Page 11 of T is for…

“I’m not joking.” Tara’s gaze slid away from his, her shoulders rounding. “Well, I wasn’t. But based on your reaction?—”

Nathan moved before he thought better of it. He leaned over and grasped her wrist. Not her shoulder, which would have been much more impersonal, but her wrist.

Capturing, manacling, her with his hand.

He only ever touched subs like this.

Tara sucked in air, not looking at him.

“What do you mean you weren’t joking?” he demanded.

“It’s perfectly fine if you’re not interested?—”

“Tara.”

She stilled, her gaze on the glass she held in her free hand.

“Tara look at me.”

She turned, gaze rising to his face.

She obeyed.

Shit. And fuck yes.

“Were you serious?” he asked quietly.

“I was.” Tara spoke with a calm tone that belied her earth-shaking proposal.

“You understand how the game is meant to be played, right? We wouldn’t just be discussing our letter. We’re expected to scene together. Do the things on our list.”

Tara’s brow arched in a look he knew well. It was her “are you stupid or do you think I’m stupid?” look.

“Yes, Nathan, I understand.”

He sat back, methodically working through his reaction.

Tara tugged the wrist he still held. He hadn’t even realized he hadn’t let go.

And he didn’t want to let go now.

So he didn’t.

Nathan tightened his grip, just briefly. She stopped trying to pull away.

“Why?” he asked. “Why would you want to…” That statement led somewhere he shouldn’t go, so he backtracked. “Is it because you really want to play the game?”

He was her only option of partner.

Tara shook her head. “No. Obviously the game is a factor, because it pushed us to be together when we normally avoid one another here. But if I didn’t want to play the game with you, I wouldn’t. As I said, I’m not going to be a member starting next week.”

Nathan stared at her, a slimy dread filling him. “Are you sick?”

Tara’s eyes widened, and she shook her head. Before she could speak, he cut in.

“If you are, just tell me what it is. I’ll invent something. To fix it.”

“Nathan, take a breath. I’m not sick. I’m not dying. I’m just planning to make a change in my life.”

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