Page 66 of Trick or Stalk

Penny looks up at me.

“Don't.” I hold up a hand. “I can’t handle the judgment right now.”

Her tail wags.

I glance toward the aisle where Hades disappeared.

Even though I can't see him anymore, goosebumps rise along my arms.

I rub them away.

It’s probably the cold air that came through the door when Hades stepped inside. That's all.

I look down at Penny. “Maybe don't fall in love with the first terrifyingly hot stranger who walks through the door.”

She stares at me.

I pause.

“That was mostly a warning for me,” I whisper.

And even though he’s nowhere around me, I really hope he didn’t hear that.

CHAPTER 12

Hades

I stare at the book in my hand. I have no fucking idea what it’s supposed to be about. I don’t even remember picking it up.

The only reason I’m holding it is because of Presley.

I walked away from the counter because standing there staring at her seemed like a bad idea.

Especially since I've spent the last several days watching her from the woods.

Up close, she's even more beautiful.

That pisses me off.

I was hoping distance had exaggerated things.

It didn’t.

If anything, it hid her beautiful green eyes. They’re not the bright kind. Instead, they’re deeper. Mossy, with little flecks of gold that I couldn't see from the woods.

Distance hid other things, too.

Like the way her nose wrinkles when she laughs.

The faint flush that crept over her cheeks when I looked at her too long.

And her scent.

Jesus Christ, her scent.

Something soft and sweet that I couldn't identify beneath the smell of old books and cinnamon that fills the store.

I want to know what it is.