Chapter 6

KNOX LED SCARLET"Shorse and the donkey to the front of the cottage as Olive said goodbye to her house guests. He had slept well but had woken up restless in a green cloud of poison, his dreams haunted by images of the princess.

He"d refilled Olive"s wood stack by the back door, done a perimeter check, fed and watered the horses, and had been looking for something else to do when Olive had found him.

"Breakfast is almost ready," she had said.

He let the horse"s hoof drop to the ground and stepped out of the stall. "The horses are ready to go. I"m going to borrow your donkey for the maid, if that"s alright."

Olive nodded and handed over a list. "That"s fine. Can you pick up these supplies while you"re in town?"

He glanced down and nodded. "It"ll be a few days before I can get back. Will you be alright to wait?"

She nodded and fidgeted with her apron. She looked toward the cottage and back to Knox.

"About the princess," she began.

He shook his head and strode past her out the barn door, tugging on the reins of his horse as he went. "Not you too. Leave it alone, Olive."

"I"m just saying, she"s a nice girl, and you deserve some happiness, Knox."

He stopped the horse in front of the cottage and pet his side. "I"m not so sure about that. I"m just a monster who roams the Feral Forest, Olive, and she"s the most beautiful princess who"s ever lived."

Olive swooped under the horse"s head and stared up at him with worry. "Oh Knox, you"re not a monster. You"re a lumberjack, a druid with plant magic, a drakin, and an honorable man who just loves the forest."

Knox looked at her, his eyes deadpanned as he replied. "Who has poisonous breath and a deadly venom tail. I almost killed you when I was a baby, Olive, and again and again as I grew up. We know what it would do to anyone I tried to be with. I"m not going to put anyone else in danger. Just because I think the princess is beautiful doesn"t mean I"m going to pursue her and possibly kill her."

Olive rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "I"m telling you. If she"s your true mate, she won"t be affected by it at all."

Knox crossed his arms and widened his legs, facing her in a battle of wills. "And I"m telling you. True mates are just fairy tales. Do you know of anyone who has a true, fated mate? No, because they died out with all the other myths in the land."

Olive pointed a finger under his nose. "Mark my words, Knox, one of these days you"ll see that I"m right. I didn"t get to the ripe old age of sixty without learning a thing or two."

He sighed and rubbed his forehead, then scratched the side of his head. The bumpy raised scales reminded him of who he was. "It"s pointless, Olive. Let it go," he said softly, walking around her and to the front door.

Now it was an hour later, and he watched the princess like a wolf stalking its prey. Why had she sat by him at the table? He"d wanted to reach for her hand, touch her, lean closer and smell her.

He"d barely tasted the food and had gone back to the barn as quickly as he could. This ride was going to be torture, but he would just have to maintain his distance and bear it.

He"d been through worse. He could do this.

The maid frowned and looked from where he stood next to Ryder to Scarlet"s horse to the donkey. He pointed to the donkey. "You"re riding Herb."

He didn"t wait to see her expression, but as he turned to swing into the saddle, he heard her sputtering in disapproval about the ill-treatment by the low-life lumberjack.

Eirwyn smiled and waved goodbye to Olive. "Helga, that"s enough. We don"t treat people like that. He"s been nothing but kind."

She didn"t wait or listen to Helga"s whining either as she seemed to glide over to him with a smile. The sunlight fell on her face, making her seem full of life and energy.

She held a hand up to him, and he blinked as he remembered what they were doing. He moved his foot out of the stirrup and helped her up. She immediately sat astride today and wiggled against him as she found a comfortable spot.

He growled, his hand on her hip now. Was that a giggle? She was definitely shaking.

"Are you laughing?"

She glanced over her shoulder at him, her blue gray eyes twinkling with mirth. "Maybe. At least both of us will have a miserable ride now."

She turned back to watch Scarlet assist Helga onto the donkey. She was miserable? He knew it. She didn"t want to ride with him and her ass was punishing him for the inconvenience.

He stiffened and turned the reins, waving at Olive as they walked slowly into the forest.

"So, did you like the eggs this morning?" Eirwyn asked.

He frowned. "Yes, they were good. Why?"

"Well, I made them, silly. I"m glad you like them. I like to cook."

She kept up a steady stream of one-sided conversation as she talked about the tavern at the center of town where she"d learned to cook. She also entertained the patrons with stories and light projected puppets.

"Do you spend a lot of time in town?" he asked.

"Oh yes, as often as I can escape, I do. Probably a few hours every other day, when I feel well enough. I like to visit the local medicine woman too. She has an apothecary shop across the square from the tavern that smells like my childhood. I was a pretty sickly child."

He frowned, leaning away from her and putting a few inches between his chest and her back. He didn"t want his breath to make her sick.

He asked, "How so?"

She told of how lethargic she"d always been, how her stomach was upset all the time. "But I haven"t felt sick at all since I went to Glathen to negotiate peace."

He narrowed his eyes, a thought forming. "Have you been poisoned?"

She tilted her head to the side. "Poisoned?" She snorted. "Not likely. Everyone loves me, so who would even think to do it?"

She waved a dainty hand in the air as if it were the most ridiculous thing she"d ever heard. "Besides, surely Lailant would"ve been able to identify being poisoned by now. She"s the medicine woman, but I"ve heard whispers of her being a witch. It"s said she can cure anything for the right price. Surely she would"ve identified it and exploited it for a little coin."

He didn"t respond, and the forest"s shadows danced around them. He wiggled his fingers on his knee, keeping the magic flowing to keep them safe on the road.

Maybe he could get some information out of her about the war. The Robins would definitely ask if he"d learned anything useful.

"I heard the peace negotiations didn"t go well."

She sighed and her shoulders seemed to slump. "No, they didn"t. I thought everything was going well. We were making progress. Then the Counsellor stepped in and said I actually had no authority to sign any legally binding documents for Busparia."

Her hand fisted on her knee. "I don"t even know why Gastone sent me. He"s never let me participate in politics before. Sure, I get along with everyone and have a way of setting people at ease. But I"m no diplomat, and I despise the limits of court."

He let the silence fall, listening to the birds and sounds of the forest as they found the Lone Road and turned toward Busparia.

She finally said, "Actually, I do know why I was sent. I was being punished for running away to the tavern instead of attending a ball. But it wasn"t just any ball. It was a masquerade, and everyone knows those things are just fancy orgies."

He sucked in a breath, his mind rolling with images of her in a situation like that. He was both turned on and on high alert. "And you don"t like participating in orgies?"

She shook her head. "That"s not my cup of tea, especially when I know my brother will be in attendance. I like some kinky stuff, but I like my privacy too. At least at the tavern, I can take someone to a room instead of going down in public."

He choked, a puff of green gas escaping and slowly sinking to the forest floor. He waved a hand to disperse it, hoping she didn"t see it at all when she turned her head to look at him.

"Are you alright?" She looked so innocent but with that twinkle in her eye, he realized she was trying to get a rise out of him.

Well, mission completed. He gripped her hip, and she wiggled her tight little ass on his hard dick once more.

"I"m fine," he growled. "Face forward."

Her lips tilted in a sultry smile but she obeyed. He leaned forward, moving the long black hair to fall over one shoulder. It bared the back of her neck, and his mouth went to her ear.

"You"re teasing me on purpose," he said softly, so close to touching her. He wanted to nibble on her ear but was afraid it would hurt her.

She stiffened and leaned back against him. "Maybe. Is it working?"

"Depends on what you"re trying to do, princess."

"Seduce you, of course. Not that we have any time to follow through with anything," she said with a sigh. He stiffened behind her, and she let his arms cocoon her in the protective shelter of his muscles.

He didn"t reply, and the silence was peaceful.

"Why did you leave me flowers on the windowsill this morning?" she asked softly.

He hesitated between telling her it was just a nice thing to do or the truth. They were approaching the edge of the forest though, and the closer they got to town, the more he wanted to hold on to her.

Desperation ate at him, demanding that he claim her. At the very least, he had to know if this was one sided, if only to drive his dreams on the cold, lonely nights in the forest.

He dipped his head, and his breath on her neck made her nipples pucker through her dress. He wanted to reach around and cup them but didn"t dare.

She closed her eyes, shuddering as his nose grazed her ear. "I wanted to tell you how I felt but didn"t know how."

His heart raced as she leaned back against him. "How—how do you feel?"

He licked the shell of her ear, and the air shifted. Green gas sank to her shoulder, and he blew it away to sink to the grass. She didn"t notice the gas but shivered at the wind.

He couldn"t hold back the truth. He had to know if she was just flirting with him or if she truly did desire him.

"Peach roses for desire and hope that one day we can have a moment together."

She gasped, her hand reaching down and gripping his thigh. He wrapped an arm around her waist, and she grabbed his forearm with hers.

"Do you truly desire me, princess, or are you just toying with me?"

She moaned as his hand dipped down to cup her mound. "How—how can you even ask that? Of course I desire you."

"Are you sure?" he asked, licking the pulse under her neck.

She whimpered and wiggled on the saddle. "Hells, yes, I"m sure. If Helga and Scarlet weren"t here, I"d climb off this horse and ride you now."

He kissed her neck, growling, "I would love that." And he would. The intensity of his desire took him by surprise. No wonder people had sex all the time. No wonder there were camp followers and brothels and...

He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself before he turned the horse off the road and ravished her. Helga and Scarlet be damned.

"White peonies are for admiration and awe at how you handled the carriage accident yesterday. You"re so brave and strong, princess."

She shivered at the praise of his words. "You—you"re kind to say so."

He shook his head, his nose nuzzling under her ear. She tilted her head to the side to give him greater access.

"Nothing kind about it. It"s the truth."

"Not many would see it that way. I run away when things get tough. It"s why I always ran to the tavern."

He gave her a soft kiss under her ear, and he opened his mouth to tell her to run to him, to run to the forest where he"d always be waiting.

But Helga looked back and frowned with a glare. "We"re almost there. See?"

Knox straightened, pulling back and already missing her closeness.

She shifted on the saddle as the road widened. His cock still bit into her ass, teasing her with what wasn"t meant to be.

She pointed and practically bounced on his dick, making him groan. "Look, it"s Demerel. We"re almost home."

He felt a pressure on his chest at her excitement. He might live most nights in Vidrland, but he didn"t really have a home of his own. He"d thought of Olive"s cottage as home growing up, but it hadn"t been home in a long time.

This was why it didn"t matter that the princess was going back to her perfect little life. He had nothing to offer her anyway.

They left the forest and onward he went. As they went through town, people stopped and pointed. Eirwyn waved the entire time. It seemed like every other person she saw she asked a personal question.

How"s your wife? How are the chickens laying this year? Did you get any new books in the store? Do you have any powdered treats?

The last one had been directed to a baker, who had sent a boy inside as the baker talked with Eirwyn. They went on and on about some sort of delicious fried sugary goodness? Perhaps he should"ve ridden at a faster pace so they wouldn"t be stopped by every Tom, Dick, and Harry in town.

They were already on the next block when the boy caught up with them, handing Eirwyn a small brown bag. She thanked him and dug inside.

"Oh yes, how I have missed you, sweet olpertine." She spoke to the square confection reverently then she ate daintily. She moaned, and he took a deep breath as they turned onto the wider, cleaner side of town.

He wanted to hear her moan like that for other things. He might not have felt desire before this woman entered his life, but he"d read books. He"d watched and learned plenty at the brothels. He wanted...

It didn"t matter.

"Do you want a bite?"

I want a bite of you.

She offered him a pastry, and he almost leaned forward to take it out of her hand before he remembered himself and shook his head. He wouldn"t hurt her.

They approached the gates of the palace, and the guards" eyebrows rose as they opened the metal portcullis and bowed. Eirwyn wiped her mouth daintily with a kerchief and rolled the now empty bag up.

They went around the wide circular drive to the stairs that led to the front door. A servant ran forward to offer her a hand down, but Knox swung off the horse and blocked him with his body.

He didn"t want to watch anyone else touch her. He grabbed her hips and pulled her off the horse, letting her slide down his body. If this was the most he would ever feel of her, he wanted to memorize what it felt like.

She gasped, her head thrown back as she stared up at him. When her feet touched the ground, he lifted her hand and almost kissed the back of it, careful not to actually touch her.

"Take care, princess." His voice was barely a whisper, and she gripped his bicep with her other hand. Then he stepped back, taking the reins of Ryder and walking away.

After a few steps, he turned to see Eirwyn still staring at him. Helga was complaining to the servant who had moved a dismounting ladder beside the donkey.

He met Eirwyn"s gaze, and for a moment, he swore his every thought, wish, and desire was reflected in her eyes.

Then Helga was tugging her up the stairs, talking about how they needed to get cleaned up as soon as possible. Knox swung back onto his horse and took the reins of the donkey from the servant.

Scarlet pulled her horse up beside him and sighed. "Well, that"s one less thing to worry about now. What do you say we stop by the tavern for a drink? I need to relax after listening to that woman complain every step of the way."

Knox nodded. "Maybe we can stop at the bakery too. I have a craving for something sweet."

Red snickered. "I bet you do, brother."

They rode back through the gates of the castle into the bustle of the town. He couldn"t stay long, but a few hours to run errands would help take his mind off Eirwyn.