Page 91 of Haunt Me, Maybe

The difference was immediate. This illusion had weight. Presence. My double opened her eyes, and they were almost solid.

“That’s new,” Wes murmured.

“And kind of freaky,” I added.

Leaning close to my decoy, I gave it instructions. Head back toward the orchard. Zig-zag the perimeter. Pulse irregularly. Linger. Move again. Make him doubt. Then I sent her running. She vanished into the dark with a solidity the others hadn’t possessed. I sucked my thumb absently and watched her disappear.

“I want to try something,” Wes purred.

I looked up at him, at that slow, dangerous smile, and faked bravado with a smirk of my own.

“Nothing innocent ever follows that sentence.”

The maze seemed to lean closer as he took a step toward me.

“Run. Aven.”

I blinked. “What?”

He matched my backward step with one forward, closing the distance with predatory patience.

“I’ll give you a head start,” he said, voice deep in a way that made my stomach flip. “But if I catch you—” His eyes flicked to my mouth, then lower, then back up. “You’re mine.”

The night went very, very quiet. The maze shifted—a soft rustle, a parting of stalks—and a new path opened behind him, narrow and shadowed, like the walls themselves were conspiring. For a split second, I couldn’t hear anything over the pounding in my ears.

Not the wind moving through the corn, not the distant hoot of an owl, not even my own breathing.

Just the blood rushing hot and fast, drowning out everything except the anticipation low in my belly. Wes stood perfectly still, hands loose at his sides, but those eyes never left mine. That wicked smile was there too, like he already knew exactly how this would end. With one last look at him, I ran.

Leaves slapped my bare arms, catching my skirt, and tugged at me like greedy hands trying to slow me down. My boots pounded the dry earth as my heart slammed so hard I felt it in my throat, in my fingertips, between my legs.

Wes wasn’t running the way a living man would. He was everywhere and nowhere—cool air brushing the nape of my neck one second, and a low laugh curling from the row to my left the next.

The ribbon at his wrist, that thin thread I tied there myself, glowed faintly in my periphery whenever he let himself close enough for me to see.

“Faster, Trouble,” his voice rolled over my shoulder like smoke.

The maze played favorites tonight. Paths twisted open enough to tempt me forward, then snapped shut behind me with a dry crack of stalks. It was helping him herd me. I darted left—dead end. Spun right—another wall of gold closed in.

A cold finger traced the shell of my ear; I yelped, stumbled, then caught myself against a stalk that bowed under my weight like it was laughing. The center opened without warning. One heartbeat, I ran blind through tunnels; the next, the stalks fell away, and I stumbled into a wide silver circle of moonlight.

An ancient tree loomed at the heart of it—its trunk as thick as three men, its branches black against the stars like veins. The ground here was soft and mossy, untouched by the maze’s usual packed dirt. I slowed, chest heaving and sweat sticking my sweater to my back. Turning in a slow circle, I scanned the edges where the corn stood silent and watchful.

Nothing.

Then Wes stepped out from behind the tree like he’d been waiting there all along. Goddess, the moonlight loved him. It carved the sharp line of his jaw, the hollow of his throat, the broad stretch of his shoulders.

His shirt was half-unbuttoned, and I swore the ribbon at his wrist glowed brighter now, keeping time with my racing heart. His eyes were dark with want.

“Caught you,” he said, softly. Then crossed the clearing in three strides.

He was in no hurry. He knew there was nowhere left to run.

His mouth claimed mine in a brutal kiss. Our teeth clashed, tongues slid, and I moaned into him like I was starving. Wes shoved my skirt up in a rough fistful, bunching it at my waist before his fingers hooked the side of my leggings and tore them and my panties down with one sharp tug.

The fabric got caught below my knees and stuck there. I knew exactly where this was headed, what moment we’d finally reached, but the cool air against my heated flesh still caught me by surprise.

Wes broke the kiss only to spin me around. My palms slapped the trunk, and bark bit into my skin. Arching instinctively, I pushed back toward him.