A tear gathered at the corner of her lashes, and she angrily swiped it away. “No. I’m fine. I just…just stay safe, okay?”
“Okay.” I reached out and squeezed her hand, and she gave me a small smile.
“I need to get out of here,” she muttered.
“I’m going back to play.”
“Are you sure?” She stared at me in surprise, and I nodded resolutely.
“I need to stop running away. Stop acting like they’re better than me.”
“That’s the spirit. Promise me you’ll leave if you need to, though, okay? I’ll come back and find you a bit later, or you can text me.”
“I will. Go. I’ll be fine.” And for the first time since this whole comfort zone experiment had begun, I meant it.
After she’d left, I took a breath, then jumped off the crate and headed back over to them with my head held high. Carter’s gaze immediately went to mine, and he frowned, studying me intently. Could he see my newfound confidence? I couldn’t believe I actually had Anastasia to thank for my little epiphany.
I leaned over the crate, tugging the bottle from Kian’s grasp. “It must be my turn by now.”
There was a shocked silence for a moment—story of the evening—and then he rocked back on his heels. “You missed your turn, so you have to do a forfeit as well as a kiss.”
“Fine.” I gave what I hoped was a casual shrug, battling between holding on to my courage and the nerves that were bubbling up inside me. Quickly, I placed the bottle on the table and sent it spinning wildly. I held my breath as it slowed, creeping around the circle, nudging past Carter, and coming to a stop in front of Xavier.
I heard Imogen’s sharp intake of breath and felt the electric current of Carter’s rage snap against my skin. I felt kind of bad about kissing Xavier when he and Imogen were still obviously hung up on each other, but it was the nature of the game, and I was now all in.
Rising from my seat, I met Xavier’s dark eyes, and he gave me a small smile. I took a step towards him, when Carter’s leg came out and knocked into the crate. The bottle moved incrementally to the left, and it was now sitting in between Xavier and Carter. People were exchanging glances, and my courage was quickly evaporating.
“Looks like it stopped between us both.” No one missed the sarcasm in Xavier’s tone. “Who’s it gonna be, Raine? Or do you want to spin again?”
I kept my gaze on Xavier. “I pick y—”
“Me.” Carter’s voice sliced through the air, stopping me in my tracks. My eyes flew to his. He didn’t look happy. “Look, we all know X-man and Immy have a thing for each other still. Let’s not make this any more awkward. Raine, come here.”
“Carter!” Imogen’s tone, laced with hurt, came from behind my head, where she’d moved to stand, leaning against the wall.
“I have a better idea!” Kian shouted over everyone, dispelling the tension in the air. “Raine’s forfeit is to kiss both of you, until I call time.”
“At the same time?” I managed, blinking at this sudden turn of events.
“Y—” Preston kicked him. “Not unless you want to.”
My shoulders sagged in relief. “One at a time, then. Fine. I accept.” Ignoring the muttering and whispers around us, I stalked over to Xavier before I could talk myself out of it and leaned down, placing my lips on his. As he opened his mouth for me, his hand coming to the back of my neck to hold it in place, I felt like I was having an out-of-body experience or something. Was this really happening?
Xavier’s lips were full and firm, and he kissed with utter confidence, owning my mouth like he knew exactly what to do to make me feel good.
His kiss did nothing for me, as I expected. I could feel Carter’s presence next to us, and I kept my eyes closed.
“Time’s up,” Kian called, and Xavier released me, a slow smile spreading across his face.
“You got skills, baby.”
“Carter, you’re up.”
Our eyes met, the gold flecks sparking as he took me in, a dark look on his face. This was the first time he’d properly looked at me since he’d thrown me out of his house, and the full force of his gaze was almost too much. I was barely aware of Anastasia abruptly shooting off the sofa and moving away as I came to stand in front of him. He lazily spread his legs so I could step between them, casually indifferent, but the electric connection between us snapped and pulsed, and a wave of desire shot through me, so strong that I had to clamp my teeth down on my bottom lip to stop a whimper from escaping.
“Raine.” My name slipped from his lips, and as if it was the most natural thing in the world, he reached up at the same time I leaned down, and our mouths collided as he pulled me onto his lap so I was straddling him.
Xavier owned me with his kiss, but Carter obliterated me.