Page 58 of The Stolen Princess
“I do have an upfront and personal view of your behind, but you’re the one who asked for it. No, actually, youbeggedfor it. So really, it’s your fault,” Drake said with a grin. He maneuvered the latch off her belt and tugged at her waist, but her body wouldn’t budge. He dropped his hands and let out a sigh.
“What?” she asked.
“You’re more stuck than I thought.”
“What does that mean?” she barked.
“It means my hands might have to touch your behind—just a little bit—to get you out.”
She let out a deep breath. “Fine.”
Drake placed hands on her backside and pulled, trying to get enough leverage to get her hips past the window.
“You’d better not be smiling,” Myka warned.
“Who? Me?” His smile widened. “I would never.”
He tugged a little more until her body started to move. His arms wrapped around her and his heart quickened as her small body slowly slid down his chest until she was standing on her own two feet on top of the cot. His arms stayed wrapped around her waist and not because they needed to.
Myka glared up at him. “Can you change your expression?”
Drake tried to press his lips together, hiding his smile. “What expression?”
“That silly grin on your face.”
“What grin?” he asked, even though he knew exactly what grin she referred to.
Myka shoved him away, and he nearly fell off the back of the cot.
“It’s your fault I got stuck in the window,” she said.
“My fault?” Drake shook his head. “Do you ever take responsibility for your own actions?”
She rolled her eyes.
His eyebrows shot up. “You know, you can be a real pain in the a—”
She held up the palm of her hand in front of his face, stopping him with an air of superiority. “Don’t swear. I can’t handle vulgarity.” Then she hopped down from the cot.
He turned his head, watching her. “You just flipped me off, andyoucan’t handle vulgarity?”
“Nope,” she said, folding her arms across her chest and batting her eyelashes. “I’m too sweet for something like that.”
Sweet was not the word he would use to describe Mykaleen Adler.
Drake stepped down from the cot. He would spend the next hour boarding up the windows to his house.
The girl drove him crazy, but getting her to trust him would be more fun than any other mission he’d ever had.
14
Myka
The shack door slammed shut, jolting Myka out of her deep sleep. She sat up, her heart pulsing between her ears. She didn’t know how long she’d been asleep, but the room was dark now.
Drake had his bag, a lantern and a bucket of water in one hand while he balanced a tin bowl in the other. “I brought you some food,” he said as he set everything on the table.
She stared at him with wide eyes and a heaving chest from being startled awake.
