants. “Let’s play hide-and-seek. I’ll hide, and you come find me.” She trailed a finger along his jaw. “If you find me, we can finish what we started earlier.”

Of course, they could’ve just thrown off their clothes and done it here and now, but where was the thrill in that? She wanted toplay. The excitement lay in the chase. She wanted him to chase her, wanted to feel her heart racing, to feel excitement and adrenaline pumping through her veins, to feel their mutual passion when their bodies finally came together.

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