Page 98 of Lethal Attraction

The heavy breath escapes past my lips as they wobble. “Please. It would mean so much to me.”

She lifts her hand to my face, using her thumb to wipe away the streaks on my face. She giggles a little under her breath before shaking her head.

“What?”

She rolls her eyes up to the ceiling to stop herself from crying. “Your mom begged you not to become a bug freak, and here we are!”

“What do you mean?”

She gives me a sheepish grin. “Rowan hates my collection…” She rises, pulling me up after her before she takes one look at our very naked bodies. “Oh, clothes first.”

I follow her upstairs, doing a double take when she offers me my old band t-shirt that I lost weeks ago.

“How do you have this?” I ask, turning it over in my hands.

She winces. “When I stole your car, I may have also stolen your shirt and used it as a nightgown…”

“Then,” I lift it over my head, pulling it down with a wink, “let me refresh it for you.”

She tucks her head before offering me some dark pants that look a little too big for me. “I think you and Atlas are the closest in size.”

I tug them up my legs and button them before shrugging. “A little loose but not too bad.”

She slips into some black cotton shorts and a band t-shirt that’s stained before guiding me back down the hallway to a lone door. She places a hand on the handle before shoving it open, and I gasp.

Chapter twenty-seven

Reed

Tanks of different environments, heating lamps, and magnifying glasses are everywhere. In one of the closest glass enclosures, a praying mantis shifts from side to side using motion parallax. Across the room, a case of planthopper nymphs feed on plant sap with their large hind legs kicked out behind them. Another table holds an array of centipedes with their jerky movements and sharp hunting skills as they forage around the soil of their habitat. She has butterflies, moths, different species of beetles, and Madagascar hissing cockroaches everywhere.

I step into the room, completely in awe of it all, and having no idea where to even start.

“Well, what do you think?” Thalia asks from behind me.

“I think I’ve died and gone to heaven,” I mutter.

She chuckles at me. “Do you want to hold someone?”

I whip around, my eyes wide. “Please?”

She goes to the tank with the centipedes before grabbing a thick brown glove and handing it over to me while she puts the other one on. “You’re gonna need that. Legolas isn’t friendly at all.”

“Legolas?” I muse.

She picks up a particularly thick one and turns him over in her gloved hand. “Because of all the legs. Corny, right?”

I snort as I shove my glove on and take him gently. He immediately circles around my hand, his antennae sliding along my fingers as he wraps himself around my thumb. I run a finger over his back, feeling his dorsal plates as he explores.

“This is fucking amazing,” I whisper.

“I’m so glad you don’t think I’m a freak,” Thalia says shyly.

“We’re bug nerds, baby,” I smile. “Nothing wrong with that.”

She shows me a few other species she has, listing off their names, which has me rolling with laughter.

Flutter Nutter—a domestic silk moth.