“Noted,” he says, before reaching into a hidden compartment in his exoskeleton and pulling out a thick roll of bills, pressing it into my hand. “Now, some payment for your trouble. I know this mountain road is a difficult drive.”
I look down at the wad of cash. It’s a small fortune. “Riven, this is way too much. Usually people tip me in ones and fives, or, if I’m really lucky, home-baked cookies.”
“A Vyder provides well for his intended. It is our way,” he says simply, as if this is an indisputable fact.
His intended.
The words echo in my mind.
He’s not being cold or transactional; he’s following a script from his own culture, one that’s a thousand times more serious than I realized. I feel a dizzying mix of panic and exhilaration.
“I should probably head back,” I say, reluctant but practical. “It’s getting late, and my dad worries if I’m out on these mountain roads after dark.”
“Of course.” He follows me to the edge of the path, and his mandibles twitch in his version of a smile. “Well, then. It was lovely having you trapped in my web. I anticipate more impulse purchases in the upcoming days.”
I swallow hard, before meeting his gaze directly. “And I look forward to delivering them. Maybe next time I’ll even stay for dinner.”
With that, I hurry inside the truck and start the engine with trembling fingers.
As I drive away, he remains on the porch, watching until I turn the corner. The whole way home, I’m a mess of contradictions. One hand grips the steering wheel while the other unconsciouslytraces the edge of my repaired pants, knowing underneath lies the silk he crafted specifically for me. The questions spin in my head, a chaotic storm of anxiety and wonder.
Did that really just happen?
Did I just agree to be courted by a twelve-foot spider man who learns about love from reality television?
And what the hell am I going to tell my dad?
God, who knows. Maybe nothing.
But first, I have to focus on making it home without crashing, because every time I shift in my seat, the silk underwear he made me moves against my skin like a whispered promise.
A promise of what, I’m not exactly sure yet.
Chapter 4
The Dust Bunny and the Hermit
Riven
I wake to sunlight streamingthrough the floor-to-ceiling windows of my bedroom, and my first coherent thought is of June’s face when she came apart in my web.
The way her back arched against the restraints when my mandibles found that perfect spot… The breathless sound she made when I told her to wear my silk instead of those deplorable cotton undergarments.
I stretch luxuriously across my custom king-sized bed, all eight legs extending in different directions as my spine pops in a dozen places. The bed is one of many indulgences I allowed myself when I finally built this place after the Great Unveiling changed everything.
For decades before that, I’d lived in caves and abandoned mines, hoarding the money Celeste split with me selling my textiles under her human disguise. I carefully saved every dollar becausespending it meant risk, meant exposure, meant the possibility of discovery. But when monsters came out of the shadows officially, I’d finally been able to hire human contractors to build the home I’d always wanted.
The home I’d always secretly hoped to share.
The construction crew had been terrified of me. Five grown men, all of them strapping professionals who’d probably faced down angry bears and mountain storms without flinching, yet they’d trembled like children whenever I emerged to check their progress.
While they had done excellent work, their fear had been a painful reminder that even in this new world, human society would never truly accept something as monstrous as me.
But June seems different. And that has given me a hope I haven’t felt in years.
I head downstairs to the kitchen, the fuzzy slippers June delivered yesterday cushioning each step. The impossibly soft faux fur against my feet provides a comfort I never knew I needed.
But more importantly, they’re a tangible connection to her. June had carried this box up my mountain, stood on my porch holding my delivery, and got tangled in my web in the most beautiful way.
