Page 142 of Sun-Kissed Fangs
Harper grinned. “You’ve yet to do anything bad enough that I wanted to run. I think you’re safe.”
More silence. Instead of responding, Maya sat at one end of the bed, back against the headboard, and gestured at her lap.
“Come here.”
Harper raised an eyebrow. “Is this when I tell you tomake me?”
“If you do, I will.”
Her voice was even, with no humor in it at all. As unyielding as her hard gaze.
This wasn’t the plan. Harper had expected her provocations to be caught with the same playful attitude as usual. That Maya would match her energy rather than derail it.
Cold gripped the base of her spine. But she still moved over and straddled Maya’s lap. They were so close, their faces coming only inches apart as Maya hooked Harper’s bound hands behind her neck.
“Here’s what we’re going to do,” Maya said. “I’m going to tell you some things. You will sit here and listen, and you will not interrupt. Is that clear?”
Harper’s smile faltered. Maya had never sounded like that. Grave and stern. As though she’d had enough. As though Harper’s antics had finally switched from charming to frustrating.
It might just be a warning. If Harper just played along, did what she was told, then that steely look might fade from Maya’s eyes.
“Uh… Okay.” Harper fidgeted in place. “I mean, yes, Sir.”
Maya took a deep breath. Then, her hard expression fell. She ran her hands over Harper’s thighs, barely touching her skin.
“You’re remarkable, Harper. You’re one of the most marvelous people I’ve ever met. Every time I’m with you, you do something unexpected that makes you all the more wonderful. And it pains me that you don’t see it yourself.”
Harper frowned. She leaned back, the retreat stopped by her arms still being around Maya’s neck.
“What?”
“Don’t interrupt.” Her gaze didn’t waver. It matched her tone, serious and earnest. “I’ve met a lot of people in my life. Hundreds, if not thousands, and not one of them can match your fire. You are so sharp. So sweet and so interesting. So smart that even when I try my hardest, I can barely match you.”
Needles pricked up Harper’s back, turning searing as they went.
She let out a weak chuckle. “Stop it. This isn’t funny.”
“It’s not meant to be. It’s the truth. One I’ve seen you deflect more than once, and I don’t understand why.”
Why? It should be obviouswhy. Words like that didn’t fit her. Implying otherwise would just reopen that old wound every parental lecture had poured salt into.
Maya pulled her closer. “I want you to say it. Out loud. I want you to tell me that you aren’t stupid.”
Shame coiled in Harper’s stomach. It radiated through her limbs, burning like acid.
“Stop,” she whispered.
“Not until I hear you say it.”
Maya’s eyes were unyielding. As hard as black stone, and filled with such piercing intensity it felt like her words got stabbed into Harper’s body.
“No.Stop it.” Her voice trembled. “I don’t want to do this anymore.”
“Try. I’ll keep repeating it until you do. You arenotstupid.Say it.”
Harper’s eyes burned. What was this? A callous setup, intended to break her down, perhaps? To hurt her with words rather than fists?
She hadn’t thought Maya capable of such cruelty. That she would like being mean for no reason. Or perhaps just to amuseherself. If that was the game she was into, Harper didn’t want to play at all.
