Page 67 of When She Tempts (The Fallen)
“Congratulations, you outwitted me.”
She exhales through her mouth and shakes her head. “I thought you’d be impressed.”
Despite the situation, a smile tugs at my lips. “I am. It was clever.”
Her expression lightens a tiny bit. “After I got the phone, I came back to you and…”
Is she going to go into detail about what I did to her? I’m not sure I want to hear it.
She shifts her weight between her feet. “You were having a bad dream. That’s why I was so close to you. I was trying to comfort you.”
She was? The idea of her trying to help me pierces my chest. “How did you know I was dreaming?”
“You were talking in your sleep. Something about a woman. You said she deserved better.”
The feeling that washes over me feels like being bathed in tar. Heavy and uncomfortable. How much of the conversation with my father did I say out loud? How much does she know?
“What else did I say?” I have to force the words past my dry throat.
“You said someone didn’t watch her carefully. Who were you talking about?”
“No one. I was dreaming, but they were just dreams. Nonsense.”
The way she holds my gaze for a second too long tells me she doesn’t believe me.
She wraps her arms around her midsection and asks, “What did you dream about afterwards?”
Sundresses, lush lips, and soft, fragrant skin.
My hands curl into tight fists, my blunt nails digging into my palms. “Nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“I didn’t know what I was doing, Martina. Like I said, what happened with you was a mistake.”
“You didn’t know it was me you were kissing?”
“Of course not. I would have never done it otherwise.”
Hurt flashes across her eyes. “You said my name.”
“I did what?”
“You said my name when we were doing it. You said, ‘Don’t cry, Martina.’”
Panic spreads through my lungs. “You must have imagined it.”
Her eyes narrow. “I didn’t.”
Why won’t she let it go? “Maybe it was when I was already coming back around.”
“But you kissed me again after you said it.”
The silence that follows is tense. “Your brother would be very upset if he knew about this…misunderstanding.”
Her expression clouds. “Ah, so that’s what you’re really worried about.”
My jaw clenches. She doesn’t know what’s on the line for me, and it’s likely she never will.
