Page 12 of Tempt

I laugh hollowly. “I’ve adjusted to the surreal nature of my predicament. And again, it’s entirely of my own making.”

“You added that caveat again.”

I always do. I take a deep breath. “I ruined my life before it really got started. I don’t want to make that same mistake. In general, I believe in ruthless honesty. It’s humbling.”

“But you didn’t mind when I gave you a different name?”

No, I really hadn’t. I was more curious than anything. “You had your reasons.”

She hesitates.

“Didn’t you?” I arch one eyebrow. I don’t really care. She doesn’t owe me anything.

Slowly, she smiles. “Ruthless honesty?”

“It’s a good policy.”

She licks her lips, the tip of her tongue pink and nimble. “Okay. So, the thing is, Aibhlin…that is my name now. In some ways. I’m a writer. It’s a pen name.”

“What do you write?”

“Words strung together in sentences. Lots of them.”

I suppress a chuckle. “How mysterious.”

“Mmm.”

Her eyes are definitely sparkling now, so I take a gamble. “Were you enjoying our game until I ruined it?”

She purses her lips, then nods. “Yes.”

“Damn. So was I.” I think about her ice demon story. “You’re a good storyteller. I’d love to read something else that you’ve done. Anything.”

Her cheeks turn pink. “Do you like dinosaur erotica?”

It’s damn good I didn’t put that bite of lasagna in my mouth before she said that, because it would have launched right back out.

“There’s a first time for everything.” I ignore the rough gravel in my voice suddenly.

“Oh, good.” She blinks innocently.

“Do you—” I reach for my glass, wait a beat, and when she doesn’t help me out, I swill back the last of my rye. “Uh, is that what you write?”

“No.” She winks. “But I really enjoyed that exchange.”

“All right, funny girl.”

“There’s nothing wrong with dinosaur porn, Sam.”

“There’s a difference between porn and erotica, Hazel.”

She freezes. “Yes,” she says slowly. “There is.”

“Are we still joking around?”

“Yes.” But she licks her lips. “No. I write erotica. That part was legit. No dinosaurs yet, or ice demons.”

“That’s a shame.” My pulse jacks up at the thought of Hazel writing anything erotic.

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