chest. "I can't even feel your boobs. You do have them, don't you?"
Tressa knocked his arm to the side. "Don't ever touch me like that again or I'll do more than block you."
"I'm not afraid of a girl." Henry rolled his eyes.
"You should be afraid of this one."
"Where I come from, women are only for cooking, cleaning, and whoring. They are our servants." He looked her up and down, disgusted. "They don't chop off their hair or pretend to be men. They stay quiet and spread their legs when we tell them to. Admit it. You want me, even now." He stood tall, his hands on his hips, golden hair swinging just above his shoulders.
"The only part of me that wants to touch your crotch is my knee. Now lay down and get some sleep until we can talk to Jarrett. Stacia is without half of her guard. We may be able to finally do what we've all come here for."
Henry sat on his bed. He yanked his boots off one by one and tossed them at the edge of Tressa's bed. Without another word, he laid on the duck feather mattress.
Tressa settled down on her bed and didn't relax until she could hear Henry's signature snoring. Instead she thought about Bastian and wished there was some way she could get word to him or her father. Until Jarrett came to relieve them, there was nothing she could do.
Chapter Fifty-Three
Bastian's lips fell on Tressa's in a heated embrace. Her back arched, shivers ran up and down her spine. It had been so long, too long, since he'd wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him.
Before she could open her eyes, he abruptly pulled away.
"Get off of her!"
Tressa sat up, rubbing her eyes. Henry lay sprawled on the floor and Jarrett stood over him. She shook her head, then realized what had been going on.
"If anyone had seen you kissing what they think is another man, we'd have a whole host of problems on our hands."
Tressa's cheeks turned red. "Wow, and thanks for defending me."
Jarrett glared at her. "There was nothing to defend other than our secret."
"What?" She stumbled to her feet.
"You were kissing him back. I thought you had more restraint than that, but after how you presented yourself to me at the pond, I should have known better."
Tressa shoved Jarrett. "I was dreaming. I had no idea I was kissing Henry." She rubbed her sleeve across her lips and tamped down a flare of revulsion.
Jarrett's jaw dropped. He stared at Tressa for a moment, then reared back and kicked Henry in the stomach. He bent over, but Tressa grabbed his arms and tugged him back.
"Don't," she said. "Just let it go."
"If your mother knew how you were treating an unwilling woman..." Jarrett sank down on Tressa's bed, his head in his hands.
"My mother sent me away to steal a throne," Henry said, still doubled over in pain. "I don't think she cares what I do so long as I take it and claim it for The Sands."
"Your mother would chain you in the dungeon for a month. You know it as well as I do. Learn to behave and do it now!"
Tears streamed out of Henry's eyes. "It's the dragon. It made me do it." He looked up at Tressa, his eyes pleading. "You believe me, don't you?"
She didn't know what to believe and she wasn't sure it even mattered.
"What did you learn in your time with Stacia?" Tressa asked Jarrett, interested only in moving on from the incident with Henry. He was nothing but a petulant boy. She wanted Stacia gone, but she wasn't sure Henry was the answer either. The lesser of two evils. Tressa wanted a third option.
"Not much." Jarrett tossed another annoyed glance at Henry and sat down on his bed. He ran his hand through his hair. Bangs flopped down over his eyes. "She mostly paced. Then she tried to seduce me."
Henry slid across the floor and sat at Jarrett's feet. "Tell us more."
Tressa was only mildly curious. She looked at Jarrett. Nothing gave him away. No blush. No anger. It was as if he said Stacia had offered him a prune.
"There's nothing to tell. She disrobed and ordered me to take her." Jarrett paused.
This time Tressa knew it was for drama's sake. She rolled her eyes and got up off her bed. Henry drew even closer to Jarrett, hungry for details.
"And?" Henry asked. His begging was more pathetic than Jarrett's