Ugly Girl Read online

  Seeing a bear atop a horse was, I’ll admit, pretty funny. Abraham Lincoln snuggled his aunt while Hamish scurried up to ride in his bear friend’s lap, knowing Abraham Lincoln would give him the best seat in the house. “I hate you so much,” she growled to Henri, who looked like he couldn’t have cared less, and was glad to have the true feelings out of the bag. “Let’s go, guys,” Lane insisted. At that, Rousseau farted loudly and vanished with Reyn and Remy both scrunching their noses.

  Bastien waited for Marquis to stand before getting on behind me. His arms wrapped around my sides, caging me in so I didn’t fall from my perch. One hand gripped the reins while the other clutched my stomach, causing me to sit up straighter. “Lean against me,” he instructed, while Lot mounted with Bayard and we started out at a trot toward the east. I tried to recline against Bastien, but I was too nervous. The jostle of the horse didn’t feel natural to me, so my body was stiff against the jerky motion.

  “I feel like I’m going to either fall off or go flying forward! I’ve never ridden a horse before.” Every jolt of the horse pained my leg, which made it doubly hard to relax.

  Bastien pressed his hand more firmly to my stomach, pulling me tight to his chest. “I’ve got you,” he whispered like a promise I needed to hear. “If you loosen up a bit, you’ll move when my body does, and we’ll be riding the horse like one person. It’ll feel easier that way.” The others started galloping, but Bastien knew I wasn’t ready for that. My body was rigid and my nerves were at the crest of what they were capable of dealing with. It may not seem like riding a horse would be too much, and really it wasn’t, but it was on the cusp. Marquis kept up a steady stream of encouragement, but the movement still felt unnatural to me.

  Suddenly Bastien’s hand on my stomach climbed up toward my ribs, tracing slowly back and forth under my breasts. His voice came out low and seductive, making my eyes flutter. “I won’t let you fall, Daisy. Trust me.” When the others were far enough ahead, he bent his head down and kissed my shoulder, then moved his ticklish breath further in toward my neck, dragging his lips upward towards my ear where he whispered, “Your bare legs are driving me crazy.” He reached down and cupped my uninjured calf, moving his hand slowly up to the underside of my thigh, indulging in my gasp. “No doubt that’s the first female leg some of those guys have seen in a few years. What a grand unveiling it was.”

  “Bastien, we can’t. You’re engaged to Reyn’s sister,” I said, but my protest was weak.

  “Close your eyes.”

  They were already on their way to shutting with every pass of Bastien’s thumb under my thigh. My hand reached behind me to tangle my fingers in his hair, pulling his head forward so I could feel his breath on my skin. Without warning, he snapped the reins, leaning us forward as Marquis began to gallop through the woods. A scream stuck in my throat as the trees whipped by us, narrowly missing our legs and heads. “Bastien, this is too fast!” A thrill went up my spine at the adventure of it all. The danger pressing in around us as Marquis picked up his speed fueled something primal in me you just couldn’t tap into in the steel cage of a car. The wind whipped at my face and streaked through my hair, making me feel alive in my fear. Alive was such a beautiful place to be.

  Bastien held me tighter, kissing the back of my neck. “Tell me you’re not excited right now. Tell me part of you isn’t loving this.” He snapped the reins again, and we went impossibly faster, with Bastien leaning me forward so my front was almost laying on Marquis. “Tell me my world doesn’t make your blood race.” I could feel Bastien’s heart pounding in time with Marquis’ gallop as he gripped me, keeping me safe on the edge of danger.

  32

  Not Kiss and Not Nice

  I expected the stable we were to meet at might be the size of a small barn with two or three stalls in it. What greeted me was a sixteen-stall two-story building that looked immaculately kept. Though the homes we passed along the way were mostly simple one-room huts, there were welcome mats laid out on the entrance and cheery paint colors that made everything look new and spring-ish. The air smelled crisp, like it was right about time for nature to do its thing and bloom like crazy, but aside from the forest, a few sad looking orchards and the occasional bush, there wasn’t much nature to speak of. The crisp smell came from the air that blew a little too hard, even after Marquis came to a stop inside the massive barn.

  I was trembling on the horse, one hand locked on Bastien’s wrist and the other gripping the bridle like I might fly totally off the planet if I let go of it. We were the last to arrive, and the others were each in their pockets of conversation as they decided how best to proceed from here.

  Reyn reached up his arms to help me down, but I shook my head so quick, I wasn’t sure he saw it. “Come on down, Rosie. I’ll help you.”

  Bastien gently pried my nails from his wrist, hissing at the sting. “I told you we’d be okay, and would you look at that? We’re here just fine. Now go on down to Reyn.” He dismounted off the horse like it was nothing, his head level with my hips now.

  I shook my head too quick again, and couldn’t unclench my jaw to get any words out. The gentle understanding in Reyn’s eyes let me know I was acting like a baby. For all the sports I’d done, I’d been in total control of my body the entire time. Being on a horse had been a surrender of power I couldn’t justify, even after we were parked.

  Lot broke away from his conversation with Henri and Bayard. “Here. Marquis is a bit taller than your average field horse. I’m sorry, Princess. Let me help you.” Before I could decide whether or not I was ready, Lot grabbed the reins and led Marquis toward the back of the stable. It was a slow walk, but even that spooked me. “Here, you can get used to him now without all the running through the woods.” He clipped a feedbag onto Marquis’ muzzle after taking out the bit. Lot rubbed his flank with steady, strong hands. I could hear Marquis’ gratuitous moaning over the food that he loved because it never changed, no matter the province. Those thoughts were interrupted only by the occasional affection for his owner. Lot looked up at me, his short windswept blond hair falling back from his face. “You let me know when you’re ready to get down.” He kept up the steady stream of physical assurances to Marquis to let him know that he loved him, and not to move too much so he didn’t spook me. It was considerate of him, and I appreciated the kid gloves when I’d been thrown into a world that was so unlike my own.

  Bastien strode up to us to check on me. “You’re being a baby, you know. Everyone here grew up riding. You’re going to look weak to the Wildmen if you don’t calm down.”

  Lot cast Bastien a look of dismay, but I was past mere looks. Of course Bastien would be the thing to loosen my tongue and send the daggers flying. “Am I crying? Am I throwing a giant hissy fit? No. So leave me alone about it. That was my first time on a horse, you know. Most people learn at a walk, not whipping through the woods with an army behind them! I don’t like being off the ground.” I admitted. “I like my feet on the grass, where I have a little bit of control.”

  “This foot?” Bastien inquired, sliding the slipper off my good leg. He gripped my foot and ran his fingers along the arch, tickling me and pretty much asking to be punched. “This is the one you like touching the ground? Well, then get off the horse, you little mouse.”

  Lot’s wide mouth twisted into a goofy grin, but he remained on the other side of the horse in case I fell. “Come now, it’s alright, Princess.”

  I jerked and twitched on the horse, trying to rid myself of Bastien and his “hilarious” ways of getting me to loosen up. “Let go! I’m gonna fall, you jag!”

  “How can you fall if you won’t loosen your grip on the bridle? I could do this all day long.”

  I laughed without meaning to when the tickle grew too much. Then I wrenched my foot away and kicked out at him, narrowly missing his nose. “Get off me! Reyn! Control your village idiot!”

  Reyn cast us both a look of borderline exasperation. Hamish jumped off his shoulder to skitter over
and yell at Bastien. “Alright, kids. Keep it down while the grownups are talking.”

  Bastien snatched up my foot again and set to work on the lucky spot. I knew I wouldn’t last long against the tease. I let out an angry belly laugh, alternating between scowling and smiling, not sure which emotion I felt anymore. I let go of the bridle to smack Bastien’s hand that reached like a spider for my knee. He suctioned his hand just above the kneecap, making me howl at the hard tickle I couldn’t escape.

  All he needed was for me to let go. He didn’t even look bothered that I smacked the hands that dragged me over the side of the horse by my knee. He grinned like a fool when I slunk to my feet in his embrace, my leg tingling where he’d touched it. “That was dirty,” I grumbled, catching my breath.

  “They’re your feet. Maybe you should wash them if they’re filthy.”

  I looked up into his eyes, daring him to back away before the attraction that swirled up in me at the least opportune time took me over. Something in his gaze shifted, and I saw the laughter going out of him, replaced by a serious longing that simultaneously scared and excited me. The butterflies in my stomach mutated to pterodactyls that swooped through me, both urging me forward and warning me to pull back. Bastien removed one of the arms he had wrapped around my waist and thumbed my lower lip, watching the curve like it was something fascinating.

  Like I was something fascinating.

  His eyes closed as he leaned down, and before I could make an informed decision on what I wanted to do, I pulled back, bumping into Marquis and making him grunt in a “Hey, man. I’m eating here” kind of way.

  Did I want to kiss Bastien? Of course. My whole body was screaming for him. But that didn’t change the fact that he was engaged. We were also in a barn filled with people. I didn’t want my first kiss to be ruined of intimacy because everyone was watching me be vulnerable.

  As scared as I’d been on the horse, facing Bastien’s look of confusion as it melted into a cold, reserved expression was even more intimidating. “Bastien, we… I’m sorry, I…”

  “Forget it. Stop overreacting to everything. It’s just a horse.” With that, his warmth froze over, and he turned to make his way back to the others, tossing my slipper over his shoulder as he walked away.

  I balanced on my bare foot, feeling the packed dirt floor beneath me anchoring my stunned body to the earth. A hard pit weighted my stomach, even though the pterodactyls were still in full swing. I should’ve kissed Bastien. Reyn’s sister didn’t even know she was engaged to him. What was stopping me? The thrill of my first horse ride adventure? The sexy dress? The hot guy who in some ways totally got me, but in other ways might never?

  I couldn’t put a lick of weight on my busted leg, so I leaned on Marquis while I tried to figure out a way to get my shoe back on without sitting on the ground. My spirits were low as Hamish brought me my slipper, chittering to me that Bastien was a tool, and not to think twice about it.

  I tried to smile at Hamish as I leaned down to take the slipper, but Lot stepped out from the other side of the horse and intercepted the footwear before I could pitch myself off-balance. He was quiet as he knelt before me on one knee. Sizing up my injury dilemma, he slowly pulled me down to sit on his thigh, my arm on his shoulder as he fitted the slipper back onto my foot.

  Lot smelled of freshly cut wood, and didn’t act like my butt on his thigh was any inconvenience at all. We didn’t speak, but his eyes were filled with understanding he couldn’t possibly have for my situation as he looked deeply into my wounded gaze. His fingers gently wove themselves through mine, playing with them carefully, as if I wasn’t the dude chick born without a libido or a desire to be swept away. He touched my hand like it was something special. Like I was something special. I hadn’t felt the right kind of special in a long time. “Thanks for letting me take a ride on Marquis. He really loves you. Trusts you.”

  Lot’s smile was wide and touched his blue eyes at the slightest upswing of emotion. “That’s good to know. I very much rely on him, too. When we get a bit of time, I’ll take you out on him myself. We’ll go slow, so you can get the hang of riding.”

  I couldn’t look at him anymore; he was too handsome in that dashing Disney prince sort of way. “Thanks. It’d be nice not to look like a total idiot next time.”

  “You didn’t look like a total idiot. You’re a girl who just needed things to go a little bit slower. There’s nothing wrong with that. I hear in your world they get around in tin cans on wheels.”

  I snorted through a laugh, thinking he was joking. Upon looking at his attractive face, I realized he was not, and that I had just snorted while sitting on his thigh. Smooth, Rosie. “Sorry.” I turned my attention back to our fingers that looked strangely pleasant together. “No, they’re called cars, and they go a lot faster than horses, but you’re buckled in and encased on every side, so you can’t fall out all that easily. A lot tougher than a tin can.”

  “Fascinating, all the things the Commoners have done without the use of magic. Maybe later on, after you’ve known me a little longer and can look at me for more than a fleeting second, you can tell me about your home in Common.” My cheeks turned pink at his words that were spot on the mark. Yup, I had zip experience with men. When a good-looking guy acted like I might actually have a chance with him, and paid me any kind of attention, I ran away like the giant chicken I was.

  I nodded, touching the back of my hand to my cheek to cool the burn of chagrin. Lot caught on and smiled. “How about we rejoin the others before they plan the whole thing without us?”

  “Yeah, okay.” I stood, but Lot didn’t let go of my hand. Instead he looped my arm through his, letting me lean on him as I hobbled ungracefully toward the arguing.

  33

  Poisonous Poppies

  “Don’t be a tool, Rousseau. We don’t have time for everyone to go home and pack. Bring back extra supplies for everyone from your place.” Lane had long since dropped her queenly airs after the arguing that seemed never-ending. For a Council that was supposed to work together, they didn’t actually get along all that seamlessly. Too many alphas in one barn. “Go now. Bayard’s already left with a much better attitude than the one you should be ashamed of.”

  Rousseau farted loudly and grumbled about Bayard having more gold to work with to replenish the supplies we all would need. But eventually he complied, disappearing without too much more huffing over the matter.

  Henri had closed us inside the stable, locking it so no one would see us and be able to report back that Reyn was back in his hometown of Province 2. He kept craning his ear to the door every so often to see if he heard any signs of the army, but there was nothing. “I’m going to my castle just down the way. See if I can’t get us some more supplies.”

  Bastien raised a finger. “I’ll come with you.”

  “You sure you can leave your princess?” Henri asked with a hint of teasing to his tone.

  “I’m not needed here, and she’s not my anything, old man.” Bastien spoke loud enough for everyone to hear my public dismissal. My jaw set, and I kept my chin high so I didn’t shrink like I wanted to.

  Remy’s voice was kind, bringing me back to earth. Or Avalon, I guess. “Sit down, Princess. Let me look at your wound. I can redress it before we leave. There won’t be much time once everything gets going.”

  “Sure.” I dropped my hand from Lot’s, regretting the loss of the gentle contact. Though, he made me so nervous that it was probably for the best that I got a bit of distance. My palm was sweaty due to nerves, which was, you know, totally the opposite of sexy.

  “Does this hurt?” Remy asked, pressing two fingers a few inches under the line of stitches.

  “No. Just a little bruised, but nothing more than a sting.”

  “What’s that now?” Lot asked, watching the exchange with tented eyebrows in the center of his forehead. “Your leg is bruised?”

  “Oh, I was just talking to Remy. He’s asking if it hurts.”

  “F
ascinating that you can hear him. We thought it was only the animals you could talk to. I wonder what other hidden languages there are for you to uncover.”

  “Well, I never had an ear for language back home, so here’s hoping it’s always this easy down here.”

  Lane sat next to me, and Reyn followed to take the place on her left. “How’s my girl doing, Remy?”

  “He says I’m totally fine, and should heal in a day or two,” I lied, not liking the fawning.

  Remy looked up at me, tilted his head to the side and touched a finger to my sewn cut, holding my leg still while I hissed through gritted teeth until a howl escaped me. “You know I said no such thing. It’ll be at least a week before you can try walking on it again. And there’s no telling what sort of damage the snakes did to your muscle.”

  “Okay! Okay! I give! He said it’ll be a week at least.” When Remy removed his hand with a mollified nod, his words hit me afresh. “A week?! But we’re supposed to be finding the Horse to Nowhere. How can I do that if I can’t even walk? Come on, Remy! Don’t you have some magic Jiu-Jitsu you can whip out?”

  Remy put on a comically serious face and waved his hands over my leg as if casting a spell. Then he wiggled his fingers and pretended to zap the healing into me. “Is that about how you pictured it? You can dance now. Give it a try.”

  “Ha. Ha. Whatcha got in there, Lane?” I asked as she rifled through her backpack. “Spare set of crutches?”

  “Yes, that’s exactly it. Pack up nice, don’t they? I was thinking maybe we could get changed into regular clothes, since the whole meet and greet is over, and we’ll be traveling incognito after this. Be a little more ourselves? Whataya say, girlfriend?”

  “I’ve never loved you more. Give me those jeans!” I snapped my jaws at the bag, pretending to eat the air separating me from clothes that felt normal and didn’t leave my boobs totally exposed.