Love Lives On (Forever and Ever #24)

by E. L. Todd

  “Truth or dare!” I yelled.

  “Are we thirteen?” Cayson demanded.

  “My party,” I snapped. “Truth or dare. And you have to take a shot before you ask someone.”

  “Fine.” Slade finished his beer then set it sideways on the table. “Let’s do this. Who’s going first?”

  “Me!” I said as I raised my hand. “I’m getting married!”

  Slade poured me another shot. “Drink up, baby.”

  I downed the shot then wiped my mouth. “Yuck.”

  “Now spin,” Slade said.

  I grabbed the bottle and spun it hard, making it wobble as it moved. “Ooh…someone’s in trouble.” I couldn’t stop laughing.

  The bottle slowed down then landed on Slade.

  He shrugged.

  “Truth or dare,” I said.

  “Well, I know your truth question will be lame so dare.”

  I tried to think of something. Then the perfect idea came to my mind. “You don’t have the balls…”

  “Oh, I do,” Slade said. “There’s nothing you could dare me to do that I would chicken out on.”

  Arsen shook his head. “Be careful, man…”

  I clapped my hands in excitement. “I dare you to kiss Cayson.”

  The entire table stiffened in silence.

  Then the girls burst up laughing.

  Slade shot Cayson a look of utter fright.

  Cayson cringed like just the idea made him want to gag.

  “You have to do it!” I said. “I dared you.”

  “You really want me to kiss a guy?” Slade asked incredulously.

  “And like it!” Skye said. “Cayson is an excellent kisser. Maybe you’ll learn something.”

  Cayson and Slade kept looking at each other in disgust.

  Arsen smirked. “Told you to be careful…”

  “I’m not kissing a dude,” Slade said.

  “Someone’s a chicken!” I kept making clucking noises and flapping my arms like wings.

  “A dare is a dare,” Silke said. “You want to be remembered as the guy who chickened out on a dare?”

  “That sounds better than being remembered for kissing a guy,” Slade snapped.

  “You have to do it!” I gripped his arm and shook it.

  Slade was getting red in the face. “Fine…but just a peck.”

  Cayson grimaced.

  “Get out your phones,” Skye said.

  “No filming,” Slade snapped. “Or we aren’t doing this.”

  The girls sighed and put their phones away.

  “Do it!” I said.

  Slade leaned toward Cayson. “After we do this, let’s just never speak of it again.”

  “We’ll speak of it,” Silke said.

  Cayson glared at Slade. “Why couldn’t you pick truth?”

  “I didn’t know this is what she was going to dare me to do!” Slade snapped.

  “Kiss!” Skye said.

  “Let’s just get it over with,” Slade said.

  Cayson closed his eyes and looked like he was holding back vomit.

  Slade quickly swooped in, kissed him, and then leaned back. He immediately wiped his lips off.

  Cayson did the same and immediately took a shot.

  Silke and Skye laughed so hard they cried.

  Arsen just smirked.

  “That was actually pretty hot,” I said.

  Slade shot me a glare. “You better not hope I land on you. Because I’m going to get you back, brat.”

  “I just won’t pick dare,” I said with a laugh.

  “Truth will be worse.” He threatened me with just a look.

  “Oh, this is going to be a fun night,” Silke said.

  Slade grabbed the bottle and spun it in a circle. “Trinity…come on, Trinity…”

  I stared at the bottle and hoped it wouldn’t land on me. Please don’t land on me.

  The bottle slowed down then came to a slow halt at Arsen.

  Arsen shrugged. “Truth. I’m not kissing Cayson.”

  “Why does everyone want to kiss me?” Cayson demanded.

  “Because you’re so pretty.” Skye batted her eyelashes at him.

  Cayson smirked then shrugged.

  “Fire away, man,” Arsen said.

  Slade thought for a moment. “Okay, I got it. Name one thing about Silke you don’t like.”

  “Ooh…” Skye cringed. “I smell trouble.”

  Silke crossed her arms over her chest and stared down Arsen.

  “Come on,” Slade said. “You have to answer.”

  “I’d rather kiss Cayson,” Arsen said.

  Cayson sighed. “Why do I have to be so irresistible?”

  “Answer,” Slade said. “You have to.”

  Arsen rubbed the back of his neck while he thought for a moment. “She’s too beautiful. It’s distracting.”

  Silke smiled then lowered her arms.

  Slade stared at him in irritation. “No, that pussy answer doesn’t count.”

  “What? Arsen asked. “It’s true.”

  “Nope,” Slade said. “You got to do something better than that.”

  “Fine.” Arsen started thinking again. “She uses my razor to shave her legs.”

  “That bothers you?” Silke asked incredulously.

  Arsen shrugged. “I use that on my face.”

  “So, you’ll stick your dick in me but you don’t want your razor to touch my legs?” Fire was in her voice.

  Slade cringed. “Okay…took it too far.”

  “I made a drawer for you and you have your own bathroom,” Arsen said calmly. “You can bring a razor.”

  Her eyes narrowed on his face.

  Arsen sighed. “It’s a compliment. It’s the only thing I can possibly think of that I dislike about you. Everything else is perfect.”

  Silke wasn’t happy with that response.

  Arsen shrugged then spun the bottle, purposely not looking at Silke. The bottle landed on Skye.

  “Me!” Skye threw her arms in the air and squealed. “Dare!”

  “Now this party is getting started,” Slade said with a nod.

  “Dare me to kiss Cayson,” Skye said. “I’ll so do it.” She took another drink of her glass but spilled most of it on the table.

  Arsen stared at her with an amused look.

  I leaned toward him. “Dare her to stand on the table and flash the entire bar.”

  Cayson gave me a death threat.

  Arsen chuckled. “I have one. Skye, I dare you to kiss Cayson.”

  “Yes!” She knocked her glass over and didn’t even notice.

  Slade rolled his eyes. “So lame…”

  Skye clapped her hands in excitement then came around the table and fell onto Cayson’s lap.

  “Fuck.” Cayson cringed then cupped his balls like she kneed him there.

  Skye didn’t notice. She kept moving onto him, jerking in drunken stupor. Then she cupped his face. “Yum.” Then she leaned in and kissed him hard, darting her tongue into his mouth.

  Cayson looked like he was suffocating. He gently pushed her off. “That’s enough, baby.”

  “Best kiss I’ve ever had,” Skye said.

  I shot Cayson a concerned look. “If that’s true you need to learn how to kiss, man.”

  Cayson ignored the jab. “Baby, sit down.” He helped her to her feet.

  She leaned over a little too far and her dress moved up, exposing her ass in her thong.

  Arsen quickly turned away like he hadn’t noticed, and there was a slight smirk on his lips.

  Slade cringed. “God, my eyes burn.”

  I covered my mouth and laughed. “I love drunk Skye.”

  Skye got back to her seat. “My turn!” She spun the bottle but it almost flew off the table.

  Cayson caught it and put it back. “Be easy, baby.”

  “Whoops!” She covered her face like she was extremely embarrassed. Then she spun it again. This time it landed on Silke. “Truth or dare!”

  S
ilke crossed her arms over her chest and gave Arsen a dark look. “Dare.”

  “Please don’t pick something stupid,” Slade said.

  “Hmm…” Skye rubbed her chin while she thought for a moment. “Make out with Trinity!”

  “What?” I shouted. “Uh, no!”

  “Eww,” Slade said. “Silke is my sister. “That’s disgusting.”

  “I’m not making out with Silke at my bachelorette party,” I said. “No offense, Silke.”

  “None taken,” she said.

  “Okay, fine,” Skye said.

  “Wait,” Slade said. “Why does Silke get to say no to Trinity but I don’t get to say no to Cayson?”

  “Because you suck,” I said even though that didn’t answer his question at all.

  “Okay,” Skye said. “I dare you to go up to a random guy and ask him to give it to you good in the bathroom.”

  “No.” Arsen’s voice cut through our conversation and the music overhead.

  “But you have to tell him you have HIV after he agrees,” Skye said.

  Slade laughed. “Do it.”

  “No.” Arsen looked pissed. “Forget it.”

  “Loosen up, man,” Slade said. “We’ll be a few feet away if she needs us.”

  “Fine,” Silke said. “I’ll do it.”

  Arsen shot her a glare.

  “Maybe I’ll ask him if I can shave my legs with his razor too,” Silke jabbed.

  Arsen’s expression didn’t change.

  “We’ll put you on speakerphone so we can hear you.” I set my phone on the table and called her.

  Silke put the phone in the cleavage of her dress. “See you soon.” She scooted out of the booth then walked across the room until she saw a guy sitting alone.

  Arsen watched her like a hawk.

  “Hey, you’re cute.” Silke said over the phone when she reached the guy. She sounded drunk.

  “Uh, thanks.” He eyed her in her dress.

  “You want to have sex in the bathroom?” She wobbled on her feet. “I haven’t had a good lay in a while. You see, my boyfriend doesn’t like the fact I use his razor.”

  “You can use my razor whenever you want,” he blurted.

  She turned around and shot Arsen a purposeful glare.

  He sighed deeply, like he was about to flip the table over.

  “So, sex?” Silke asked. “Preferably anal?”

  The guy stared at her like she was too good to be true. “Awesome!”

  Skye laughed then fell over in the seat.

  Slade couldn’t stop laughing. “Wow…my sister is a trooper.”

  Arsen didn’t look amused at all.

  “Well, let’s go,” she said. “But…I forgot to mention.”

  He eyed her with a raised eyebrow.

  “I have HIV.” She said it casually like it was no big deal.

  “Oh…” He stared at her apprehensively.

  “Okay, let’s go.” She pulled him toward the bathroom.

  “Uh…” He stepped away. “Actually, I have to be somewhere…”

  “You do?” she asked. “Okay. I’ll just ask someone else then.”

  “You do that…” He walked away and disappeared in the crowd.

  Silke strutted as she came back to us. Then she scooted into the booth and gave Arsen a victorious look. “Dare completed.”

  Cayson kept laughing. “Poor guy. He was so excited.”

  “His response when you told him you had HIV,” I said. “Priceless…”

  Arsen just stared at her.

  “My turn to spin the bottle.” Silke grabbed it and spun it.

  Arsen kept watching her.

  The bottle slowed before it landed on Arsen.

  “Oh goodie,” she said. “And since Arsen is such an old man he’ll pick truth. So, let me think.”

  He cocked an eyebrow. “Old man?”

  “Yeah,” she said. “Now you’re boring and safe. The man in the leather jacket is dead—but so are all his good qualities.”

  I felt the tension rise between them. Maybe this game wasn’t such a good idea.

  “So,” Silke said. “Let me think of something…”

  “You miss the old Arsen?” Arsen asked.

  “Sometimes,” she said.

  “Okay, I got one,” she said. “What is—”

  “Dare,” he blurted.

  “Ooh…” Slade said. “It just got interesting.”

  “Dare?” Silke asked.

  “Yeah, dare,” Arsen said. “Bring it.”

  Cayson’s eyes darted back and forth between them. “This night just got real.”

  Skye gave him an affectionate look mixed with drunkenness. “I hope someone dares me to kiss you again.”

  Cayson didn’t look at all tempted by that.

  “Fine, bad boy,” Silke said.

  “Please don’t dare him to kiss me,” Cayson said. “My lips are pretty chapped.”

  Silke kept her look on Arsen. “I dare you to grab some girl’s ass then come back over here.”

  “He’s going to get slapped—hard,” Slade said.

  “You want me to grab some girl’s ass?” Arsen asked incredulously.

  “The old Arsen would have done it,” she said. “The one who wouldn’t have cared that I used his razor.”

  “You’re really that mad about it?” he snapped.

  She shrugged.

  “Fine,” he said. “Tell me one thing you dislike about me.”

  “The bottle isn’t on me,” Silke said.

  I could tell a fight was coming on.

  Arsen pointed the bottle at her. “Well, look at that. Now answer the damn question.”

  “You have a dare to complete,” Silke responded.

  “And I will,” he said. “But answer the question first.”

  “Fine,” Silke said. “I hate that you’ve become a suit—a boring old man.”

  Arsen’s didn’t react overtly but I could tell he was pissed. His eyes darkened and his shoulders stiffened. “You mean, a responsible father and provider?”

  “You can do both,” she said. “Now you’re boring.”

  This argument was getting awkward—for everyone.

  Arsen let it drop.

  But I knew he would continue the conversation when no one was around. “I have a dare to complete…” He slid out of the booth then walked across the bar casually, wearing jeans and a t-shirt. He scanned the room for a girl to make his move on. He honed in on a very pretty brunette wearing a tight black dress.

  Silke watched him like she didn’t care.

  Arsen approached her from behind. His hand moved to her ass and he squeezed it while he leaned toward her face and said something only she could hear.

  The girl’s eyes widened and she looked like she was about to slap him hard on the cheek. But when she got a look at his face and physique, her reaction wasn’t hostile. Actually, she smiled at him and her eyes lit up with interest. Meanwhile, his hand remained on her ass the entire time.

  “Damn,” Slade said. “He’s got game.”

  “I could never pull that off,” Cayson said.

  Silke brooded in silence.

  “Maybe you shouldn’t have dared him to do that…” I said.

  Silke kept staring at them. “Okay, he completed the dare. He should come back now.”

  “I think he’s having fun,” Slade said.

  “A lot of fun,” Cayson said as he took a drink.

  Another girl approached them, clearly interested in Arsen as well.

  “Man, he’s got himself a threesome,” Slade said. “That’s so fucking awesome.”

  “Shut up,” Silke hissed.

  “Hey, you’re the one who dared him to do that,” Slade snapped. “And you need to lay off Arsen. Knock off that shit about him being old and boring. Cut him some slack.”

  “Stop taking his side,” Silke argued.

  “Big deal,” Slade said. “He doesn’t like it when you use his razor. Trinity hates it when I use her t
oothbrush.”

  I shivered in disgust. “So gross…”

  “So back off,” Slade said. “The guy has been through a lot. He completely changed his identity for you. Don’t make him feel like shit about it.”

  Silke kept watching Arsen. “Seriously, when is he coming back?”

  “Probably never,” Cayson said with a laugh.

  Then the other girl grabbed Arsen’s hand and placed it on her ass.

  “Oh, hell no.” Silke slid out of the booth and marched to him.

  “This game isn’t fun anymore,” I said.

  “Hey, Silke was the one being a brat,” Slade said. “If you acted that way I would have done the same thing.”

  Silke grabbed Arsen by the arm and yanked him away from the two girls.

  Arsen pulled his arm from her grasp and gave her an angry look. I’d never seen it before. Then he walked away and disappeared. I wasn’t sure if he left or just headed to the bathroom.

  Silke stood there for a moment before she came back to the table.

  We all stared at her, wondering what happened but didn’t dare ask.

  “He left,” she said. She took a long drink then slammed the glass on the table.

  We all gave her a sad look.

  This bachelorette party wasn’t getting off to a good start.

  ***

  When we got back to the room, I kicked off my heels because I couldn’t walk in them anymore. I was going to break my ankles because the alcohol was making me blind and confused. I fell back on the bed and felt the room spin.

  Slade leaned over me and undressed me, getting my dress off.

  “Strip,” I said with a mumble.

  “You can’t even sit up.”

  “Strip!” I threw my fist in the air. “You promised me a special strip show.”

  He chuckled. “You want to see me naked that bad?”

  “Strip!” I repeated.

  “Fine.” He helped me sit up. “You ready for this?”

  “Oh yeah!” I clapped my hands and waited.

  Slade pulled out his phone and played club music. Then he set the phone beside me. He stepped a few feet away then pulled his shirt off.

  “Woo!” I clapped my hands in excitement. “So hot!”

  He smirked them moved to the floor and started doing push-ups.

  “Ooh…” Watching his muscles flex and contract over and over was pretty hot. He breathed hard as he kept going. The muscles of his arms bulged, and his back was tight and strong. I watched him in a daze and noticed the sweat that started to accumulate on his skin. He wasn’t dancing like a normal stripper would but this was hotter.