Prison Princess (Paranormal Prison) - CoraLee June Page 0,11

and in my mind, I stroked the gift, thanking it for saving our lives.

“Princess?” Cypress called. I snapped my eyes open and looked around the forest floor in shock. Beautiful lilies sprouted from the earth and curled to life in a beautiful procession. I gasped at the bright pink colors. My mind felt wide open and limitless. “Beautiful,” he whispered. I turned my gaze to his, and the moment our stares collided, Cypress cleared his throat before patting my shoulder again, finally stopping to press his hand more strongly against my arm. His hold changed, gentling, until he stroked instead. “Thank you for trying to save me. For the record, another two seconds, I’d have been out of that rope myself. Just had to work through some spells.”

I sat up slowly. I loved the stroking sensation, but I needed answers and I needed them now. “Can you tell me what’s going on? I don’t know what to do or if this is some sick joke. You seem like some sort of powerful lunatic.”

His smile startled me. It was huge. “I am a powerful lunatic. You’re welcome to continue to think of me that way. In fact, I prefer it.” His grin faded fast, and he leaned closer, almost threateningly. “I’m also an assassin. Those men who were here, they are, too. They want to bring you back to Nightmare as much as I want to get you away. We have four more days of travel before I can get you home. I swore to do so. I never break my promises.” Cypress swallowed, and watching his throat move like that did something to me. I wanted to reach out and stroke his Adam’s apple and feel the strong muscles of his throat under my fingertips.

Finally, he spoke again. “I never lose.”

“Everyone loses at least once,” I replied cynically. My throat was rough and dry. I could really use some water.

He leaned over and spoke right against my lips, and I froze at his closeness. There was only a breath separating us. I could smell the wild forest on his skin. I breathed in his scent and nearly moaned out loud at his masculine presence. Up close, a scatter of freckles were more obvious along his nose. The scruff on his jaw was dark. I stared at his beard for a moment. How would it feel to run my cheek against it? It was such a strange feeling to wake up exhausted and sore, but now that was gone, and vibrancy combined with neediness replaced them. Having Cypress this close was doing things to my mind and body.

“No. I don’t.” His words broke the spell I was under. “The man who is leading the charge to get you was once my mentor. It’s a very long, dull story, but we had a falling out recently. His name is Bhaltair. He won’t get you. At least not until I get you home. Then you’re someone else’s problem.”

I didn’t like the idea of being someone else’s problem. I wanted to be nobody’s problem. I just wanted to explore, to see the world I’d been denied my entire life. I hadn’t even had time to fully embrace the idea of freedom. Since the moment Cypress waltzed in and dragged me out of Nightmare Penitentiary, my life had become a series of running and hiding and pain. It might have only been a few hours—honestly, I wasn’t sure—but it might as well have been a lifetime. I didn’t even know what I wanted to do now that I was free. All my life, I imagined what it would be like to explore the world without fear or inhibitions. This didn’t match at all like what I had hoped for. It was unsettling.

“We should get moving,” Cypress said while pulling away from me. The growing distance between us made me frown for some reason.

“How much farther?” I asked. He had said four days, but I didn’t understand how far that truly was. Why couldn’t we just transport there like he did when we escaped the prison?

At my question, Cypress’s shoulders lifted up in tension. He took a moment to debate his answer and put out the fire. He then got dressed, meticulously putting on his armor and strapping weapons to his belt. The armor he wore on his shoulders was polished and prim. The black pants on his legs were covered in dirt. He looked like a knight, but I knew he was anything but.

“I think