Page 69 of Twisted Truth

“Oh, no. I don’t think so. Continue, Ms. Hale, you have been officially dared. And this game was your idea.”

“You are trouble.”

“Always.” He motions a hand for me to continue.

I do as he says, but I snort and laugh as I stumble through the page, my cheeks on fire from blushing. Asher doesn’t make it any easier by smirking, waggling his eyebrows, and even adding sound effects to my reading. By the time I’m done, we’re both crying tears of laughter, and I’m literally crossing my legs so I don’t pee myself.

I jump off the bed and race to the bathroom, and that only makes Asher laugh harder. When I return, Asher is all smiles and is lying on his side, relaxed and at ease. I light up inside. Who knew Asher had a fun, playful side? I like it. Probably more than I should.

“My turn,” I say, sitting back on the bed. “In the spirit of our formal adherence to truth or dare protocol, I hereby double dog dare you, Asher Langford, to sing me a love song of my choice.”

Asher groans. “No way.”

“You have been dared.”

“Pick something else, anything else.”

“But I want this.”

I’ve seen a more relaxed side of him around his brothers and I would be lying if I said it didn’t make me curious. The small peek behind the curtain of his serious businessman demeanor has left me wanting more. And he did make me read smut out loud, so fair is fair.

“If you’re too chicken I suppose I could pick something else. But then you’d lose.”

“I never lose.”

“Then I suggest you get singing.”

“I have a terrible singing voice.”

“Even better.”

Asher narrows his eyes but I ignore him and pull up a love ballad from the nineties on my phone. A boy band special that is so over the top and saccharine that it makes you cringe. Perfect.

“I would like you to note, Mr. Langford,” I say with forced seriousness, “that one of the highlights of the music video for this song was the extra sexy, super smooth dancing. The dancing is not a requirement in this scenario, but extra credit points would be awarded if you were to go that extra mile. And please remember that this song is meant for wooing a female. I would like to be adequately—wait no, we don’t settle for adequate at Langford Holdings—I would like to be excellently wooed with your rendition of this song.”

Asher shakes his head, his eyes glittering with challenge. “Oh, I will woo you. Make no mistake, Ms. Hale. Wooed, is what you will be by the time I’m done with you.”

I press play on my phone.

Asher gives me aggressive, bordering on assaulting, eye contact as he sways his hips to the opening notes of the music, and I almost gasp, seriously surprised that he’s followingthrough with the dare. While I’ve seen a more personal side to him the last few days because of our arrangement, if someone would have told me I’d be watching Asher Langford dance and sing to a boy band ballad, even as a joke and a dare, I would have asked if that someone was high. I snort with laughter at the sight, but damn, even though he’s moving obnoxiously on purpose with his dancing, I can’t tear my eyes away from Asher Langford dancing in gray sweatpants. It’s a marvel.

When he starts to sing, I clap my hands over my mouth to keep from laughing out loud. He wasn’t lying. He really does have a terrible singing voice. I try to keep an even face, but I can’t because before I know it, I have myself a one-man boy band lap dance going on. By the chorus, I’m booming with laughter as he hits the high notes with a yell and a gusto that does little to make up for their terrible pitch. But I let it all slide, because damn, even joking, the man is sexy as hell.

At the end of the chorus, Asher snatches the phone out of my hand and ends the song. I fall back onto the bed laughing.

“That wasn’t the whole song,” I say through a wheeze.

“That’s all you’re getting.”

He collapses onto the bed next to me and it takes another minute for us to get our laughing under control.

“What do I get for extra credit?” he asks, turning toward me. “I danced for you. So, so sexily, I might add. You said that would earn me extra credit.”

“Ooh. I don’t know. What would you like?”

He rests his head in his hand, lying on his side. “I think I’ll wait and hold onto it. I will cash it in at a date and time of my choosing, and you have to give it to me.”

“That seems risky.”