Page 28 of My Queendom for a Horse

“Alright, well, hurry up. Poor Sean has been waiting for a very long time.”

“Not more than ten years, though,” I mutter. “So the balance sheet is still pretty skewed.”

“I heard that, young lady, and I hope you’ll keep in mind that he’s doing us a tremendous favor.” As if it occurs to him that we need the favor because of his mistake, he stops talking. I hear his footfalls as he retreats.

Once I’m sure he’s gone, I reach for the doorknob.

Aleksandr’s hand circles my wrist. “What are you doing?”

I freeze. “Letting you out.”

“I need to wash as well.”

He must be kidding. “You can wait in my room while I shower.” I point behind him. “Then when I’m done, I’ll let you go.”

“That sounds inefficient.” His half smile does something strange to my insides.

“Shut up.” I yank my hand free and crack the door open, making sure the coast is clear.

It is, so I wave him out and motion for him to stay in my bedroom while I sneak next door to Gustav’s for some clothing. Luckily my brother’s almost as tall as Aleksandr, so I think his clothes will mostly fit.

Unfortunately, he took most of his stylish things with him when he left, and it’s been years. Aleksandr will have to make do with a pair of faded jeans and a bizarrely patterned button-down shirt. Anything at all is an upgrade from the abandoned barn clothes that’re probably infested with moth eggs.

“Okay, I’ll be out shortly.” I duck into the bathroom and lock the door faster than I ever have before. Even with a locked door between us, I’m absurdly conscious of the fact that there’s an enormous, stupidly hot man poking at things in my room while I’m in here.

Even Dad would be proud of how quickly I shower.

Of course, now I’m stuck waiting for Aleksandr. “I don’t think you’ll need to mess with anything,” I say. “I left the water running. You just step in, and the water goes down the drain, here.” I point.

When I turn back toward him, he’s naked again. I shut my eyes, but I can feel the heat rising in my cheeks. “What on earth are you—”

“Being pragmatic here: you’re going to see me like this over and over.” It sounds an awful lot like he’s chuckling. “You may as well get used to it.”

I don’t open my eyes again and use my hands to fumble my way toward the door. “There’s soap in the shower. Okay, bye.” I shut the door behind me, but he is definitely laughing.

If I spend a little too much time agonizing over outfits, well, it’s because of Sean, not because of the crazy, demanding Russian guy who thinks he has magical powers.

And who can change into a horse. So, who knows?

I’m pulling a cable knit sweater over my head when the door from the bathroom opens.

And Aleksandr—in nothing but a towel—steps out, an appreciative smile on his face. “I thought I left you ample time to dress, but apparently you were waiting for me to emerge.”

He has got to be kidding. My cheeks heat again, and I want to throw something at him. “You should have knocked.”

“Before leaving the bathroom?” He has way too much confidence for a hundred-year-old man who was cursed and lost everything.

“I’m dressed, so it’s fine.” I smooth down the edges of the bottom of my sweater. “Why aren’t you?”

“It’s so steamy in there. I had to come out here, or I’ll never dry.” As if his mention of it somehow draws my eyes, I notice that he’s literally glistening. If I thought he looked good before, I had no idea.

Then I recognize the noise—the shower’s still running. “You have to turn that off.”

I jog toward the bathroom and push past him to shut it off. “Okay. Well, if you can get dressed now, then—”

He drops his towel.

I clap my hand over my eyes and exhale. “Just hurry.”

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