Page 5 of Sent To A Fantasy World and Now All the Men Want Me 7

“Which cat do you speak of, and why was it in the bag to begin with?”

I breathed out a laugh. “It’s a figure of speech. I just meant that my secret is out now, and we can’t go back to pretending everything’s normal when it’s not.”

Would Onyx hate me now that he finally knew the truth? Maybe throw shackles on my wrists and toss me into the dungeon, making me his prisoner after all?

“Room for one more?” Callum asked as he trailed into the bathroom, his washboard abs still glistening with a sheen of sweat.

My mouth watered, and I swallowed hard. Yeah, those abs were a great distraction.

“No,” Maddox said without missing a beat, his deep voice tickling the shell of my ear. I lightly elbowed him in the stomach, and he smiled. “Very well. If you must.”

The tub was huge, so the two knights, even with their bulky, muscled builds, managed to fit into it. Maddox kissed my nape while Callum leaned forward and captured my lips.

Fane would be expecting me in the kitchen soon. He was a real stickler for time too. One minute late, and he’d throw me into the oven and serve me up for breakfast.

But the moment with my knights couldn’t be rushed.

The outside world could wait for a while longer.

Chapter Two

The Case of the Murdered Teacup

Hungry men swarmed the kitchen, circling like vultures waiting for their meal. Vultures I loved though. Their rambunctious voices and laughter reminded me of our cottage in Bremloc. Of home.

My face muscles ached from smiling so much.

“Less smiling, more whisking,” Fane told me. With his light-purple hair, dark skin, and grass-green eyes, he reminded me of a rich field of lavender. “Since a certain someone took his sweet time gracing us with his presence this morning, there’s much to be done before breakfast can be served.”

“Sir, yes, sir.” I saluted him like I was in muffin bootcamp before springing into action. The coffee running through my veins gave me a much-needed boost, propelling me through the kitchen like I’d had a full eight hours of sleep—instead of waking early and being banged to within an inch of my life.

Muffins were whipped up and thrown in the oven, followed by buttermilk biscuits. Sausage gravy cooked on the stovetop, along with scrambled eggs, hash browns, and bacon. Enough to feed my army of vultures.

“Eh, thorn prince?” Duke sidled up next to me at the stove, his lips slanting into a smile. His red hair was pulled back with a leather strap, though a few strands of his bangs fell forward. “Question.”

“I might have an answer,” I said as I stirred the gravy. Alarm bells went off in my head. He was up to something. I was sure of it.

“What do you make of that creature?” he asked and pointed toward the window.

Curious, I looked that way… only to have the air stir on the other side of me. With ninja-like reflexes, Duke snatched the plate of cooked bacon and took off with it.

“Hey!” I called after him. “Bring that back!”

But it was too late.

Duke carried the plate to the knights waiting near the kitchen island, and it was attacked with such enthusiasm that I wondered if they really were vultures. In less than ten seconds, all that remained of the bacon were a few crumbles left on the plate.

Good thing more food was on the way. These men could pack it away like nothing else.

“Animals are better behaved.” Fane sneered at them before removing the platter of muffins from the oven. His long, black tail slowly moved behind him as he spoke; a sign he wasn’t actually as perturbed as he let on.

“My apologies for their wretched manners,” Briar told him. He sat with Lake at the table near the window, the two of them enjoying cups of black tea and toast with raspberry jam. “It’s my hope that one day they’ll become civilized when around food, instead of behaving like gluttons.”

Fane’s cheek twitched with a smile.

“Who are you calling a glutton?” Maddox asked, arms crossing over his broad chest.

“You,” Briar answered, then sipped his tea. “As such, do behave yourself, Captain. You haven’t taken your eyes off those muffins since Fane pulled them from the oven.”