Page 92 of Cruel Games

So I shook my head, tears forming in the corners of my eyes that burned with shame at my weakness.

“No,” I managed to whisper as his forehead came down and pressed against mine, his eyes so close I could see the reflection of my own in them. “I’m not.”

“Good,” he replied, his lips curling into a smile filled with sass I was more accustomed to seeing on Jackal or Dingo’s faces.

“Good?” I muttered, anger boiling away my frustration at myself and replacing it with indignation. “You think it’sgoodthat I’m—” I stopped mid-sentence, realizing I had almost admitted a weakness in front of this man, one of three I’d sworn to kill. “Fuck you,” I spat, shoving him back with both palms against his chest.

His smile only widened as those predatory eyes skimmed over my body in a possessive, covetous manner that had me shivering in arousal and anticipation. “Let’s go,” I heard him mutter, his hand grabbing mine to drag me along behind him.

And I . . .let him.

THIRTY-FIVE

JACKAL

Two barsand an insurmountable mountain of shots, mixed drinks, and bottles later, the four of us stumbled down the sidewalk, heading for the Guild. Dingo’s feet kept getting tangled up in each other as he tried to put them on the wrong side of his stride. Coyote had consumed only a few of our drinks and, as such, was stuck babysitting us like a parent corralling his errant, willful children.

Ivy was the worst, though.

Ever since she’d gone to town on that fuckwad’s face for insulting her, there had been something off about her behavior. She was reckless, uninhibited, and wild, living like someone had put an expiration date on fun. For every shot I threw back, she took two. For each mixed drink I sipped on, she sucked down hers and then finished off mine. And for every beer that Dingo popped the cap off, she managed to con him out of at least a quarter of it, swinging the empties around with a hollered whoop and a belch I’d expect from one of the guys, not a woman.

And she kept on going until the bartender called last call and demanded we pay the bill.

Gods, that woman could fucking drink.

“Hoo boy, the world is spinning,” Dingo muttered, his hand hitting the wall for a millionth time that night. “Gonna need to take five and get my bearings.”

“No time to stop, silly mutt,” Ivy sang, her words punctuated by a hiccup. “Gotta keep going.”

“Aw, shut up,” I muttered, grabbing my head to stop the spinning. “You’re giving me a headache, and I’m not even hungover yet.”

I’d drunk far more than this before. But drinking with Ivy was an experience. I felt lighter than a normal drinking binge, and in this state, I could be honest with myself and admit a few things I might not be so keen to admit when I was sober.

I could also keep my mother fucking mouthshut, too.

Maybe.

“Coyote, maybe you should throw her over your shoulder again. She was so much quieter when she was upside down.”Her ass looked damn good, too.

“If he does that, I’m liable to make a mess of the back of his shirt,” she said with a little hiccup, grinning like a tomcat with his field mouse prey in his sights. “I can walk just fine.”

As if to punctuate her point, she tried to spin on a single foot and managed to stick her heel in a crack in the damn concrete, effectively losing her balance. She toppled right into me, giving me no time to think as my arms circled her waist and kept her face from meeting the ground.

Woulda been a shame to see such beauty go to waste.

“Watch it, ya drunk ballerina,” I muttered as she turned her face up and scowled at me. Not a hint of appreciation for my gallantry in those deep, soulful blue eyes.

“Who said you could put your hands on me?”

Like she was repulsed by the very thought of any part of me touching her, even to help her.

“Fair point,” I said, and just like that, I let go of her, letting her fall on her ass on the hard sidewalk. “Next time, I’ll let your face break your fall.”

“You’re an ass,” she spat, pouting up at me though she tried desperately to make it look like a scowl.

“And your ass is the best part of you,” I taunted, hands on my hips, nose in the air as she huffed in annoyance.

“Ugh, you’re a pig.”

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