Page 92 of Twisting Beauty

His head tilted half an inch. “Ah, my sweet Gray.”

The set of his shoulders eased a fraction and the cold calculation behind his eyes gave way to something smoother, almost warm.

My mutinous body reacted first, the tight coil of dread loosening half a turn before my brain could remind it what pleasant Lorcan had cost me the last time.

Last night. The kiss. The drink he’d forced into my mouth after I’d said no.

Then he reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, his knuckles grazing my cheek so gently that it sent a shudder through me.

My spine stayed rigid. My skin had other ideas, heat prickling up the side of my neck toward his touch.

“You’re not actually in danger,” he said pleasantly. “As long as we’re in agreement.”

My throat closed around something hard. I swallowed it down. “What do you want?”

He studied me for a moment. “I keep your secret.”

“And?” The word came out steadier than I felt.

Something glinted in his eyes. “You owe me.”

“W-what does that mean?”

He leaned in, just slightly, the distance between us collapsing by another inch. “When I want something, I’ll take it.”

The words landed and sat there. A blank check made out to a boy with no conscience and a talent for collecting what people couldn’t afford to lose. My skin prickled with the understanding of it, fear mixing with a stupid rush of anticipation.

I was not ready to admit he’d won. Not yet.

“Why aren’t you just turning me in?”

His gaze traced slowly down over my whole body, the hint of a dark smile toying with his lips. “I haven’t decided what you’re good for yet.”

It would almost be easier if I just let him turn me in.

I considered saying no to him. Wanted so badly to yell it in his face. But I pushed that urge down.

Exposing Deargán’s plan to Alistair wasn’t just the end of the mission. It was the end of every girl still locked inside Magdalene. The end of finding out what had been done to Dervla. To Maeve. The end of getting them out.

I could keep my cover. For now.

All I had to do was make a bargain with the devil.

“Fine,” I said.

Lorcan lifted a thick dark brow. “Fine, what?”

The audacity of him. I bit down on the flash of fury. He wanted to hear me say it.

“Fine,” I said, choking on every word. “I owe you.”

The grin that crossed his face was slow and full of a dark, unhurried pleasure that settled over me like a second skin.

The second the words left my mouth, I understood exactly what I’d done.

I just made myself his.

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