Page 12 of Alec in Wonderland (Rainbow Tales #1)

Alec stared at the tall, broad-shouldered man with the pink hair. The color was oddly attractive on him. It should have been too feminine, especially with the man's delicate, almost fey features, but those dusky rose locks swept recklessly around his face, short and rebellious. The color complemented his acid-green eyes, enhancing the way the striations caught the light and glittered. And the look in those eyes, the way they held Alec's own with an almost ferocious dedication, made him shiver. An image suddenly filled his mind—of the man poised above him, down low on Alec's body so that his eyes had to shift up to lock with Alec's.

He would cover Alec with that big body. Sure, he was in armor, but that could only account for a percentage of his breadth. Beneath all of that metal, there had to be an amazing body. Alec envisioned it, adding more details to his fantasy. The man must have thick arms and a chest as hard as stone. Would it be sprinkled with pink curls or smooth? Pink. Wow. Combined with a body like that, the color almost felt aggressive.

The man had demanded to know who Alec was, but within that demand, Alec heard something interesting. Something more than mere curiosity. Torwen didn't seem to like it, but Alec did. He liked it very much. So as Torwen postured and prattled on about politeness, Alec answered the man.

“I'm Malecvar, Cheshire's cousin,” Alec said, using the name they'd decided upon. A name common to the coast so as not to be suspect. “But you can call me Mal.” He extended a hand. “Nice to meet you.”

The pink-haired man unclenched a fist and enveloped Alec's hand in his. He wore gloves with a metal armor piece over them. Gauntlets. That's what they're called. He wore gauntlets, but they only covered the top of his hands, leaving the rough leather glove to come in contact with Alec's palm. Why was that so fucking sexy?

“Mal,” the man repeated. “You're from the coast?”

“Yes, that's right,” Alec said. “I live on the shore of the Crimson Sea. And you are?”

The man cleared his throat and a pair of wings—no, three pairs—shivered out from the back of his armor. The wings were delicate, like an insect's, and caught the sunlight to shine with opalescence. Seeing them made something Quin said pop into Alec's head and become clear. Insects. He'd been so right. The wings looked like they belonged to a giant dragonfly.

Before the man could answer, Alec asked, “Are you a Jubjub?”

The man straightened. “I'm—”

“Oh, this is the Jubjub,” Torwen cut him off. “Mal, meet Sir Baxenvir, Knave of Hearts. He's the Queen's Champion and commands the Jubjubs. He's their captain or whatever.”

Sir Baxenvir nodded sharply.

Alec looked down at their hands. The knight was still holding his. “Um. It's nice to meet you, Sir Baxenvir.”

“Call me Bax,” the Knave of Hearts said.

“Thank you. It's nice to meet you, Bax.”

“Nice to meet you too, Mal. Welcome to the Hearts Fortress.”

“That sounds so intimidating. The Hearts Fortress .”

“Yes, well, I suppose that's what the Queen intended.”

“And is it your intention to hold my cousin's hand all day?” Torwen drawled.

Sir Bax flinched and jerked back, pulling Alec forward before he realized he was still holding Alec's hand. He let go and steadied Alec. “My sincerest apologies. I'm fresh from training.” He motioned upward and back. “And a bit distracted.”

Alec followed the Knave's hand to see men and women in similar armor to the Knave's flying in military formations above the keep. The Jubjubs Quin had spoken of.

“So, it's your armor that has wings, not you?” Alec asked even though he knew the answer.

The Knave of Hearts smiled.

Both Alec and Torwen went still. That smile could bring kings and queens to their knees. It was so brilliant, so fucking beautiful that it sucked the air out of Alec's lungs. The Knave's attractiveness increased by a hundredfold.

“That's right,” Bax said. “And glad I am for it. I imagine wings would be troublesome. Much better to don them for battle and remove them when you're done.”

“Done slaughtering everyone,” Torwen muttered.

Alec cleared his throat. “Yeah, I can see your point. Sleeping would be difficult with wings. You'd have to curl up on your stomach like a bird.”

“Exactly,” Bax said. He leaned forward suddenly, bringing his face close to Alec's. “You look so familiar. Have we met before?”

“No, I don't think so,” Alec said. “Have you ever been to the Crimson Sea?”

The Knave frowned as he straightened. “Once. A long time ago. It was beautiful.”

“Then perhaps we ran into each other there.”

“Ran into? You have an odd way of speaking.”

“Yes, it's a coastal vernacular,” Torwen said, his stare shooting back and forth between Alec and Bax. “And the coast is exquisite indeed. Lovely place to sun yourself. Now, if you'll excuse us, Sir Baxenvir, I must introduce my cousin to the Queen. Propriety demands it. And so does she.” Torwen waved his hand about.

“Yes, she does,” Bax said. “I shall accompany you.”

Torwen's eyes went wide. “You'll what ?”

“Accompany you,” Bax said crisply. “To the Queen.”

“Ah.” Torwen glanced at Alec, then pulled himself up straighter. “We wouldn't want to keep you from your training, Sir Baxenvir.”

“I'm done training for the day. Shall we?” The Knave of Hearts motioned toward the keep.

“Very well.”

Alec pressed his lips together to keep from grinning. He hadn't known Torwen for long, not as an adult, but he already knew that it took a lot to faze him. And Torwen was fazed. And annoyed. And baffled. It was amusing to watch. Like a cat with a piece of tape on its paw. He just couldn't shake off the knave, no matter how hard he tried.

Sir Baxenvir led the way into the towering building in the center of the fortress compound. Alec glanced back as they reached the top of the steps. Torwen and he had entered the compound through the main gate and then traversed a broad road through the Queen's gardens before they reached the smaller buildings that clustered around the keep like people around a campfire. Once past that outer ring of buildings, they entered the courtyard that separated those work buildings from the main, castle-like central keep. It was like a little city, walled and defended by card soldiers wearing white tunics emblazoned with red hearts. Sneaking out of this city-compound would be nearly impossible and searching it might take months.

The thought was sobering.

Alec looked up and up and up the side of the keep. Pale gray stone walls soared into towers capped by red cones. Climbing roses grew over those walls, their vines choking the keep like anacondas, covering so much of the stone that it changed the color from gray to green and red. The perfume of those crimson blooms was heady, so very sweet and feminine, but just before they passed through the open doorway, Alec noticed the vicious thorns on the rose vines. Like the Queen of Hearts herself, the roses were both beautiful and deadly.

In the echoing marble corridors, the sound of the Knave's boots became a drumbeat. Determined and almost warlike. But the rhythm softened after a few steps when Bax dropped back to walk beside Alec.

“Why did you decide to visit the Hearts Fortress?” Sir Baxenvir asked.

“I asked him to keep me company,” Torwen answered before Alec could. “It gets lonely for me in between the Queen's summons.” He pouted at the knight. “No one will play with me.”

The Knave of Hearts grunted and looked away. He smoothed a wild, gleaming pink lock back from his tall forehead. Then he looked back at Alec. “Do you like it? The fortress?”

“It's very beautiful here.” Alec slid his stare over the knight. “And so far, the people have been welcoming.”

The Knave of Hearts licked his lips, then rubbed them together. Alec stared, utterly fascinated.

Torwen cleared his throat. “Are you sure the Queen will approve of you appearing before her in your armor, Sir Baxenvir?”

The Knave narrowed his eyes at Torwen. “Why wouldn't she?”

“I don't know.” Torwen waved his hand about. “It may offend her nonsensibilities.”

“Her what?”

“I mean, her sensibilities.”

“She will be happy to see me. My appearance will not matter,” Bax said.

“Not as happy as she'll be to see me.”

Alec looked back and forth between the men. The Knave of Hearts. He was the man who was suspicious of Torwen. The one man Torwen couldn't seduce. Could Alec seduce him? It felt as if he were already seducing the Knave. Or was the Queen's Champion seducing him? He didn't care. However it got done would be fine with Alec.

It startled Alec to realize how much he wanted the Knave of Hearts. He was there to steal a sword and fulfill his destiny, but this man had become a sort of sub-mission for him. A secondary mission that he could justify since Bax was the Knave of Hearts. The man closest to the Queen. That is, besides Torwen. But hadn't Torwen said they needed to find a way around the Knave? This could be it. Instead of going around him, Alec could go through him. Or Bax could go through Alec.

Yup. The Knave of Hearts was important to the war, and that made it important for Alec to get close to him. It was the right thing to do. With that settled, Alec committed himself to flirting shamelessly. Again, he didn't care who seduced who so long as it led to a bed.

“Let's not fight,” Alec drawled and hooked arms with the two men. “You are both important to the Queen. Wouldn't it be better to be allies?”

The Knave of Hearts stared at the Queen's consort who stared back. Then they both looked at Alec.

“No,” they said in unison.

Alec shook his head. “You're both being silly. Why can't you see that you're on the same side?”

“Because we aren't.” The Knave of Hearts narrowed his stare at Torwen.

“Why not?”

He looked back at Alec. “Because . . .”

“Because he doesn't enjoy sharing her.” Torwen disengaged his arm from Alec, leaving Alec to cling to the Knave.

“That's not it at all.” Bax rolled his eyes.

“Oh? Then what is it?” Torwen angled himself into Bax's sight even as he kept walking. “You think I'm going to murder her in her sleep? Huh? Or maybe I'll poison her toward you. Oh! I could replace you. Yes, I'd make a perfect Jubjub!” Torwen mimicked Bax's eye roll.

Bax leveled a hard stare at Torwen.

“Holy shit!” Alec declared. “You do think he wants to replace you. Can you seriously see Cheshire as a soldier? He wouldn't know what to do with a sword.” Alec leaned in and whispered. “I don't think he even knows what end you're supposed to hold.”

Bax snorted a laugh. “I concede that Cheshire is unsuited to military service.”

“Then what is it?”

Baxenvir shook his head and looked away.

“He just doesn't like me, cousin,” Torwen said. “I know, it's hard to imagine, but it's true.”

“You are abrasive.” Bax finally let go of Alec's arm.

“Am not!” Torwen declared. “You're a pot!”

“I'm a what?” Bax stopped walking to gape at Torwen.

“A pot! And I'm a kettle. You're as abrasive as I am.”

“I guess you coasties do speak strangely,” Bax muttered and started off again.

“Hey!” Alec ran up beside Bax. “At least you're both cookware!”

“Excuse me?”

“You know—pots and kettle? Cookware. You can handle some heat.” Alec waggled his brows at the knight.

“Heat, eh? What kind of heat do you have in mind?”

“Oh, is that all it takes to get you smiling, Sir Baxenvir? A little flirting and you forget all about my annoying cousin?”

“Hey!” Torwen grumbled.

“He's very annoying.”

Alec whispered, “I know. I'm his cousin.”

Bax snorted. “Is that what you were doing?”

“What?”

“Flirting? Were you flirting with me?”

“Do you want me to?”

“Oh, absolutely,” the knight purred and leaned closer.

“Then I was absolutely not flirting with you.”

The Knave of Hearts narrowed his eyes.

“If you want me to flirt with you, it means you want to flirt with me. And I'd prefer to be flirted with than to do the flirting. So, I am absolutely not going to flirt with you, Sir Bax.”

Bax's expression shifted again, sliding into shock before settling on bemusement.

Seeing it, Alec burst into laughter and hooked his arm around Bax's again.