Page 150 of Powerless

“Well, only until you stole half of them.”

I smile at that, and he watches me quietly for a moment. When my eyes drop to where he’s still holding my hand and distracting me with that thumb still sliding over my knuckles, he clears his throat and finally says, “Well, the game I’m going to teach you isn’t nearly as fun as yours, I’m sure.” Then he shakes his head at me, muttering under his breath, “I cannot believe you don’t know what a thumb war is.”

“Well, from the way you talk about it, it doesn’t seem like I’m missing out on much.”

“Very fair point.” His lips twitch into a smirk. “And that’s exactly why I’m going to teach it to you, so we can suffer together.” He twists onto his side and props himself up on an elbow, watching as I do the same. “The rules of thisveryriveting game are simple.” He curls our fingers together as I watch. Then he chuckles and reaches out with his other hand to pull my thumb into the air. “Now, you win by pinning the other person’s thumb down, but you have to keep your hand and arm still.” He peeks up at me and asks, “Understand?”

I frown at our joined hands. “I’m starting to understand why you find this game so boring.”

He laughs before muttering, “Go.”

I don’t even have time to react before his thumb is crushing mine, pinning it to my hand. When he looks up at me, his smile is smug. “I really thought your reflexes would be quicker than that, Gray.”

“I wasn’t ready, Azer.”

“Well, that’s kind of the whole point ofreflexes.”

I halfheartedly roll my eyes at him. “You’re insufferable.”

“And yet, you’re still here,” he says softly, his eyes bright even in the dim light as they flick between mine.

We are quiet for a moment as I assess how to beat him at this game. Per usual, distraction seems to be the best option, so I say, “Tell me something I don’t know about you.”

He only seems slightly surprised by my random request, but it only takes him a moment to answer. “Blueberries. I don’t like them.”

I choke back my laugh. “You don’t like blueberries?”

“No, I take it back.” He pauses, seeming to consider something. “I hate blueberries.”

“Is there a reason for this loathing?”

“Have you tasted them?” he asks, and I nod in answer. “Then, there. That’s my reason. They’re disgusting.”

I huff out a laugh, and when he opens his mouth to say something, I cut him off with a quiet, “Go.”

My thumb lands on his and I’m about to brag my victory when he easily slips it out from beneath mine. And then, once again, he has my thumb pinned. “Adorable effort to distract me, darling.”

I sigh in frustration. “I see why you hate this game.”

“No, I hate this game because it’s boring. You hate this game because you’re bad at it.”

I glare at him, and he grins at me. His thumb sweeps down the length of mine, and I refuse to tear my eyes from his. “Now,” he says slowly, “tell me something I don’t know about you.”

“Easy.” I give him a bright smile. “Iloveblueberries.”

Kai groans. “Of course you do.”

“They are justdelicious. I mean, talk about the perfect blend of tart and sweet and—”

“I am never going to hear the end of this, am I?”

“—honestly, I think they might be the best fruit out there. I could easily eat them with every meal and—”

Kai leans closer and sighs out an exasperated, “Paedyn.” I clamp my mouth shut at the sound of my name. “I am content to listen to you talk for hours, but if you must speak about fruit, then at least pick one we both enjoy.”

I press my lips together to smother my smile. The future Enforcer is willing to listen to me ramble aboutfruit. The thought has me on the verge of both bursting out in laughter and blushing from head to toe.

“Fair enough,” I say simply. “How about oranges?”

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