Page 88 of Vicious Games

I don’t ask why his family chose this place over the mansion. I don’t have to. I already know. The mansion felt like a museum—cold, untouchable, pristine. But this house? It feels like a heartbeat built from wood and stone.

“You look awfully happy,” I tease when I catch a glimpse of his face looking at me.

“Do I?” He raises a brow, pretending he wasn’t just grinning from ear to ear.

It’s cute the way he tries—and fails—to smother his grin.

Cute?

Oh, God. Did I just refer to Lucky’s smile as cute? I must be coming down with something.

Lucky stops in front of a door and opens it with a playful tilt of his head. “This is me,” he says, swinging the door wide.

The second I realize he just brought me to his bedroom, I freeze in the hallway, my feet glued to the floor.

Lucky glances back, a laugh rumbling low in his chest.

“Are you just going to stand there, or are you coming in?” he teases, pressing a warm hand lightly to the small of my back, goosebumps sparking up my spine at the mere contact.

“I’m not sure I should,” I whisper.

“Come on, Frankie. We’ve been alone plenty of times before in my brother’s apartment, remember?”

Yes, in his living room, not the bedroom.I remind myself, taking a deep breath.

“Hey, you okay? You’re looking a bit paler than usual,” Lucky asks, concern knitting his brows together as he cups my cheeks in his hands to get a better look at me.

“I guess the adrenaline of what happened earlier at school has officially worn off,” I lie, even as my heart starts beating a mile a minute.

“I get that,” he says with a soft voice, so soft it only makes my heart race faster.

I don’t know why standing here in his house, his bedroom just a few steps away, makes me want to bolt. But it does.

“I think I should go home,” I blurt out before I allow myself to take another step.

Disappointment clouds his face, the shade of copper in his eyes dimming. It physically hurts to see him look at me like that…so crestfallen. But I just add it to the list of reasons why I should leave this place quickly.

“Okay,” he says softly. “I’ll take you home.” No pushback. No arguments.

And somehow, for some unknown reason, I’m the one feeling the sting of a battle he never even tried to fight. Especially when Lucky lets his hands fall away from my face and quietly leads me back down the stairs.

“You’re leaving?” Stella calls out when she spots us heading for the main door.

I just nod, not trusting myself to say anymore without spilling the real reason why I’m practically sprinting toward the exit.

“It’s been a long day,” I offer weakly.

Stella’s gaze flicks between me and her brother, her eyebrows pinching together, suspicion written all over her face.

“Do you have plans for tomorrow?” she asks after an infernal long pause.

“I… umm… no. Why?”

“Good,” she retorts, now smiling. “I think Anna needs a girls’ day out to get her mind off everything that happened today. How about I pick you up around nine?”

Not having a good enough excuse—and needing to make my great escape—I just nod and smile.

“Perfect. I’ll grab your number from Lucky later and text you,” she says before waving us off.

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