“Who is Rapunzel? And why is she trapped?” His eyes sparked with curiosity… a curiosity that was then swept away. He quietly cleared his throat. “Never mind that. Back inside your room.”
“When you said a guard would be stationed outside my door, I didn’t expect it to be you. Will you stand out here all night?”
He stared at me, jaw ticking.
“Fine. I’m going.” I stepped backward and started to close the door. His eyes didn’t leave mine. I paused with the door slightly ajar, staring at him through the crack. “What happens tomorrow?”
“I’ll assess whether you’re a threat to the kingdom or merely a stumbling fool.”
“Stumbling?” I pushed the door a bit more open. “I resent that. I’m graceful. Well, when I want to be.”
His cheek twitched.
“What happens if you decide I’m a threat?”
“I suppose you’ll learn that answer on the morrow,” he said before angling his body forward, resting an arm on the outside of the doorframe. “Sleep well, Muffin Lord.”
Before I could respond, he grabbed the handle and pulled the door closed. I laughed at the silly nickname—that I’d given myself—and returned to the window. Orange and dark purple streaked across the sky as the sun inched closer to the horizon.
What tomorrow would bring? Who knew? One thing was certain though: this was bound to be one hell of an adventure.
Chapter Three
Thawing Captain Ice… Kind of
When I woke up the next morning, I expected to be back in my apartment. I lay in bed with my eyes closed, waiting for the clamor of other tenants stomping down the stairs or slamming car doors. I braced myself for the whiffs from the restaurant next door that served the greasiest breakfast on the face of the planet but was cheap, so they got a good amount of business anyway.
Instead, I heard birds chirping and opened my eyes.
Sunlight streamed in through the window, the golden hues creating an almost magical glow as it lit the small room. Blue skies stretched beyond the glass, and the leaves of the tree—the most vibrant shade of green—rustled with the morning breeze.
It was peaceful.
That was until a hard bang came at the door, followed by the deep, grumpy voice I’d come to know so well in the twenty-four hours I’d been there. “Boy. Wake up.”
“Good morning to you too,” I mumbled, sitting up.
The door swung open, and Maddox entered the room, looking perfectly mouthwatering from head to toe, even with his sneer in place. He filled out his armorverywell. “Get dressed.”
“You know? The word ‘please’ goes a long way.” I pulled back the blanket and scooted to the edge of the bed. “You should definitely add it to your vocabulary. Were you out there all night?”
“No,” he answered. “Another of my knights took the shift so I could rest. Now, do as I say.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m going.” A big stretch then took me over, and I raised my arms above my head with a jaw-popping yawn.
His blue eyes lowered to my bare stomach. The change was minute, but his hard expression wavered a bit.
My face heated. I always slept in my boxers, hating how restricting clothes felt. I regretted it right then. I was what Jonah called a twink. Small and cute—his words. I had minimal muscle definition—not scrawny but definitely no beefcake either. Plain and average described me pretty well.
“Keep staring and you’re gonna give me a complex.”
“Your undergarments,” Maddox said. “They are… peculiar.”
“Oh.” I glanced at my boxers. He was staring atthem, not at my body. For some reason, that only made my cheeks hotter. Either from embarrassment or disappointment, who knew? “What’s wrong with them?”
“The pattern on the fabric.” He took a step closer. “I’ve not seen anything like it before.”
Oh yeah. People in this kingdom wouldn’t be familiar with the clothing from my world. The neon green boxers had cartoon hot dogs on them. Some wore sunglasses and had quotes like “want my wiener?” above their heads. I grabbed the blanket and placed it back over my lap. “Yeah, well, tell Callum he’s not allowed to steal these. Also, it’s not polite to look at a dude’s underwear.”
