to me all those months ago when we were first together.
It had been easy then to chalk it all up to Morgan sharing her visions with him, but there was no way she was still doing that now with the fragile state Trace was in.
“Let’s just say I have a gut instinct about it,” he answered offhandedly, giving nothing away as a mischievous grin formed across his perfectly defined lips.
I gave him a disapproving look. “You’re totally lying to me right now.”
He laughed again, the sound of it all deep and throaty and completely sexy. The more I heard it, the more my pulse responded to it. “What can I say? I guess you’re not the only one with secrets.”
My eyes lit up. “So, there is more to it,” I surmised and then pushed forward into his space. “Tell me.”
He started to shake his head, but I quickly went on before he could finish his objection.
“Come on, Trace. You say we’re soulmates, but how can that be true if you can’t even be honest with me? Huh?” Yeah, that’s right. I said that. And sure, I wasn’t really one to talk about honesty, but I wasn’t about to miss the opportunity to use the soulmate card he held so dearly.
“Ooh, that’s playing dirty,” he said as he suppressed a smile, the gesture causing both dimples to press in.
I tried not to fluster as the sight of them. Those damn dimples of his had always been my undoing. “Well, if you were honest with me in the first place, I wouldn’t have had to go there.”
He thought about it for a second and then flashed a cunning smile. Judging by the look on his face, he’d just come up with an idea that I was most certainly not going to like. “Alright,” he said as he tossed the half-eaten chicken wing back into the plate. “You show me yours and I’ll show you mine.”
“Excuse me?” I tried not to blush, but it sounded so dirty.
He licked his lips and smiled. “Tell me one of your secrets and I’ll tell you one of mine.”
“What is this? Truth or dare?” I asked, laughing at the absurdity of it.
He shrugged. “Sure. Why not.”
“I was joking,” I pointed out as I leapt off the bed, nearly taking the row of dishes right along with me. “We’re not playing truth or dare.”
“Why not?” he asked as he stood up then took a looming step toward me. “Are you scared of playing with me?”
“I’m not scared!” I answered indignantly and with way too much defensiveness. “I just…think it’s stupid.”
“Suit yourself. It’s no skin off my back,” he said nonchalantly and started to turn, taking all of his juicy secrets right along with him.
“Wait,” I said and grabbed his arm, thinking. Did I really want to miss out on the chance to learn some of Trace’s most tightly guarded secrets? Doing my best to ignore the electricity buzzing between us, I let go of his arm and asked, “How will I know you’re actually being honest with me?”
He gazed down at me with another victorious grin on his face and then craned his head as though he were going to tell me a secret right then and there. “I guess we’ll just have to trust each other.”
Alright, okay, I needed to take a second and think about this. I mean, Trace was actually willing to spill some of his most closely held secrets here—Trace who had always been Fort Knox about everything. Would I really be stupid enough to pass that up out of a fear of playing a stupid kid’s game?
The more I thought about it, the more it sounded like a damn good deal. I’d be a fool not to take him up on it. Besides, I didn’t have to share anything dangerous with him. I could pick and choose what to tell him. Right? Right.
“Okay,” I agreed, rubbing my sweaty palms against the front of my pants. “I’m in.”
“Great. I’ll be right back,” he said and then stalked out of the bedroom.
“Wait,” I said as I ran into the hallway and then watched as he barreled through it. “Where are you going?”
“Where do you think?” he said without looking back. “To get the Tequila.”
Right. Of course. Because mixing alcohol and truth or dare was definitely a great idea.
9. TRUTH OR DARE
Less than ten minutes later, Trace and I were sitting across from each other in his bedroom, him on desk chair and me on the