Page 56 of The Bad Boy Rule

She’s just a piece of the puzzle, a means to an end, and that’s it. Something I’m having to remind myself more often than I’d like.

“We should do something to pass the time.” My brow arches, and she scoffs, laughing. “I mean like agameor something. Something to take my mind off the fact that we’re stuck in this ungodly hot tin box, and we may or may not be rescued anytime soon.”

“Yeah? What kind of game.”

She shrugs as she reaches up and wipes the sweat off her face, nose scrunching, “I dunno. Twenty questions?”

“Pass.” That sounds like my worst nightmare.

“Oooookay, what about… never have I ever?” Her tone is hopeful as she wiggles her fingers in the air.

I lick my lips. “Not sure you’d have a shot in hell on that one, Golden Girl.”

“Let’s do it, then… unless you’re scared?”

A deep laugh vibrates out of me. “Be for real. Okay, alright, yeah, let’s play, but fuck putting a finger down. Instead, you take off a piece of clothing.”

The pink in her cheeks deepens, the heat already causing her heated skin to be flushed. Her mouth opens, then snaps shut when I lift a brow, silently taunting her.

“I’m not getting naked in an elevator… around you,” she stutters.

I lift my shoulder. “Okay, then don’t lose.”

I can see the war raging behind her eyes, her pupils flaring as she fights herself. Fights her idea of wrong and right.

Until finally, she says, “Fine. Let’s do it. But no bitching when it’s you that’s naked in front of all the hot firefighters that are going to come rescue us.”

TWENTY-SEVEN

LENNON

Well, that back fired… by a lot.

Strip version of never have I ever? Who even am I right now?

Not going to be the one that backs down, that’s who. I can tell by the expression on his face that he never actually expected me to go with it. He thought he could take the easy way out of playing by offering me something I wouldn’t take.

Joke’s on you, Satan.

Although after today… I’m starting to believe that nickname might not fit him at all, the way that his Golden Girl might no longer fit who I am. Maybe the old me, but the new version doesn’t have anything golden about me.

I can still feel his palm pressed against my chest, feel my pulse skittering and my heart thrashing beneath his touch.

It wasn’t just a panic attack. It was the proximity, his touch… so many emotions swirling around in my head in that one single moment.

It was sweet, the way he talked me through it, his voice soft and low. He didn’t have to do that, but somehow, he knew exactly what to say, exactly what to do.

I’m sweating in places that I had no clue I could even sweat in, and this might be the most insane thing I’ve ever done, but fuck it.

“Ladies first,” he murmurs as he pushes back the dark, damp hair that sticks to his forehead. The tattoos on his arms seem darker, more pronounced from the sheen of sweat covering them, and I swear there’s a flutter between my thighs.

The air around us feels thick with tension. Coupled with the unbearable heat, it feels hard to breathe.

“Never have I ever… driven a motorcycle,” I say as I twist the pink heart-shaped ring on my finger around, holding Saint’s stare.

His lip tugs up in a smirk before he drags his teeth over his lips and sits up, reaching behind his neck to pull his shirt off. The sweat-drenched fabric falls to the floor next to him, and then his eyes are back on mine, staring me down with an intensity so strong that it feels like I might cave.

It takes everything inside of me not to let my jaw drop.

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