Page 86 of Her Dark Promise

“Three hundred and seventy.” Bastian whistled.

My turn.

“Are you ever going to pull your head out of your ass and stop making everyone’s life miserable?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know, are you?”

Callum cursed softly and hit Bastian’s arm, saying something under his breath that I couldn’t hear while we continued to glare at each other.

Soren tried to cut in, but Bastian spoke over him and asked another question to the group, “How many men have you fucked?”

I rolled my eyes, but Callum was the first to answer. “Three,” he offered, smiling at me sheepishly.

They looked at me.

“I never kept track.” They didn’t know that it was only one before Callum.

“Oh, come on, if you could take a guess. How many dicks have you taken?”

Soren chastised Bastian, “There is no need to be so vulgar.”

“Fine, then how about you answer.” He raised an eyebrow, a challenge.

I looked at Soren. His face had slightly paled, and he was rather quiet. Was the number high? Or was that reaction because it was low? I forgot all about Bastian, as my focus was on Soren, needing to know his answer. Suddenly, this was my favorite game to play.

“None,” he mumbled.

“Speak up, brother.” He raised the hand with his drink in it and made a show of the room. “We can’t hear you.”

“I said ‘none’.”

Bastian began to laugh hysterically.

“You can’t be serious. What about Mary? Lucy? Emmy? You courted them, did you not?”

Soren was cool, but there was a look of contempt on his face.

I cocked my head to the side.

“So, you have never touched a woman?”

He shook his head, avoiding eye contact.

“Male?”

“No. I enjoy females exclusively.” He didn’t say it in a way that he found offense with the question, but rather simply stating the truth.

“Have they ever touched you?”

He swallowed, looked up at me, and shook his head—all that pent-up energy, just ready to burst. It was somewhat exciting to consider, but I dismissed the feeling with a blink.

“What are you? Twenty?”

“Twenty-four, your majesty.”

Callum sat up and tried to change the subject for Soren’s benefit. “Where have you been in your travels?”

Soren was about to answer when Bastian stood, swaying enough that he almost tripped on the carpet.

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