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“Did I miss something?” he asks when I don’t reply.
I clear my throat and sign, “Yeah, one thing. I’m not as deviant as you.”
“Highly debatable. Care for a bet?”
“I’m done betting with you.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure. The temptation will arise sooner or later.”
I narrow my eyes but soon relax. “I see what you’re doing.”
“What I’m doing?”
“Trying to rile me up so we’ll slip back into your territory, and you’d have complete control over the outcome of the situation. I’m telling you it won’t work, so you might want to give up.”
A slight smirk lifts his gorgeous lips. “My territory is more fun. Just saying.”
“It’s also more destructive and causes strain to anyone who’s not you.”
“If by strain you mean coming a few times a night, then sure, it’s a massive strain.”
I glare. He stares back, still smirking.
Then again, it’s impossible to make him abandon all bad habits in one go. The fact that he’s willing to listen without imposing his threats and ultimatums is progress as it is.
Small steps, right?
“Moving on,” I sign. “Another method is to tell the other person something no one else knows.”
“I will only do that if you reciprocate.”
I narrow my eyes. There he is back to the choices. But this one seems fair enough, so I nod.
“I’ve never considered any of my statues a masterpiece.”
I straighten in my chair. “Are you joking?”
“When have I ever?”
I stare at his face, but there’s no hint of a lie. He means it. He actually thinks all his absolutely gorgeous, though often disturbing, pieces are not all that.
“But you always say you’re an untouchable genius and God’s gift to the art community and humanity.”
“That I am. I just still haven’t produced the piece I’ve been wanting to since I was two years old.”
“What defines a masterpiece for you?”
“It’s just a feeling. I’ll know it when I experience it.” He points his glass at me. “Your turn.”
I bite the corner of my lip and then release it. He really did tell me something special, so I can’t just hide from this.
Maybe it’s because of my inexplicable need to build up the bond between us, but I go for it. “I never told anyone about my kidnapper, because they said if I mention anything, they’ll know and will kill that person in front of my eyes.”
My limbs tremble as I sign the words. The words due to which my entire world has been flipped upside down leave me like a whoosh of icy air.
“Is that why you stopped speaking?” Landon asks in an eerily calm tone.
I nod. “My family thinks it’s because of the trauma and I let them believe that.”
