Page 90

90

ALLISON

T he power is still out.

Rain pelts the windows like it’s trying to claw its way inside. Thunder shakes the walls.

Candlelight flickers across Connor’s face as he stares at the front door like he’s expecting Landon to kick it in.

We’re safe… but it doesn’t feel like it.

I pull the blanket tighter around my shoulders and glance over at the couch where Gram is sipping sangria from a pineapple cup and flipping through her erotica book by candlelight.

“Do you think a man can really untie a corset with his teeth?” she asks casually.

Connor doesn’t even flinch. “Not if he wants to keep them.”

She hums. “That’s fair. Jimmy used his to try and undo my bedazzled robe. The beads got stuck in his dentures for forty minutes. We had to call the front desk.”

I blink. “I thought he had teeth?”

Connor holds up a hand. “Don’t. Just… don’t.”

Gram waves him off. “Top ones are his. Bottom ones are dentures.”

Another crack of thunder rattles the windows.

I flinch.

Connor immediately wraps an arm around me, tugging me closer. His body is warm, solid, and vibrating with barely leashed tension.

“I hate storms,” I whisper.

“I know.”

“And Landon’s out there.” I tilt my head to look at him.

His jaw ticks. “Yeah. I wish we could’ve gotten a hold of the fucker before he disappeared.”

I nod, swallowing hard. “Peyton’s scared.”

“She should be.”

I glance toward the hallway where she and Daltyn disappeared a few minutes ago. “He hasn’t left her side since he got here.”

“Nope.”

“Do you think she knows?”

Connor’s lips twitch, but it’s not a smile. “I think she’s trying really hard not to admit it.”

I sigh, resting my head on his shoulder. “I hate this.”

“Me too.”

“But I’m glad we’re together.”

His arm tightens around me. “Always.”

A moment of rare silence settles over the room. It’s almost peaceful.

Then Gram clears her throat. “If we die tonight, I just want you both to know I left a copy of ‘Lust on the Bayou’ in your suitcase.”

I exhale slowly, trying not to laugh. “Thank you, Gram.”

Connor closes his eyes. “Please let the power come back on before she starts the audiobook version.”