Page 73 of Don't Lie To Me

My heart races a little faster, and I go to open my mouth, but just as quickly shut it. Fuck. He has me because he knows I want him as more than just my bodyguard, but his rules are messed up and I didn’t actually agree to them. He didn’t really give me any choice in the matter, and the last thing I want is to have this conversation here in front of the others.

I glare back at him in a silent standoff that we both already know he’s going to win. I take the glass from him, wanting to chug the entire thing just to prove a point. Instead, I place it on the table in front of me, a sinister smirk painting my face because I have just gotten an idea for these three fuckers. Screw the awkward tension, why not intensify it?

I shift my gaze to Romeo, knowing how much he likes a game. “Maybe we should play a game since we’re all stuck here together,” I suggest and wait for his lips to twitchup at the sides.

“What do you have in mind, doll face?” Right on cue, that mischievous smile appears.

Chapter 28

Ibitemylip,glancing at Reef. He has a cheeky-as-fuck grin on his pretty face, and I know he’s on board already. “How about tell a secret or take a shot. I’m sure one of you has a bottle of something harder around here someplace.”

Romeo is already on his way to the kitchen before I have a chance to even finish what I’m saying.

I feel Onyx’s death stare directed at me, but I don’t pay him any attention. “I’m not drinking, and you shouldn’t be either,” he growls.

Reef chuckles playfully. “Come on, Onyx, let her have a little fun. This dinner is awkward as hell.”

My eyes meet with his, and I offer a nod. “Right. It’s either a game or I’m going to bed. We can adjust the fun for you, big guy. How about tell a secret or take a dare?”

I hear a grumble come from him, but it’s not an all-out no, so I guess we’re playing.

Romeo returns with a bottle of whiskey, three shot glasses, and a stupid grin. “I’m going first,” he says as he takes a seat and pours the three shots, sliding them across to me and Reef.

I cast a quick glance at Onyx who is looking as grumpy as a bear with a thorn in its paw, his arms bulging over his chest he has them so tightly crossed.

“What’s the question then?” I ask, ready tostart the fun.

Romeo grins at me, a flash of white teeth against his tanned skin. “Sloane, what’s your biggest regret?”

I throw a look back at him, like is he serious? “Easy, missing my party to spend the night with you,” I snip back, my voice not totally serious, but what did he expect? That I would give him some life-altering regret from when I was a kid? Fuck no.

He clutches his chest as if he’s in pain. “Ouch. You could have lied to spare my feelings a little. But we both know you came back for seconds, so I won’t take it to heart too much.” He winks in my direction, and I hate to say it but he’s right.

Damn, I can’t stand how damn confident he is. “I guess I didn’t learn my lesson the first time.” I raise a brow, challenging him. To what I don’t fully know, he’s liable to jump on me and fuck me right here in front of the others just to prove a point.

Reef chuckles, and I turn my attention to him, already knowing exactly what I’m going to ask him. I want to see if he’s willing to tell me anything real, give me something more than his charm and pretty face to go off. “My turn. Reef, if you could change one thing about your past, what would it be?”

“Wildcat, going straight for the big questions.” He thinks on it for a beat, popping a grape in his mouth and chewing. A flash of sadness comes over him. “I would have stopped my mom from going out the night she died. I knew she wasn’t right, but I let her leave our place anyway.” His eyes meet with mine, and I know this is him trying to let me in a little. Maybe our conversation out in the hall did have an impact on him. He’s also willing to share something so personal in front of the other boys. Even more curious.

My heart aches for him. What an awful regret to carry around with you. “You were just a kid, you couldn’t have saved her,” I say before I can stop myself, and regret it immediately when I see his reaction,because I shouldn’t know that little nugget of information about him. But I do.

His brow rises, his eyes crinkling in silent question. “Guess you’re not such a bad spy after all.”

My teeth sink into my bottom lip. “I’m sorry about your mom, Reef,” I offer, not sure what else to say.

A slow, almost reluctant half smile touches his lips, an intimacy passing between us I didn’t expect in this situation. Part of me wishes I could reach over the table and comfort him. “It was a long time ago. If she didn’t die, my life would have been vastly different, but then I wouldn’t have ended up at this table with you.”

The way he says it like I’m already someone special to him makes butterflies take off in my stomach. I can’t be, we hardly know each other, but I stupidly like the idea that I am.

“Your turn to answer. What’s one thing you’re afraid of that no one knows?” Reef asks, with his eyes still locked on me.

I feel all three sets of eyes fix on me. They all want to know the answer to this question. “I’m not afraid of anything,” I snip back.

“You didn’t look so good when the lights went out at the club the other night,” Romeo clips, thinking this question aimed at me is a little too funny.

I shoot a glare back at him. “No one likes it when the lights suddenly go off, but I wasn’t afraid.”

“There must be something, Sloane.” Reef’s leg brushes up against mine.

---