Chapter Seventeen
QUINN
“ U ndress me.”
From the dresser—where I’d been kindly minding my own damn business and unpacking my clothes—my head snapped to his.
Feeling refreshed after my nap, I had decided to put away my things. Landon had been gone when I woke up, but he’d gotten back a little while ago and had gone straight into the bathroom to shower. That had seemed odd for the middle of the afternoon, but it wouldn’t have shocked me to find out he showered three times a day.
He seemed like the type.
I wasn’t going to judge his hygiene rituals. But I’d been gone back and forth on addressing the newest elephant in the room. Since he’d come out, he’d been watching me from across the room, and I’d been pretending not to notice as I put my things in the empty drawers he’d marked for me.
But I couldn’t ignore him anymore. “I’m sorry. What did you just say?”
“You heard me.” He stepped closer, his dark eyes holding no trace of humor. “Undress me.”
My eyes narrowed on him, and I forced a laugh. “Is this some kind of welcoming prank?” I placed a neat stack of leggings in the drawer. “Or are there…I don’t know. Some meds you forgot to take today?”
“Meds?”
“I’m implying that you must be crazy.” I let out a sigh, reaching for a stack of t-shirts. “Because you’re off your rocker if you think I’m going to undress you.”
He closed the distance between us. “And you’re off your rocker if you think this is an extended stay at the Camelot Motel. You’re here to win The Quest, and to do that, you need me to train you. So, I’d suggest you get over your delicate sensibilities that prevent you from taking orders. Sooner rather than later.”
I rolled my eyes. “Duly noted.”
His hand snapped out and snatched my wrist. “Don’t test me, Quinn.”
The neat pile of clothes I’d been holding tumbled to the floor, and the charms on my bracelet dug into my skin. I glared at him. Clearly, the tentative truce I’d thought we’d reached this morning must’ve been in my imagination.
He’d reverted to the cold, emotionless control freak he’d been in the Round Tableau.
I found myself as annoyed with his behavior as I was then—and even more obnoxiously—still a little turned on by it.
With no intention of letting him know that, I gritted my teeth and refused to back down from his stare. “You do realize no one has actually explained The Quest to me, right?” I hated the note of breathlessness in my voice. “When you come out of nowhere and ask me to undress you, I genuinely don’t know where that’s coming from.”
He huffed a laugh. “And you jump to the assumption that I’m asking out of what? Sheer passion for you?”
“Having a thing for me wouldn’t be so crazy.” I brushed past his insult, jerking my hand in his grip. “Not having a thing for me and asking me to undress you? That, to me, sounds crazy.”
While he didn’t let me go, his grip loosened slightly. “And if I had a thing for you? Would you do it?”
I smothered the tiny voice in my brain shouting yes. “No.”
A smile curved the corner of his mouth. “And why not?”
“Because I’m not a sex puppet, Landon. I don’t ask how high when you say jump.” My heart rate kicked up. “And besides, it’s a moot point unless…Do you have a thing for me?”
He didn’t respond, his head cocking to the side as he eyed me curiously. After a few beats of prolonged staring, I tried to yank my hand out of his grip again.
His fingers tightened over my wrist. “You really don’t know anything about The Quest?”
I shook my head. “No. Care to enlighten me? Because if not, I’d like to finish unpacking.”
He eyed the clothes at his feet and my leggings before raking his gaze over my outfit.
For my first day, I’d chosen my comfiest but most unflattering pair of jeans. The boyfriend fit hid my curves perfectly, but I’d paired it with a white crop top to claim it was a sexy look if someone bitched.
It was less sexy after my run in with Brutus—streaked with grass and probably a bit of sweat under my arms.
Opting to forgo the cute booties I usually wore with these jeans, I completed the look with a pair of athletic tube socks—white with red stripes where they banded around my calf. My worn-out white sneakers, covered with dirt and bits of tree bark, had been haphazardly toed off somewhere near the chaise by the window.
I wasn’t a slob by nature, but the sound of his teeth gritting as he’d nudged my shoes into an acceptable spot had been totally worth acting like one.
Landon wrinkled his nose at my appearance, as if he hadn’t seen me right after my run for my life, but he full-on blanched when he caught sight of my sleep shirts. “What the fuck are you even putting in those drawers?”
“Clothes. You know, what people wear when they aren’t trying to impress a house full of egomaniacs.” I exaggerated a roll of my eyes, then pinned my stare on his hand—the one still entrapping my wrist. “Do you mind? I’d like to finish.”
Barking a laugh, he pointedly ignored my request. His eyes sparkled with amusement, warm flecks of amber glinting within the brown depths. “Are you sure there aren’t meds you need to take today?”
I tugged against his hold. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
He filched one of my oversized pajama shirts out of the drawer—a particular favorite with grumpy cats all over it—holding it up between us like it was a venomous snake.
“Just that you’ve clearly lost your mind if you think you’ll need any of this.”
I swallowed, my bravado weakening under a wave of lust that hit me at his implication. But I kept my voice steady and tried to sound as bored as possible when I responded, “Oh, gee. Let me guess. More lingerie?”
His fingers flexed over my wrist, a wolfish grin curving his full lips. “If I let you wear anything at all.”
Desire swirled in my belly, and I yanked on my wrist.
He released me, his eyes tracking my retreat and sizing me up like we’d entered a sparring ring without my awareness. I made a show of rubbing my arm, even though his grip had been gentle.
For a controlling brute throwing his weight around.
“As thrilling as that sounds for the next time you leave me locked in a room, or spank me into submission. I’d rather pass.” Crossing my arms over my chest, I squared off with him. And hid the way my nipples tightened under my shirt at the memory. “Thanks for that, by the way.”
He crossed his arms over his chest, mirroring my posture. “Trust me, you have more than that to look forward to if you want to win.”
“And are you actually going to tell me what that entails? Or just dangle it over my head like a carrot.”
He smirked. “Haven’t decided.”
I threw my hands up. “Of course, you haven’t.”
He glanced down at my very unshielded chest, the smirk on his face fading. And it disappeared entirely when I propped my hands on my hips.
“Can’t really blame me when you keep bouncing after it like a sexy bunny,” he muttered, scrubbing a hand over his jaw.
My annoyance morphed instantly to amusement—very smug, totally at his expense amusement—and the wide grin that appeared on my face alerted him to what he’d said out loud.
He groaned.
“You think I’m a sexy bunny,” I teased.
His spine straightened, as if my joy had shoved a rod up his ass. “I said you bounce like a bunny.”
“Yes, but a sexy one.”
Nearly bouncing with glee right then, I walked over to him with a little extra pep in my step and patted him on the chest.
His muscles tightened, bulging under my palm and almost stealing the humor from the moment. But the tightly-wound grimace on Landon’s face kept it alive—for me, at least.
“I’m here because I have a job to do, Maiden.”
I mocked him in my best robot voice, “I’m here because I have a job to do.” Looping my arm through his, I tugged him backwards toward the door. “So you’ve said. Now, come on, Honey Bunny. You owe me a tour.”
“I have things to do.”
“Sure you do,” I said with all the sympathy in the world. “But the sooner you do this, the sooner I stop bouncing.”
He grumbled under his breath before grabbing his keys. “Fine. Let’s go.”
I’d already seen the lake from Landon’s window, but it dazzled in comparison as we walked down to the water’s edge.
Behind the main house, the lawn led to a large dock with two small sailing boats tied onto it. A rack of paddle boards, kayaks, and all their associated oars and life jackets waited in the sun for summer activities to kick off.
“It won’t be long before everyone spends most days out on the water. The first day or two, it’s a lot quieter out here. Most of the Knights and Maidens won’t come up for air until tomorrow morning.”
“It takes that long for the other Maidens to get their Knights undressed? Man, I’m going to win The Quest, no problem.”
Landon tried not to smile at my impish grin. He really did. But he couldn’t resist.
And I couldn’t blame him, since I made sure to walk backwards in front of him, bouncing when I said it.
“When I start taking orders, of course.”
He shook his head, averting his eyes from my chest. “You’re ridiculous.”
“You love it.”
I tossed my hair and turned back around as we headed to the dock, smiling when he bit back a groan. He could say what he wanted about my looser-fitting boyfriend jeans, but they still made my ass look great. Especially if I put my hands in the pockets and pulled them tight.
Which I did. Obviously.
“I’m never going to live that comment down. Am I?”
“Probably not.” I laughed and walked up to the edge of the dock, staring out at the expanse of sparkling blue and tempted to jump right into it.
I was feeling more open to this whole thing, honestly. Now that I had unlocked Landon’s code and figured out how to override his ultra-serious-must-be-a-broody-ass programming.
He stepped up to the edge of the dock beside me, and we stared out over the water.
Glancing over my left shoulder, I spotted the lemon tree I’d climbed to get away from Brutus. I tapped his chest, pointing it out and unable to resist teasing him.
“Okay, campus tour time. That right there—that is the tree I climbed to get away from the killer dog trying to eat me. And right there”—I pointed at the ground beneath it—“is where I fell to the ground and waited for him to pounce on top of me. And right?—”
“Alright, alright.” He clamped a hand over my mouth, dragging me back around to face the water. “You’ve made your point, Maiden.”
Keeping me tucked under his side and muzzled by his hand, he took a deep breath. I stared up at him from beneath his arm, tempted to lick his hand, but his jaw muscle tightened and released a few times. He looked like he was about to share, and I wanted to see what he said.
He glanced back at the tree and frowned.
“They planted that tree nine years ago. It was already grown, but they dug it out from whatever tree farm, taking the roots and everything before bringing it here.” His brow furrowed, and he turned back to the water. “Lemon trees are supposed to symbolize longevity and prosperity. But for some reason, every time I look at it, I feel…Angry, I guess. But I’m not sure why. It’s just always bothered me.”
My brow creased as I watched his features draw tight, like he was as confused as me.
“Last year, they planted another tree. It’s ironic, don’t you think? Planting a tree that symbolizes longevity to honor someone who died?”
My breathing hitched.
I hadn’t given much thought to the rumors I heard down in the Round Tableau, and given what Gia had picked up that day in class, maybe I should’ve. Landon confirmed it, though. Last year, someone had actually died.
I didn’t know if this was the part where he told me what happened or where he drowned me in the lake. Maybe both if he was one of those villains that liked to talk a lot before they got to the killing part. Either way, I stayed quiet as I waited for him to say more.
“They’re actually planted all around the campus. But that one”—he nodded at the tree I’d climbed—“and another on the other side of the lake were the first two planted. They symbolize longevity and prosperity for Camelot Court. Not the person.”
I nodded as I took that in, but in a weird way, it made sense.
After losing someone, sometimes people needed a reminder that life was supposed to go on. We were supposed to keep living. Enjoy a long, full, and happy existence, rather than just going through the motions. I understood the sentiment, but I also got how Landon felt about it.
Bitter.
Because death took without considering who was good or bad. Guilty or innocent. It didn’t discriminate between who deserved to die…
And who should’ve been the one who lived.
Sometimes, death chose wrong.
Landon sighed. “I was wrong before.”
He glanced down at me, where I remained tucked under his arm with his palm over my mouth. I didn’t try to get out of his hold, even though I probably should’ve. But when he didn’t expand on that admission, I licked his palm.
“I’m trying to figure out how to explain the other night. I don’t want—I’m not making excuses. I acted on information I had. I jumped to conclusions, but…” His arm tightened around my shoulders briefly and released. “But it’s my job as a Knight to serve Camelot Court, and its King. Most of the time, that means making sure the pledges don’t do something stupid. Participating in all of this and keeping the traditions alive. It’s our generation’s turn to make sure all of this survives. Prospers. And I thought…”
He frowned, and it was only because I could see how hard he was trying to express himself that I took pity on him. I covered his hand with my own, raising my eyebrows in question before tugging his hand away. He let me do it.
“Quinn, I thought you?—”
“Hey, you don’t have to say it. I won’t lie and say I’m not curious why, but you thought all of this”—I waved a hand over my body—“was some kind of honey trap or something? I mean, I have no idea where that came from, but honestly, who could blame you?”
His lips twitched with that forbidden urge of his to smile, but he repressed it and sobered. He stared down at me intently, with nothing but sincerity in his dark amber eyes.
“I am sorry I scared you and if I hurt you. Even if I can’t apologize for doing my…” He sighed, looking out at the water. “Duty.”
“Doodie.” I snickered, pinching his side. “That’ll never get old.”
“Oh, it really will,” he deadpanned.
“Agree to disagree.” I shrugged.
He tucked me back under his side, and we stood there quietly for a while. It may not have been the apology I’d imagined, but it felt like enough.
It was enough, and whether I realized it right then or not, a major turning point for me and my Knight.