Page 95 of Locked in Wonderland

The words were supposed to sound sarcastic. Instead, they came out as if I meant them.

Chapter Thirty

I had another problem. One that had left me awake into the early hours of the morning while Nico slept on, his arm hooked possessively around my chest so that I could feel every inch of him pressed against my back.

That’s how I knew he was hard.

No surprise there. He was always hard first thing in the morning. More often than not, our first fuck happened before I’d even wiped the sleep from my eyes.

My problem was that I liked him. After everything he’d said, everything that had happened since I’d set foot in Wonderland, and despite how frustratingly inscrutable he could be, I still liked him.

I liked this.

And that scared me.

Nico’s arm tightened around me, a silent indication he was awake. He lifted his head, his breath warm against my cheek. “What are you thinking about?”

“Stuff.”

It had been days since our somewhat heated discussion had ended with Nico making me come twice in quick succession—and we’d never revisited it. Nothing had really changed in the meantime, aside from Nico arriving home the following day with a bag full of clothes consisting mainly of sweatpants and T-shirts. I supposed that counted for something. Proof that some of what I’d said had actually sunk in.

At least it left me more comfortable while I spent my days bouncing off the walls.

“Ah, stuff,” Nico said, amusement coloring his voice. “So descriptive.”

“Are you working today?”

“No. I have the day off. I thought we could go out.”

“Out?”

“Somewhere that isn’t these four walls.”

I rolled over so I could see his face. “Where?” I couldn’t think of a single place I’d already visited that I had any wish to return to, even if it was with Nico by my side.

“There’s a park.”

“A park?” I didn’t know why I sounded surprised. Wonderland was supposed to have everything. Just because I hadn’t stumbled across it yet didn’t mean it didn’t exist. “Let me guess, it’s full of poisonous mushrooms and animals that leap out of the bushes and go straight for your throat.”

“How did you know?” Nico asked, sounding amused rather than offended.

“Is there a lake with a whirlpool that drags you under if you go for a swim? Bins full of discarded syringes waiting to stab unsuspecting people?”

Releasing me, Nico swung his legs out of bed and stood. He performed an elaborate stretch, completely unconcerned by his obvious state of arousal.

“None of those things were there the last time I visited. Granted, they may have made some changes. But if you’d rather stay here…”

“No,” I said quickly. “I’ll take the risk. It’d be nice to get out and get some…” I’d been going to say fresh air, but there was no such thing in Wonderland. They manufactured the air, just as they manufactured everything else. Another lie. “Can we do that?” I asked instead. “Leave here, I mean. Without it causing problems.”

“If we’re careful.”

My eyes drifted downward to where his erection hadn’t diminished in the slightest. “What about...?”

He dropped his gaze. “Good point. You can blow me first.”

“Oh, can I?”

Nico remained exactly where he was, utterly confident that no matter what came out of my mouth, I’d end up kneeling in front of him anyway.