Page 102 of A Simple Truth

“Precisely,” he reassured.

“A kiss on yourmouth,andnot on anythingelse?” I arched my brow up, as his eyes widened.

“What kind of man do you think I am, Finnleah? Gods…a kiss on the lips will do. But now that you mention it…it’s only a matter of time until you come crawling for the other kind as well.” He ran his thumb down his lips as his eyes devoured me, making my knees almost buckle.

“One kiss, and you have a deal.” I kept my shields up, not wholly trusting this idea, though the fire ceased, and he’d approached me.

“Go on, then. Give me my kiss and let’s end this game.” He stopped only a breath away, then closed his eyes and pursed his lips.

Such an idiot.I smiled as I shook my head at him, lowering my shields and rising on my tippy toes. I wrapped both of my hands around his face pulling him down a bit as I landed a kiss. I was going for a small peck but his arms wrapped around my waist pulling me tight against his hardened body. His mouth and his tongue demanded more than just a simple caress, my entire body begging him to take me entirely. My mouth opened wider letting him in as our tongues intertwined together. No, this kiss was nothing like an innocent embrace, this was a kiss with a clear promise behind it, one that sent a shiver down my spine and filled my body with undeniable need.

“It is a shame, though, that your-best-trainer-ever didn’t teach you to make stronger contracts, Finnleah,” he mumbled a second later, swiftly twisting me in his arms, making one large lunge for the flag, grabbing the pole and immediately ending the game. Only then, onlyafterhe had ended the game,he handed it off to me. “Your flag, my love, as agreed.”

I gawked at him, completely stunned, “Oh, you’re such an asshole!” I threw the flag back at him and he caught it. “You…you...” I was so astonished that I couldn’t even finish a coherent sentence.

“What? You think you are the only one who can twist my affections towards you for their own benefit?” He laughed as my face turned red from anger and a bit of embarrassment. “You still have so much to learn. Perhaps for a few more of theotherkisses, I could teach you a thing or two.”

Before I could reply, the referees zoomed in on us, announcing Orest and his team as the winners of the first round. I didn’t have to see Zora to know the absolute wrath churning her blood into butter, her face drained of all the color, now a vivid contrast to her black hair and her face tattoo.

“It seems you have a celebration to attend,” I bitterly spat at the General as the rest of the competitors gathered around us.

“It seems so.” He lowered his voice, adding with a sultry whisper, “Find me later.”

I snarled at his arrogant look turning my eyes towards the approaching Ten.

“What happened…” I asked as I saw Lulu’s limp figure with blood running down her face, the twins carrying her up.

“She refused to tap out. So, her husband resorted to knocking her out instead of killing her,” Motra wiped the dirt off her brow.

“How nice,” I mumbled, feeling just as pissed off as I looked. The rest of the group were treading together, bunching up in a small circle, except for Zora. She just kept marching past us, towards Orest, who took a few steps away from his team, already awaiting her arrival.

“Nice game, Captain, don’t you agree?” he tormented her, aware of the pure rage boiling in her eyes.

“Ohhh….” She pointed at him but couldn’t come up with any words as she shook her finger. “You…You…”

“Me what?” he instigated, taking a step closer to her, until her pointed finger sunk into his chest.

“You won’t be as lucky the second time around,” Zora snarled, her hand lingering on his bare chest for a second too long before she lowered it down.

“Oh, luck doesn’t have anything to do with it. It’s all about skills and strategies,” he purred, precisely aware of how much those words would make her angry. I watched them duel with their eyes for another moment, realizing that I had never met two more competitive people than them. “Good game, Captain.” Orest extended his hand out and she hesitantly shook it, yet instead of letting go, he jerked her body close to his. “See you on the field tomorrow.” Zora glared at him but didn’t say anything until she marched back to us.

“We’ve lost the flag, not the Games, so we can still win this,” she proclaimed. “Second game is tomorrow morning. So, sorry ladies, but no whoring around with your husbands tonight.” The Ten let out a frustrating sigh. “Don’t look at me like that. They don’t get to enjoy their wins either.”

“Maybe we’d compete better if we all finally got laid,” Ioanna protested.

“We can try and find out what their strategy is,” Yanush added, hopeful.

“We are going into complete lockdown until we win this shit,” Zora grumbled.

62

FINNLEAH

The bright, mid-day sun burned my neck as I shoved giant dragonfly shit into barrels, gagging each time I moved my shovel in sync with the rest of the Ten.

“Permission to speak frankly about our General,” Yanush started as we all paused to catch a breath, though immediately regretting it.

“Go ahead,” Zora nodded, as she shoved another heap of literal crap.

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