Unfold Me by Talia Ellison Page B

trees.
    “What are we doing here? Do you have a body in the trunk that needs burying?” he asks.
    “Maybe I do.” I grin at him, opening the door. “Come on. I want to show you something.”
    Isaac just stares at me, but he follows me through the trees until we emerge into a clearing with a lake.
    “Seriously?” He rolls his eyes. “You brought me all the way here to see some stupid lake? What are we going to do here?” He rubs his arms. “Chase after ducks?”
    “Fine, you can stay here if you’d like, and I...” I break into a run.
    “Hey, where are you going?” Isaac yells after me, but I don’t say anything, just sprint across the high grass. “Wait!”
    A smile creeps up my face when he rushes after me. I run all the way to the other side of the lake, the wind caressing my face. When I finally come to a stop, I lean my hands on my knees, panting. Isaac crashes into me, sending us both flying into the grass.
    I burst out laughing as he ends up on top of me. He lifts himself up on his elbows and stares down at me. My lips part as I reach out to place a hand on his warm cheek. His eyes are so incredibly blue, but somehow a warmer blue than Archer’s. And the way he’s looking at me... it’s hypnotizing.
    He dips his head and brushes his lips against mine. I capture his mouth with mine as I wrap my arms around him, pulling him toward me. He breaks off the kiss, breathless, and I look away from him to chase away the fire starting inside me. But I can still feel his body so close to mine, his hot breath near my neck, his... I press my hand against his chest.
    “We... we shouldn’t,” I finally say, and as soon as his weight leaves me, I get to my feet, dusting off my pants.
    “You have...” He plucks a piece of grass out of my hair.
    “I...” I hesitate.
    “Look!” Isaac suddenly says, pointing toward the lake. “Are those the ducks you were after?”
    I look in the direction he’s indicating and see a family of ducks waggling through the thick reed that grows around the lake. “Yeah.” I’ll say anything to break the awkward moment between us, and if it helps Isaac keep his mind off the pills, even better. “Let’s go see them, but be careful so we don’t scare them.”
    Isaac nods and we slowly step forward, carefully weighing our steps as the grass crunches under our feet. But as we come closer, Isaac rushes toward the ducks, waving his hands and shouting.
    “Hey! What are you doing?” I try to keep my face straight as the ducks quack and spread their wings, readying themselves to fly away, but when Isaac turns back to me with a big grin on his face, I know this little trip has been worth it.

When my phone rings and Archer’s number flashes on the screen, I nearly drop it.
    “Yes?” I say, trying to keep the nervous undertone out of my voice. What could he possibly want from me now? What if he discovered what Lilith is trying to do with Raphael? What if Caleb has been caught and confessed everything?
    “Hello, Kitten,” Archer says. “Have you missed me?”
    I breathe out a sigh of relief. It’s just Archer being his usual self, and now that we’ve been in contact more often, he thinks it’s okay to call me for nonsense. “Why would I miss you? Honestly, I haven’t even had time to think about you. I’m kind of busy right now.”
    “Lying again. You know how much I hate that. If you were still mine...”
    “I’m not.” I don’t want him to tell me what he would do to me, and I definitely don’t want to think I’d enjoy some of it. “Is there something you need or did you just call because you’re lonely?”
    “Actually, I have an invitation for you...”
    “Another one?” I frown.
    “It’s not about the party,” he says. “I’d like you to join me for dinner. Just you and me.”
    My mouth opens, but I don’t know what to say.
    “You didn’t buy that slave for no reason. You must have known I’d be trying to buy him, so you outbid my man to catch my