CHAPTER TWENTY #3
Because when it clicked to a stop, pointing at him, my heart slammed so hard I felt it in my throat.
Riley.
The entire circle exploded.
“NO WAY—“
“This is gonna be legendary!”
Riley didn’t react. Not even a twitch of surprise. He just sat there like he’d known it would land on him.
He rested his elbows on his knees.
And took his sweet, infuriating time.
Then…
“I pick… dare.”
The crowd screamed.
The same guy from earlier, the one clearly destined to die by Riley’s hand someday, shouted above the noise.
“Since it’s Riley’s first time playing, maybe he should pick who he wants to kiss!”
People howled, clapped, chanted.
A few girls practically threw their hands up.
“Kiss me!”
“Pick me, Riley!”
He didn’t even look at most of them.
He lifted his gaze deliberately, slowly scanning the circle with a predator’s patience… until his eyes stopped on one of the girls who’d been flirting aggressively with him earlier.
Her face lit up.
She leaned forward like he’d just chosen her soul.
She was ready.
Expecting it.
Begging for it without saying a word.
Riley held her gaze.
A long, teasing beat.
Then he spoke, and the words sliced through every conversation, every laugh, every breath.
“I think it’s time for Luna to prove how much trouble she really is.”
Silence.
Then the crowd erupted so loudly I flinched.
My stomach dropped straight through the sand. Heat surged up my neck. My heartbeat was a wrecking ball.
His eyes slid to me, slow, hungry, sure, and I felt pinned to the spot.
Malia grabbed my arm. “You’ve got this.”
Tessa nodded. “Destroy him.”
Jo smirked. “Make him regret it.”
Harper whispered, “Don’t overthink it. You look great.”
I swallowed hard.
I couldn’t show weakness.
Not after everything.
Not after he kissed that other girl like it meant nothing.
So I stood.
And the whole circle noticed.
The cheers curved around me like a wave as I stepped into the firelight, sand shifting beneath my feet.
I walked slowly, deliberately, refusing to let my legs betray the tremor running through them. Riley watched every step I took, eyes dark, unreadable, blazing with something that made my pulse stutter.
I stopped in front of him.
He didn’t move.
Didn’t lean in.
Didn’t smirk.
Just waited.
Like he wanted to know how brave I really was.
Fine.
I bent down, close enough to breathe the warm, dangerous scent of him. And before I could talk myself out of it…
I kissed him.
Or at least, I intended to.
But the second my lips touched his, the world dropped away.
Riley didn’t react at first.
He let me initiate it.
Let me decide the angle, the pressure, the moment.
And somehow, that made it ten times worse.
Because kissing Riley felt like stepping directly into a storm.
His lips were warm, too warm, and when he finally kissed me back, it wasn’t gentle. It wasn’t hesitant. It wasn’t anything like the kiss he’d given that other girl.
It was controlled.
Purposeful.
A slow, devastating claiming that sent heat rushing through my veins and made my knees nearly give out.
I told myself I’d keep it quick.
A single brush.
A simple dare.
Nothing more.
But his hand lifted, fingers brushing the side of my thigh, ghosting upward, not quite touching my hip, and I froze.
Not because I was afraid.
But because my body reacted before my brain could stop it, leaning into him with the smallest, traitorous shift.
His mouth deepened against mine instantly, like he’d been waiting for that cue. Like he’d known exactly how long to wait before stealing the air from my lungs.
The crowd whooped, screamed, cheered.
But all of it blurred.
All I could feel was him.
The warmth of his breath.
The heat of his skin.
The sharp, dangerous thrill of knowing Riley Maddox was kissing me back like he wanted to pin me to the sand and ruin me for anyone else who ever tried.
And I…
I kissed him back.
Hand braced on his shoulder, steadying myself as everything tilted. The fire crackled beside us, lighting the edges of him in gold.
For a terrifying, dizzying heartbeat, I forgot why I needed to stay strong. Why he was dangerous. Why I should hate this.
I forgot everything.
Until he pulled back first.
Only an inch.
Barely anything.
But enough.
His breath brushed my lips when he whispered, soft enough only I could hear.
“I told you, you wouldn’t want to stop.”
The words slid over my skin like smoke.
Heat exploded in my chest. Anger, embarrassment, want, all tangled together.
The crowd roared behind us.
I straightened, swallowing hard, trying to pretend my legs weren’t trembling. Riley leaned back, looking maddeningly satisfied, chest rising with slow, even breaths like he hadn’t felt the kiss at all.
Like I hadn’t just nearly fallen into him.
Like he knew he’d won.
Because he had.
We both knew it.
I forced myself to turn away from him, chin high, steps steady even though every cell in my body was still vibrating from the kiss.
Malia and the girls were waiting.
Four sets of wide eyes stared at me like I’d just walked out of a burning building carrying a dragon egg.
Then…
“Holy shit,“ Tessa breathed.
“Luna,” Jo whispered, grabbing my arm. “What—what was that?”
Malia’s mouth hung open for a full three seconds before she snapped it shut. “Did you guys just see the way he looked at her after?”
Harper didn’t even blink. “I’m trying to decide if that was a win or a loss.”
My throat tightened. “Pretty sure it was a loss.”
But Malia shook her head immediately. “No. No way. Do you know what you looked like?”
I frowned. “Humiliated?”
“Hot,” Tessa corrected.
“Confident,” Jo added.
“Controlled,” Harper said, nodding like she was analyzing combat strategy.
“Like you weren’t scared of him at all,” Malia finished.
For a second, the words didn’t register.
I’d felt anything but controlled.
But they were serious.
Proud, even.
Tessa nudged me. “Girl, the way you walked up to him? Like you were about to end his entire bloodline.”
“I—“ I coughed, cheeks burning. “I don’t think that’s how it looked.”
“Oh, it is,” Jo insisted. “We saw his face. He expected you to break. You didn’t.”
“He kissed me back like I did,” I muttered.
Harper smirked. “That’s because he’s Riley. He’ll kiss anyone like that if it helps him win.”
The girls exchanged glances, then looked at me.
“But you didn’t look weak,” Malia said firmly. “You did the opposite. You didn’t melt. You didn’t cling. You didn’t stutter. And you pulled away like you were bored.”
I blinked. “I… did?”
“Yeah,” Tessa said. “A little too convincingly, actually.”
My heart eased just a fraction.
Maybe they hadn’t seen the tremor in my knees.
Maybe they hadn’t noticed the way my breath shook.
Maybe they hadn’t felt the war happening inside me.
Maybe, just maybe, I hadn’t embarrassed myself.
“Come on,” Malia said, looping her arm through mine. “Let’s get out of the circle before someone spins that bottle again and tries to rope you into kissing someone else.”
“Yes,” Jo agreed. “Preferably someone who won’t turn it into psychological warfare.”
We slipped away from the center of the circle, heading back toward the quieter stretch of sand near the drinks table. The fire crackled behind us, laughter rising with the sparks.
But I still felt Riley’s eyes on my back.
Like he was tracking me.
Measuring me.
Waiting.
When we reached the shadows beyond the firelight, Harper leaned in.
“Luna?”
“Yeah?”
“You didn’t lose.”
I swallowed.
But before I could answer…
My phone buzzed again in my pocket.
My stomach dropped.
The girls all froze, staring at me like they already knew exactly who it was.
I pulled the phone out.
Another text.
From him.
Round one goes to me.
My breath caught.
Another message popped up instantly.
But don’t worry, princess. I’ll give you a chance to catch up.
The girls watched my face carefully.
Jo whispered, “Riley?”
I nodded once.
Malia exhaled sharply. “Oh, he’s obsessed.”
Tessa smirked. “Good. Make him work for it.”
But inside me, everything twisted.
Because I knew one thing for certain.
Riley wasn’t done.
And neither was I.