Rapunzelle: an Everland Ever After Tale (17 page)

Her pretty little lips—still red from his kiss—pulled down into a frown that he didn’t have time to wonder at. “
Hmmm
. You’ll be keeping horses, right?”

“Yes…?”

“And you would take me riding again, right? Bareback, I think? I’d like to learn to ride astride, too.” She squeezed him hopefully, and his smile bloomed.

“I would take you on any sort of adventure you wanted,
moya lyubov
.”

“Are you sure? I have quite a lot of adventuring in mind, you know.”

“Anything for you, Zelle.”

“In that case,” she smiled up at him, “Let me save you some time.” He raised a brow, not understanding. “Let’s skip straight to the courting right now, and I’ll say yes.”

“To me courting you?”

“No, you silly duke! To marrying you!”

Her friend squealed, and her mother sighed, and her father roared, but Dmitri ignored them all, his senses entirely devoted to the woman in his arms. This time, their kiss lasted forever.

Keep reading for a sneak peek at another Everland tale!

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Did you miss the story of how Zelle’s parents came to be her parents?

Keep reading for a sneak peek at Jack and Meri’s fairy tale:

His princess’s gentle snoring had lulled Jack into a state of near-sleep himself. He wasn’t sure if she could even put herself to sleep anymore; most nights he just held her against his chest, marveling at this tiny little miracle of Creation, until she drifted off. It wasn’t because Zelle needed it. Nah, it was for him;
he
needed to feel her, to listen to her, to be reminded that he was alive and free and so was she.

Tonight had been no different. After finishing yet another meal of rice and beans and salt pork, he’d had to give her a bath in the basin. It was just as well that he let her eat naked, because with his limited meal repertoire, she often ended the evening smeared in mushed beans and with rice stuck in her ear.

It was the highlight of Jack’s day.

As usual, after her bath, he’d changed her into her nightdress and put her on his lap to read to her. Lately she’d gotten real interested in his books, but he still didn’t know if it was just the sound of his voice, or if she really cared about the story. And then, as usual, her eyes had gotten droopy, and she’d curled up against his chest, one thumb in her mouth and her feet tucked between them. When her breathing told him that she’d fallen asleep, he’d put the book down, and just hold her.

With his feet up on the crate, and his head wedged against the seat-back cushion just so, he could fall asleep like this.
Had
fallen asleep like this, pretty often since that day three months ago that he’d arrived in this two-bit town and moved into the empty house. Probably would’ve again tonight, except for the knocking.

It took him a minute to figure out where the noise was coming from. He’d had plenty of visitors in the first month, sure, but he’d gotten rid of most of them with his poor manners. Besides, the sun had already set. As always, something out of the ordinary like this caused his heart to crawl up into his throat and his pulse to start pounding in his ears. Had Witcher found them, already? It’d only been a few months!

The knock came again, and Jack slowly sat up, making sure not to disturb Zelle. He slipped around the furniture towards the simple house’s only door. Still holding her pressed against his right shoulder, he lifted her so that she sat more comfortably, and grabbed the knife off of the table where he’d set it to dry after dinner. It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing.

If Witcher had tracked them to Everland already, he wasn’t going to take them by surprise. Jack would do pretty much anything to keep his old boss from taking Zelle away again. Swallowing, he admitted that he could even kill to keep his princess safe.

Cautiously, he cracked the door with the hand holding the knife, being careful to angle his body to protect Zelle if necessary.

He probably shouldn’t have bothered. There was just enough light from the western sky to see who was standing on what would’ve been his doorstep if this God-forsaken place was civilized enough to have doorsteps: a woman. And not just
any
woman, but a young one.

He’d been to the prayer meeting every Sunday for the last ten weeks—he believed strongly that  Zelle needed to be raised with religion—and thought he’d met every single female Everland had to offer… all six of them. But this one hadn’t been there; hadn’t been around the town at all, as far as he’d seen. Because he’d sure as hell remember someone who looked as good as
this
.

She was a pale angel in the twilight, dark hair pulled back under some kinda bonnet, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth in a way that made her somehow more approachable. Maybe he was getting fanciful, but she looked
exactly
like the kind of woman—good and pure and tight and clean—that he’d dreamed of during those long nights in his cell. The kind of woman that he wanted to raise Zelle to be. Noble. Kind. Pristine.

Jack blinked, wondering if there was something off about the beans. What the hell was she doing, standing at his door? The sight of a wagon with two figures in it, kicking up dust on the way back to town, or the trunk with carpetbag on top, didn’t help clear things up, either.

Well, blinking hadn’t made her disappear, so Jack figured he’d better find some manners, quick. He pulled the door open wider, keeping the knife behind it so he wouldn’t scare her. He shifted Zelle up higher, and stepped forward a bit, to let the light from the lamp on the table spill out into the frigid night.

With a gasp, the woman took a step back, staring up at him like she’d seen a ghost. Maybe opening the door hadn’t been such a good idea. Was he all that ugly, really? From the way she was looking a bit sick, he thought that maybe he
was
.

“Can I help you, ma’am?”

She didn’t say anything, but continued to stare, her fingers twined around themselves in front of her lips. “Ma’am?” It was damn cold out here, and he was letting all the heat out. She shook her head once, although Jack couldn’t tell if it was in response to his question, or if she was trying to shake some sense into herself.

Zelle whimpered in her sleep, and nestled deeper into the crook of his neck. He would’ve patted her back to sooth her, but he was still holding the knife. The baby had drawn the mystery woman’s attention, though, and he watched her fear—or was it only surprise?—fade as her gaze swept over Zelle’s wispy pale hair. He tried again, “Ma’am?”

This time, she met his eyes, and dropped her hands from her mouth. He noticed that they were still twisted together, though, when she took a deep breath. “I’m Meri Almassy.”

She said it like it was supposed to mean something. “Yeah?” He knew he was being rude, but she still hadn’t explained anything.

When he didn’t react sufficiently—what had she been expecting?—her dark brows drew together, making a cute little “V” that he itched to smooth away.  Another deep breath, and he pretended not to notice the way her small breasts strained against the light gray of her coat. Why in the world would someone who looked like her show up at his door at this hour? There was no call for it, no good reason.