“Except that you put the whammy on me last night, and in my book, that’s not free.” I pressed my finger into his chest. “Promise you’ll never do that again, or you’ll be an even freer man. Free and alone.”
A sly smile hit his lips. “I apologize if I overstepped. And I promise to never do it again.”
Liar.“Good.” I huffed.
“Did you at least enjoy some of the evening?” he asked, his voice filled with a spark of hope.
“I guess,” I lied.
“You guess?”
“The dancing under the stars was nice, but your friends are little creepy,” I confessed.
“Yes. Ancient, powerful vampires can be a little off-putting.”
Off-putting? They’d been off-the-charts terrifying, eyeing me all night like sausage on a stick. Now I knew why.
He continued, “But they gaveyourave reviews. Especially your beauty.”
Lucky me. Stark’s icky friends thought I was hot. “That’s good to hear. I know your coven’s approval means a lot.”
“Indeed.”
“So what time are we heading back to Leiper’s Fork?” I figured we weren’t actually leaving, but like I said, I had to be consistent, and he’d made me a promise.
“Ah. About that. I did hope you’d change your mind after last night, but if you truly wish to leave, I have arranged for my yacht to retrieve us tomorrow at first night. Unfortunately, the boat that brought us here has been sent in for repairs.”
This sounded like an excuse to keep me here longer. “You promise? Tomorrow at first night?” I asked.
“Yes.”
Liar!I thought.
He smiled tenderly and bowed his head, placing a gentle kiss on my lips. It took everything I had not to bite off his tongue.
His kiss grew more intense, and I instantly sensed he was in the mood for hayride.
I stepped back and smiled coyly. “Stark?”
“Yes?”
“I was wondering if maybe you could take me to do that night-snorkeling thing you mentioned.”
“Really?” He sounded pleasantly surprised.
“Yeah. I mean, I know I don’t have night vision yet, but I thought it would be cool to swim under the stars.” What I really wanted to do was check out the island’s equipment. There had to be a boat I could steal. “Oh, also, is there a place I can get internet? I want to email my family—let everyone know how I’m doin’.” Really, I needed to figure out exactly where the hell I was.
“There is Wi-Fi in the main office. I am sure they havea laptop you can use.”
“I’ll just email from my phone.” It would be easier to take screenshots of maps and other important information to reference later during my escape.
“Why don’t you prepare for the beach?” he suggested. “I will be back shortly to walk you down to the water, and then we can pass by the office after our swim.”
I was not about to have Stark looking over my shoulder while I planned my prison break.
“I’d kind of like to get that email out of the way. I’m sure Mamma is worried sick about me. Maybe I’ll see if she’s around for a video call. Why don’t you meet me over at the office in about an hour? We can go to the beach from there.”
I waited anxiously for his reply. If he let me loose, then he wasn’t suspicious.
