Page 32 of Dark and Dangerous

I could lie, give him an easy out. But the truth is: “I want to say that he won’t, but I can’t be sure. He wouldn’t break into the house oranything, but he might knock on the door. I mean, he drove a long way to say something to me, and you didn’t give him that chance, so…”

Standing taller, his eyes flick to mine. “Was I wrong to do what I did?”

“I don’t know,” I say honestly, putting away the last of the dishes. “But you don’t have to stay either way.”

“I’m not leaving you alone tonight.”

I figured as much. “Well, I’m not going to let you sit on the porch steps all night.”

“I don’t mind. I have?—”

“You want to watch a movie or something?” I cut in.

He drops his arms to his sides, pushing off the sink. “I can’t watch movies.”

I rear back. “What?”

“I don’t know. I don’t have the attention span for them,” he says. “I just feel like two hours is a long time to be sitting on your ass when you could be doing better things.”

“Like what?” I almost scoff. “Playing ball?”

He shrugs.

“Playing video games?”

Another shrug.

“Having sex?”

I press my lips tight to block the jolt of laughter that wants to escape at his reaction.

Jace shakes his head, looking down at me with his eyebrows drawn. “I swear, sometimes you say things just to get a reaction out of me.”

“I do!” I laugh out. “And it works.” I poke his stomach, and God, the look on his face, it’s as if he’s offended by the touch. “You’re like the Tin Man.”

“I don’t know who that is,” he deadpans.

“FromThe Wizard of Oz…”

“I assume that’s a movie.”

“You’ve never seen?—”

“Did we not just have this conversation?”

I smile, poke his stomach again. “I’ve got a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore!”

“No, we’re in Texas,” he deadpans, and my head throws back with laughter. “What’s so funny?”

I settle my guffaw to a simmering giggle. “Nothing,” I say. “So no movie then?”

His nose scrunches, shifting the few freckles there, before his gaze trails toward the backyard. Toward the basketball hoop. It suddenly dawns on me that I have no history of this house prior to us moving in. Who knows how many nights, how many hours he used to spend out there? “Was anyone living here before us?”

Jace shakes his head. “Not for ten years.”

My eyes widen. “I wonder why it was vacant for so long.”

He doesn’t respond. Verbally or otherwise.

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