Page 177 of Intense
He grins. “Game one comes with a choice. Choose right, and I’ll tell you who I really am. A little bonding session before we continue.”
I’ve always known there’s a dark streak in him. That something carved him into this cold shape.
What else has he hidden from me?
He rolls the first metal table between us and sits. Two pills rest in the center—one red, one white.
The collar around my throat tightens when I shift.
“Is there anything you could learn about me that would change your opinion of me?” he asks, tapping the table.
“Not unless you abuse children… or women… or animals. Then I’d leave you.”
He studies me for a long moment. Then nods.
“Let’s play.”
His hands clap together, sharp in the silence, and I flinch.
Chapter 59
FINN
Ican smell her fear, but under it, there’s arousal. That, I didn’t brace for.
She still hasn’t grasped the seriousness of this.
Even with the contract in front of her, she’s too busy trying to work out why I’m pissed off to put two and two together.
I doubt she ever thought I’d uncover her secrets.
But she’s throwing me off.
She’s not playing a game to push me away.
She’s dead serious about staying. About being my wife.
You can’t fake emotions like that. She’s no actress. I’ve studied her long enough to know the difference.
That flash of sadness in her eyes when she read the annulment clause—I put it there to test her. She passed.
It was a pointless clause, because neither of us gets to become a widow.
I shake my head. I need to get back to the game. I know she’s itching to learn more about me. About the scars on my chest. About my past.
I fascinate her as much as she does me. And that is my leverage here.
“In order to learn about me,” I say, keeping my tone even, “I need to know you understand there are always choices in life. One leads to the truth—happiness, let’s call it. The other brings pain and destruction.”
She nods.
I gesture to the two pills on the table. “But sometimes you don’t know which choice leads where. Sometimes the truth can hurt. Sometimes doing the wrong thing leads to happiness.”
Every word is measured.
I know she kills men for revenge.
No different than me.
