“Better when you do that.”
She smiles. “I’m serious. Did you get enough to eat? Did you soak long enough? Did—”
I lean down and kiss her. She tastes like marinara sauce mixed with lavender, which makes me grin into the kiss. Her lips are soft and warm; they respond immediately to my touch. I’m the only man who gets to kiss her. That may be how it should be, but it’s not reality. I hate that this can’t be our reality.
My tongue pushes into her mouth, and she jerks back. But as my tongue massages her bottom lip, she lets me into her mouth. The attack of her tongue against mine proves that this is what our mouths were always meant to be doing—kissing each other.
I can feel the minutes and seconds ticking by; we don’t have forever. Our time together is precious. Soon, there will be a knock on the door, and this kiss will be nothing but a memory.
But I hope it’s a memory I’ll be able to take with me long after. In the middle of the challenges we are about to face, I hope this brings us peace.
“Thank you,” she says as my lips leave hers.
“Don’t ever thank me for kissing you. Kissing you is a gift to me as much as it is for you.”
I tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear. “No wig tonight?”
She shakes her head. “Beckett pulled it off in the last round; everyone knows I have blonde hair. So tonight, I’m going in as me.”
“Whatever you say, Ms. White.”
She blushes, and her eyes sparkle.
“Turn around.”
She does, and I help her fasten her mask to her face. My fingers brush against her bare arms when I’m done, and I watch her goosebumps rise. A small part of me is excited about what this round could entail. It could finally give me a reason to fuck Liesel.
I don’t want this twisted game to be the reason that I sink my cock into her. But my cock is excited all the same.
“Turn around,” Liesel says, repeating my words.
I do, and she stands on her tiptoes to reach my head where she can fasten my mask.
There is a knock at the door just as she finishes.
Instinctively, I step in front of her, and my hand reaches back to hold hers, to protect her.
“If you’ll follow me this way, we are about to start the final round,” the man says and then starts walking.
I don’t let go of Liesel’s hand as we start following the man out of the room. The man leads us down the hallway to the same room we both faced our previous challenge.
I stop and turn to Liesel before we enter.
“I will do everything I can to protect you. I can’t fail—not again.”
She releases my hand. “I can’t let you protect me,” she whispers.
Then she walks past me and into the room like she’s the CEO entering a boardroom—full of sass and determination.
I walk in behind her with her words ringing in my ear. She won’t let me protect her.
Well, too fucking bad. After the life we’ve both lived, she deserves my protection. I’m the only one who gets to kill her.
To my shock, we are the only two in the room. I glance to Liesel, who looks just as stunned. Are we the only two who made it to the final round?
The voice appears. “Welcome to the final round. Only two contestants remain. Each of you have cards lying on the table. The final round begins in five minutes.”
Liesel and I both walk over to the table with the cards.