Page 57 of Vicious Games

“You can’t be serious,” he replies, aghast.

“Please don’t tell me that you think that sex is the end-all, be-all of life?” I taunt.

“I think it’s a hell of a thing to voluntarily give up,” he argues.

I pop another piece of waffle into my mouth, not one bit bothered by his viewpoint. “You can’t miss what you never had.”

“Wait, wait, hold up…” He pushes his plate further to the side just to lean in close to me. “Are you telling me you’ve never had sex?”

I glance at him and shake my head. “Nope.”

His eyes widen. “Have you ever even been kissed?” My fingers tighten around my fork, and when I shake my head, his brows shoot up. “No?”

“No,” I say evenly, meeting his gaze.

For a moment, he just stares at me, his expression morphing from incredulous to utterly bewildered. Then his tongue swipes over his bottom lip, and something shifts in his eyes—something dangerous. Something that, to my utter shame, makes my pulse pick up. And that’s when I realize—I probably shouldn’t have told him that. Because something tells me Lucky is not planning on letting that tidbit of information slide.

“How the hell are you supposed to make a life-altering decision when you don’t even have all the facts?” Lucky demands.

“I guess I just am.” I twist my fork in the syrup, pretending to focus on that instead of him.

“Youguess?” He pushes his plate fully away, eyes locked on me as if I’d just personally offended him and everything he believes in.

“Are you going to eat that?” I ask, already reaching for his plate.

“Knock yourself out,” he grumbles. “I lost my fucking appetite.”

“Sucks to be you.” I take a bite, sighing in satisfaction. “These are delicious. We never get Eggos at the orphanage. We only get porridge most mornings.”

“If you say with raisins, I’m gonna blow my brains out.”

“God, you’re dramatic.” I give him a flat look.

“And you’re naively stubborn.” I freeze mid-bite.

“I beg your pardon?”

“You heard me,” he says firmly.

“How am I naive?”

“Notice how you didn’t even deny the stubborn part,” he mocks, but there’s no humor in his eyes. “You’re naive because any logical person would consider all the facts before making a decision that will dictate the rest of their life.”

“You’re not going to let this go, are you?” I let out a long-winded exhale.

“Not a chance.” He leans back against the cupboards, arms folded.

I exhale through my nose, drop my fork onto the plate, and lean into him. Before he can register what’s happening, I press a quick, chaste kiss on his lips.

It’s over in a second.

I pull away, staring at him smugly.

“There. First kiss. Nothing to write home about. Just as I thought.”

Lucky blinks once, then twice, a new look settling over him—quiet, steady, and way too dangerous for my peace of mind.

“That wasn’t a kiss.”

---