Page 5 of The Rejected King
“If that was half-asleep, I’d love to see what you can do when you’re awake,” he drolled.
Emree grabbed her other shoe and threw it at him. “You’ll never get the chance to find out.”
“Stop throwing things!” he yelled back at her with a pointed look.
She took her pillow in her hands. “Get out of my room!”
“I’m trying to get my pants,” he said, bending down to take his clothes. He kept one arm over his head in self-defense, likely in case she decided to throw the pillow.
Which she did, hitting him on top of his head. She was an excellent shot.
“Leave!”
“I am!” he snapped.
He stood there, shaking his head as he looked her over. Suddenly, Emree felt self-conscious standing in front of a man in her short, thin, sleep dress. She folded her arms over her chest protectively, wishing he had more than just his undershorts on.
“What’s happening here?” She waved one hand through the air, gesturing at him. “Can you not put your clothes on faster?” She turned her face to the side dramatically, but her eyes had a mind of their own.
They glanced back.
His mouth lifted into an impish smile as he held his pants out in front of him, kicking one leg through at a time.
Emree turned her eyes away again. He was too attractive to watch. She wasn’t personally attracted to him. That’s what she told herself, at least. How could she be attracted to someone so arrogant? But she could admit that his full, light brown hair, strong jawline, brown eyes, and perfectly toned body would be considered attractive to most women.
She guessed women liked that sort of thing.
Not her, of course. No, she had Portlend.
“I’ll see you around.” He smirked as he opened the door.
She gave him a fake smile. “I hope I never see you again.”
“Not even at chair weaponry class?”
She whipped her hair back from her shoulder with her hand. “Not even then.”
He shrugged then left without another word, closing the door softly behind him.
Emree stood in the corner for a moment, stiff and still, then collapsed onto the bed in a heap.
There was nothing like waking up to a stranger in your bed.
She shuddered. Who was that man, and how had the innkeeper gotten everything so messed up? Maybe the stranger was with the “special visitor” the innkeeper had mentioned the day before.
She shook the idea away.
Who cares who he is? I’ll never think of him again.
It was a lie.
Emree would think about that man and that kiss for the rest of her life.
Davin
Davin walked tothe top of the stairs and sat down, using them as a chair. He didn’t know what had just happened. The entire situation of a random girl in his bed—or maybe it was her bed—was weird. Either way, Davin wasn’t complaining. He pushed his feet into his black boots as he thought back to the strange girl, the way her soft lips had taken control of his and the bold way she had pulled him closer. Davin had never been kissed like that. Heat rushed to his head, burning his cheeks slightly. A smile swept across his face. He relished the feeling for a moment before he raked a hand through his hair and pulled his shirt on.
Obviously, the woman had no idea who Davin was. She was probably working class, and most of the working class from the outer provinces didn’t know what the king looked like. How could they? They usually didn’t leave the province they were born in. Davin didn’t want to embarrass her further by explaining that she had just kissed her sovereign. Although he would have enjoyed seeing her expression when he told her. He could imagine her dark eyes widening with embarrassment, even while she flipped her long, dark hair back like she was unphased by him. Davin would almost kill to get a better glimpse of her dimples. Dimples had always been a weakness of his, but their encounter hadn’t exactly been the type of situation that called for smiling.
