I could take the easy route, avoiding dares as much as possible, but there were so many truths I had yet to face. This certainly wasn’t the place to start. “Dare.”
Kalen smirked. “I dare you to take a shot—”
I swiped the bottle from in front of him. “That’s easy enough—”
“I wasn’t finished,” he said. “I dare you to take a shot off of Ren.”
The room tensed, and I gulped. “Why can’t I drink from my glass?”
“You can,” Kalen said, leaning back and tenting his fingers. He looked utterly pleased with himself. “You simply place the glass between her breasts, take it in your teeth, and knock it back.”
“That’s my cousin, asshole,” Luka grumbled, but no one paid attention to him.
Renai’s eyes locked on mine as I reached up and gripped the fabric of my tunic and slipped it over my head. There was a sharp intake of breath from her as her eyes drifted down the planes of my torso. In the past, I would’ve been proud of her reaction, but this made me feel uneasy—as if I was stepping into unfamiliar territory.
“Didn’t like that dare?” Kalen asked, knowing he had struck a nerve. “That’s fine.”
I glanced at Renai, her skin shimmering in the dim lighting of this room. She smirked at me, heating my blood instantly. “I’d like to go next, boys, if you don’t mind.”
I nodded my head quickly, welcoming her to take the lead on this. She looked between Kalen and I, her eyes dancing with mischief. “K, I dare you to take a shot off of me.”
My stomach flipped as they’d forgone the entire question, and I clenched my fists at my side. He didn’t hesitate. Kalen stood up with a fluid grace I wouldn’t expect for such a large man. Behind the bar, he grabbed a tiny glass and filled it with the amber liquid. He looked down at Renai and smirked. “We haven’t done this in a very long time, Ren.” His voice was low and rough, no doubt referring to previous encounters.
She smiled back up at him and unlaced the top of her blouse. Her brassiere peeked out from the top, a black lace that had my mouth watering. Luka looked away instantly, but I couldn’t tear my eyes from Renai as Kalen placed the small glass between her breasts. His gaze locked on hers as he bent forward, his hands landing on her hips and his lips locking around the top of the glass. Renai leaned her head back, closing her eyes and relishing the closeness of his body.
Jealousy pounded through me, coming out of nowhere, and I wanted nothing more than to push him away from her. Kalen rose, tipping his head back and downing the alcohol. I watched as a drop of liquor landed on her breasts. Kalen looked at me, before leaning forward and running his tongue along her skin. “Delicious.”
“Fuck,” I growled under my breath, running my hand through my hair. I felt like I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t control myself. Renai looked over at me, her fingers lingering at the top of her blouse as if she was going to re-lace it, but then she dropped her hands at her side.
“By the gods, Ren,” Luka said, gripping his glass. “Could you cover yourself?”
She looked down at her body and smiled. “Absolutely not, Luka. It’s not as if I’m actually showing anything. Besides, that’s the hazards of the game, right? I could show much more skin.” She gestured to me. “Back to you, Captain.” It wasn’t my rank any longer, and it almost felt like a taunt coming from her.
“How often do you fall into each other’s beds?” The question left my mouth before I stopped it. Kalen busted out laughing, his booming howl echoing off the walls. Even Renai smirked. I watched as she slowly reached for the bottom of her blouse and pulled it over her head.
“Are you jealous, Captain?” Her body was breathtaking, and I looked at Kalen who was admiring her the same way I was. I hungered for her, to wrap my hand thickly around her hair as she sucked my cock.
Gods, where the fuck is this coming from?It’d been a while since I’d had a woman in my bed. Surely that was it.
I cleared my throat. “Should I take it you won’t be answering that question, then?”
She shook her head. “Oh, I’ll answer the question. I just didn’t want you to feel left out, being the only one shirtless.” Renai smiled, her eyes trailing my body. I couldn’t figure out if this attention was alcohol induced, or if it had just demolished her inhibitions and allowed her to express herself freely. “Kalen and I have fucked many,manytimes before. He’s a generous lover, too. But we aren’t monogamous, if that’s the real question you’re asking.” Her eyebrows dropped, a small crease forming between them as she glanced his way, but she covered it up quickly as she took a sip from her drink.
Kalen licked his lips. “No, definitely not monogamous. But we have fun, don’t we, Ren? And we know how to share. Awhile back, we had one of the palace maids in my bed, and she made thesoftestsounds as she came around Ren’s fingers.” My heart was beating so erratically, I felt as if I couldn’t breathe. This was quickly taking a turn I hadn’t expected. My cock was hard, throbbing nearly to the point of pain.
Luka downed the rest of his glass. “I don’t want to fucking hear about this.”
“Then leave,” Renai said. “I’m no saint, Luka. I’ve lived longer than you have, and I sure as shit have taken a numerous amount of lovers over the course of my life. I’m not here to listen to hypocrisy. Am I to understand you’ve pledged your life to the gods? Is that what you were doing when you had two women inyourbed?” Luka shook his head. “I thought not. So sit there and shut up, or walk out the door.”
I gaped. Two women? Luka was not a stranger to companionship, but he was shy. I’d invited him to the pleasure den many times, but he’d never accepted my invitation. My friend contemplated what to do, standing quickly after a moment. He grabbed his sword hanging off the back of his chair. “Come on, Damien. Let’s go. I’ll escort you back.”
“No,” Kalen said, tipping back the bottle and drinking deeply. Renai glanced at him quizzically. “Let him stay if he wants. We’ll escort him when we’re done here. I’m quite interested in seeing where this game goes.”
Luka stared at us, dumbfounded. I had nowhere to go, but I found I didn’t want to go anywhere, either. There was enough alcohol buzzing through the three of us that any inhibitions we might have had were gone completely. I was disappointed in myself for being jealous of the fact she and Kalen shared something. Why, I didn’t know. “I’ll stay if you’re sure it’s all right.”
“Fine. This is getting too fucking weird for me,” he muttered before turning on his heel and slamming the door behind him, sealing the three of us in. No one moved, no one said a word.
“Whose turn is it, then? Shall I just go?” Kalen asked. Renai and I nodded, and he mulled over his thoughts. His fingers thrummed on the table, tension palpable in the air. Renai leaned back in her chair. Faint shimmering along her ribs caught my eye. I leaned in closer on instinct.
