Page 36 of The Princess Tied

“Why? Because I can.” Then he pulled off his glove and reached across and gave Pearbottom a tap with it.

The horse sped up.

Po fumed and turned to snap out, “Then why are you being such an asshole?”

“Because I can.”

“Oh!”

Damn him.

CHAPTER EIGHT

had barely been following Po another minute down the road when he spurred Rocky to ride up level with her again. His mind was unhappy. He wasn’t exactly sure why it was unhappy or why he was going to her, until he was almost there.

She was maddening, female, and arrogant… all the things he supposed he was, minus the gender. The gender was partly why he was in a quandary. He was going to apologize, and he wasn’t sure that was a manly thing to do. He was going to be honest, and that definitely was not his usual. His world ran on lies.

Once he’d halted Rocky before her, and she’d drawn Pearbottom to a stop, he opened his mouth to say the words he hadn’t known if he could say.

“I apologize.”

“For what exactly?” With her lip curled, she ran a stern gaze down him then up again.

There it was, The Snooty Princess, again. It was almost enough to make him drag her over to his saddle and spank her.

“Some of what I said. Being an asshole. For what I said about true love. I’m not an expert. In that you are right.”

“Oh. Well. Then thank you.”

He adjusted his position. “You’re still not in charge.” Then he turned the horse around and let her get ahead again. That would do for now. It settled the turmoil enough so that he could think instead of being morose.

Being behind her also let him study her cute ass.

Over the past two days, two measly days, he’d watched her become less of a princess and more of a human. Before this, he’d dismissed her talk of love, had barely thought her a worthy person. She was a bargaining chip, and he was far too absorbed in his mission.

His eyes had opened. Two days, and even if she’d clearly enjoyed what he’d done to her—tied her up, made her come, and stuck things in her... like his fingers and the fox-tail plug. Thoughts stalled as those memories awakened in vivid color. Even so…

John shifted to ease a sudden large throb in his pants.

Was this who he wanted to be to her?

She was a person, though he still wanted to screw her over the nearest boulder.

With all of that flooding his mind, Fate had stepped in, as if to confuse him more.

The signs were potent: the arrival of Ruth then Shades, both with their unique skills and talents; the finding of the lost eyeball; and Ruff could be included too. He was the oddest bunny ever.

Lastly, Po fit in. Watching her stick that eyeball into Shades had turned his stomach. Eyeballs, unnatural or not, were icky things.

John Wickerman, Princess Po, Ruth the dwarf-giant, Ruff the floof machine, and Shades, ex-cyclan warrior.

They were a definite band of ragtag travelers drawn by a common cause to defeat evil.

Goddamned Fate.

You didn’t rock Fate, not unless you wanted Fate to kick you in the balls.

Where did he and Po stand in all this? Not in bed with each other. Not yet. That seemed wrong, apart from the metaphor being warped because standing on a bed would be awkward. He needed to get Xander back, then they needed to sit down and figure this out.