And then a rough jostling that felt all too purposeful sent her teeth clacking, ruining the moment entirely. She strained to lift her head. It felt two sizes too large, and there was a vicious pounding between her eyes.
It all came back to her in a sudden, terrible flash.
Unholy gods. The Doorman.
Say hello to the prince for me.
She groaned.Could this night have gone any worse?Well, yes, yes it absolutely could have.You could have been shelled out like a prize pony to that vile man.But nowhere in the many possibilities she had imagined was there a scenario in which she had to explain to theprincewhat in the realms she was doing at House Gardenia. In a wig. Betting her own body.
Elysia tentatively opened one eye and found Topp staring down at her like he still couldn’t believe the stupidity he had witnessed this evening. The sharp lines of his cheeks and jaw were in hyperfocus—his displeasure whittling his face into oneshe had never seen before. This man looked like he wanted to ream her out and shake her by the shoulders, or maybe tie her up and lock her in a room where she could never be such an idiot again.Can’t really blame him…She pinched her eyes back shut, but Topp jostled her once more, forcing her eyes to fly open. She clutched his shoulders and glared up at him.
Ass.
His grip tightened. “Ah, ah, ah, little liar. Nowhere for you to run off and hide this time.”
She was fairly certain she could break his hold and be gone before he realized what had happened, but she thought it best she kept her mouth shut. Nothing good seemed to come of her opening it. And running would only look even more suspicious. She had to salvage this. Fix the mess she had made. Her brain whirred, coming up with a dozen unbelievable stories explaining why she had been dressed as Georgia Parker and then a redhead in a pleasure house betting her body.
I. Am. So. Screwed.
Her body ached. She’d been drugged.By herself.Punched. And lost to her magic. If it wasn’t for the fresh wave of anxiety forcing her hand, she could easily slip back under. She supposed it was a miracle that she hadn’t left her body and traveled to that strange land or done anything else to get herself executed. Apparently, being unconscious was not the same as being asleep. A small mercy.
Topp came to a sudden halt, readjusted her weight, and pulled out a key from his pocket.
“Can you walk?” His voice was clipped.
She slid down his lean muscled body, her hands clumsily groping him as she went.Whoops.She giggled and had the faint realization that she was most definitely not quite herself yet.Pull it together, Parker.She brought her feet to the ground, stepping back and swaying slightly. Topp’s arm shot out, holding hersteady even as he fumbled with the key to unlock the door. Elysia slipped out of his grasp like an eel underwater. Leaning back against the rough, soot-covered plaster of the building, she tried to identify where he had taken her.
She touched the bridge of her nose absently as she looked around. “Ow.” The word was almost said with surprise.
Topp shoved at the door and spoke to her like she was five. “Yes, Elysia, getting knocked out hurts.”
She rolled her eyes. Like she didn’t already know that. The buildings surrounding them were a bit more practical than she liked, and the smell of hard work and salt floated in the air. They were by the docks.
“Why’re we by the?—”
Topp grabbed her hand and hauled her inside, locking the door. She pulled her hand back roughly, scowling. “Was that necessary?”
He shot her a look over his shoulder that said yes, at this point, it absolutely was. Shaking his head, he walked farther into what was once a dockside warehouse.
He looked comfortable here. A little looser, the wild in him having room to stretch its limbs and play. She’d seen him like this in the forest, but never at the castle or any of the places they usually went.
The warehouse would probably always have the faintest odor of sea and the creatures that had come from it, but there were also the new smells that Topp must have started to layer into the foundation. Smoke from billowing fires and imported coffee dripping slowly, along with his ever present scent of crisp air.
There was hand-carved furniture made from woods she did not recognize and rugs and blankets with patterns she did not know. There were beautiful painted cups in shapes that did not belong to Kava that she longed to pick up and study.
But Elysia did not move.This… All of these things. The smells. The creature comforts.Her brain worked to catch up to her senses.This was a home. A refuge. A sanctuary.Much like her own flat was to her.
“How long have you stayed here?” she asked quietly.
Topp didn’t answer, but continued poking at the fire until it roared to life before moving onto the sconces and lamps.
“You’ve had this place the whole time, haven’t you? Since you came back here for good.”
Topp kicked back on a long dark brown couch, hands tucked behind his head. “You know, I’m not sure I love the hair, Lys. And I especially didn’t like that makeup.”
He looked at her with mock horror on his face. His hand went to his chest as he spoke. “Do you know there was a moment where I had to question my entire existence? Because I couldn’t understandhowI couldeverpossibly be attracted to Georgia Parker. But Georgia Parker doesn’t have an ass like that. Or legs.” He shivered in exaggerated disgust before grinning and looking at her over the edge of the couch.
But his anger pitched higher beneath his ill-fitting joking mask. A sharp static sound bit her ear as she stared at him, her eyes tracing the shape of his lips that she needed to shut before he could peel her apart, truth by truth. He was just taking his time the way someone does when they have you pinned.
