Credence

“No, actually, they left,” I tell him. “I did see some unicorns, though.”

He chuckles, knowing it will take more than that to mess with me. “Very good,” he says. “My ex totally fell for that one. She was so dumb she thought the District of Columbia was America’s new state.”

I slide my hands through the water, my body drifting back out into the pond again and him inching, getting closer.

His eyes zone in, intense as they calmly watch me, and my stomach flips. I know what he wants. Will he feel like Kaleb did?

“Do you have a boyfriend?” he asks, his deep voice almost a whisper.

“Do you care?”

He smirks. “I think you need one.”

Please. Judging from the look in his eyes, he wouldn’t care if I were married.

And I’m not looking for an attachment. Maybe the Van der Bergs are right in how they live. They get what they need when they need it, and they don’t have to be held accountable, because they may as well live on the far side of the moon for six months out of the year. No woman—no sane person—wants that life. Perfect situation for them.

Maybe me, too.

“They go to town every Friday night,” Terrance tells me, inching closer. “To have some fun.”

I smile to myself. They don’t need to go to town for that. Town comes to them.

“They always get the prettiest ones, too,” he goes on. “Until now. The prettiest one they’ll keep home and to themselves, won’t they?”

I tense. He comes in closer, but I don’t back away.

“What if I were to come up here Friday night when you’re alone?” he says low. “Would you let me in the house?”

His body is so close, and I fist my hands in the water, because there’s an ache low in my belly that won’t go away, and maybe I should act. Maybe I should do something I would never, because I want to feel and because the ache has been there since my first morning here and the horseback ride.

“Would you want to have some fun of your own?” Terrance taunts.

I swallow, letting my imagination wander for a split-second. We could do it now, I guess. Right here, on the beach. Probably for hours before anyone came to find me.

The guys get their fun. Why shouldn’t I?

I’ll never see this man after I leave, anyway.

He swims into me, backing me up and walking into me. When I get only waist deep, he wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me in.

I plant my hands on his chest. No.

His eyes drop, and he smiles at what he sees, and I look down, noticing my breasts visible through my wet bra, my nipples hard, little points.

I pull my arms up, covering myself.

Unlike last night when I couldn’t even summon the will to stop Kaleb’s mouth.

Terrance takes my face and pulls me in, but before I can pull away, motorcycles whir from somewhere in the trees, and we both jerk our heads toward the sound.

Kaleb and Noah race up and stop just above the rocks, Noah immediately kicking down the stand and jumping off.

“Get the fuck out of there!” he growls at me. “Now!”

I jump.

Noah heads down to me, and I look over, seeing Kaleb climbing off his bike with a…