“Not an unwarranted assumption.” Maddox stood from the bench and offered me his hand, which I accepted. “I’ll walk you home.”
“You’re going to no matter what I say, aren’t you?”
He lightly bopped my chin. “I have business in town, so it’s on the way. Come on.”
“Oh?” I walked with him from the mess hall and toward the stable. “What kind of business?”
“Knightly business.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re such a pain in the butt.”
Sir Pain-in-the-Butt ignored me as he readied his horse. He helped me into the saddle and settled in behind me. The size of him still got me all hot and bothered, as did the impressive package pressed to my ass. Months with Maddox and I still wasn’t used to just how fucking sexy he was.
How had a dork like me snatched him up?
“Prince Sawyer said all the women are mad that I stole you from them.”
“Is that so?” Maddox guided the stallion along the stone path toward the castle gates. “Well, I never belonged to any of them in the first place.”
I smiled. A smile that grew bigger when he wrapped one arm around my waist, holding the reins with the other.
“I am yours, Evan,” he murmured in my ear before skimming his lips across my earlobe. “Never doubt that. Never doubtme.”
“I don’t.” I leaned my head back against him. “I trust you with my life. And my heart.”
“Both of which I’ll defend and cherish to my dying breath,” he said. My captain was such a romantic beneath that hard exterior and snarl. An ooey-gooey marshmallow.
Leaving the castle grounds, the rolling hills of green grass and the glistening caerulean sea beyond it came into view. The clear blue sky and golden sunshine made everything look so vibrant. We reached the marketplace minutes later and passed several people on the way to the café, all of which were heading in the same direction.
“Looks like another busy day for The Brewed Muffin,” I said, excited. “You want to come in for some dessert before taking care of yourknightly business?”
I felt him smile against my ear. “Perhaps after.”
“And you still won’t tell me what that business is?”
“No.” Maddox led the stallion to the fenced-in grassy field beside the cottage. We’d set up an area for guests to leave their horses, either tied to a post or allowing them to stretch their legs in the field. There were water troughs too, and I offered the customers carrots and apples to give their horses a treat, free of charge.
“Are you meeting a shady-looking dude in the local tavern who knows some big secret?” I asked as Maddox dismounted and then helped me down. “Oh! Maybe a sorcerer who can, like, shoot lightning from his fingers. You’ll ask him for magical weapons to help defeat the demons in the dark wood, maybe the demon lord himself, and in exchange, he’ll send you on an epic quest to slay a dragon.”
“Why would he need us to slay a dragon if he had magical weapons strong enough to defeat Onyx? The dragon would be child’s play in comparison.”
I loved that he was playing along.
“Speaking of Onyx…” Nerves flip-flopped in my gut. “Any news on that front?”
The knights had patrolled the dark wood several times in the past few months. Some patrols had resulted in small-scale attacks with demons but nothing severe. Not like when Maddox and his unit had all been injured and sent to the medical ward in Briar’s clinic. It made me feel sick when I remembered them lying in their cots, bloody and groaning in pain.
“Onyx remains in the Shadow Realm where he belongs,” Maddox said. “As for his demons, they’re nothing we can’t handle.”
“But—”
“Stop worrying.” He leaned in to kiss me. “You have muffins to bake. Preferably blueberry, but I wouldn’t be opposed to the strawberry ones with lemon glaze either.”
I snorted. “Is that a hint, Captain?”
“More like a request.”
“What makes you so special?”
