Twisted Lies (Twisted, #4)

by Ana Huang

Instead, I took the coward’s way out. “Thank you for the past few days. They were just what I needed.” I dug my toes into the cool sand and kept my eyes on the table. “We make a pretty good fake couple, don’t we?” The words burned like acid on their way out. “Fake couple with benefits,” I added, hoping to lighten the suddenly tense atmosphere. I snuck a peek at Christian. His face looked like it was carved from granite, but his eyes burned dark and intimidating. “Fake couple?” His silken voice wrapped ice around my throat. A shiver rasped over my skin, but I forged on. “That was our agreement. A few kisses and sex don’t change anything.” I wasn’t naive enough to think that just because he slept with me, he wanted anything more than a good time. We’d given into something between us, but that didn’t mean I had any commitment from him. I’d seen too many people get their hearts broken because of such an assumption, and I refused to be one of them. “They don’t, do they?” Lower. More dangerous. “Then what, exactly, do those few kisses and sex mean to you?” Something told me I shouldn’t answer, but I did anyway. Self-preservation had never been my strong suit when it came to Christian. “A fantasy. None of this is real.” I gestured at the beach. “It’s never been real. Hawaii is a dream, but it’s ending tomorrow, and I want to set the right expectations before we return to D.C. You said it yourself.” The lump in my throat grew. “You don’t believe in love.”