Page 77 of The Stolen Princess
Drake scoffed like she had said the most ridiculous thing in the world. “No!”
She shrugged one shoulder. “Good. Then turn around.”
He sucked in one long, deep breath as he turned his body away. Each second another item of clothing dropped to the ground beside him: her dress, her undergarments.
Drake rolled his eyes in frustration then looked up.
Heaven help me.
At this point, he needed all the help he could get.
Myka
Myka let out a yellas she dove into the middle of the languid river. The cold water took her breath away, but at the same time, it felt so good. Besides her shower a few days ago, the only way she’d been able to clean herself was with a few splashes of water over her body.
She looked back at Drake standing rigid on the bank. He had thought about her, given her a gift, remembered she liked the color blue. She wasn’t sure why he had done all of that or what it meant, but it felt big—special, at least to her. Myka had never had anyone, let alone a guy, do something like this for her. She was probably reading too much into it. This was probably basic prisoner etiquette. There was probably a handbook somewhere that said captors should give their captives a thoughtful gift. That seemed right, so she decided to let it go, not dwell on the meaning anymore.
“You can turn around now,” she said to him. The river was deep enough that only her shoulders were above the water.
“Uh, I’m good here.”
Myka laughed, arching her back so she could dip the top of her head into the water. Her hair was a tangled mess that her fingers would never be able to fully solve.
“Can you pass me the shampoo?” she asked.
Drake angled his head to the shampoo in the grass next to him. He bent his body over like a teapot being poured from the side and reached for the bottle. He stepped backward until he got a little closer to the water, then he used his free hand to cover his eyes. He shifted his body and reached his hand out, expecting her to somehow grab the bottle he waved in the air.
“What are you doing?” Myka couldn’t keep her smile out of her words.
“Handing you the shampoo.”
“You’re acting like an idiot.”
He straightened. “I’m acting like a gentleman.”
“Well, my arms aren’t five feet long so you’re going to have to throw it to me,” she said.
“I can’t see you!” he snapped.
“Then open your eyes!” she snapped back.
Drake dropped his hand and looked at her. A look of shock crossed over his face, and Myka had to look down to make sure that her chest was still covered under the water.
It was.
“What’s the problem, Commander? Have you never seen a woman’s bare shoulders before?”
He shook his head. “Of course I have.” Then he threw her the shampoo like it was a hot coal in his hand and rotated his body back around, pointing to the clump of trees thirty feet away. “I’m going to go wait over there.”
Myka smiled. For some reason, she liked knowing that she had affected him. Drake’s flustered, blushing face was one of the cutest things she had ever seen. She smiled as she poured a circle of shampoo into the palm of her hand and began cleaning herself up.
20
Drake
That night, Drake sat on the cot, facing the closed curtain, waiting for Myka to change into her new clothes that were now dry.
“Finished,” she said.
