Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

I woke up with a hangover from hell, which really wasn’t fair since I didn’t remember drinking any alcohol. My bedroom was blessedly dark, the curtains pulled tight, so for a moment I thought it was still night. I snuggled back into my pillows, wanting a few extra hours of sleep, when my eyes suddenly flew open.

How the fuck did I get here?

I was at the tower …

I was exhausted and fell asleep in the armchair …

You’re so pliable I could pick you up and use you like a damn key.

I threw the sheets off and ran out of my bedroom still wearing my rumpled clothes from yesterday.

“Frederick Woeful! Where do you think you’re going?”

I turned to find Franny hustling toward me, a breakfast tray balanced in her arms. “You get back into bed right this minute.”

“I can’t, I have to—” Fuck, wait, what would Brendon do after escaping? Would he come straight here and tell everyone what I did? I scanned Franny’s face for any clues, but only saw the typical mix of concern and frustration she wore whenever I was sick.

“Absolutely not,” she scolded. “You’re planning to run around again after the scare you gave us yesterday? Poor Brendon about had a heart attack when he found you.”

Fuck, fuck, fuck. “I can explain—”

The clank of armor drew my attention to Kit coming up the stairs, a few steps behind Franny. If they were still wearing the armor, that meant … When Franny said ‘Brendon’ she really meant ‘Kit’ because she didn’t know yet.

While I was lost in thought, Franny hustled me inside and forcibly sat me on the bed, then began to fuss with one of my hands. Until then, I hadn’t realized that my right hand was swathed heavily in bandages. The memory of the imp’s nasty little teeth gouging me resurfaced, along with Griffins’ warning that it might become infected.

“So, uh, what exactly happened yesterday?” I tried to keep my voice nonchalant.

“Brendon noticed you weren’t feeling well after returning from the marketplace. When he discovered you’d immediately left again, he went to go find you. Really, Fred, I know you love that tower, but if you’re sick, you should stay home.”

“You found me in the tower?”

“Outside of it,” Kit replied, their voice tinny again with the visor lowered.

Asking ‘and did you see or hear anything suspicious’ would be super suspicious, so I held back and simply ate my oatmeal awkwardly with my left hand while Franny examined me. I glanced over and noticed that the wound had completely closed—the only traces of it a cluster of small, purple scars forming a phantom replica of the bitemark.

I finished eating and Franny packed up her first aid kit. I waited until she and Kit left, gave it a few extra minutes in case she was standing outside the door ready to catch me for not resting, and then changed clothes and ran out of the castle.

Since I was suffering lingering effects from the imp bite, I took Chester with me. The horse seemed happy for a real outing, and we made it to the tower in record time. The door was still closed. I mean, it would have to be, right? If Brendon had escaped while I was out of it, he would have gone to the castle to take his place back, even if he didn’t reveal what I’d done.

I edged toward the door nervously and opened it. The front room was empty. “Brendon?”

There were a few distant thumps, then the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. I slumped against the door and grinned in relief. The smile froze on my face as Brendon came into view, stripped to the waist, sweat glistening on his muscles and sticking his hair to his forehead.

“You finally got it right.”

I stared at him, dumbfounded, as he began to stretch right in front of me, like I’d interrupted him during a workout, and he was intent on finishing it in my presence. After a minute, I realized he’d said something, but couldn’t remember what it was. “Huh?”

“My name. I always hear you spelling it wrong, but you got it right today. I guess it was bound to happen sometime.” He stretched his arms high above his head, arching his back at the same time.

It took me way too long to reply. “Yeah, bound to.”

“Did you eat breakfast yet?” he asked, heading toward the kitchen, still shirtless. The back was almost as impressive as the front, perfect lines of muscles leading down to a slim waist. The pants I’d bought from Madame yesterday were loose enough to move freely in, but tight enough to cling to the curve of his ass. “Rick?”

I forcefully pulled my gaze away. “What?”

“Breakfast?” Brendon offered, waving a box of cereal. “Yes or no?”

“Oh, um, I already ate.” Since he was still here, I needed to return to the castle. The Good Wizard was arriving today, and I needed to be there with my family to greet him. “I just … wanted to check if you needed anything?” I edged backwards toward the door, expecting him to say no.

“Actually, yeah. There’s a book I was looking for. I thought I saw it on my first day, but now I can’t find it.”

Franny always complained about my organization system, saying it wasn’t ‘logical’ or ‘aesthetic.’ But arranging the books by size was the only way to fit them all on the shelves. “Which book?”

“Ravished at Midnight.”

I choked on my shock and stared at him. He looked back at me placidly as he leaned against the kitchen counter and ate cereal like the word ravished did not just come out of his mouth while he was fucking shirtless and sweaty.

“I’ve looked at the books for too long,” he continued between bites. “Their spines are all starting to blur together, so I thought another set of eyes could help.”

At least looking at the bookshelf would keep me from staring at him. I concentrated on it as hard as I could and couldn’t comprehend a single fucking title, even the ones right in front of my eyes. Mentally slapping myself, I finally started from the top, ready to work my way down, but to my surprise, it was right in the middle on the highest shelf. In fact, it stood out against the other books, about three inches shorter than the rest. It probably belonged on a different shelf, but admittedly, I wasn’t very good about sticking to my own system.

I reached for it, stretching up on my tiptoes, but my fingers only brushed the spine. The bookshelves were taller than average, covering the wall from floor to ceiling. Somewhere, I had a stool.

“You find it?” Brendon asked behind me.

“Yeah, but it’s too high up. Let me just—” Before I finished speaking, a hand settled on my waist and a warm chest pressed against my back. Brendon reached up with his other hand, his fingers barely brushing the edge of the book.

I swallowed nervously. “I’ll get out of your way—”

He pressed more firmly against me, pinning me against the bookshelf. I felt his whole length behind me, from shoulders all the way down my legs. At some point, one of his legs had slipped between mine, bringing us closer.

I squeezed my eyes shut, which only made things worse. Without any visual stimulus, I could feel his breath on my neck, barely stirring my hair, and the soft, steady thump of his heartbeat against my back. “Did you get it?” I asked, my voice embarrassingly strained.

“There we go,” Brendon said, finally stepping back.

When I recovered myself enough to turn around and look at him, his whole face was alight with triumph.

“Thanks for your help,” he said, before casually lying on the couch and opening the book.

I stared at him. Shouldn’t he get dressed or shower before he started reading? No, no, I absolutely did not need to be here when he was naked for any reason whatsoever. I rushed to the door, then paused with my hand on the knob. “The Good Wizard should be here today.”

“Excellent,” Brendon said, not bothering to look at me. “Let me know what he says.”

“I … yeah, of course.” I slipped out the door and rushed to Chester, needing to go home and take an ice-cold shower to wash away the lingering traces of his touch.