Page 61 of Wicked Games

I roll my eyes. “No.”

He spreads his arms wide. “Come join me, Margo. Or I’ll joinyou.” Theagainis silent.

I swallow. One encounter at night is enough, thank you very much. Especially with Robert and Lenora just down the hall. They can probably hear our conversation.

“Five minutes.” He sticks his hands in his pockets. He wanders away, toward the street. His car is parked in front of a neighbor’s house.

I grimace. He taught me how to do this, didn’t he?

To do it or not.

Going back to bed—that would be the smart choice. Lock the window and the doors, hunker down. Avoid Caleb.

That would be letting him win, though. Past Margo would’ve let him come to her, just to prove that she didn’t feel the magnetic fucking allure of Caleb Asher.

No. No more intimidation. No more being forced into doing things in fear of fucked-up consequences. I’m making the choice to see what he wants.

I pull my boots on, silently cursing my resolve. Going down to meet Caleb isn’t giving in, right? His true victory would be if Ididn’t.

Him stealing into my room, pressing me into the mattress…

Stop thinking about it, I order myself.

I grab my jacket and creep down to the back door. It squeaks the faintest amount, but then I’m through, and it closes silently. Through the mudroom. Outside. No way am I going to climb down the trellis when I don’t have to. If the door is locked when I get home, so be it.

A sensor light clicks on, illuminating the backyard, and I freeze. The light catches the first snow of the season falling around it.

They could think it’s anything, I reason. A raccoon, an owl.

Not their foster daughter.

I edge along the house, keeping to the shadows, until I spot Caleb.

He smirks at me, lifting himself off the hood of his car.

“What do you want?” I demand.

His smirk widens. “Couldn’t resist, huh?”

“I’d prefer you not be in my room,” I answer. “Although am I right to think you were there earlier?”

“You were busy,” he replies. “I got tired of waiting.”

He doesn’t look any the worse for wear, unfortunately. Full lips and eyes that pierce through me. He’s handsome. Devastatingly so.

No doubt his looks help his devilish agenda.

“For what I have planned, your room wouldn’t have sufficed.”

I swallow. It sounds ominous, and I realize how stupid I am to have come out here.

He pulls his hand out of his pocket and tosses something to me. I catch it on reflex, then glance down at the keys in my hand.

“What is this?”

“Car keys,” he says, like it’s obvious.

I mean, itisobvious that they’re his car keys. But why he would give them to me is anyone’s guess. I’m tempted to chuck them into the bushes behind us. That’d serve him right.

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