“You dislike dresses?” he asked.
“Yes,” I answered, my scowl deepening. “I always feel like my legs get tangled up in long skirts and dresses. I have more freedom when I wear pants.”
“Very well. We should leave immediately.”
Biting back a litany of curse words, I followed him out of the library.
Two hours later, I was riding back to the manor with Bokkan in the saddle behind me. Two saddlebags filled with underwear, socks, and two pairs of shoes for me were on the back of the horse, as well as two sets of nightclothes, a long, warm robe and slippers. This wasn’t counting the clothing I was currently wearing—a brand-new outfit from underwear to pants, shirts, socks, and boots. I’d tried to discourage Bokkan from buying all of it, but he’d ignored everything I said, other than whether I liked something or not.
Currently, I was trying not to shift in the saddle because Bokkan’s crotch was pressed right up against my ass, but my inner thighs ached something fierce and the urge to move filled me.
The horse we rode was huge. Its back was taller than I was, and it was so wide around that my legs only hung halfway down its sides. The stretch of my legs, combined with my efforts to hold onto the horse with my knees, was downright painful.
Fuck it. I had to do something, or I wouldn’t be able to walk when we reached the manor. I put both hands on the saddle horn and shifted my hips, trying to relieve the pain running down my adductors.
Without a word, Bokkan planted a hand on my belly and brought my body tightly against his.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I answered. “Just not used to riding a horse. My legs hurt a little.”
“You can swing your legs around to one side and hold on to me,” he offered. “Take some of the strain off your muscles.”
His arm tightened around me as he spoke, as though he planned to pick me up and help me do just that.
“I’m good,” I answered. “Besides, we’re nearly there, aren’t we?”
He grunted in response, which made me smirk. The longer we’d been in the clothing shop, the more stoic and silent he became, but his eyes never left me. He watched me, almost without blinking, as I tried on shoes, picked out socks, and disappeared into the changing room to try on the bra and panties that the shopkeeper had found for me.
I’d picked out two sets of underwear, two pairs of socks, and a pair of shoes. Just enough to get me by until I’d saved enough money to leave this world. I could wash each set at night before bed so it would be dry at the end of the next day.
Unfortunately, Bokkan wasn’t going to have it. He tossed a small pouch to the shopkeeper. I could hear the rattle of coins inside.
“She’ll need another pair of shoes, three sets of clothing, and however many pairs of socks and underwear the rest will buy. Oh, and something warm for her to wear to bed at night.”
I gaped at him before turning to the shopkeeper to tell him not to do that. He didn’t give me the chance. He just turned and went to gather a lot more stuff.
I stomped over to Bokkan. “I don’t need all of that.”
His only answer was to shrug.
“Bokkan, if you’re going to spend money on me, I would prefer it to be to get me home.”
“The money I’m spending right now is only a fraction of what it would take to send you back to the human realm. Not even a tenth.”
I stopped arguing then, my throat growing tight. The pouch he’d tossed was small, but, judging by the sound, it was full.
“Not even a tenth?” I whispered.
The arrogant set of his jaw changed at my question. His expression softened as he stared at me. Even though he was seated, we were nearly eye-to-eye because of how tall he was.
“No, not even a tenth.”
I had to find a way to make the money and get home. I had to.
I jolted out of my thoughts when the horse came to a stop, and Bokkan dismounted behind me. I looked down at him and grimaced because there was no way I could slide off this horse on my own. I hadn’t ridden in years before today, and never on a horse so large.
The daemon looked as though he wanted to smile as he reached up and wrapped his hands around my waist. They were so large that his fingertips and thumbs nearly touched, which was crazy to me because I was not a slim woman. Though I worked out almost daily, I wasn’t lean or lithe. There was a softness around my middle that would never go away, which meant my waist wasn’t exactly small.
