But then I remembered I didn’t have my phone, and if I wanted to contact them, I had to write.

I pulled out the notebook I’d packed and began to scribble, writing the letter so fast that my penmanship was atrocious. But I needed some kind of distraction, and I missed my sister and best friend.

I sat on the bed and let myself get lost in my ramblings. I told them everything about the cabin, the small, quaint town, and how friendly Ocean was. I left out the details about the hunter’s brothers and upbringing since that wasn’t my information to share, but I ended the letters telling them that I missed them and hoped to see them soon.

When I finally finished, tantalizing aromas from downstairs drifted into the room.

A few minutes later, the hunter called, “Dinner’s ready. Are you coming back down?”

I considered ignoring him, but then my stomach growled, reminding me that going to bed without dinner wouldn’t be pleasant or wise. If my job here had become training my new power, I needed to keep my strength up.

Forcing myself to my feet, I trudged toward the stairs, my nose twitching at the delectable fragrances.

When I rounded the corner to the dining area, my eyes widened when I beheld the set dining table with a candle glowing in the middle of it, the warmth of the fire roaring in the hearth, and the corked wine bottle that sat beside two full plates. Steaming steaks, Brussel sprouts, and what looked like a rice pilaf were placed before me.

“I hope you like red wine,” he said as he began filling two glasses.

“You made this?” I asked incredulously.

“I did.”

“I thought you only ate nuts and cheese.”

He chuckled and set the wine bottle back down. “The food in my base is quite different from the food in my home.”

“But you don’t consider this home.”

He held out a chair for me—well, okay then, this was that kind of meal—before saying, “True. This isn’t my home. That’s in Montana, but my sister knows what I like. She stocked the fridge with what I would have bought.”

That statement brought to mind images of the hunter perusing the shelves at a grocery store, and holding up boxes of wheat pasta and sorghum pasta while trying to decide which one was the better choice.

I smothered a smile, laughing inside when I remembered that the hunter had a domestic streak. If only the Shadow Zone’s inhabitants knew that.

“Thank you,” I mumbled when he pushed my chair in behind me.

“You’re welcome.” He winked, an amused glint in his eye.

He seated himself, then handed me a full wine glass. I took a large swallow, definitely needing alcohol right now.

“I hope you’re okay with medium-rare,” he said as he cut into his steak.

“I’m a vegetarian.”

His eyes widened to saucers, and a look of such horror streaked across his face, that I burst out laughing.

“I’m kidding, totally kidding.” But I couldn’t stop my snort.

It took a second for him to regain his composure, but then he laughed and took a few jabs at me, which helped quell some of the stiffness rolling through my spine. Cheeky banter with the hunter I could handle, but romantic meals and unquenched sexual frustration? That was much more challenging.

Somehow, we managed to make it through dinner without it feeling like a Hallmark movie, which of course was helped when—despite the romantic atmosphere and crackling fire—our bantering and needling continued.

But despite our less than traditional way of interacting, I was thankful for it. It helped keep my stomach from roiling with nerves, and the constant smiles and laughs from the hunter—and okay, who was I kidding, from me too—made the meal actually enjoyable, which was an entirely new level of crazy.

I leaned back in my chair when I finished the last of my steak, so full I wanted to curl up in front of the fire like a cat and go to sleep. If only Prisha knew that I’d just shared a candlelight dinner with the menace of society. She would get a total kick out of it. Perhaps I’d have to add a P.S. to my letter.

“Shall we go to bed?” the hunter asked as he collected the dishes.

That statement snapped me upright like a jack-in-the-box. “Bed? Right. Forgot about that.” Fuck a duck.

A slow seductive smile spread across his face. “I haven’t.”

“I can do the dishes,” I said, surging to my feet as my insides fluttered.

“No need.” The hunter pulled something out from under the sink, and with bulging eyes, I realized it was a fae charm. Sure enough, he tossed the charm into the air, whispered two words, and in a flurried magical cloud, the plates and dirty pans disappeared only to reappear a moment later stacked on the shelves, as clean and dry as the day they were bought.

“I see you brought your expensive cleaning products along.”

“I don’t leave home without them,” he replied, totally deadpan.

Despite the anxiety swirling through my belly, I laughed.

The hunter prowled toward me, still not touching me, but his voice dipped when he said, “Time for bed. After you.”

I swallowed the dryness in my throat, suddenly feeling like a blushing virgin on her wedding night, not that I actually knew what that felt like since I’d lost my virginity in high school, but I imagined it would feel similar to this.

Turning stiffly, I marched up the stairs, but then that march turned into a jog, and then an all-out run. How had the night come this fast?

“Are you that eager to join me in bed?” the hunter called from down the hall, a smile in his voice.

“Ha ha, very funny!” I called over my shoulder.

When I reached the master bedroom, I grabbed pajamas, then realized I was holding that black lacy thing Tessa had packed. Definite no to that one. Throwing it to the side, I grabbed an oversized T-shirt and dipped into the bathroom to get changed and brush my teeth.

When I emerged, my breath sucked in when I found the hunter in the bedroom. He stood by the window gazing outside. He wore nothing but loose shorts that hung low on his hips.

My gaze crawled up his back, over the broad planes and tantalizing muscles, across the swirling tattoo, then dipped down his bare arms, taking in the chiseled biceps and sinewy forearms. Despite trying desperately to keep my arousal smothered, I knew it was apparent when the hunter turned. His nostrils flared, and a slow smile curved his lips.

“I take it you like what you see?”

Since I wasn’t dignifying that gloating comment with a response, I dove for the bed. I was under the covers with them pulled up to my chin before the hunter could turn fully around. I rolled to the farthest side of the bed that I could manage, but I was teetering. One misbalance, and I’d end up on the floor.

“Night!” I called shrilly.

The lights clicked off, and I heard the hunter dip into the bathroom. The sound of running water and brushing teeth came next, then the flush of the toilet.

My heart hammered as a thousand self-deprecating insults flew through my head that I’d been asinine enough to agree to this deal.

A moment later, the covers lifted and the bed dipped. The hunter was in full predatory mode, moving as silently as the wind.

“Are you sure you’re comfortable?” he asked, a smile in his voice.

“Yep. I’m good. Nighty night!”

“It’s just that you look like you could roll off the bed at any—”

“I’m good!”

A long, heavy sigh came, then the feel of the mattress sinking further when he inched closer to the middle.

“Please stay on your side,” I said formally.

A soft chuckle came from the dark. “We have sides?”

“Yes, we do. Think of us like an old married couple who ignore each other every night and give each other our backs when we turn the lights off.”

“I can’t imagine being an old married couple with you. I doubt we’d be that mundane.”

I snorted. “Well, then you should stop reading romance novels. All couples end up that way.”