Ignoring her, Amos shook Clover gently and leaned down to kiss her, unable to get enough. “Wake up, wife. People will be arriving soon, and you need to change.”
She shoved at him, grumbling, “I’m not your wife.”
He grinned, and Sariah snorted. Clover’s eyes popped open, and she jerked her head toward Sariah. “Oh my gods!”
Sariah chuckled. “Relax. I’m the only one here. Your mate has clothes for you, and then you two need to get cleaned up.”
Clover’s face flamed, and she glared at Amos when his smile widened. “Stop smiling, or this time my dagger won’t miss.”
His cock hardened instantly.Gods, I hope so.
Reluctantly, he pushed to his feet and helped her up, motioning for Sariah to turn around. The woman rolled her eyes and walked toward the cave entrance. “I’ll make sure no one comes in.”
“Thank you, Sariah,” Clover threw over her shoulder, and quickly shimmied out of the pathetic remains of her dress. “Did you have to tear it in half?”
Amos reached out and grazed a thumb over the swell of her breast, unable to resist. “Yes, and you loved it.”
Ignoring his declaration, she shoved the fabric into his hands. “Make yourself useful and get rid of this.” He started to walk off, but she caught his shirt and yanked him back to press a kiss to his cheek. “Thank you.”
The warmth in her eyes sent a ripple through him, and he leaned down to kiss her. It took all his willpower to pull away before he did something reckless—like try to fuck her with Sariah right outside.
Discarding the tattered dress in a trash bin, Amos returned and glanced at her pants hovering a good four inches off the ground. “Did those belong to a child?”
Clover sighed and tugged on her boots. “Not everyone is tall like us.”
She pushed him toward the exit, and he glanced at her over his shoulder. “You’re not that tall.”
Clover moved to his side as they approached the cave’s opening, a tiny trench forming between her brows. “What are you talking about? I’m five-foot-ten.”
He looked at her skeptically. “If you say so.” She didn’t seem very tall to him.
“Just because you’re half a foot taller than I am doesn’t mean I’m short,” she grumbled. “Sariah, explain to him that I’m tall.”
Amos waved them off impatiently. The others would be there soon and they needed to leave before Thomas arrived and sawClover looking freshly fucked. “We don’t have time to redefine the word tall.” He tried not to laugh at Clover’s indignant gasp. “Sariah, do you mind telling the others we’ll be a little late?” he asked. “We both need to change.”
“And bathe,” Sariah added dryly, and plucked a branch out of Clover’s hair. “Badly.”
Clover made a strangled sound and reached for her hair. “Oh my gods, I didn’t know it was this bad,” she wailed, plucking at the debris.
Amos reached over, plucking a pebble from her hair. “I think you look beautiful.”
It took a lot of convincing, but eventually Amos left Clover at her family’s house and went to change at the estate. He’d insisted on borrowing something of her father’s, but Marcus was twice as stout and five inches shorter than the prince.
On the bed sat the book bag Amelia gifted her a couple of years ago, and Clover peeked inside. There were a couple of her winter dresses along with her undergarments and toiletries. That meant Rainer had gone into her room and through her things.How far in advance had Amos planned this?
Sighing, she pulled out one of the dresses and grabbed a pair of scissors from her old sewing kit, making quick work of cutting off the sleeves, removing layers of the skirt and chopping off the length. It was hideous, but she had nothing suitable for the desert that fit. Everything here was from four years ago.
Grabbing her leather boots, she hurried downstairs, coming face-to-face with her sister and father.
She practically flew across the room and into her sister’s arms. “I missed you too,” her sister laughed, squeezing her tight.
Their father waited patiently for the girls to separate and tugged Clover into a hug. “You didn’t tell us you were coming.” He let her go and stepped back, taking in her mangled outfit. “We could have had new clothes made for you.”
Clover pressed her lips together and shrugged. She didn’t know what her father and sister would do if they knew the royal cousins conspired to kidnap her. Her eyes slid to Ruth, who was biting back a smile. Clover’s eyes slitted.Or maybe my dear sister already knew.
“You can’t wear that to the market,” Ruth said, barely containing a grin. “I’ll give you something of mine to wear long enough to buy your own. You can go while we’re at the Hydra meeting.”
Clover’s spine snapped straight. “And why would I miss this meeting?”
