Page 92 of Love Bites Hard

The day after that, we got in his shitty old truck, and drove into the main part of Mistwood for dinner and a movie.

It was strange to feel like a real couple. Even more strange not to have to hide when I was out in public. But I liked it.

I really, really liked it.

We worked together every day, and every day, he planned something else for us to do after we were done.

A massive game of tag in the forest, with the pack.Everyone stayed in their human forms, until he cheated so he could take me down.

Swimming and ice cream with my sisters, in Vamp Manor.We saw one of the vampires whose underwear I hid in our room, and I had to distract him with my mouth before the guy was murdered.

Strip poker and dessert, in our room.I was the dessert.

Fishing, on my lake.We released the fish, but I still felt guilty for catching them.

Swimming with the fae, who kept coming back to our lake on the days their eclipses hit. More of them came every time, and the swims started to look more like parties. More wolves started joining in too, which made the magic fiercer.We screwed in the water once. Or twice. I was sworn to secrecy.

Every day, Porter’s eyes got brighter.

His grin lasted longer.

The tension in his shoulders eased a little more.

The man was clearly made for fun and adventure. He’d just forgotten it when he lost his family. Grief could do that to a person.

Weeks went by quickly.

All of my glitter finally came off, and we washed all of our bedding to be rid of it for good.

We spent Halloween passing out candy to the pack’s kids, laughing and smiling at their costumes.

They were so adorable, it made my chest hurt.

There had been no sign of the people who wanted me dead. Though we hoped they’d changed their minds, Porter and his top wolves were keeping a close eye on me and the rest of the pack. More cameras had gone up, everywhere.

It didn’t seem reasonable that everyone who still disliked me could realize they loved me, so none of us were hopeful for that. But there was nothing we could do to make those people come forward.

So, we just settled into life.

I knew he didn’t tell anyone but me about his daily plans for us until after they’d happened, though. It was a way to keep me safe.

We could never be truly comfortable with the threat hanging over our heads, but I hoped we would get there.

A few days before Thanksgiving,Porter had to leave our office halfway through the afternoon to meet up with a few of his guys, who thought they’d found a lead. I stayed in the office, determined to finish what I was doing.

Kim came by randomly with a delivery of siren chocolates from Nora. She’d been distant since her fight with Evan, so I asked her how things were going.

She didn’t seem like she wanted to talk, just giving me a few short answers about how they were still together before slipping away. It was weird, but not out of character for her at the moment.

I had my way with one of the chocolate bars as I returned to the work I’d been finishing up. I couldn’t focus very well, which was frustrating.

But, I chalked that up to nerves about what Porter would find.

Eventually, I gave up trying to finish and reached out to him mentally.

“I’m not feeling my best, so I’m heading back to our room,”I told him.“No rush. Don’t worry about me.”

He always worried. My words wouldn’t stop that, but I had to say it anyway.

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