Page 64 of The Spider Queen

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Poppy.

My eyes shot open.Thane?

Who else?

I swallowed. I hadn’t heard the gentle whisper of Thane’s mind in over a week. I’d thought our communication had disappeared with his physical form. Where had he gone? Why was he back? How could I hear him again?

You put up a wall between us, but I felt it come crashing down, he answered.

Perhaps being with Hunter truly made me open—vulnerable—enough for Thane to be able to reach me. I needed to strengthen my mental fortress. This past week I’d felt more like myself in a long time.

Where are you?

Here.

How? You left.

Never left. I would never leave you.

A shiver of foreboding prickled my skin.

I needed not to care about Thane or about why he’d been silent.

Hunter stirred behind me and pressed a kiss to my bare shoulder. “Hey,” he whispered, voice raspy.

“Hi.” I turned in his arms.

“You hung—”

My mouth found his and soon our moans took the place of any words we might’ve shared.

Chapter 22

“I’ll call you every day,” Hunter promised.

I looped my arms around his neck and brought my lips to his. “I’ll miss you.”

His arms tightened. “Miss you already.”

Jonah honked, signaling the end of our goodbye. “Tell your roommate he’s a jerk,” I said with one last kiss to Hunter’s lips.

“I will. But only after he drops me off at the airport.”

Hunter stepped away from me. I waved to Jonah who waved back and then tapped his wrist. “Better go. Don’t want to miss your flight.”

“One more thing,” Hunter said. “It’s a coed camp.”

“Okay.”

“With female counselors.”

I frowned. “Oooo-kay?”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” he growled. “I’m not going to hook up with anyone.”

“Ah,” I said with a smile. “Got it.”

“And you, Poppy?” he pressed. “What are you going to do this week?”

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