I still hadn’t shut mymouth.
“Youronlyjob.Understood?”
August would be pissed. I could already sense through the pulsating tautness in the tether that my volunteering to be Liam’s Second was eating athim.
“You reeked of him this morning, so don’t think for a second I won’t know if you spendtimewithhim.”
“I’m not even allowed to spend time with himnow?”
“Not alone, and not in closequarters.”
“What about college? Do I get to go to college, or is that off the tabletoo?”
“You can attend classes, but as soon as they let out, you’re with me.” He extended his hand. “Do we have adeal?”
“I hate you,” I said, giving him myhand.
“If you hated me, then you would’ve let me fight today.” His smile grew, not wider, just wickeder. “We’re going to have fun workingtogether.”
“Fun? This’ll be a lot of things, but notfun.”
Our hearts were both on the line; our lives bothsuspended.
He lifted my fingers to his lips and kissed myknuckles.
I snatched my hand away and rubbed it against my cut-offs. “This is just some game to you, isn’tit?”
“In a way, it is. If I play my hand well, I stand to wineverythingI’ve ever coveted.” His gaze stroked my face. “What do you say we become the characters of the bedtime stories shifters will tell their children for generations to come, NessClark?”
“I say, let’s save your damn life so I can go back to livingmine.”
His eyes gleamed with the same stealthy smile that adorned his lips. He nodded toward the lawn, slid the door open, and ushered me out of the shadows and back into thesunshine.
* * *
