I glance at Darcy, the smile on her face is enough to warm my heart—

I stop, disgusted with myself. What the fuck is happening to me? Since when do I use phrases like warm my heart? I catch my reflection in the mirror and laugh at the sight of the shimmery silver dress I’m wearing, because a few feminine phrases are the least of my problems right now.

Darcy giggles. “Look, that woman has on the same dress as you.”

I look where she’s pointing, right at the same moment the chick in the matching dress looks at me. We share an awkward moment where we both just stand there, looking uncomfortable, both of us trying to decide who’s wearing it better. She quickly moves off, so I claim that as a victory, obviously.

“I hate it when I’m wearing the same dress as someone else,” Darcy jokes.

“I know,” I agree. “It happened to me last year—the bride was so upset they kicked me out of the wedding,” I quip.

She giggles, but I’m not laughing, because this has gone way too far.

Inviting her to my apartment so she can see me wearing a dress is one thing, but I’m out in public. And it’s not even the first time. She coaxed me into going to a restaurant last week. I know I’ll do nearly anything to win, but there has to be a line somewhere, right? I’m pretty sure I crossed it days ago—probably that point where I’d throw on my lacy undies in the morning, without a second thought.

Tonight, when we get back to the hotel, I’ll tell her everything.

I’m sure she’ll see the funny side to it eventually, right? God, I hope so, because I love spending time with her.

It’s just that I’d much rather to do it without the lace rubbing on my balls.

We show our tickets to the door guy, then Darcy takes my hand and drags me through the doors. We follow the signs down to the end of the hallway, to another door. Darcy grins at me. She looks way too excited about this. I’m terrified because I’ve got no idea what to expect from a festival that calls itself weird as fuck.

“Are we going in?” she grins at me.

I shrug and motion for her to go first. “You can do the honors.”

She walks in, with me behind her. I look around and begin to feel sick.

What the fuck is this place?

While I am looking around my gaze eventually landing on Darcy, but not before I share an awkward moment with a naked guy bound in rope, hanging from the ceiling about a meter in front of me. Darcy stares back at me with wide eyes. She’s trying so hard not to laugh that all I have to do is narrow my eyes at her and she loses control.

“A festival, you say?” I murmur.

“I guess it is?” she says, her voice trembling between laughing spells.

I look around in dismay, ducking sideways to give the dude with his naked boyfriend on a leash, more space to get past. I look away, avoiding eye contact, about the same time he smirks at me.

“I think he likes you,” Darcy hisses. “Is it just me, or are not many people wearing clothing?”

She’s right—unless you count the group of people standing near the door, wearing animal costumes. I grin at her.

“You sure you won’t feel more comfortable over there?” I tease her.

“Very sure. Thank you,” she says in a clipped tone.

“Where did you say you got these tickets?” I ask smirking at her.

I jump when someone slaps my ass—hard. I spin around, just in time to see a large, hairy man wink at me. I shudder, because I don’t even want to know what he’s thinking.

“From a friend from work,” Darcy explains. “Well, as it turns out, he's a client not a psychologist…”

“You accepted tickets to a random festival, from a mental health patient, and didn’t think to question it?” I say, chuckling at her.

“Oh, shut up.” She glares at me. “Linton’s a friend.”

“Yeah? Then why did he lie to you?” I ask.

She raises her eyebrows at me. “Because you’ve never lied to a friend before, huh?”

“Is that what we are?” I ask. “Friends?”

She’s right, though. I’m lying to her right now, after all.

“The way you’re hassling me? I’m not so sure anymore,” she teases.

“Harsh,” I say, laughing.

I look around, confident that I have no desire to venture any further into this festival. I’ve seen enough already to know it’s not my thing.

“What do you say we get out of here?” I suggest.

“Sure.” She smiles at me. “We can go back to the hotel. It’s a shame to let that go to waste…”

“Sounds good,” I grin.

I take her hand and we turn around, and head toward the exit, nearly smacking into someone coming the other way.

“Shit, I’m sorry—”

I stop, my eyes widening when I find myself face-to-face with someone I know. Judge Winston and my father have been friends since I was a kid, and I have to say, I’ve never seen this side to him…

All the blood drains from his face. His eyes connect with mine, but then he looks away. I don’t know where to look so I fix my gaze on Darcy. That’s a mistake, because she’s nearly in tears from holding back her laughter. I'm not sure who's more embarrassed, me in my dress or the judge, who’s standing there in a leather thong and not much else.

“Judge Winston,” I say. “Good to see you. You’re looking well. Have you been on vacation? You’re looking very tanned.” I ramble out.

Darcy clasps her hand over her mouth and turns away, her shoulders shaking. Yeah, I’m not handling this very smoothly. I turn back to the judge, a smile plastered on my face. All I want to do is get out of here and pretend this moment never happened.

“Cameron.” He nods at me. “It’s nice to see you again. How’s your father?”

“He’s good,” I say. “Anyway, I’d love to stay and chat, but we have to be somewhere.”

He looks relieved, then he nods. “We’ll catch up soon.”

I nod. Preferably when you're wearing clothes.

I keep walking but then I turn around when he calls out my name.

“Can we can keep this between us?” he asks, frowning at me.

I nod, somehow managing to keep a straight face.

“Of course, sir,” I say.

I take Darcy’s hand again and walk out. The moment we reach the parking lot, she bursts into laughter. She stops, to double over, gasping for breath, while I stand there and shake my head.

“Are you alright?” I say with a chuckle.

“He’s a judge?” she giggles.

I nod. “Not only that, he’s an old friend of my fathers. He also happens to be married with three kids.”

She stares at me, her eyes widening. “You’re kidding,” she whispers.

I grin at her. “I shit you not.”

She shakes her head. “I guess it shows you never really know people.” She nudges me in the side. “But then again, you surprised me. You keep surprising me.”

I smile and open the car. If I didn’t feel guilty before, I sure as hell do now.

We check into the hotel, which has been paid for, courtesy of Darcy's friend, Linton. She sits down on the king size bed and smiles as she looks around. It’s a pretty nice room, complete with a great view of the city skyline and a spa bath big enough for the both of us. I smirk as Darcy runs her hand over the bedspread, then she closes her eyes and sighs, a dreamy smile on her face.

“Good?” I ask.

“Maybe you should come over here and find out for yourself?” she suggests.

Her eyes sparkle as I saunter over to the bed. I push her back against the mattress, then I climb onto the bed so I’m hovering over her.

“Feels pretty good to me,” I mutter.

She kisses me softly, her lips touching mine sending me into a frenzy.

“If you’re not comfortable sharing the bed with me—”

“Do I seem uncomfortable to you?” she asks, arching an eyebrow.

I chuckle. “Good point. I guess I didn’t want to be presumptuous and assume anything,” I say with a smirk. “Like I wouldn’t want to just assume that you want to kiss me right now.” I lift her mouth to mine and kiss her softly, the feel of her soft lips leaving me wanting more.

“Then maybe I can be presumptuous for the both of us?” she says.

She wriggles out from under me, then lays me down on the mattress, straddling me. I swallow as she lifts her shirt over her head and tosses it aside. I run my hands down over the curve of her back, loving the way her body reacts to my touch.

“I like it when you take control,” I grin.

I run my fingers along the side of her body and sigh, because I could touch her body all day. She squirms, then laughs, pressing her body against mine. I sigh, because every roll of her hips is making me harder, as if she didn’t have me rock hard already.

“I just want to explore every single inch of you,” I growl, running my fingers down her back. She narrows her eyes at me and smiles playfully.

“There you go again,” she teases. “Only thinking about yourself.”

“That’s right. I have a reputation for being selfish,” I say with a chuckle. “Didn’t you know? Can I show you just how selfish I can be?”

She breathes in as I push her bra above her breasts, using my thumb to massage her nipples. She rocks herself against me, eyes closed, as her grip on my stomach tightens. I grunt as she digs her nails in, my reaction making her dig into me even harder. She tilts her head back, the sensation on my thumb rubbing her nipples, nearly enough to make her orgasm on the spot.

I groan as she leans over and kisses me again, her mouth ravishing mine, while she reaches down and into lacy thong. I groan as she frees my cock, her hands wrapping tightly around my shaft. I start laughing so hard, I’m soon at the point where I can’t stop.

She sits back up straight, raising her eyebrows at me, which only makes me laugh harder. She reaches under my dress and puts her hand inside my lacy thong—

Yeah, no. Not happening.

I rub my forehead and cringe, because talk about a moment killer.

“Are you going to share what is so goddamn funny?” she asks.

“Sorry,” I murmur. “I’ve still got my mind on before, at the festival,” I explain.

She stares at me, but her eyes are shining.

“Of course, because what else would you be thinking about, but your father’s judge friend, while my hands are stroking your dick?” she asks with attitude.

She rolls off me and lays on the bed. I wrap my arms around her and kiss her neck. She smiles as I tilt her face to mine and kiss her, slowly brushing my lips over hers.

“Sorry. I guess I kind of ruined the moment, huh?” I chuckle.

“Do you want another moment ruined?” she asks. Her eyes gleam as she snuggles against me. “This time in two days, we’ll be related.”

“Yep. That did it,” I agree.

She giggles, then goes quiet. “Mom told me that your dad asked you to be his best man?”

“Then I’m guessing she also told you I said no,” I say dryly. She nods, but she doesn’t push me for more than that. “It just didn't feel right,” I say after a moment.

“Maybe you should explain to him why?” she suggests. “It might help you, as much as it does him.”

I shake my head. “No. The time to do that was six months ago, not days before the wedding. It's fine. I'll deal with it. It's just something that I need to do in my own way.”

She leans over and kisses me, this time slowly working her lips against mine.

“I'm really proud of you, Cam. And I think your Mom would be too.”

“Proud of me how?” I say with a laugh. “Are you forgetting your first impression of me?” I add, teasing her. “Asshole. Arrogant. Selfish?”

“I can admit that I was wrong,” she says, shrugging. “I've seen a completely different side to you and for what it's worth I really like it. In fact,” she says, wrapping her arms around my neck. “I really like you.”

“Well,” I murmur. I kiss her gently on the mouth. “That's handy, because I like you too.”

“I might have a shower, if you don't mind,” I say.

“Sure,” she says. “Go for it.”

I walk into the bathroom and turn on the shower, waiting until it’s warm before I step under the water. I groan, resting my hand against the tiled wall as the scalding hot water rains down over me. I lather myself up and quickly rinse off, psyching myself up to tell her the truth when I get out. I just need to do it, because the longer this drags on, the harder it will be.

I turn off the water, get out, and wrapping a towel around my waist. I walk back into the room to find it empty. She can’t have gone too far, because her phone is still here, and so is her jacket. I toss my towel down on the bed and reach into my bag for my clothes. I throw on a clean pair of boxers.

Darcy’s phone beeps. I glance at it. It’s unintentional, but when I see Mack's name flash up on the screen, I get curious.

Why is my brother messaging Darcy?

I pick up her phone, just as a second message from him comes through. Even on the lock screen, I can clearly read it.

Mack: One photo of Cam in a thong. That’s all I want. It will keep him off my back for life.

I frown. What the hell? How does he know about that shit?

Unless she told him…

Why would she, though? I shake my head. I don’t want to jump to conclusions, but the way I’m looking at this, there’s nowhere else to jump. I put her phone back down, then I sit down on the bed with my phone and call Mack.

“Hey, how's it going?” he asks.

“Cut the crap. She told me everything,” I say in the coldest voice I can muster. “You actually wanted pictures?” I say with a bitter laugh. “I can't believe you.”

“It was just a joke,” he protests. “And like you can talk. You’re playing her just as much, remember? Actually, you’re worse than her. She’s not doing anything, other than encouraging your lies.”

“She knows…”

I don’t finish the sentence, because I’m too embarrassed. She knew all along that I was messing with her and she didn’t say anything. I know I have no right to be mad, but I’m fucking pissed.

“I'm gonna kill you, you little shit,” I growl.

“See, this is exactly what I wanted some kind of insurance in the first place,” he insists. “I thought if I had a picture of you and in a thong, then I’d be set for life. You’d never be able to use anything against me.”

“Because I do so much of it now,” I snap. “I have to go. I'll deal with you later.”

Fuck.

I should be relieved, because now the pressure is off me telling her, but I’m not. I'm embarrassed and upset. Did she even like me, or was that just part of the game? I'm just so sick of the stupid mind games. Why can't we both just be honest with each other for once? I stand up when I hear the door open. She smiles at me, but her smile fades when she sees my expression.

“What’s wrong?” she asks.

I frown at her.

“I was hoping maybe you could tell me that.”