Page 52 of Small Town Beast

“I meant to tell you, it’s deep over there.”

“Urkk!”

“You good?”

She coughed some more before answering sheepishly, “Yes, I’m fine.”

He guided her to a small ledge in the spring, one that may have been cut there by human hands or the water itself. She could sit there with her head and shoulders above the surface. Tanya melted back against the smooth wall of stone, feeling the tension in her whole body ease.

“Oh,” she said softly.

All her aches and worries dissolved in the soothing heat. Her stress retreated. It was like she had been dying of thirst and just been given the purest water to drink. She was so tense, angry, and sad all the time these days. Just for one moment she could let loose…relax…

Saverin could stand up easily in the spring. He actually made it look small. His giant form cast a shadow over her, and without meaning to she shrank away from him.

“How do you feel?”

“Good,” Tanya gulped, wiping her stinging eyes. “Warm.”

“I almost never do this, if you can believe it.” He pushed a curl off her forehead. “You can come here anytime you want.”

“You must tell all the ladies that.”

“What ladies?”

“All the ladies you pick up at the Turnkey.”

“I don’t make a habit of picking up whores.”

She cut her arm through the water and sent a tidal wave of hot steaming water all over him. He came up sputtering. “Hell, Tanya— you know I didn’t mean it like that.”

“So is that what you think of me?”

“Not at all.”He shook water from his hair. “I don’t.”

“I didn’t get a fancy house and land because of who my daddy was. If I had, you never would have touched me.”

“Is that right?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

Saverin rubbed the back of his hand against the scar tissue on his face.

Shoot, I didn’t mean because of that.

She only meant it was desperation that had compelled her through the Turnkey doors. Desperation that made her agree to be with him…That had turned into a dangerous attraction.

His scars had nothing to do with it. But why should she apologize to save his pride? What aboutherpride?

She didn’t have to deal with the judgment of a man who would pay a woman for sex. How was that so much better than selling?

“I’m out,” she said.

He got a hold on her arm as she tried to pull herself out of the spring. “Wait.”

“Let go of me!”

He didn’t. His eyes burned down at her and she could suddenly read his thoughts.He gave me another five hundred— I still owe him.

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