The Stalker Next Door: 41. The Edge of Compromise

The air in the cabin had changed.

Mara felt it before either man admitted it.

The First moved like a beast in a cage, his body restless, his gaze sharper, every sound outside pulling him toward the window. The Second lingered longer in the shadows, his presence closer, bolder, daring. They circled each other like wolves with the same scent of blood in their nostrils.

And Mara stood at the center.

Not prey. Not yet.

Something more dangerous. It felt like they were never going to cease fighting until she made her choice out of the two of them. They just might end up killing each other, though she couldn't honestly say that it bothered her unduly. 

The First had taken to touching her constantly. His hand on her thigh at the table, his palm against her throat when he kissed her, his arms locking around her waist at night as if to remind her—and perhaps himself—that she belonged to him.

But there was a tremor beneath his grip. A suspicion.

“Y