“Doubtful.” I walked right on in, having no patience for politeness or etiquette. My gaze swept the quarters, finding her—
I stopped just inside the door as she…as Penellaphe rose from the bed and spun, her fingers tangled in the braid she was unraveling.
She was unveiled.
And I was frozen for a few heartbeats as I took in her features. The proud brow. The stubborn curve of her jaw. Her open mouth, lips parted in surprise. She was—
Snapping out of it, I kicked the door shut behind me. Irritation with myself built. “It’s time for that talk, Princess.” I glanced over to where Tawny stood. “Your services are no longer needed this evening.”
Tawny’s mouth dropped open.
Penellaphe’s hands slipped from her hair. “You don’t have the authority to dismiss her!”
“I don’t?” I arched a brow. “As your personal Royal Guard, I have the authority to remove any threats.”
“Threats?” Tawny’s brows snapped together. “I’m not a threat.”
“You pose the threat of making up excuses or lying on behalf of Penellaphe. Just like you said she was asleep when I know for a fact that she was on the Rise,” I pointed out.
Tawny closed her mouth, then turned to Penellaphe. “I have a feeling I’m missing an important piece of information.”
“I didn’t get a chance to tell you,” Penellaphe began. “And it wasn’t that important.”
I snorted. “I’m sure it was one of the most important things to have happened to you in a long time.”
Penellaphe’s eyes narrowed. “You have an overinflated sense of involvement in my life if you really think that.”
“I think I have a good grasp on just how much of a role I play in your life.”
“Doubtful,” she shot back.
My lips twitched as I met her glare. “I do wonder if you actually believe half the lies you tell.”
“I am not lying,” she said as Tawny’s attention jerked back and forth between us. “Thank you very much.”
I lost the fight then and smiled. “Whatever you need to tell yourself, Princess.”
“Don’t call me that!” She stomped her foot.
My brow rose. That was…adorable. Her foot stomping. Especially because I suspected she’d prefer my face under that foot. “Did that make you feel good?”
“Yes!” she exclaimed. “Because the only other option is to kick you.”
I’d been right. I chuckled, thoroughly enjoying this side of her. “So violent.”
Her hands fisted. “You shouldn’t be in here.”
“I’m your personal guard,” I replied. “I can be wherever I feel I am needed to keep you safe.”
“And what do you think you need to protect me from in here?” She made a show of looking around. “An unruly bedpost I might stub my toe on? Oh, wait, are you worried I might faint? I know how good you are at handling such emergencies.”
“You do look a little pale,” I said. “My ability to catch frail, delicate females may come in handy.”
Penellaphe sucked in a sharp breath.
“But as far as I can determine, other than a random abduction attempt, you, Princess, are the greatest threat to yourself.”
“Well…” Tawny drew out the word. “He kind of has a point there.”
“You’re absolutely no help,” she snapped.
“Penellaphe and I do need to speak,” I said. “I can assure you that she is safe with me, and I’m sure that whatever I’m about to discuss with her, she’ll tell you all about it later.”
Tawny crossed her arms. “Yes, she will, but that’s not nearly as entertaining as witnessing it.”
Penellaphe sighed. “It’s okay, Tawny. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Seriously?” Tawny cried.
“Seriously,” she confirmed. “I have a feeling that if you don’t leave, he’s just going to stand there and drain precious air from my room—”
“While looking exceptionally handsome,” I added, just to get a rise out of her. It worked. Her brows slammed down. “You forgot to add that.”
Tawny giggled.
“And I would like to get some rest before the sun rises,” Penellaphe said.
Tawny exhaled loudly. “Fine.” She glanced at me. “Princess.”
“Oh, my gods,” Penellaphe muttered.
I watched Tawny leave. “I like her.”
“Good to know,” she said. “What is it you wish to talk about that couldn’t wait until the morning?”
Turning back to her, I allowed myself to look at her—to really see her. The remaining braid had unraveled. She had…a lot of hair. I hadn’t really noticed that at the Red Pearl, and any other time I’d seen her, it had been bound. “You have beautiful hair.”
She blinked, seeming caught off guard. Fuck, I caught myself off guard. She recovered quickly, though. “Is that what you wanted to talk about?”
“Not exactly.” I lowered my gaze then, my attention not straying very far from her face until then.
I shouldn’t have allowed myself to do so because courtesy of the flickering light from the fireplace and the lamps, I saw a lot.
She wore a thin, white sleeping gown that left only the most hidden parts of her to my imagination. And the gods knew I had a vast imagination. But what I saw…
Was perfection.
From the slope of her shoulders to the very tips of her toes curled against stone was utter perfection, especially everything in between. The gown was loose, but the ample curves of her body were visible beneath it. The swells of her full breasts. The slight inward curve of her waist, the flare of her hips, and those lush thighs.
Godsdamn.
I dragged my gaze back to hers. A pretty flush had appeared on her cheeks as she started for the robe lying at the foot of the bed.
One side of my lips curved up.
She stopped, lifting her gaze to mine. That chin rose a notch as I waited for her to cover herself, half of me hoping she would.
The other half silently begging her not to.
She didn’t. She held herself still in an odd, intriguing mix of shyness and boldness that was…just devastating. I needed to leave this chamber and clear my head. Center myself.
I didn’t.
“Was that all you were wearing under the cloak?” I asked.
“That’s none of your concern,” she responded.
She had been. For fuck’s sake, she’d been fighting me practically nude beneath the cloak. That realization got my blood pumping even hotter, which was the last thing I needed. “Feels like it should be,” I said.
Her chest rose sharply. “That sounds like your problem, not mine.”
A laugh crawled up my throat as I stared at her, completely bemused. And aroused. Wholly intrigued. And, gods, I couldn’t remember the last thing that truly intrigued me. Honestly, I shouldn’t enjoy this side of her. A submissive, frightened Maiden would be easier to deal with.
Nothing about her would be easy.
“You’re…you’re nothing like I expected.”
She stared at me for a long moment. “Was it my skill with an arrow or the blade? Or was it the fact that I took you to the ground?”