Page 78 of Wanna Play A Game?

When I’m done with my business, I use dead grass to wipe off and brush past him. I move inside. “You coming to bed, pretty boy, or what?”

“Pretty boy?” He sounds genuinely offended. “Miles is the pretty one.”

I toss a glance back at the blue-eyed, dark-haired, chiseled god behind me. I arch an eyebrow. He raises an eyebrow back.

I sit on the blanket he’s laid on the floor, and Sawyer lies down next to me.

“Lie down,” he demands.

I grit my teeth. I need him to believe I’m complying, but it pains me to do so. I lie down stiffly. As soon as I’m down, he puts an arm around me and yanks me back toward him. He pulls me until I’m fully settled against his body. He buries his head into the back of my neck.

“Did you use Miles’ shampoo?”

I frown. “Yes?”

He groans, and I feel him stiffen behind me.

“Jesus,” I squirm to get away. He just pulls me in tighter.

“I won’t do anything,” he says. “I wouldn’t trust myself not to let you come, and we can’t have that.”

Sawyer relaxes once I’m completely pulled against him. The house is full of silence.

I think about the other men. How close are they? Were they able to track the car? If so, how long would it take them to find us in the dark?

Sawyer rumbles behind me, “What did Ben do to you?”

I stiffen immediately. Ben would whine and complain until I finally gave in. He’d be done quickly anyway, come, then roll over and fall asleep. It’s not like I didn’t consent. I just feel yucky about it. And the fact that Sawyer is digging into something so personal terrifies me.

“Nothing,” I say. “I’m trying to sleep.”

“Bunny…” Sawyer’s voice rumbles against my back. “I know you’re lying.”

“I’m not!” I close my eyes.

Sawyer pulls me tighter against him. “Tell me why you’re panicking then. Do I need to kill him?”

Jesus! I turn my face into the blanket. “Just leave it the fuck alone, okay, Sawyer? Leave it alone. Leavemealone.”

Sawyer growls. I lay there, stiff, waiting for him to fight more. To push me more. But he doesn’t. We just lie there, him with his arm around me in the quiet building. It takes a long time for me to relax even slightly and even longer before his breaths even out.

My thoughts bounce from the boys hunting us, to escaping, to our conversation tonight. Sawyer is opening up more. He’s getting more comfortable. But he also wants to dig into my own life, and that scares the absolute shit out of me. I have a feeling he’ll figure out how to force the secrets out of me somehow.

I don’t get close to people. I just don’t.

I know I don’t have much time, but I also can’t try to sneak away too early.

How long can I afford to wait?

Chapter 35

Sawyer

The smell of cigarette smoke – old and new – fills my nose. It’s all I choose to focus on as my mom laughs in the kitchen. She must have just lit up a new one. I made a mistake, followed a routine for too long, and she got a hold of me.

I ignore everything she’s saying to her client and focus on the worn-down carpet in front of me. It has something spilled on it. It’s dark and sticky and covered in old dirt. Maybe it’s food?

“Sawyer!”