Page 54 of The Golden Hour

Don’t make me climb this wall, princess.

It takes close to a minute, but she finally responds.

What?! What are you doing? Where are you?

Outside your house. Obviously.

The phone rings in my hand. All my anger vanishes, and I fight to hold back a grin.

“Why, hello.”

“Dammit, Finn,” she hisses. “This is the worst possible time.”

“You’re avoiding me and I don’t like it.” Just to throw gas on the fire, I add, “Have you forgotten our agreement already?”

She growls at me, and it’s so cute my dick twitches. I have no idea why I want this woman so much. She clearly hates me. But my body doesn’t care, and increasingly, neither does my mind.

“How could I?” she snarls. “Did it occur to you I might be making progress on my own? I don’t need your help!”

“Too bad,” I retort. “We can fight each other, Callisto, or we can fight together. Your choice.”

After a small pause—in which I imagine her grinding her teeth and shaking a fist at the sky—she heaves a loud, groaning sigh.

“Fine. I was leaving anyway. Meet me by the pine tree.”

She hangs up before I can ask what fucking pine tree. I’m standing next to one—I considered climbing it because it’s close to the wall—but there are no streetlights in the neighborhood and with a cloudy sky overhead, minimal ambient light. This particular pine tree could have buddies all over the estate.

Newly annoyed, I retrace my steps to the street, hoping for a better view. I’m seconds from trekking around to the other side of the property when there’s a rustle and thump near the wall. A Callisto-shaped shadow rises from the ground beside the pine’s trunk.

Feeling smug, I remark, “I chose the right tree.”

The shadow whispers angrily, “It’s the only pine tree.”

Three steps and I’m right before her, close enough to see her features, her pretty scowl. Before I can stop myself, my fingers find her soft cheek.

She jerks back. “What are you doing?”

“Wanted to make sure you were real. I thought maybe you’d been discovered and locked in a cage in the basement all week.”

Even in the darkness, I can see her eyes roll. “I’ve been busy.”

I take stock of her black clothing and sweatshirt with the hood up. “Planning a robbery?” I’m only half joking.

“Kind of.” She takes a deep breath. “I’m going to my uncle’s ranch tonight, and I guess you’re coming too.”

29

Glancing across the car, I study Finn’s face. Determined expression, furrowed brows. His stubble has filled in and thickened. I want to scratch my fingers through it. Feel it on my body. His scent—unavoidable in the small space—triggers a visceral memory of my lips on his neck, of breathing him in, feeling wanted and seen.

Sadly, admitting my physical attraction to him is easier than admitting I’m glad he’s here. That I feel safer with him by my side. That I want to crawl inside him and… rest. Let go of the weight of the future. Or at the least, share it with someone else.

Annoyed by my thoughts, I shift my gaze out the passenger window as we head east toward the edge of the San Fernando Valley.

“So this note from Selina you’ve referenced—that made you hatch this crazy plan without telling me—what did it say exactly?”

He’s so much easier to be around when he doesn’t talk. Not that I missed being around him. Or thought about him at all in the last ten days.

I’m so good at lying now, I even believe the ones I tell myself.

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