Page 60 of Haunting the Hunter

I sigh, tilting my head back to see him above me. Staring down into my eyes.

“Will you help me?” I say, shooting him my best doe-eyed look.

His face flattens as his glowing eyes pierce through me. “Say please, pretty girl.”

The look on my face drops and immediately I spit back at him through my teeth. “Will you help me…please.”

“Good girl,” he says, smiling that fucking smile that gets to me every time. “Follow me.”

He stands and walks to the double doors at the back of the library—opening them wide before stepping onto the patio. And into the half-finished secret garden Cade and I have been building, for the coming summer.

He turns back, hand extended, beckoning me to him.

A small smile tugs at my lips as I follow, slipping into the quiet array of leafless, dormant fauna. I find him at the center of the space, standing on the concrete slab where I’d planned to put a table.

His hands come together in a loud smack, and he rubs them together before speaking.

“First thing you need to learn is to follow your instincts.”

He lifts his hands in front of him, palms open.

The vines move before I can register what’s happening—slithering out from the bushes on either side of me, thick and alive.

“What are you doing?”

A chill runs up my spine as I step back, my voice quieter than I mean it to be. He doesn’t answer me, just watches me with a Cheshire cat grin as the vines move closer to me.

One wraps around my wrist. Then another. Cool tendrils slide around my ankles, trailing up my calves. More crawl out from the shrub wall, slipping into my hair, brushing against the back of my neck. They curl slowly and deliberately. Almost like they are teasing me.

“Stop.”

My breath catches.

“Stop right the fuck now.”

The vines still.

His smile fades, replaced with something unreadable. He tilts his head slightly, like I’ve surprised him—likeI’mthe one overreacting.

“You need to be in a situation where you have to use your magic to get out.”

He walks up to me, the vines moving again, slower this time. They creep up my arms, holding me in place as he leans down, meeting me at eye level.

His breath brushes against my lips, close enough to make my heart stutter. The vines continue to move like they’re thinking, like they know exactly where to touch. One traces up my thigh, curling beneath the hem of my shirt, dragging lightly across my stomach.

I shiver beneath the cool vines as they roam my body like they are alive and curious…

He watches me. Watches the way my breath shifts. The way I tense but don’t pull away.

“You can feel it, can’t you?” he murmurs, his voice smooth and dangerous. “Right under your skin… That power. Just waiting.”

Another vine glides over the curve of my hip, and it’s soft. One loops around my waist, pressing against my stomach. He leans in, mouth close enough to brush mine.

“I told you I wouldn’t hurt you,” he says. “But if you want out, you’re going to have to get yourself out.”

A pause. His smile curves up.

“That is… if you evenwantto.”