“Why didn’t you at least tell me that he was your brother?”

She grinned. “That wasn’t important at the time.”

The only thing I thought was weird about this whole situation was that she knew Eros would like me dressed as a demon for Halloween. She surely didn’t dress me as one for Trevon. But what was even more bizarre was that I literally dreamt of him as a demon with those horns.

Kasey grabbed my hand. “Tell us about it!”

“We just… talked,” I said. I scratched the back of my head, wanting to tell her about the game we were playing. I needed her to help me get the upper hand, but knowing that she was his sister made it a bit awkward.

“That’s it?” She sat on her knees. “Come on, you can tell me! I know that you’re dying to. And, besides, Eros and I tell each other everything.”

I took a deep breath. “We’re playing this game.”

Aarav raised an eyebrow. “A game?” he asked. So, I explained the game—from how it started to the lack of rules to how I nearly lost already. And, when I was done, Aarav shook his head. “Good luck with that.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’d give it a couple days before you break,” he said.

Kasey slapped his arm. “What he means is that Eros will be… well… he’s good at this type of thing.”

My brows furrowed, and my heart clenched. Was this something he did all the time? With other girls? Maybe he’s played this game a million times before, and I was just someone else that he could play with.

“Does he do this often? With other people, I mean?”

Her eyes widened. “Oh, no. I can’t even remember the last time he even liked someone enough to play with them.”

“I can’t remember the last time he liked anyone,” Aarav said.

Kasey turned to him, brows furrowed together. “He liked one of my friends. They were dating for a couple of months last year.”

Was that who Luci was? The woman who kept calling him when I was with him?

Aarav snorted. “He didn’t like her. She was a pet to him.”

“She was not.”

“Yes, she was.”

“No, she wa—”

“A pet?” I asked.

“Like… uh…” Kasey said, gazing at Aarav for support.

“Like a friend with benefits,” Aarav said.

I nodded my head, not wanting to know any more about Eros’s past lovers and what he did with them. I was still trying to figure out his true intentions with me. All I hoped was that I wasn’t a pastime for him like everyone else had been.

Right now, it was mostly physical between us. But I wanted more, craved more, desired more.

Kasey crawled over to me and wrapped her arm around my shoulder. “I think you have what it takes to break him.”

Aarav raised his brows. “You think.”

Kasey stood and pulled me up with her. “Yes! Look at how sexy she is.” She stood back, gaze raking down my body. I didn’t miss the way Aarav’s did too. “Eros won’t be able to resist you, especially after I give you all the tricks.” She lightly bumped her hip into mine. “I’ll show you everything tomorrow. We have a date with Mycah tonight.”

OceanofPDF.com

CHAPTER 20

OceanofPDF.com

Dani

I peeked out the elevator doors, glancing down the hallways to make sure Eros wasn’t in the hall. Kasey told me to keep my distance from him until she showed me all the tricks. Twenty-four hours Eros-free should be easy, right?

When I knew that the coast was clear, I hurried to my apartment, gaze remaining on his door. If it opened and he walked out, I’d be done for. I needed to win this game against him. I wanted to get him back for frustrating me all the damn time. I wanted sweet and sinful revenge.

After fumbling with my key, I finally pushed my door open and rushed in. I made it. No flirting with me tonight, Eros. Too late for—

Eros, Zane, and Maria were sitting at the kitchen table, each with a plate of pizza in front of them.

Damn it.

“Dani!” Maria said, grease on the corner of her lip. She placed the open pizza box on top of a closed one, making room for me. “Come eat with us.”

Eros leaned back in his seat, tattooed arms resting on the table, biceps flexing. I gulped. His forest green sweater was clinging to his chest, his lips were set in a soft smirk, and his eyes were fixed on me.

“I can’t,” I said quickly, peeling my gaze away from Eros.

“Why not?” Eros said, brow cocked.

“Because…” I fiddled with the zipper on my coat. “I need to go take a nap.”

Wow, Dani. That was the best you could come up with?

Eros pulled out a chair next to him. “Oh, come on. It’s just a slice of pizza.”

“Maybe later.”

Maria stood and snatched my wrist, her blonde flyaways falling into her face. “Dani, I need to talk to you for a minute.” She pulled me into the farthest corner of the living room. “You’re not leaving.”

“I’m not staying,” I said.

“Eros is here. Why don’t you just get to know him? It’d be good for you.”

Little did she know that he was exactly who I was trying to avoid. “No, Maria.” I gazed at Eros who was turned away from me.

“Don’t you ever want to have some real fun, instead of just dreaming about all the things he could do to you?”

“No.” But, oh, I did.

“Don’t you want him to touch you like he does in your dreams?”

“No.”

“Kiss you?”

“Maria.”

“Fuck yo—” I slapped my hand over her mouth.

Sure, Eros knew that I dreamt of him. But I didn’t need him knowing that I had dreams of him doing dirty things to me. That’d be beyond embarrassing.

Maria removed my hand. “Girl, he’s right there—wanting to actually do those things to you. Stop hiding from him.”

My eyes widened, and I glanced over at him again. He was talking to Zane, but his gaze was on me. I could only imagine that he heard every single word of our conversation, knew that I, in fact, had dreamt of him many times.

“I’m going to take a nap, Maria.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “Then I’m going to tell him.”

“Tell him what?”

“That you’ve been dreaming of him.”

“He already knows.”

She smirked. “Well, I guess you won’t mind then.” She turned on her heel.

Damn it, Maria. I snatched her arm and yanked her back. “You’re an asshole,” I whisper-yelled at her.

“I’m just trying to get you back on your feet by making sure you get a guy that you deserve.” She grabbed my hand and brought me back to the table, pushing me down in the chair next to Eros. “Great news. Dani is going to eat with us!”

Eros grinned, a hint of triumph in his eyes. I pulled out the chair and sat, stewing. She was so annoying. All I wanted was to continue Project Hermit for one more night. Just one. But everyone had other plans for me.

As soon as Maria sat, she fell into an easy conversation with Zane. I grabbed a piece of pizza, picking the pepperoni off of it and stacking it up on the edge of the plate. I chewed on the inside of my lip, watching the shiny small bubbles of grease roll down the side of the slice as I picked it up.

“Why’re you ignoring me?” Eros asked.

I took a big bite of cheese and wiped my fingers on a napkin. “I’m not.”

“Afraid that you’ll lose?”

I scoffed and put the pizza down. “No.” Yes. 100% yes.

“I think you are.”

“Well”—I narrowed my eyes at him—“I think you’re going to be the one to break first.”

He leaned one forearm against the back of his chair, the other on the table. A few strands of his dark hair fell into his face. “And what makes you think that?”

“You can’t seem to stay away from me.” I pressed my lips together and sat up tall. “You’re everywhere I go. You flirt with me every chance you get.”

“You’re right,” he said, eyeing me. I raised my brows, not expecting him to agree so blatantly with me. “I can’t stay away from you.” He leaned closer. “I think about you more than I should admit.”