Not a terrible loss. But if he succeeded… it would be valuable intel. Not that it was needed, since the Chains weren’t a concern. Spying on them wasn’t necessary.
It was just a precaution.
Chapter 20
Harper traced her fingers over Maya’s chest, drawing meaningless patterns on her t-shirt.
She wouldn’t wake. Harper might be a late riser, but Maya put her to shame. In the week since she first stepped into Maya’s apartment, Harper had spent every morning in her bed. And she always woke up first.
This had become a routine of sorts. Touching her. Lightly, and for no real reason. Just to feel her. And the faint, slow beat of her heart.
That had been surprising. That Maya had a heartbeat. Harper’s assumptions of vampires prior to meeting one had painted them as dead, cold creatures, brooding under the weight of a tortured past.
For Maya, only that last part was true. Even though the extent wasn’t clear. And the worry spawned from that unknown went far too deep for what this was supposed to be.
Harper had always considered herself sensible when it came to romance. Not reasonable, as her history of awful relationships rendered that descriptor moot. But sensible fit. If you squinted a little.
It might just be comparison making her favor that term. Nell always fell into her relationships heart first and, present one notwithstanding, Evie did the opposite. They either got too involved or didn’t get involved at all.
Harper usually settled between the two. Involved enough to enjoy the honeymoon period, but still so distant that she didn’t cry when it ended in a plane crash.
But the feeling that had grown over the past week wasn’tsensible. It didn’t fit what this was. The fun stage, which was the only one Harper was any good at. They had already gotten close to going past it the very first night they spent together, and if Harper hadn’t pivoted then, she would have broken this before it started.
Her past relationships being horrible wasn’tonlythe fault of her partners. Sometimes she just couldn’t handle it when they became too caring. Too gentle.
Neither term fit her jagged edges. Embracing her produced wounds. People could push through it in the beginning, but not in the long term. It was better,safer, to close her heart and end things before someone got hurt.
And yet, she found herself hoping. Thinking. Fantasizing.
Maya muttered in her sleep and rolled onto her stomach. Her hand reached out, not stopping its search until it brushed against Harper’s waist.
“What time is it?” she grumbled. Harper paused for a moment before putting on a flirty tone.
“Almost noon. Which means I have to get going. I’ve actually needed to get going for a while, and I nearly overslept.” She poked Maya’s nose. “I blame you for that.”
Maya snorted, eyes still closed.
Shewasto blame. Their definition of ‘sleeping together’ happened to be cardio-like in intensity.
“Blame yourself for making early plans.”
“I don’t think anyone would refer to this timeslot as ‘early.’” Harper swung her legs off the bed. “And because ofyoutiring meout, I don’t have time to run by my apartment. I’m stealing some of your clothes.”
She got up, moving through the studio. She was wearing just her underwear and her tank top from the day before—neither of which she felt like wearing for her afternoon outing.
The Chains had gotten her set up in an apartment building near the high-rise. They’d been offered places of their own, but Harper and Nell had asked if they could share an apartment instead. Abarrenapartment, a fact being remedied by them finally going furniture shopping.
Evie was coming, too. Which was why Harper spending time on those secret caresses was impractical. While Evie knew about her and Maya, since they weren’t exactly subtle, she did her best not to think about it. Seeing Harper in the same clothes as the day before would make that difficult.
“I don’t have anything in your size.” Maya pushed onto her elbows as Harper opened the closet. “You won’t have much luck. In fact, I doubt you’d even find—”
Harper peeled off her tank top and threw it on the floor. She arched an eyebrow.
“I’m sorry, what were you saying?”
Maya’s eyes flicked down Harper’s body. Lingering on her stomach, her ribs, and finally her naked chest.
“Nothing. Pick whatever you want.” Maya grinned. “Just do it slowly.”
