couldn’t see two feet in front of her. So cold that her skin was chilled, and her breath puffed out in a white cloud in front of her face.
Eyes peered at her from the darkness. Followed her as she pivoted.
“Val?”
“Help me!” Val cried.
To the left, up the hill, over Copperhead Ridge where all the snakes liked to hibernate. Were they asleep now or waiting to bite?
Mama’s voice—“Take care of Val. Keep her safe.”
But she hadn’t. Val had gotten lost.
Peyton jogged up the hill, calves clenching. A stitch splintered her side, and she massaged it with her hand. Had to keep going. Bring Val back before Mama realized she was gone.
Limbs and twigs clawed at her. She tripped over a tree stump and scraped her hand as she reached out for something to hold on to. A branch slapped her in the face.
She shoved it away, kicked at the weeds. Her sneakers snapped twigs as she trampled them.
The stench of something dead hit her. She pressed a hand over her mouth and nose and forged on. Seconds later, Val’s scream pierced the air. Peyton increased her pace, ignoring the sting of branches as they caught her in the face. Around the corner, past the pines.
She tripped again and hit the ground. Her hands slid into something sticky. Blood.
She screamed and lifted her fingers. Oh, God, not Val.
No...a dead deer. She struggled to her feet, maneuvered around the animal and hurried toward the ridge.
“Help me, Peyton. Help me!”
She reached the ridge and screeched to a halt, searching left and all around the woods. Trees swayed in the wind. Flies buzzed. Then she spotted her sister’s hands, clawing at the ground at the edge of the ridge. She’d fallen over.
Chest seizing with terror, she raced to the ridge, dropped to her knees and reached for her sister. But she was too late. Val’s hands slipped, and she lost her hold. Rocks crumbled. Dust rose from the earth. Val screamed as her body flew downward toward the ravine.
Peyton cried out Val’s name, sobbing at the sight of her sister plunging below to her death.
“Peyton?”
Two hands grabbed her and yanked her up. Saved her from falling over the ridge herself.
“Peyton, wake up, it’s Liam.”
Liam? Not Val?
She blinked, confused and disoriented. Then she looked up into Liam’s serious dark eyes.
“Nightmare,” he said softly.
She choked back a sob and curled against him.
When her sister had first run away, she’d had nightmares almost every night. The guilt had nearly destroyed her. She was the big sister. Supposed to take care of Val.
Keep her safe, Mama said.
But she’d failed.
And when she’d come begging for help, she’d turned away from her.
If Val was in danger, she couldn’t ignore her again.
* * *
LIAM STROKED PEYTON’S ARMS in a soothing gesture. “You were yelling the name Val,” he said. “Val was your sister, right?”
Her body tensed, and she blinked as if confused. “Yes, but she’s gone.”
Grief tinged her voice.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
She shook her head. “No.”
Liam had the strange sense she was holding something back again.
He tilted her head up, so she looked into his eyes. “If you change your mind, I’m here, Peyton. I just want to help.”
Her gaze locked with his, emotions blending with the same feminine need he’d seen earlier that night.
“Then make love to me,” she whispered. “Help me forget about what’s going on. At least for a while.”
Liam made a low pained sound in his throat. “Peyton, we talked about this. I don’t want you to hate me tomorrow or have regrets.”
“I won’t hate you,” she whispered. “And the only regret I would have is if you turned me down again.”
A debate warred in his mind—his conscience, rational thought, all the reasons he shouldn’t touch her and give in to desire. But the hunger in her expression triggered his own, and rational thought lost out.
She cradled his face in her hands. Tentative, then bolder, her tongue teased at his lips. Pure raw hunger ripped through him, and he gave in to temptation and kissed her deeply. She tasted like the sweetest, finest wine—delicate yet bold, and so savory that he craved another drink.
Their tongues mated and danced in a sensual game that ignited his blood with lust. A flick of his tongue along her ear and down her neck made her moan, and she pulled at the buttons on his shirt again. This time, he helped her, freeing them and tossing his shirt onto the floor.
She pushed aside the quilt on her bed and