“I’m fairly certain that nobody’s immortal in my family tree.” He stood up. “Listen, Penn, it’s been great, but I really have to get to work. I have—”
Before he could finish his sentence, she was upon him. She pushed him down so hard, his back slammed painfully into the bar. Then she leapt on him, straddling him. She squeezed her thighs tightly against his sides so he couldn’t move.
One of her hands was pressed against his chest, the razor-sharp fingernails poking through his shirt and digging into his flesh. The other was on his neck, but this one was almost caressing him, her touch soft and gentle.
With her face hovering right above his, her lips nearly touching his, her black eyes stared right into him. She leaned in closer, pressing her chest against his, so his shirt would be left damp.
“I could eat your heart right now,” Penn told him in a provocative whisper, and she stroked his cheek gently, her fingers running along his stubble.
“You could,” Daniel agreed, meeting her gaze evenly. “But you’re not.”
“I will, though.” She studied him for a moment. “Eventually.”
“But not today?” Daniel asked.
“No. Not today.”
“Then I need to get to work.” He put his hands on her waist, and when she didn’t react with clawing or yelling, he lifted her up and set her on the seat next to him.
Penn pouted. “Work is so drab.”
Daniel shrugged. “It pays the bills.”
He’d moved away from Penn to the edge of the boat and was about to step off when he felt Penn’s hand clamp onto his wrist. She moved supernaturally fast, and it was hard for him to get used to that.
“Don’t go,” Penn said, and it was the pleading in her words that made him pause. She knelt on the bench next to him with a strange desperation in her eyes. Hurriedly, she blinked any emotion away, trying to recover with an uneasy smile that was probably meant to be flirtatious.
“I have to,” he insisted.
“I can pay you more,” she said, her tone almost comically breezy.
For all her attempts at trying to seem nonchalant, her grip on his wrist had only tightened. It’d gotten rather painful, but Daniel refrained from pulling it free. He didn’t want her to know that she was hurting him.
“What would you need me to do?” Daniel asked.
“I could think of something.” She winked at him.
He rolled his eyes and finally yanked his arm free. “I’ve told them I’d build the sets for the play, and I’m a man of my word. They’re expecting me.”
“A fence,” Penn said hastily as Daniel climbed off his boat. She stayed behind, leaning on the rail so she faced him. “You could build a fence around my house.”
“What do you need a fence for?” he asked, waiting on the dock to see if she had any good reason for it.
“What does it matter to you why I need a fence? I just need one.”
“I have my hands full already.” He turned away from her.
“Ten grand!” Penn called after him as he walked away. “I’ll pay you ten grand to build me a fence.”
Daniel laughed and shook his head. “I’ll see you around, Penn.”
“We’re not done yet, Daniel!” Penn shouted, but he just kept walking.
THREE
Alterations
“Stop that,” Marcy said as Harper began emptying the overnight drop box at the library.