Page 35 of Fanged Temptation

A soft snore escaped my bedmate, breaking the suffocating hush. I rolled onto my side and blinked at her. She looked so vulnerable, so small where she sprawled out on the wrinkled sheets. Her dress was crumpled around her, spaghetti strap slipping off her shoulder. I watched the rise and fall of her chest, chewing on my lip.

It would be so easy to pretend that nothing else existed outside this small cabin, no powerful family, no looming threats, no impossible choices.

But they did exist, and they weren’t going away anytime soon.

I shifted onto my elbow, leaning over and pressing a gentle kiss to the crown of her head. Maxine mumbled contentedly, smiling in her sleep. Despite the knot in my gut, I had to savor the sweetness of the moment. Whatever came next, at least we’d have this.

“I’m sorry.” I whispered the words that went unheard and unacknowledged. But the apology felt necessary, even if it was only for my own guilty conscience.

By morning, I’d have to decide how far I was willing to go for her, and how I’d face the consequences if I turned my back on the deal that had upended my life.

As I curled myself around her, burrowing into the crook of her neck, I realized I would do almost anything to keep her safe. But the fear of what might happen if I stepped out of line and crossed her family was enough to set my pulse racing all over again.

So I lay there, torn between the taste of her skin and the dread of betrayal, fighting sleep like it might steal away the last little bit of peace we had together.

Sometime later, I rose from a deep doze into the hazy realm between dreaming and waking. Maxine’s arm lay draped across my waist, her breath soft and steady against my shoulder. The cabin was still, illuminated only by a faint glow of moonlight filtering through the curtained window.

The neon face of my dinky little alarm clock told me it was 4am.

I lay there, wondering what could have possibly woken me this early, and then I heard it again – a sound that raised goosebumps on my skin: quiet, mocking laughter drifting over the water.

My pulse kicked up as a jolt of alarm shot through me and I eased myself free from Maxine’s hold, heart pounding in my throat.

Careful not to disturb her, I shuffled to the edge of the bed and peered out the tiny window, half-expecting to spot some ominous clawed figure lurking along the dock. But the harbor was silent and empty, dotted with the occasional light from other boats that rocked gently on the water.

No sign of movement, no mysterious watchers in the night. Just the faint lapping of waves under a sky sprinkled with stars.

A moment later, another burst of laughter rang out in the distance, echoing across the still water. This time, it sounded more like raucous voices – maybe late-night drunks stumbling home from a waterfront bar.

My shoulders sagged with relief and I felt a flush of mild embarrassment at my own jumpiness.

Still, the flicker of worry didn’t entirely fade as I returned to Maxine’s arms, the mattress springs creaking softly beneath me. Her earlier concerns floated through my sleep-addled mind, her conviction that someone was keeping tabs on her.On us.

I nestled in close to her and tugged the bed sheets up to my chin. Maxine murmured something incomprehensible in her sleep and coiled around me, tucking her head against my chest.

My eyes drifted shut, but the lingering tremor in my pulse remained.

I tightened my hold around her, allowing the gentle sway of the boat and the warmth of her body to lull me back into a restless slumber.

17

Maxine

Leah went off to work the next day like usual. Only this time, she didn’t wake me with a coffee and I didn’t hear her leave.

I woke up in her bed alone, still in my evening dress, drooling on her shabby pillow.

I stretched out and blinked the drowsy haze from my eyes, recollections of the night before slowly swimming back to me.

A jolt of realization had my fluttering eyes flying open:We actually did that.

My pulse tripled all over again and I rolled over under the covers. The sheets next to me were cool, Leah’s scent lingering in the fabric. I pressed my cheek to the pillow as a torrent of emotions hit me at once.

Part of me wanted her here – desperately. Another part felt guilty for all the things I did not say.

I glanced around the small cabin, taking in the evidence of her absence: the door ajar, her gym bag missing from its place near the vanity – and the guilt churned in my gut.

I should tell her everything.Should come clean about who I was really running from. Gregor’s wax minions, my family, the fiancé I never wanted. It was the right thing to do, especially now that we’d crossed a very clear line.

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