Page 16 of Fated By Fire

I hesitate. “Truth.”

“Who’s the last person you thought about before falling asleep?”

My stomach drops. Caleb’s gaze is heavy on me, and I feel myself flush. “Henry Cavill,” I say. Come to think of it, there’s a little bit of Henry in the angle of Caleb’s jaw. And that dimple in his chin.

“Bullshit,” says Mara, handing me a drink. “You’ve always been into the bad boys.” She’s clearly pleased with herself.

The game continues, the questions growing bolder, the dares more daring. By the time Mara dares Dorian to let her tattoo something on his arm with a Sharpie, I’m feeling the alcohol more than I’d like.

Then it’s Caleb’s turn; he’s managed to sit out most of them, but now Mara grins at him like she’s sizing him up. “Truth or dare, tall, dark, and brooding?”

“I’ll pass,” he says.

“Again?” says Mara. “What you afraid of? Little old me?”

“Fine. Dare,” he says, his voice calm but edged with challenge.

Mara’s smile widens. “I dare you to kiss the person you find most attractive at this table.”

The air in the room shifts, and my heart slams against my ribs. Caleb doesn’t move; his gaze is locked on me with an intensity that makes me feel like I’m the only person in the room.

“No,” he says finally, reaching for a shot glass.

Mara pouts. “Boring. You’re supposed to play along.”

“I don’t play games,” Caleb says, downing the shot in one smooth motion.

And then it happens.

I don’t know what comes over me—maybe it’s the alcohol, maybe it’s the lingering tension between us—but I lean in and press my lips to his.

The kiss is brief but electric, a spark flaring between us that leaves me breathless. For a moment, it’s like the air gets sucked from the room, the noise of the bar fading into the background.

His lips are warmer than I’d expected. Firm and smooth. They part slightly against mine, and I catch a hint of mint and something darkly masculine.

Everything within me buzzes to life, my cells sizzling with a sensation that starts in my chest and burns right through to the tips of my fingers and toes. Then I jolt away, my face burning with embarrassment.

Mara is staring at me like I just grew a second head. Dorian is choking on his drink across the table. And Caleb is eyeing me coolly, as if I didn’t just make the world’s biggest asshole of myself.

Except we both know I did.

Oh, my God. Oh, my fucking God!

“I— I have to go,” I blurt. I grab my bag and bolt out of the bar, the cool night air a sharp contrast to the heat still pumping through my veins.

I don’t stop running until I’m three blocks away, my chest heaving and my mind a whirlwind of emotions.

How? Why? What?

The. Fuck?

My phone buzzes, and I pull it out to see a text from Mara.

Where did you go? That was amazing! Call me—we need to talk.

I tuck my phone away, my heart still racing.

My boss. I kissed my freaking boss!

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