Twisted Games (Twisted, #2)(88)

If I didn’t tell him, though, the video could blow up in our faces, and I’d lose him anyway.

My head ached with indecision.

“I know everything about you.” Rhys’s words rolled over me, deep and confident.

Just tell him. Get it over with like ripping off a Band-Aid. Otherwise, the secret would hang over my head for God knew how long, like a guillotine waiting to strike.

Before I could broach the subject, however, the car stopped. I’d been so caught up in my thoughts I hadn’t realized we were heading away from the palace instead of toward it.

Rhys had parked on the side of the road, next to a forest on the outskirts of Athenberg. I’d camped there once with Nikolai in high school—under strict supervision, of course—but I hadn’t been back since.

“Trust me,” he said when he noticed my confusion, which only increased as he led me through the forest. A clear trail snaked between the trees, so other people must’ve taken the shortcut, even though the forest had a main entrance with a gift shop and parking lot.

“Where are we going?” I whispered, not wanting to break the reverent hush blanketing the trees.

“You’ll see.”

Cryptic as always.

I sighed, equally annoyed and intrigued.

Part of me wanted to tell him about the video now, but I couldn’t very well ruin the mood before I saw the surprise, could I?

Excuses, excuses, my conscience whispered.

I ignored it.

When we arrived at our destination, though, I couldn’t hold back a small gasp. “Rhys…”

We stood in a clearing, empty of everything except for a large, beautiful gazebo. I didn’t even know the forest had a gazebo.

My heart pinched at the clear callback to our first time together.

“If we get caught, pull rank.” Rhys held out his hand. I took it and followed him inside the wooden structure. “We’re pretty far from the main trail though, so we should be fine.”

“How did you find this place? You’re like the Gazebo Whisperer.”

He laughed. “I planned on hiking here sometime and studied the trail maps. The gazebo isn’t a secret. Most people are just too lazy to come all the way out here.”

“Why…” I trailed off again when he fiddled with something on his phone and soft music filled the air.

“We never got to dance at the wedding,” he said simply.

“You don’t like it when I dance,” I half-joked, trying to hide the emotion welling in my chest.

What happened in the library during Nikolai’s reception would forever be etched in my mind.

“I love it when you dance. But only with me.” He placed his free hand on the small of my back.

“You don’t dance.”

“Only with you.”

The burn intensified. “Careful, Mr. Larsen, or I’ll think you actually like me.”

His mouth curled into a grin. “Baby, we’re way beyond like.”

The butterflies in my stomach exploded, and a sweet, golden warmth filled my veins.

For the first time in days, I smiled.

I stepped into Rhys’s embrace, and we swayed to the music while I buried my face in his chest and inhaled his clean, comforting scent.

Our dances would always be ours. Secret, private…forbidden.

Part of me cherished the moments that belonged to us alone, but part of me wished we didn’t have to hide. We weren’t a dirty secret. We were the most beautiful thing in my life, and I wanted to share it with the world the way all beautiful things deserved to be shared.

“Where’d you go, princess?” He skimmed his knuckles down my back, and I smiled through the ache in my heart.

He knew me so well.

“I’m right here.” I tilted my face up and kissed him. We took it slow and sweet, exploring each other with the leisure of people who had all the time in the world.

Except we didn’t.

The kiss, the music, the gazebo…it was the perfect moment. But, like all moments, it couldn’t last.

Eventually, it would end, and so would we.





“Bridget, wake up!”

The next morning, loud pounding roused me from my sleep.

I groaned, my body resisting movement even as my heart involuntarily galloped at the sheer panic in Mikaela’s voice.

“Bridget!” More pounding.

“One moment!” I forced myself out of bed and threw on a dressing gown before I opened the door, taking in Mikaela’s wide eyes and nervous expression. Her skin was paler than usual, making her freckles stand out like a dark constellation across her nose and cheeks.

She lived only a few minutes from the palace, but she wouldn’t be here so early unless it was an emergency.

“What is it?”

Was it the video?

My stomach lurched. God, I should’ve told Rhys yesterday, but I hadn’t wanted to destroy our time at the gazebo, and then…then…

Oh, who was I kidding? I had plenty of time to tell him afterward. I’d just chickened out like a coward, and now, the chickens were coming home to roost.

Breathe. Stay calm. You don’t know what’s actually happening yet.

“It’s…” Mikaela hesitated. “Bridge, turn on The Daily Tea.”