“Is your dad home?”
“Why wouldn’t he be?”
“He goes out of town on occasion,” Luca states matter-of-factly. “To visit your stepmother.”
I breathe in. Out. Nothing about my expression will let him know he is right.
“You shouldn’t be alone right now,” Luca adds. “It’s not safe.”
I nod once before turning away from him again. I force my legs to descend the remaining stairs at a pace just shy of running. On the stone pathway, I push that limit. Despite all of my dad’s warnings about running away from a predator, I achieve the impossible.
I make it to my car, and I drive away.
Luca keeps his promise.
Chapter 10
Candlelight surrounds me and black silk envelopes me, its coolness a sharp contrast to the burning of my naked flesh. I’m not all-the-way naked, but naked enough. And I am not alone.
The swells of pleasure rippling through my body are courtesy of him. Everything he does brings out a side of myself I never knew existed. It’s all new and exciting and hotter than anything my imagination has ever conjured.
Despite my inexperience, I regret nothing. I couldn’t possibly.
Not when his eyes soak me in like I am the only thing he sees. Not when he touches me like I am his. Not when his mouth finds mine with the promise of his love.
His name is a whisper on my lips.
“Who’s Luca?”
Jill’s shrill voice is as efficient as a bucket of cold water. The pleasant dream vanishes, thrusting me into reality.
I jerk awake and sit up in bed with the sheets wrapped around me. “What are you doing in my room?”
“You were making noises. I thought you were dying,” she says.
“Nope. Still alive.”
“And flushed.” Jill smirks.
I glance toward the bathroom to make sure Steve hasn’t witnessed this embarrassing moment. He’s not, thank God.
“If you don’t mind . . .” I nod toward the door, hoping Jill’s few working brain cells will be enough to figure out the not-so-subtle hint.
“You want to get back to it?” She winks, but it’s not exactly friendly, or sisterly. “Too bad. You already slept through your alarm.” She reveals my phone, which she had hidden behind her back, and tosses it onto my bed with a leer. “Your boss called five minutes ago.”
At that, she twirls around and prances out of my room. The bathroom door slams shut as I thumb through my phone. Jill was right. I slept through the alarm. Danny called a few minutes ago—ten minutes after I was due in the office.
I toss the covers aside with a groan. I text Danny as I gather my uniform, then head for the bathroom. I nearly break my nose when I run into it. My hand twists the knob, but it’s locked from the other side. The water is running, which means Jill has started her shower.
“Bitch.”
I rip off my pajamas and get dressed. With no time for a braid, I pull my hair into a messy ponytail, then grab my bag and slip on my shoes.
Ten minutes later, I clock in—not even thirty minutes late. Danny greets me in the office with the news that no one knows I slept in, and that he spared me from wasting my life away in the store. I’m on craft duty today. Not bad, considering.
“You’re still my favorite, Prescott,” he calls from behind the front desk as I walk out the door to start my assignment.
In all the rush, I don’t have time to think about the arousing dream I woke up from this morning or the conversation I had with Luca two days ago.
I spent enough time yesterday obsessing over what he told me, and researching everything I could find about shifters, magic, and memory loss on the internet. It was a hell of a way to waste a day off work, and the only definite conclusion I came to is that there are a lot of weirdos with online access these days.
Since I never left the house, I didn’t see Luca. I’m eager to find out if he, Ryse, and Ryder have extended their stay at the campground, or if they packed their bags and left in my absence.
Five hours later, and four crafts down without incident, I’m convinced they are gone. Possibly for good. I don’t let my conflicted feelings about that get in the way of prepping for my last craft of the day.
I have only one box of supplies since I don’t anticipate a big group. I will be lucky to get a handful of campers at this one. While it’s a kid favorite, it’s also eighty degrees outside. The pool wins on afternoons like this.
I sip from my bottle of water and watch the fun in the distance with envy. Even in booty shorts, and standing in the shade, I’m hot. A bead of sweat trickles down the back of my neck.
Over the nearby sounds of splashing and laughter, I hear the steady approach of footsteps behind me. I know exactly who is coming thanks to the tingles skating up my spine and the extra warmth spreading across my skin.
It’s not the heat. It’s Luca.
He may be clinically unstable, but my body reacts to him in ways that are impossible to control or ignore. Still, I do my best to pretend I don’t know—or care—that he is near.
I lay tubes of paint out in neat rows on the picnic table like it’s my only purpose in life.
He stands behind me. Too close. Not close enough. I breathe in air now saturated by him. Woodsy and minty and masculine. He isn’t sweating profusely.
“We need to talk,” Luca says.
My teeth grate together as I shove my hand into a box of paintbrushes.
“Sav . . .”
“Don’t call me that,” I snap. I fan the brushes out on the table and remind myself to let it go. It’s better not to engage him.
He sighs loudly. “Once upon a time, I was the only person who called you that. It’s a hard habit to break.”
My hand freezes over the brushes. I fold it into a fist before I turn to look at him. “You’re serious?”
One dark brow shoots up. “About?”
“Us knowing each other before,” I clarify. “You’re really sticking with that story?”
“It’s not a story,” he says simply. “It’s the truth.”
“Sounded like a story.” I give him the smile I usually reserve for the little kids before I turn away from him.
“I was wrong,” he mutters to my back. “Compared to this, you tolerated hearing the truth much better on your birthday. I would rather deal with you being angry than in denial.”
“It’s easy to deny things that are crazy.” I lower my voice to a loud whisper and hiss the last word.
I have to. Kids are showing up now. The youngest ones have parents in tow.
“Fine.” Luca’s jaw clenches. “I’ll find another way to convince you that I’m telling the truth.”
“Good luck.” I flash him my work smile and turn to straighten the brushes that aren’t crooked.
They don’t need to be straightened. I need to keep myself busy, even if that means faking it.
I don’t look up until I’ve finished arranging and rearranging all the supplies for the craft. I don’t feel Luca’s presence behind me anymore, but I still feel him. All around me. In me. Consuming me and my thoughts.
They’re not all bad either. I may have concerns about his mental health, but I can’t deny my physical response to him. The way my knees grow a little weak when he grins. The flutter in my chest when I hear his voice—especially when he calls me Sav. I know I keep telling him not to, but that’s only because I don’t know what to do with the way it makes me feel to hear it.