He fell on his back beside me and grabbed my hand. We both stared up at the sky for a moment, neither of us knowing what to say and still reeling from what had just happened.
I bit my lip while looking down at the mess of dirt and blood and mud and leaves clinging to our skin. I smiled while trying to tease him.
“Wanna go for a swim?”
Chapter Eleven
I woke up on top of Cypress’s body. For once, he was still asleep, neither missing nor pissed off at seeing me after our night together. His breathing was even, his eyes still glued closed like he was quiet in the depths of sleep and not yet anywhere near waking. I breathed in the daytime. Yeah...we both stunk.
My idea of cleaning off for my parents had the opposite effect. He and I were both going to look like we’d been through a war. That was sort of funny in a ridiculous kind of way. Cypress winced in his sleep, and I smoothed his hair off his head. His eyes opened slowly, and he blinked. It took him a second to really see me, whatever dream or memory he was having haunting him for a second. I knew the feeling well.
“Hey, Layne.” His voice was low. “I think I was having a nightmare.”
I nodded, slowly, waiting for the asshole version of him to show up. Any second now, he was going to blow my good mood to smithereens. He squinted, like he was assessing me.
“What’s wrong? Why do you look so scared?”
I blew out a heavy breath, then gnawed on my lip before answering him. “I’m just waiting for you to start being an asshole again. Is this the part where you tell me it was a mistake and you hate me?”
He rolled his eyes. “Last night was a mistake. But I don’t regret it. Nor do I hate you, Princess. Though it would probably be better if I did.” There was so much to unpack in that statement I didn’t know what to say. “You are a princess. You literally can’t be with someone like me. Your family, your people—they wouldn’t allow it. When I say this is a bad idea, I don’t mean because you’re undesirable.” His hand landed on my upper thigh to accentuate the point. “I’m saying it because this can go nowhere. I’m an assassin. You’re a princess. We can only share the same enemies and a bit of fun right now.”
Once again, I felt consumed and chained to my birthright—a birthright I was still processing. I hadn’t really had time to come to terms with being out of Nightmare Penitentiary, let alone running a kingdom. It was a difficult spell to swallow.
“We should really clean up before we meet my parents. I also need clothes. Real clothes.”
Cypress’s eyes sunk lower, then grew heavy at the sight of my naked form. “There is a campsite nearby. I’ll steal you some clothes while you shower. We have to be in and out, though. As much as I’d like a repeat of last night, it’s time you went home, Princess. It’s only a matter of time before Bhaltair finds us, and I don’t have nearly enough supplies to take on his army.”
I nodded. A shower and fresh clothes sounded nice. And even though I wanted to explore the chemistry between Cypress and me a couple dozen more times, I knew that this had to be over. I needed to meet my parents. I needed to learn about who I was and what all of this meant. “Okay,” I replied.
The dress Cypress found for me was frilly and over the top. Whoever it belonged to smelled like lavender and was a good three feet taller than me, as I kept tripping over the long train of the dress. The light pink color looked good with my neon green hair, and he even found me some berries that stained my lips a deep plum color. It wasn’t ideal, but I was no longer ashamed to meet my parents.
Cypress had cleaned up, too. Unlike my oversized dress, he’d managed to find a shirt and hood that were so tight I was gifted with the sight of his engorged muscles rippling with every step down the trail. And now that I knew what those impressive muscles felt like on top of me, I was struggling to keep my hands to myself.
“Stop staring,” he grumbled under his breath.
I stumbled over my feet for a minute. “I-I’m not…”
Cypress spun around. “We’re almost there, and all I want to do is push you against one of these trees and feel you come on my palm.”
I clutched my chest, my lips parting. Cypress stepped forward and wrapped his arm around my body to grab my ass and pull me against him. “Your parents have eyes all over this forest. I’d hate to cause a scandal, Princess. And when you look at me with those hungry blue eyes of yours, it makes me feel a bit reckless.”
I gnawed on my lip, and his eyes locked on the movement. “I don’t see anyone. We’re alone, Cypress. Why not one more goodbye?” I lifted up on my tiptoes and smiled against his lips, nothing but a breath lingering in the air between our sensitive skin.
“Cypress!” A proper voice pinged through the air, making us both startle. “The Queen and King will be so happy that you’ve returned.”
I pulled away from Cypress and peered over his
