Page 119 of Beneath the Light of the Moon

Her dark brow lifted in question. “What was that?”

“Take it off me.”

“Give me one good reason why I should,” she mocked.

“So I don’t do something I regret.”

She licked her lips. “Like what?”

Mikko didn’t answer, he couldn’t. His mouth couldn’t be trusted when it came to her.

Yanking on the cuff, she taunted him further. “What? Shy all of a sudden?” Shoving against him, he stepped back an inch, relenting to her. “Scared I’ll see who you truly are.” He counted his breaths, struggling to keep his emotions locked away. They thrummed in hisblood, clawed out from beneath his skin, yet… “Mikko.”

All it took was one word, and he shattered.

Before she could stop him, Mikko lifted the hem of his mask up, exposing his mouth to the cool night air. Anika’s gaze tracked his movements, pupils blown wide in disbelief. Her mouth popped open in question, but nothing came out. His lips slanted over hers, silencing whatever smartass remark she’d been formulating. Levi’s cologne swirled between them, his presence tainting her clothing, but Mikko didn’t care.

She might’ve let Levi in, allowed him to have a taste, but Mikko would be sure to savor her too. He was a jealous man, but he’d play the game; he’d wait to see who she truly resonated with.

Me, me, me.

Her lips were soft against his, supple and plush as he devoured her. A quiet moan slipped free from her lips, or maybe he was delusional and imagining things again, but he didn’t stop to analyze. For once, he went with it. Lived in the moment. And it feltright.Anika was something to be revered. Cherished.

His tongue traced the seam of her mouth, her lipstick sweet, or maybe that was justher,as it blossomed across his taste buds. A roaring built in his ears, the nighttime din and party around them fading away. Stars sparked behind his eyes as her hand grazed up along his arm. Instantly, he was transported back to the night they met, her incessant touch unable to deviate from his skin.

Now, he wanted it—

Anika shoved him away, breathless gasps filling the space between them. He couldn’t go far, her stupid little handcuff still clasped in her hand. His balaclava fell back over his mouth, her lipstick surely smeared there.

“What the fuck are you doing?”

“Anika, I—”

Reaching out, she ripped his mask off. “You’re pathetic.”

“Seems like you have a type.”

“I do,” she quipped, “And that’s why you’re right where I want you.”

His jaw ticked. “I beg to differ.”

“I prefer it when you justbeg.”A soft breath was the only audible noise in the edgy silence between his words. Her eyes narrowed, a deep whiskey color now in the low light. “You’re just like your father.”

Her words physically scalded him. Backing away, he shook his head. “You may think you know him, know me, but you don’t.”

Anika grabbed his wrist, warmth searing through his sleeve, “Mark my words, Mikko. Wewillmeet again, and it’ll be onmyterms.”

“Sounds like a poor excuse for when you come track me down.” He ripped his arm out of her grasp, plastic handcuff digging painfully into his wrist.

Anika said nothing, letting him back away, eyes tracking his every movement. Walking backwards, not trusting her, he made his way down the length of the maze.

As he was about to turn the corner, her voice echoed down the grassy expanse. “Don’t forget, I always remember a face. And I’ve seen yours enough that ithauntsme.”

With a cold sweat breaking out over his skin and his mind spinning, he stumbled out of the maze. After cracking the plastic, he finally got Anika’s prop off of him before resuming his search for Cristiano. Thunder rumbled in the distance, a sharp crack of lightning zipping across the sky a couple miles away.

Things were going to get much worse before they got better.

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