“Does that include the gardens as well?” Dover crosses his arms.
“Absolutely,” Kai retorts.
The ladies squeal in delight. Dover eyes Kai with a challenge in his stare as he straightens off the couch and begins to unbutton his fitted jacket. He tosses it at Mar like a Chippendales dancer before moving to the laces on his trousers, ripping each one free with emphatic showmanship.
Kai’s voice momentarily halts his deft fingers. “And you can’t use the main exit.” He nods his head to the curtain-less window.
“You bastard.” Dover shakes his head. He continues to strip,tossing pieces of clothing at the ladies, who catch them with squeals of delight. Once he is fully naked, he struts over to the window, proud as a peacock. I do my best to keep my eyes above his waist, but even in my periphery, I can tell he’s well endowed.
“Get a good look, ladies,” he brags, heaving the window open and glancing downward.
“Little chill in the air, Dove?” Kai teases. Dover flips him off and climbs over the sill, his head disappearing from sight.
We all rush to the window to watch him scale the four stories down the trellis and drop gently onto the grass beneath. When he reaches the ground, he waves up at us.
“The party guests are probably on their way out now.” Sorscha giggles, covering her mouth.
“Exactly, which is why there is no way I’m missing this.” Kai hauls himself out the window and follows after him swiftly. He glances up at our heads, poked out the window, and motions for us to join. “Come on!” he hisses jovially.
“We can’t climb in these dresses, Kai!” the princess yells, her liquor-laced voice echoing into the midnight expanse.
“Then take them off!”
Sorscha looks at Marideth for a moment, and then they begin to strip. Cece gives an annoyed sigh but follows suit, casting a seductive glance at Zadyn as she slides her gown over her shoulders and begins to shimmy out of it.
I refrain from rolling my eyes.
Once the ladies are down to their corsets, bloomers, and tights, they begin to file out the window.
“You’re insane!” I shout as they begin to climb.
“Come on, cousin!” The princess squeals gleefully and gently lowers herself down.
“Please, be careful,” Jace says softly from beside me. She waves him off affectionately. I glance at Jace, who seems to haveno intention of joining the escapade. Cece brushes between us rudely, her white camisole clinging to her curves. She tosses her golden hair over her shoulder, nearly taking out my eye, and looks back at Zadyn.
“Are you coming?” Her voice is a sugar-coated dare.
He peels off his jacket and follows her wordlessly down the trellis. Their bodies grow farther away until they are ant-sized on the ground below. Dover, covering his loins, bolts toward the gardens, followed by a chortling Kai and the rest of the group. An affectionate smile blooms on my face as their shouts of delight drift up to us from below.
“You don’t want to join them?” Jace breaks my reverie.
“I don’t have a death wish.” I nod toward the trellis. “You?”
“It wouldn’t be appropriate to be seen around the castle, enabling a handful of streaking nobility.”
“The breaks of being captain, I guess.” I sip my wine and set it down on the ledge.
“It has its advantages,” he says softly.?*
Our hands rest on the window sill, side by side, our pinkies nearly touching. I’m hyper-aware of his every breath, his every move. That’s when I realize I’m standing an inch from him, wrapped in nothing but a curtain. He notices the sudden tension in me as I drop my gaze.
“No need to be shy. I’ve seen more than a set of bare shoulders in my lifetime.” He looks from me to the open window. The soft breeze bristles my hair, and I tuck a strand behind my ear.
“I’m not shy,” I murmur. The sidelong glance he slides my way tells me he remains unconvinced. Then his gaze falls to my bare arms. He reaches out unexpectedly and grips onein his large hand.
“You’re getting stronger,” he says appreciatively.
“I know.” I watch as his thumb sweeps up my arm in a way that feels more than casual. I momentarily leave my body. “What are you doing?”
