“It should be enough,” I say to Reginald.
The stuffed frog remains silent, sitting lopsided in his spot on the end of the bed. Maybe he is getting depressed too. Perhaps the thought of being down here for the rest of his days is starting to wear on him.
I know I am giving up hope that another solution will be found. It really looks like I’m going to have to stay here forever.
Suddenly, the sound of the door scraping open echoes around. It sinks into my chest and stirs my heart.
Flyn.
I find myself running to him. His arms wrap around me. His jacket is wet, sprinkled with raindrops. The smell of autumn clings to him. I inhale the fresh scent as deeply as I can.
“What’s the outside world like?” I say as I step back while still keeping my hands on his shoulders.
Flyn smiles. The corner of his eye twitches. There are new lines there. He is finding this hard, too. I’ve given him worry lines.
“Awful!” he says with nearly convincing gusto. “Cold, wet, gray.”
I’ve missed the end of summer. I’ll never get it back. The seasons have turned, and I’m trapped in here where the light is always the same. No stars. No breeze. No sky.
“It’s much nicer in here, honestly,” Flyn says.
I smile weakly at his attempt to cheer me up.
“I’ve got you a present!” He holds up the plastic bag like a trophy before thrusting it at me.
I take it and pull out the contents. I freeze for a moment while my mind tries to process what is happening. Eventually, I look up at Flyn’s beaming face.
“You want me to wear a sexy nurse outfit?”
Flyn chuckles, eyes sparkling with mirth. “If that’s the way you want to play it, baby, then sure. But I was hoping you’d rail me while I was wearing it.”
My eyebrows rise. My imagination whirls. The picture on the front of the plastic packet shows a female model. Very thin. The latex-looking pale blue mini skirt is very short on her. It would be positively indecent stretched across Flyn’s muscular thighs. As for the top part, I’m not sure if it would even stretch across his chest. If it did, it would be very tight. It would push his pecs together and give him the beginnings of a cleavage.
His arms would be bare. The silly little hat would nearly get lost in his blond curls. I think his midriff would be exposed.
Oh my. I try to swallow, but it doesn’t really work. Blindly, I thrust the costume towards Flyn. I accidentally hit him in the chest with it.
“Put it on now,” I rasp. I cough and then manage to add, “Please.”
Flyn’s laugh is positively filthy. He hurries over to the tiny bathroom. I stare at the door for a moment before rousing myself with a shake.
I turn around and yank open the dungeon door, and flip over the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign. I do it so aggressively that a gemstone pings off. Oops. I’ll have to ask Lello to fix it later.
I shove the door shut. The latch catches with an ominous click. The sound sends an icy trickle down my spine. It is a noise that I am really beginning to hate.
I force my lungs to slow. Everything is fine. Sometimes being locked away from the world is a good thing. Like when you are about to make love to your stunning boyfriend.
Two more deep breaths and my body finally gets the idea. My heart rate falls back down to a somewhat normal rhythm. It’s not going to go all the way down, because Flyn is in the bathroom putting on a sexy nurse outfit, and that’s fine. My heart is allowed to race for Flyn. That’s entirely reasonable.
As if to prove my point, the thin bathroom door opens and Flyn saunters out, causing my entire body to react.
My brain cells seize up. My lungs do something strange. My stomach flips a cartwheel. Oh my sweetest goddess. He looks even better than I imagined. The outfit is ridiculously skimpy. And clinging on for dear life to stretch over his broad, manly frame.
It really is the hottest thing I have ever seen. So hot. So very hot that there has to be steam coming out of my ears right now.
Flyn’s hands go to his hips, drawing attention to his waist. Oh hells, I’m literally drooling now.
“What are you doing out of bed?” he says in a strange voice.
