Page 45 of Dark of Winter (Wild Haven 1)

Davis

Last night was a mistake. I never should have gone to Anthony’s with Miri. I should have stayed the hell away from her altogether, but the thought of her going into that snake’s house alone made me want to roar in rage. In the end it was probably a good thing I was there because Anthony dropped a huge bomb on Miri. He did it all while sipping his wine like snooty royalty and looking down his nose at the rest of us peasants.

Anthony’s revelation that Miri’s his daughter is a shock. My history gives me specific insight about having a total bastard as a father, so I can imagine how she’s feeling. Still, what a dickish way to deliver the news to your kid. Anthony is an evil piece of shit, though, so I don’t know why I would expect any better from him.

Afterward, I made things so much worse. I should have just dropped her off after dinner and left it at that. Not only had I kissed her on her porch, but when we’d done the spell together, something snapped loose in me. I’ve never been so damn turned on in my whole life. I had to jerk off in the guest room like a horny teenager.

The normal bindings that keep all my shit, the feelings, the emotions, locked up nice and tight broke and I’ve been consumed with the need to see her, touch her, make her know what it felt like to have her eyes on me as I came.

I am in deep shit.

I snuck out of her house this morning when the sun was barely rising like some shame-faced college boy who can’t face his shit. Not my proudest moment.

Archer has been calling me all morning and I’ve been ignoring him. Finally, sick of my phone vibrating, I left it inside while I went out to chop some firewood. My house is nothing fancy. A small one-bedroom cabin I bought and fixed up a few years ago. It’s surrounded by woods on all sides and only accessible through a gravel road in need of fixing. Archer likes to give me shit that I picked such a small house because it means there’s no room to invite people over, but really, it’s just a place to sleep.

Sweat drips down my temples and I lift the edge of my shirt to wipe it away, staring down at the massive pile of wood that should keep me warm for at least a month. The sound of tires on gravel pulls my attention to the long drive. I flick the ax into a stump and pick up a bottle of water I brought out with me, drinking half of it before I take a breath. Tossing it back on the ground, I cross my arms and stare as Archer rolls up in an ATV, looking too polished in his dark suit for his surroundings.

“Ah, good, you’re still alive,” Archer calls out before he gets the ATV in park and hops out.

“As if that was really a worry.”

“Hey man, you live out here all by yourself. You could choke on all that rage inside you, and no one would ever know. All we’d find was your cat eating you.”

“I don’t have a cat. What do you want, Archer?”

“I thought we were going to close up the tunnel today. Do some exploring?”

“You don’t look ready to do labor.” I nod at his suit.

“Fun concept, I have a change of clothes and I can take this suit off as needed. I’m basically like Superman in that way.”

I snort at him. For all Archer’s joking and giving people shit, there’s a reason he’s one of my best friends. He has a way of getting me out of my head that no one else does. Except maybe Miri.

I bury that thought deep down in the recesses of my soul. “Shit.”

“You forgot.”

“I forgot.”

“You could have just answered your phone. Care to share why you were sending me to voicemail?” Archer leans against the front of the ATV, crossing his arms and ankles as he waits for my response.

I push back the sweaty strands of my hair, hatless for once. “I went to dinner at Anthony Hatcher’s last night.” I pick my water back up and move to sit on the steps of the small porch of my cabin. I don’t have to see Archer’s face to know he’s not surprised. He knows just about everything that happens on this island.

“I know. But why the hell would you go to that psycho’s house?”

The chilly air is quickly drying my sweat and my damp shirt is cold against my overheated skin. Archer looks wary when I finally meet his eyes. He knows just as much about Anthony’s history with our families as I do. Both of his parents were part of Anthony’s attempted Axis.

“He invited Miri to dinner, threatened to withhold her business license if she didn’t show up. I didn’t want her to go alone.”

Archer’s brows pinch together as a scowl twists his normally sunny face. He smooths his blonde hair back against the sudden onslaught of wind, putting everything back to rights. I can already sense the lecture coming or maybe the question about me and Miri, but I stop him before he can get started.

“He’s her dad. And that is not information made for the public. Keep that shit to yourself.” I point a finger in his direction. His mouth gapes open in surprise—about Anthony, not my demand that he keeps from gossiping about this. I nod sympathetically before taking another drink of my water. It was a surprise to me too.

“Fuck. Did she know?”

“Nope. He was about as subtle as a battering ram sharing the news, too.”

“Holy shit. How’s Miri?”

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