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She shot toward him. He didn’t expect that move. Was totally unprepared when she suddenly bolted at him. His hands flew out and curled around her hips. She jabbed a finger into his chest. Meanwhile, Royal was an asshat up front and hit some pothole—hard—and she tumbled to the side. They wound up tangled and half-lounging on one of the seats. She was on top. One leg between his. He was…
I want her so much.
Her gaze dropped to his mouth. Lingered. But then she gave a hard, negative shake of her head.
One of his hands tightened on her.
“Why would I need protecting?” Avalon asked.
Why would she—he threw back his head and laughed. The laughter seemed to echo in the limo. It was deep and heavy, and she stopped poking him in the chest.
“That’s not funny.”
“It’s fucking hilarious,” he managed to say. But she was pulling back, again, and that was just annoying. He sat up, mostly, and so did she. Only he kept one hand on the curve of her hip, and she remained in the seat right next to him. Her leg brushed his. Her tempting scent wrapped around him. He inhaled. Deeply. “Is that lavender?” He hadn’t quite been sure of the scent before.
“You tell me. You’re the one who seems to know every single detail of my life.”
“Not every detail.” He’d put his cards on the table. In his own way. “How about we play a game?”
She turned to look through the window. “I’m not in the mood for a game. I want answers.”
“And you’ll get them.” He’d give them in his own way. “I’ll tell you one thing I know about you. You tell me one thing you discovered about me while you were busy doing your research on that precious, precious laptop. If what you say about me is true, I’ll admit it. If what you say is false…then I’ll kiss you.”
“What?”
“Same rules apply to you, of course. If I say something that is true, you will admit it. If I say something false, then you kiss me.”
“I…why would I play this crazy game?”
Why, indeed? “Because you want me.” Did she realize that counted as the first true thing he knew about her? “And I want you.” He’d just thrown in a bonus—a true thing about himself. “There’s a basic, primitive attraction between us.” Not so true. The attraction went far beyond anything basic. Primitive, though? Hell, yes. “When we kissed last night, I got more turned on from the touch of your mouth against mine than I have seeing the most expensive strip shows in Vegas.”
Her brows shot up. Then immediately beetled down over her gorgeous green eyes. “You spend a lot of time at strip shows?”
He actually owned a few places in Vegas, but not the point. Avalon hadn’t asked about his diversified businesses. “I’m not interested in watching random women strip, but if you feel the urge to ever put on a show, know that you will have my complete attention.”
She swallowed.
“I want you more than I’ve wanted any other woman.” Truth. Bold. Flat. Done.
Her lips parted. She didn’t speak.
“The game has started, by the way.” A prompt because she was just staring at him. “I’m not lying about the desire I feel for you, so there will be no kiss yet.”
“I do not understand your game.”
Yeah, well, it was a bullshit game so…fair enough. “Tell me what you think you know about me. If it’s a true statement, I’ll own up to it. If it’s not, I’ll kiss you.” She’d been nervous. Sinking her nails into her palms. Watching him with faint traces of fear that he hated. The game was BS. Total spur of the moment. A way to distract her.
But also…a way to let her know that some of the crazy shit she’d discovered about him wasn’t true. I’m not a monster.
And, bonus, he might get to kiss her a few times. Win, win.
Avalon pulled in a deep breath. He knew she was about to step into the deep end. “You have been the suspect in multiple murders.”
He didn’t move. “That was certainly easy enough intel to discover. What did it take? One whole five-second search on the internet?” He clicked his tongue. “Disappointed, that is what I am. I expected questions more hard-hitting from the hotshot crime writer.”
“You have never been found guilty of a murder charge.”
“I believe it was Detective Cuntingham—sorry, my bad, Detective Cunningham who pointed out that it is hard to make some things stick.”
