The steady, raspy breath of the distant ocean mixes with our own.

He leans in this time, and his lips move softer, slower, like a balm over the hurt we were releasing before. I want to lose myself in the feeling.

A sharp sting against my neck stops me. My eyes fly open just in time to watch Roman’s look of alarm. His face contorts into a snarl as fingers dig into my arms, pulling me back from him. Before I can react, Roman becomes nothing but a blur. And then I’m free, stumbling as I twist around, searching for the stakes we should have already picked up.

In my peripheral, I can see the vampire has his fangs in Roman. I bend and grab a stake before turning to take in the situation. I freeze. Every part of me turns cold.

The vampire doesn’t have Roman at all.

Roman’s mouth is against the vampire’s neck as he struggles and then goes still. For a second, I try to make it something else that I’m seeing. Anything else. Then Roman pushes the vampire away from him. He falls to the ground before scrambling up and running into the night, but for once, I don’t care about the vampire that’s escaping.

I care about the one standing right in front of me.

Roman turns around slowly. Dark blood coats his lips, and his mouth is still open slightly like he misses the neck that used to be there. The tips of his fangs hang just below his top lip. Lips that I was kissing moments ago.

I bend at the waist and heave. Barely keeping myself from vomiting.

He wipes a hand over his mouth, leaving a nasty smear across his cheek as he steps toward me.

I’m no longer frozen. My nerves are screaming in panic and confusion, so I fall back into what I know. I lunge toward him, closing the distance in a second. The stake and my hand fly through the air. I barely stop the momentum.

My stake presses against his chest.

He doesn’t even flinch.

“Do it if it will make you feel better.” His voice is low and raw.

The rawness of it reminds me of our kiss—the vulnerability of it, like we were both opening up in some way.

But he wasn’t. He kept something back. He kept everything back.

My hand starts to tremble, and I drop the stake. I can’t do it. He might be a liar, but he doesn’t deserve to die. I hate that he taught me that. It’d be so much easier if he hadn’t.

“Ava, please.” He reaches for me, and I step back so quickly that I stumble and slip, landing hard on my ass. I yelp, and he tries to bend toward me.

“Don’t touch me,” I snarl.