Page 31 of Lost to the Woods

“Have you considered,” he says slowly, “that I’d be willing to move for you?”

I blink. That… that I hadn’t. He loves Arizona.

“Don’t you hate being around people, though?” I murmur. “And where would you even ride your bike in New York?”

Ghost exhales sharply, his patience wearing thin. “Now you’re just looking for excuses, baby.”

Before I can argue, he grabs me by the waist and pulls me into his lap as he drops into a wicker chair. I gasp, my hands flying to his chest, but he doesn’t let go. His arms lock tight around me, trapping me sideways.

“What was the real reason?” he murmurs, fingers trailing up my spine, slow and deliberate.

I swallow, avoiding his gaze as I nervously twirl my hair around my finger. “I already told you.”

“I want the truth.” His voice drops lower, rougher.

“You’re very intense and intimidating. And you’re kinda mean, too.”

“Mean?” Ghost sounds surprised, like he genuinely doesn’t realize he can be a total dick sometimes. Or most of the time.

“Well, not to me,” I add quickly. “But yeah, the way you treated Mark? Way out of line.”

“Oh fuck, you’re still not over that dude?” he scoffs, throwing his hands up.

“Ugh, see what I mean?” I huff. “We don’t even like each other. I annoy you. You aggravate me.”

“But imagine the sex, though.”

I glare. “Ghost, too many red flags came up. What you did to Aiden on Halloween—”

“Your ex? Really?” he cuts in, voice rising.

“It was terrifying! You could’ve dropped him by accident. You do realize that, right?”

He shrugs. “Funny, because we started talking after that.” He leans in before adding, “Maybe I should’ve… would that turn you on?”

Whoa, crazy alert.

“And you’ve become so controlling,” I push on, not letting him derail it. “About where I go, who I’m with, what I wear, what I post.”

“Oh, I’m sorry that me caring about you is such a fucking trigger for you,” he spits back. “You have no control over your drinking and NYC’s party scene is dangerous as fuck. Also, you hanging out with a guy who’s hopelessly in love with you every single day is not exactly fair to me. Or him, for that matter.”

“Nate is not!” I chime in instantly, defensive.

He ignores me. “Please! He’s your little puppy and has been panting after you for years. You can’t be this naïve.”Guilty, I guess.“And yeah, I don’t want my girlfriend posting thirst traps for online creeps. Sue me!”

Girlfriend?

“This is my job,” I remind him. “And it’s literally the same old argument I was having with Aiden.”

“Oh, my fucking God! How many times are you gonna bring him up?” He tenses up and his knee bounces nervously, making my whole body shake. “You can post different content.”

“That’s what people want.”

“So what? If it’s about money, I’ll take care of you.” He doesn’t even pause before throwing the next jab. “You don’t need to entertain so-called bikers who buy a motorcycle just to dance next to it for likes. Some don’t even own a bike—just a helmet.”

“God, you’re so pretentious,” I groan.

“No, I just speak the truth out loud.”

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