Chapter 1

"Don't… don't hold on so tight…"

Who was that? Who was talking? My stuffed kitty?!

[Damn it, I totally freaked her out. Should've kept my mouth shut.]

[No way can Daisy-boo figure out I'm connected to her cuddle buddy.]

[If she does, she'll ditch me—I mean, the doll—for good. That's not cool!]

My brain froze, like it just hit a 404 error.

I could hear Mr. Untouchable Hottie's thoughts?! And… he was feeling me through my stuffed animal?!

*****

Daisy wrapped her arms around her brand-new, kitty-shaped cuddle buddy, Mr. Whiskers, its plush softness feeling like a cozy cloud.

She snuggled up close, tucking it between her knees like she always did, and drifted off to dreamland with a happy sigh.

In the middle of the night, everything was dead quiet.

"Don't… don't hold on so tight…" A low, gravelly male voice exploded in her ear out of nowhere.

Daisy's groggy mind snapped awake. Who was that? Who was in her room?

She was sure she'd locked the door tight.

"I… I can't breathe…" The voice came again, rough and strained, like someone was fighting to keep it together—right next to her pillow.

A shiver raced down her spine, chasing away every ounce of sleep.

Her eyes popped open, but the darkness hid everything. The voice was it coming from her stuffed kitty?

Thud. The plush slammed onto the wooden floor at the foot of her bed.

With a loud thunk, the doll hit the wooden floor at the foot of the bed.

Then, that voice groaned again, laced with pain, "Ouch, that stung." followed by a faint grumble, "Straight to the face."

Daisy's heart stopped.

She lay there, stiff as a board, her pulse hammering like a drum. Was she hallucinating? Sleepwalking? Or haunted?! That voice—it sounded exactly like Zachary Pierce.

She sat frozen in the dark for a full three minutes, her thoughts a jumbled mess. Was her massive crush on Zachary messing with her head? She pinched her thigh hard. Ow. Definitely not a dream.

Taking a shaky breath, she fumbled for the bedside lamp and flipped it on with a click.

The room was empty. Just her poor Mr. Whiskers sprawled pathetically on the floor.

Daisy swallowed hard, crept out of bed, and picked up the doll. Its cute, innocent face stared back at her, all soft and harmless.

Was it actually talking?

A crazy idea popped into her head. Staring at the kitty's round belly, she couldn't help herself—she poked it hard.

Right then, her phone lit up on the nightstand, blaring Zachary's custom ringtone. A video call. At 2 a.m.

He never called this late.

Her hands shook so bad she nearly dropped the plush. She gripped it tighter, feeling the soft stuffing slowly bounce back under her fingers.

On the screen, Zachary's jaw-dropping face filled the frame. But he wasn't his usual cool, untouchable self.

His hair was messy, his eyes rimmed with a weird flush, and those deep, dark eyes burned with something intense, like he was holding back a wildfire. His breathing seemed shaky, too.

Daisy's brain buzzed like a broken radio as she swiped to answer, barely holding it together.

"Hey?" Her voice wobbled, betraying her nerves.

Zachary's Adam's apple bobbed. His voice came out lower, rougher than usual. "Uh… what're you doing?"

Under the dim light, his lips looked darker, almost too perfect.

Daisy clutched the plush, her palms sweaty, trying to sound chill. "Sleeping, obviously. You woke me up. It's, like, crazy late—what's the deal?"

"Nothing," Zachary trailed off, like he was choosing his words super carefully.