"What makes you think I'm going to play at all?" I asked.
"You missed us," Nick said.
He made a show of unbuttoning his shirt and shrugging it off, making sure I saw a good display of his muscles. Undressing was like some damned mating ritual with these guys. They seemed to think that the sight of a handsome face, muscular biceps, and a flat stomach would turn me into a helpless mass of hormones, willing to play their juvenile games. It usually worked, but that wasn't the point.
"Whiskey and soda?" Clay called from across the room.
"Perfect," Nick said.
; Clay didn't ask what I wanted. Nick took the clip from my hair and nibbled my ear, warm breath smelling faintly of dinner. I relaxed on the bed. As his lips moved down my neck, I twisted my face, nuzzling his neck and inhaling the musky smell of him. I moved to the hollow in his collarbone and felt his heartbeat leap.
Nick jumped. I looked up to see Clay pressing a cold glass against Nick's back. He grabbed Nick's shoulder and yanked him off me.
"Go find the cards," he said.
"Where are they?" Nick asked.
"Look. That'll keep you busy for a while."
Clay sat down next to my head and handed me a drink. I took a sip. Rum and Coke. He gulped his own, then leaned over me.
"Perfect night, wasn't it?"
"It could have been." I smiled up at him. "But you were there."
"Which means it was only the beginning of a perfect night."
As he leaned over me, his fingers brushed against my thigh and slid over my hip. The thick, almost palpable smell of him sent a slow burn radiating down from my stomach.
"You had fun," he said. "Admit it."
"Maybe."
Nick jumped back onto the bed. "Playtime. Are you guys sticking to your stakes? Winner tells Jeremy what happened tonight?"
Clay's lips curved in a slow smile. "Nah. I'm going for something else. If I win, Elena comes outside with me, to the woods."
"For what?" I asked.
The smile widened to show perfect white teeth. "Does it matter?"
"And if I win, what do I get?" I asked.
"Whatever you want. If you win, you choose your prize. You can tell Jeremy what happened, or you can take the kill tomorrow, or anything else you'd like."
"I can take the kill?"
He threw his head back and laughed. "I knew you'd like that one. Sure, darling. You win and the mutt is yours."
That was an offer I couldn't resist. So we played.
Clay won.
CHAPTER 7
BLAME