Page 11 of Hide And Seek

“You’re originally from Montana, right?” he asked.

I nodded, frowning ever-so-slightly as I tried to remember the details of our earlier conversation. “Did I tell you that before?”

“Nah, someone else mentioned it,” he replied, jerking a thumb vaguely toward the other side of the fire.

So the Legacies had been talking about me. Was that a good or bad thing?

I guess only time would tell.

“Anyway, how’d you end up out here for the summer?” Rhys went on, focusing his intense gaze back on me. Up close, the gray of his eyes was pale and layered, like ice with something dark lurking beneath it.

“One of my professors came here as a kid,” I said. “Turns out one of his old bunkmates owns the place now. He heard me asking around the faculty about summer jobs, and he got me a spot.”

“That was cool of him.”

“Really cool,” I said, nodding. “Although I wouldn’t have minded stacking books all summer in some dusty library if that ended up being my only option.”

“Book nerd, huh?”

I smiled despite myself. “Guilty.”

“What do you like to read?”

“Honestly, a bit of everything.” I started ticking genres off on my fingers. “Thrillers. Mysteries. Horror. Fantasy. Romance.” Ifelt my face warm slightly when that last one came out, but I told myself it was just from the fire. “Biographies of historical figures too,” I added hurriedly. “Whatever I can get my hands on, really.”

“Cool.” He nodded slowly. “It’s too bad you won't be able to get much reading done while you're here.”

I smiled again. “So you keep telling me.”

“Just preparing you.” He took a slow pull of his beer, then looked at me sideways. “So anyway, I was just wondering… what exactly did you come to Blackpine for?”

My whole body went carefully still.

Shit.

Did he know the real reason I’d come here? Did he know who I really was? If so,how?

“Just the money?” he continued. “The experience? Or… something else?”

My shoulders instantly relaxed. He didn’t know anything. He was just taking the conversational temperature. Figuring out whether or not I was down for a little summer romance while I was here, if the low simmer currently sitting behind his eyes was any indication. Although, given what I’d heard about these Legacy guys, I could only assume his idea of romance was fucking hard and fast up against the nearest tree.

Fling was probably the more accurate term for what he was not-so-subtly auditioning for.

“Just the money and experience,” I said. My voice came out a degree or two cooler than I'd intended, but that was fine. Cool seemed like the correct setting to be on around this guy. “Being a broke student sucks, and this seems like a really fun way to earn cash. Plus, it’ll help me stay fit.”

Something flickered in Rhys’s expression. Amusement, perhaps, or the recognition of a door being closed. But he didn'tpush it. Just nodded and looked down at the can in his hand, shaking it slightly.

“Fair enough. You’ll definitely have a lot of fun here.” He stood, unfolding to his full height. “I'm out of beer, so I'm going to grab another.” His eyes moved briefly to something behind me. “Looks like your friends are on their way back, so I'll leave you to it.” He looked down at me one last time. “Have a good night, Alissa.”

“Thanks. You too.”

I watched him go, and I waited a full three seconds before my eyes dropped. God, his ass looked great in the jeans he was wearing…

Stop it and stick to the plan,I reminded myself firmly.No distractions.

I turned back to the fire and started loading up the marshmallow stick again before the others reached me.

Jasmine dropped down onto the log beside me a moment later. “Did we miss anything?”