Page 12 of Tangled Lies

I crossed my arms, hands over opposite shoulders as I tried to hide my body. Because although I didn’t mind being ogled, this was on a whole other level.

“Excuse me, boys. You paid me to serve.”

One of the guys, one that hadn’t given me too much notice, was now pulling out the chair next to me.

“Serve is subjective. You defined that as drinks and food. Me?” I noticed his green eyes, knowing they would either be a wet dream or haunt me.

Were they all flirting with me?

There was a lot of asshole alpha male energy, but then there was a side of me that liked the attention. Because, for whatever reason, this didn’t feel the same as all those men my uncle introduced me to. Slowly, I removed my arms and crossed my legs.

“Alright, boys. Teach me how to play poker.”

One of them didn’t crack a smile. I studied him, the dark brown hair was just this side of too long. It hung over his ears, and if I could see his eyebrows behind the mask, they would be covered too. His blue eyes, though? I swore they could see me right down to my core. I shivered.

I wasn’t supposed to know who anyone here was, but I really wished I could see their faces.

I was so busy getting lost in those eyes that I missed someone grabbing the ribbon of my mask and pulling it until the mask fell into my lap.

“Hey. No, this is supposed to be anonymous.”

The chuckle behind me said what words didn’t. The rules no longer applied. A door closed and I assumed that was thebartender. There had been guards, where were they? Had the last person outside of these four left?

I was really alone. And the thrill of it?

I should have been terrified. Should have realized this was anything but okay or right. My uncle would be livid.

I couldn’t stop the small smile. He would be livid. All the more reason to stay.

Sure I should have been mad about the mask. I should have been afraid of four obviously dangerous and strong men. They towered over me and that was a red flag. But why did all these red flags feel like green to me?

Bash in a guy’s head? All I could think was, I wish I had that kind of strength. I wanted revenge, but alone that had seemed hard.

But, now? It was my turn. I could feel it. My turn to create some kind of chaos. A deep breath later, and I met their gazes, one by one.

“You’ve seen my face. Now I want to see yours.”

I started to stand up, but they shifted and whoever was behind me pulled me back into my seat. His chin resting on my shoulder in the next moment.

“Angel. If we show you ours, what will you give us? Your life?” I caught a glimpse of him as I side-eyed the quiet one with green eyes.

Why his chin on my bare shoulder seemed like a lot more than just an innocent little touch was beyond me. His scruffy chin tickled. I shivered, but not from cold.

I had shitty timing. Twenty-five years of shitty timing to be exact.

I had years of anger and regret. Years of pent-up resentment.

“Angel? Who are you to call me an angel? Are you my demon?” He reached around, moving his head away from my shoulder, his hand wrapping around my neck ever so softly.

“At one time or another we’re all demons. But for you, angel? Call me your devil.” I could feel the way that five o’clock shadow tickled every time he brushed my skin. But I still didn’t know his name. I didn’t know any of their names.

He moved, one by one they dropped the masks. I’d never thought anyone could truly be breathtaking in a sense of literally stealing the air around me. But they did that.

They weren’t just handsome or mysterious. They were dark, sinful, and I’d bet in another life they would have been the reason kingdoms fell, because right now? It felt like the false castle tower my uncle had so carefully built was crumbling and it was freeing.

“Alright, princess. Since we have you locked away in our kingdom and you’ve seen ours and we’ve seen yours, play with us,” said the guy with dirty blond hair. His eyes were so dark I wasn’t sure they weren’t black. Did he even have a soul?

Something about the way he said the words left me wondering if he meant something other than poker.