Page 77 of A Wild Darkness

“Anything for you.” The words should sound sarcastic. They don’t.

I quickly look away. Across the lawn behind us, an older couple glances in our direction, whispering behind their wineglasses. Sebastian notices and shifts closer, stretching one arm along the back of the blanket behind me. Not touching. Just close enough to imply he could.

“That winery next door has no idea that this place was rented out by a group of murderers for the weekend.” His face hardens.

My stomach twists. “But the killers wouldn’t hurt anyone in such close proximity, would they?”

He shakes his head. “No. It would be too sloppy.”

“Yeah,” I agree, my focus is on the groups of people on the other side of the clearing.

Sebastian leans in slightly, close enough that the space between us becomes its own living thing.

“You’re better at this than you think,” he blurts out.

“Fake dating?”

“Letting people see you.”

I clear my throat and reach for the cheese. “You’re over the top.”

Sebastian leans back, but his expression stays warm. “And you’re still strange.”

“Really? Fuck you.”

“I didn’t say I dislike it.”

My fingers pause on the knife by the cheese, my eyes darting up to his. A slow heat moves through my chest, unwelcome and impossible to ignore.

“I’m getting hot,” I say, craving to escape the feeling of being watched. “Let’s head back now.”

As Sebastian and I clean up the picnic, I replay how uncomfortable the picnic started, but turned into something sort of pleasant. And with a night of more acting ahead of us, I’m reminded that we have a project to complete—an extremely dangerous one—and one wrong move could end us both.

CHAPTER TWENTY

STEVIE

“You look beautiful,” Sebastian says as I walk out of the bedroom.

Since we weren’t given a dress code for the tasting, I opted for a long dress and a light sweater in case it’s chilly in there.

Sebastian’s leaning against the wall by the door with his hands tucked into the front pockets of his pants. The sleeves on his black collared shirt are rolled up on both sides, revealing the barbed wire tattoos that snake up his forearms.

Why is this the first time I’ve seen the entirety of his tattoo? Damn.

I fight a blush, but my cheeks burn anyway. “So do you.”

“Tracker?” He glances toward my feet.

I lift my long dress to expose my ankles, showing him how it’s still securely in place.

Sebastian lowers to his knees in front of me, making my heart race, then his fingers gently slide along the gold chain, checking to make sure it’s on tightly. I squeeze my eyes shut, pushing off the warmth pooling in my stomach.

“Looks good,” he exclaims and straightens.

I tilt my head upward to meet his dark eyes. “Great.”

“I was thinking they might want to get to know us better this time,” he begins. “We already have a story about us as a couple, but what about your killing style?”