I laughed, surprised again, but also touched. “You put mints in your bedside table for me?”
“It felt like a nice compromise.”
I kissed him before taking the mint, because it wasn’t like I’d stressed over it aside from our first sleepover. But that he’d come up with a temporary fix in case I didn’t want to get out of bed earned him the raw, unfiltered version of me.
Holding my breath, of course.
His soft laugh as he shook his head made me blush, and I redirected my gaze to his tattoo to distract him. “Why here? I came up with a theory while you slept. Seems easier to hide if you don’t have to take off your shirt in front of anyone, so I was thinking it’s a silent middle finger to your father.”
He kissed my cheek and smiled against my skin before shaking his head. “When blood pumps through our bodies, ittravels back to the heart from the right side. Passes through the vessels here, so…”
I stared at the mix of colors on his shoulder as he trailed kisses down my neck between spilling secrets.
“I got the tattoo there, because that image has kept me going since I started painting it.”
“What is it?”
His lips twitched. “I plan to show it to you…”
I groaned and dropped my head against his chest, teasing him. “Not that again.”
“I do hope it’s worth the wait after all this buildup.”
“It better be.” I huffed, then smiled. “You definitely were.”
His expression tightened with emotion, like he hadn’t been expecting that. “You’ve been even more than I imagined, love.”
I pressed my lips to his, settling back onto his chest and enjoying the warmth of his arms around me.
“I wish we could stay like this. I wish we didn’t have to worry about anything else. The Quest, the statute, the…”
Exhaling heavily, I pushed up so I could see his face. “What happens now? I mean, we do the escape rooms and keep going with The Quest, but eventually, you have to make good on the deal with your father, right? Unless I win?”
“Even then, Elaine could…with her having the only claim, I’ll have to carry out all my plans to give us a chance to be together.Trulybe together.”
“What can I do to help?”
“For now, stay safe. Stay focused on the challenge and…My father will be here before the next one. And there’s no way to avoid him meeting you this time.”
“I did promise to be on my best behavior.”
“I know. But I will also have to act like I’m on his side. Like I’m going along with his plans, and like you and Landon…”
“We know—Well,Iknow how you really feel. I won’t doubt you just because he’s here. Whatever happens. I’m with you.”
He searched my face for a hint of hesitation or doubt, but he wouldn’t find one. “I suspect we’ll need to move you into Camelot Courtyard before the other families arrive. My father won’t want them questioning why you’re still separated, even though there’s a reason. Max and Landon will move down there with you, but they’ll be in their rooms, and…”
“Kingston, it’s okay. I’m honestly surprised we’ve been allowed to stay up here as long as we have. The girls might start to see what’s going on between us if we’re not careful. Izzy may already suspect me and Max, but I think she’s on our side.”
“That doesn’t surprise me. And as long as my father doesn’t realize that sequestering you is for anything more than your protection, having Max up here, and by your side, helps. He’s been able to keep his father—Well, nothappy. Merle wanted him to hide the drugging during the Honor Ceremony, but thankfully, Max shared it the way I’d hoped he would.”
“What do you mean?”
“It fit him, to rebel like that, especially over something like what happened to you, but he was able to convince him he still hated Landon and me. So, he’s kept Merle satisfied for the time being that if there was anything going on between us, Max would report it to him.”
“But you don’t really think he would, right?”
Ready to jump to Max’s defense, I was glad I didn’t have to.
