EMBER’S POV

I just stare at her.

I am desperately trying to find a polite, socially acceptable response to the fact that his cousin just asked about our sex life, but my brain has completely short-circuited.

I don’t understand her gameplay. I don’t understand the rules of whatever twisted, psychological chess match she is playing, but the sheer, unblinking avidity in her eyes makes my skin crawl.

Knox’s silverware hits the table with a sharp, violent crack.

“Shut your fucking mouth, Hale.” His voice is laced with such a pure, creeping disgust that the temperature in the room instantly plummets. He looks genuinely repulsed by her. “If you ever speak...