Page 99 of Twisted Collide

I arch a brow. “Such as?”

His lips tip into a sinful smirk. “I’ll show you after drinks.”

With that, he leads me toward a living room. He grabs the whiskey decanter and raises it for me to see. “Whiskey?”

“Interesting choice.” I force a smile. “Do you ever drink anything else—”

“Now, why would I do a silly thing like that?”

“I don’t know, maybe you wanted to live a little . . .”I know I do.“So what are these ground rules?”

I peer around the room, needing something to do with myself while he goes about making us drinks.

After he finishes pouring the two glasses, he hands one to me. I lift it to my mouth and take a sip. I choke at first, and he laughs for the second time tonight. I could die now, knowing I’ve made him laugh again. “Holy heck, that’s strong.”

He shrugs. “I guess it’s an acquired taste.”

“Yep. One I don’t have.” My eyes roll before becoming serious again. “What do you want to talk about?”

“This.” He gestures back and forth between us. “Ground rules.”

I look down at the glass in my hands, and then I look back up. “Okay.”

“No one can know.”

Despite knowing this was most likely how this conversation would go, it still makes my tummy hurt, which is stupid, seeing as it was my idea to embark upon a forbidden relationship.

Dumb girl.

Don’t jump into the deep end if you don’t know how to swim.

I puff my chest out and throw out my best fake bravado. “Obviously,” I respond, rolling my eyes.

All lies.

Even as the words leave my lips, I can feel the lie in the way my heart hammers harder.

It’s pathetic. I practically seduced the man with no-strings-attached sex, and he agrees. But then, what do I want?

Strings.

No.You just want him to fight for you.But of course, he doesn’t want me for more than a quick lay.

No one wants me.

Not my mom.

Not my dad.

I bite the inside of my cheek, needing to ground myself.

“That it?” I add, my voice flat with no emotions despite the way my heart hammers in my chest.

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Great, then let’s get to it.” I wink.

If I’m going to be his secret, I might as well play the part.

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