Page 74 of Trust the Fall

“It’s not about that. I’ll never force you into a marriage that you’ve had no choice in. I’m not that guy, Victoria.”

My eyes narrow, searching River’s face for signs of inauthenticity, but find none. He seems sincere.

“I’m not a bad guy, contrary to your beliefs.”

I prickle at his words. “How do you do that?” I grind out through my teeth.

“Do what?”

“Read me so easily? I don’t like it. It’s wholly unsettling.”

He laughs. The asshole actually throws his head back and laughs. “You wear your emotions for the world to see. How you feel about me was pretty clearly written all over your face back there. You don’t trust me, but you need to, Victoria. If you want to survive and learn about who you are, you have to trust me.”

A howl in the distance pulls our gazes from each other.

“Wolves. There are traitors all over Hell, and if they’re Bumalin’s trackers, we don’t have much time. What’s it gonna be?”

Inhale. Exhale.

I’m not sure I buy the whole part about being the lost reaper princess, but I’ll never know unless I follow him. Worst case, I am. Best case, I’m not. Either way, I can only hope I’m able to convince the queen not to side with Nolda.

“Let’s go.”

WISH I KNEW YOU

“What’s this?” I ask, staring at the side of one of the massive boulders. “Do you have another one of those moon rocks?”

“Moonstone,” River corrects. “And no. We don’t need one of those.”

We haven’t moved but twenty yards from where we said goodbye to Law.

“I’m going to need to hold on to you,” River says, staring down at me.

“Hold on to me where?” My lips form a thin line. “What exactly does that entail?”

“Exactly what I just said. I’m going to have to hold you, Victoria. Don’t act like the thought of my touch disgusts you. We both know you think I’m sexy as hell.”

“Ugh.” I mock gag. “I absolutely do not think you’re …”

“Sexy?” he finishes, with a grin that showcases his dimples and makes my legs just slightly weak.

Damn him.

“We can stand here all day pretending you weren’t just thinking about my touch. I saw your legs shake.” He shrugs, leaning back against the boulder like he doesn’t have a care in the world.

“I hate you.”

“You don’t.”

His smoldering eyes gleam with amusement.

“One of these times, I’m going to punch you in the face when you look at me like that. You know that, right?”

He chuckles. “That’s fine, but can it wait until later? We’re running out of time. Those demon wolves are seconds from finding us.”

As if on cue, the steady pounding of paws on rock grows louder. The wolf demons are close.

“Okay, okay. Whatever you need, but if you cop a feel or do anything I don’t like, I will remove your appendages when we get to wherever it is you’re taking me. Got it?”