Page 9

I nodded and grinned, wicked.
“What’s he gonna do, swim after me?”
Jessa snickered but slowed her kayak, letting me drift closer toward the boathouse like a lure on a line.
Elias stalked forward to the edge of the dock, looming there like some angry sea god.
His friends—whoever they were—fell quiet, sensing the shift even if they didn’t understand it.
“What the hell are you doing?” Elias barked across the water, voice low and rough.
I rested my paddle across my lap, raising my eyebrows in mock innocence. “Kayaking,” I called back sweetly. “Obviously.”
“You’re in the goddamn harbor. At night. Alone.”
“Correction—we are in the harbor,” I said, gesturing at Jessa, who gave him a lazy wave. “And the sharks are probably too drunk to bother us.”
One of the guys beside Elias choked on his beer, and the others—couples, clearly—tried to hide their amusement.
Elias didn’t move.
He just glared, and I swear if looks could lasso a person, I’d already be hog-tied on the dock.
“You’re out of your fucking mind,” he muttered.
I paddled a little closer, my kayak bumping softly against the dock where he stood, towering over me.
I tilted my head back, letting my curls tumble loose, flashing him my bestwhat’s your problem?grin.
“You worried about me, Cipher?” I teased.
Elias dropped into a crouch, forearms resting on his knees, the muscles in his arms pulling tight.
He looked like he was trying not to throttle me—or kiss me. Hard to tell which.
“You don’t know what’s out here,” he said, voice low enough to make my stomach clench. “The night doesn’t take prisoners.”
“Neither do I,” I said lightly, leaning just a little closer.
The heat between us crackled like static off a live wire. He stared at me like he wanted to tear the world apart—and hated himself for it.
“You’re gonna get yourself hurt one day,” he said, voice rough. “And I’m not the kind of man who stands by and watches.”
The words landed harder than I expected.
Not a threat. A promise.
For a second, I forgot how to breathe.
Then I shoved off from the dock with my paddle, spinning lazily away, heart thudding in my chest.
“Well then, Cipher,” I called over my shoulder, “you better keep up.”
I didn’t look back. Didn’t have to. I could feel him standing there, fists clenched, watching me disappear into the dark.
And the wildest part?
I didn’t want to be saved. I wanted to be chased.