Ruthless Empire (Royal Elite 6)
And that’s a low blow to my pride.
“If you win, I do something for you. No questions asked. And vice versa.”
“I’m not showing you my breasts, Cole.”
“You mean tits?”
My face heats. Why does he have to be so crude? “Well, I’m not showing them.”
“Okay.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Promise.”
“What’s the dare?”
He throws the book in my lap. “Pick a page, then tell me to read any line.”
“That’s ridiculous. You can’t have possibly memorised the whole book.”
“Then you’ll win.”
I nibble on my bottom lip, contemplating this. Cole has an excellent memory but it doesn’t go as far as memorising a book. Besides, he’s just started reading this one. I know, because he was reading something called Nausea yesterday.
Only Cole would read weird books like that when all the other boys are hiding porn. Ronan and Xander sure are.
If he’s stupid enough to make this bet, so be it. I open the book, hiding it away from him. “You’re going to be my slave for a week, Cole.”
“Is that what you wish?”
“I’m going to make you regret everything you’ve done to me.” I pause at a page and the line at the top catches my attention. “Page one eighty-eight, paragraph two.”
A smug smile lifts my lips, my mind already full with different ways I’ll torment Cole.
“‘Never mind,’ I said. ‘Both of us have a lot of feelings we need to get out in the open. So if you want to take those feelings and smash somebody with them, smash me. Then we can understand each other better.’” He doesn’t even miss a beat.
My eyes must double in size as I stare between him and the book. It’s the same line, word for word.
No. No.
I point a finger at him. “You cheated!”
“You were hiding the book like your life depended on it, Butterfly. You think I could cheat?”
“Then you knew I was going to pick it.”
“How would I know which page you’d choose, let alone which line?”
“I…I demand a redo.”
“No. You lost and now you pay up. Unless you’re a quitter.”
“I’m not,” I groan, throwing the stupid book away — though I’ll probably read it later. I like that line. “What do you want?”
“I’m going to kiss you and you’re going to let me.”
Before I can form a thought, he palms my cheeks and brushes his lips against mine.