Hales’s hair fell forward around her face in a tangled halo, cheeks still flushed pink from sleep and warmth. The tee slipped farther off one shoulder, exposing the curve of her collarbone, the skin there marked with?—
Shit.
With the faint shadow of a bruise I’d definitely put there last night.
I awkwardly sat up, trying not to draw too much attention my way.
“We didn’t have sex, okay, so please don’t go out and start buying pregnancy tests. And I don’t need a lecture about protection. You know I’ve been on the pill since I was fourteen.”
Ms. Hales was dressed in a pair of cutoff shorts and a plain white tee that highlighted her golden skin. Her face was bare of any makeup, and somehow, she was prettier than she’d been last night. It was easy to see where Hales got her looks…except for the eyes. “You can’t be too safe. So how exactly did he end up in your bed?”
She rolled her eyes. “I got scared last night and didn’t want to be alone. That’s it.”
Little liar.
She was smooth about it, though. I’d give her that. The words came out naturally as if she believed them, and it was partially true. She had been scared, rightly so. Did her mom know about her stalker?
“What happened?” her mom asked immediately, her voice shifting into concern and protective mode. “Why were you scared?”
Hales hesitated, her teeth catching her bottom lip. “Can we talk about this later?”
Her mom studied her for a long moment, eyes moving over her daughter’s face, searching for answers. “Yeah,” she said finally. “As soon as you get dressed and meet me downstairs.”
Not a request.
Ms. Hales turned to leave, her hand already dropping from the door frame, then paused. She stopped midstep and glanced back over her shoulder at me, her eyes finding mine. “Maddox, is it?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Since you’re sleeping under my roof, Mara is fine. You should probably go.” Her tone was pleasantenough, but there was steel underneath. “I’m sure your parents are worried.”
“Doubtful,” I muttered under my breath, scrubbing a hand through my hair.
Her eyes narrowed just slightly. “In that case, did you want to stay for breakfast? It’s the least I can do for keeping my daughter…comforted.”
Every instinct inside me was screaming at me to get out as quickly as possible. “I appreciate the offer,” I said, “but you’re right, I should go.”
Mara nodded before disappearing down the hall, the sound of her bare feet against the hardwood fading.
Hales collapsed back into the pillows with a groan that came from somewhere deep in her chest. “Well,” she said into the mattress, her voice muffled by fabric. “That wasn’t embarrassing at all.”
I sat up fully, the bed shifting beneath us as I searched the floor for my shirt. Or was it downstairs? Shit. “Your mom wants to murder me.”
“She wants to murder most people,” she replied dryly, sitting up too and pulling her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. “You’re not special.”
I snorted softly despite everything.
But the truth was, I was still thinking about last night. Not about the parts where my hands had been on her skin or her mouth had been on mine, though those played on repeat in the back of my mind. But about the knife and the threatening note accompanying it.
Hales went still for half a beat, her gaze snagging on the muscle ticking in my jaw. “What’s that look for?” she asked quietly.
I stood, giving up on finding my shirt. I didn’t need it. I had plenty more hanging up in my closet at home. “Why haven’t you told your mom?”
She climbed out of bed. “About my stalker? She has enough on her plate, and honestly, until last night, I hadn’t taken him seriously.”
“Don’t make that mistake again. You probably shouldn’t be home alone until this creep is caught.” I followed her out of her room.
She stayed half a step ahead of me, her fingers brushing the wooden railing as we descended the stairs. “My mom works from home. Until we moved here, I was rarely home alone. She recently started dating,” she explained.
