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A shock of nerves zaps me, but I love the idea of pushing past them. Somehow, that seems to apply literally and figuratively. I manage a smile. “Okay. For Grams.”
Without batting an eye, Maddox takes off all his clothes, then looks at me.
I scan his body, so ridiculously exquisite. “You have zero issues with nudity.”
He spreads his arms. “This is how we arrived on this earth.”
“You sound like your dad. Which is a good thing.” I smile. “All right—you’ve seen it all before.” I take off my shoes, socks, T-shirt, bra, shorts, and panties, in that order.
He kisses my cheek, mumbling, “You’re beautiful. Inside and out.”
His words make a starburst of joy explode inside me.
Naked and hand in hand, we make our way down the stone path to the ledge. The entire way, I’m focusing on Maddox’s fine, fine ass, and it helps.
Still holding hands, we count to three, and when we leap off the ledge, we don’t let go.
15
The Cozy Castle
When I see the castle in the distance, I walk faster, my feet hurting. I’m more than ready for a shower and a hot meal. “Let’s move, Old Man.” I grab Maddox’s hand and pull him along.
“Very funny.”
At the entryway, there’s a sign that says, “Join Us Tonight,” which piques my interest. We walk over to it and read about a celebration of dinner and dancing. Below, there’s a brief history of the castle. “Now, I’d be more into U.S. history if we had cool stuff like this.” I point to it.
Maddox nods before reading aloud. “The Scottish knights would stay at this coastal castle upon docking their ships. After their long journeys at sea, they would be treated to an evening of celebration with a hearty meal, wine, and dancing. Women would wear crowns made of flowers to represent power, glory, and eternity, and to welcome their Vikings home. Come join us tonight for our trip down memory lane, renaissance style.”
“Excellent timing.” I look at Maddox, not able to hide my excitement. “We can’t miss something like this, right?”
“Oh, we definitely can.”
I nudge him. “Come on. When will we have this chance again?”
He stands still, his face emotionless. “Probably never.”
“Exactly.”
He points to the gift shop. “If we’re doing this, we’re doing it right.”
“Yay!” I clap, my eyes following his point.
And lo-and-behold: there’s a whole selection of outfits, surely for guests like us who need attire for this evening’s activities. I bet it’s a big money-maker for them, and the clothing is amazing.
Maddox and I jump into shopping.
Once I have my barmaid outfit and Maddox has his kilt and sword, I’m excited to pick out my flower crown. But when we go to the shelf, they’re all sold out. I frown. “Boo. That was the part I was most excited about.” I look up in thought. “We could do real flowers, except I didn’t see any in bloom this late in summer.”
Maddox walks over and grabs a pack of colored paper. “Never fear, my lady. At your service.”
Two hours later, most of that time spent on doing my hair and makeup, not to mention lacing up my corset and slip, I’m ready. Maddox knocks on the adjoining door, and when I open it, I laugh when I see him in his kilt, black belt with an oversized buckle, boots, and sword. Except it’s not actually funny, it’s scintillatingly hot.
I opt for a barmaid dress with a white top and green and brown skirt with an apron that balloons out thanks to a netting underskirt. I do a twirl for his benefit.
“Christ.” Maddox stares at me, not bothering to hide his gape. “You look so damn hot right now.”
“Not so bad yourself, Sir Winter.”
