Page 35 of The Stolen Princess
Myka looked back in the direction of the other men. She supposed she should be grateful that she at least had the thick tree trunk to hide her. It was going to be bad enough going to the bathroom by Drake.
She shook her head.
Let’s get this over with.
She shimmied her pants down, hoping she could get in and out, but things were never that easy. A bad case of stage fright took over, which was ironic because ever since they had kidnapped her a few hours ago, she hadn't been able to get her eyes tostopleaking.
“Are you almost done? I don’t want to have to turn around and check on you,” he said.
“I’m sure a creep like you would like that.”
“No.” He strung the short word out, filling it with annoyance. “Despite what you may think, I’m a gentleman and have no desire to disrespect you.”
“Yes, because only the finest of gentlemen kidnap unsuspecting women.” The talking was a nice distraction from the stage fright. Myka needed to keep it up. “You know, Idowish I had shot you in the chest a month ago.”
“You practically did.”
“You’re such a baby.” The pitch of her voice went higher, making fun of him. “Did you go tell all your kidnapping friends that the princess shot you?”
“No, none of them know about our prior conversations, and if you want to stay by my side, then you better keep it that way.”
“Maybe I don’t want to stay by your side.” Myka pulled up her pants and yanked on the rope hard, causing Drake to turn around.
He walked toward her, stopping close. “Trust me, I’m better than the alternative.”
“Why? Am I supposed to trust you because you flirted with me?”
“If I had known you were Adler’s daughter, then…” His words trailed off, leaving her curious.
“You knew exactly who I was. You’ve probably been following me for months. Then you had the audacity to flirt with me to get me to trust you.”
His eyebrows raised. “I didnotflirt with you to gain your trust.”
“Oh, yes, you did.”
Drake threw his arms out. “I didn’t even know you were the princess.”
“So, you flirted with me because you found me so irresistible?”
“No. If I recall, the first time we met, I spent the entire time telling you that I’m not looking for a relationship.” He towered over her, his feet spread wide like he loved to play the intimidation game, but Myka wouldn’t let him intimidate her. She needed to keep some shred of control, even if it was small.
“Youwere flirting with me,” he continued. “You were dying to get your hands on me under the guise of nursing my wounds. You probably shot me just so you could patch me up.”
Myka threw back her shoulders. “Oh, please!”
“I’ve never seen a woman so impressed with me.”
She took a step toward him. “I was impressed with my aim.”
“Your aim was terrible.”
“And what about today at the market?”
“What about it?” he asked.
“Did you flirt with me today?”
Drake shook his head. “No. I was merely buying salt.”
