Twisted-Games

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“One day, I went over and saw him getting mugged at gunpoint right inhis front yard. His mom was at work, and it was a rough neighborhood, sothose things happened. But Travis refused to hand over his watch. It’d been agift from his old man, who died when he was young. The mugger didn’t takekindly to the refusal and shot him right there in broad daylight. No one,including me, did a damn thing about it. Our neighborhood had two rules ifyou wanted to survive: one, keep your mouth shut, and two, mind your ownbusiness.”An acrid taste filled my mouth. I remembered the sight and sound ofTravis’s body hitting the ground. The blood oozing from his chest, thesurprise in his eyes…and the betrayal when he saw me standing there,watching him die. “I went home, threw up, and promised myself I wouldnever be such a coward again.”What’s your biggest regret? Inaction.I’d joined the military to gain a purpose and family I’d never had. Ibecame a bodyguard to absolve myself of sins I could never cleanse.Lives saved in exchange for lives taken, directly or indirectly.What’s your biggest fear? Failure.“It wasn’t your fault,” Bridget said. “You were a kid too. There wasnothing you could’ve done against an armed attacker. If you’d tried, youmight have died too.”There it was. Another hitch on the word died.Bridget looked away, but not before I caught the suspicious sheen in hereyes.I clenched and unclenched my fists.Don’t do it. But I’d already fucked up multiple times tonight. What wasone more?“Come here, princess.” I opened one arm. She stepped into it and buriedher face in my non-injured shoulder. It was the most vulnerable we’d been infront of the other since we met, and it chipped away at something inside me.“It’s all right.” I patted her awkwardly on the arm. I was shit atcomforting people. “It’s over. Everyone’s fine except for the shithead withthe gun. Though I guess tonight was a bad night to leave the bulletproof vestat home.”Her choked laugh vibrated through my body. “Is that a joke, Mr. Larsen?”“An observation. I don’t—”“Joke,” she finished. “I know.”
We sat in the back of the ambulance for a while longer, watching thepolice seal off the crime scene while I tried to tamp down the fierceprotectiveness welling in my chest. I was protective of all my clients, but thiswas different. More visceral.Part of me wanted to push her far away from me, and another part wantedto drag her into my arms and keep her as mine.Except I couldn’t.Bridget was too young, too innocent, and too off-limits, and I’d damnwell better not forget that.
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TWISTED GAMES
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ANA HUANG
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To all the girls who said fuck Prin
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Epilogue32. Bridget33. Rhys34. Brid
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She can never be his...but he's tak
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NOTE TO READERS:This story takes pl
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1BRIDGET“SPANK ME! MASTER, SPANK
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I was glad Emma hadn’t told me ab
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to run my hand through his thick da
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Booth choked out a laugh, which he
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2RHYSPRINCESS BRIDGET VON ASCHEBERG
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horny college guys? I’m surprised
Page 26 and 27: My shoulders tensed.I rose from my
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Page 30 and 31: 3BRIDGETONE OF THE WORST THINGS ABO
Page 32 and 33: long-term volunteers at Wags & Whis
Page 34 and 35: advantage of the lull in our normal
Page 36 and 37: Another long beat passed before Rhy
Page 38 and 39: Bridget brushed a strand of hair ou
Page 40 and 41: have an event in an hour.”“No,
Page 42 and 43: Okay, bonding was too strong a word
Page 44 and 45: you’ll be.”While my life wasn
Page 46 and 47: secrets and revenge.I honestly didn
Page 48 and 49: fresh flowers on a summer day—and
Page 50 and 51: keep up your end of the bargain, an
Page 52 and 53: 6BRIDGETTRIAL MONTH ONE“You’re
Page 54 and 55: Please.”“Can’t. One employee
Page 56 and 57: breath whispered across my skin in
Page 58 and 59: festival grounds.Rhys sat on the co
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Page 62 and 63: planned it with my friends, then…
Page 64 and 65: phone.I’d deal with my inappropri
Page 66 and 67: Subway, a nail salon, and a restaur
Page 68 and 69: My heart crashed against my ribcage
Page 70 and 71: 8BRIDGET/RHYSBRIDGETOne second, I w
Page 72 and 73: death.Rhys was an experienced soldi
Page 74 and 75: Terror raked its claws down my spin
Page 78 and 79: 9BRIDGETSOMETHING CHANGED THE NIGHT
Page 80 and 81: Rhys’s gaze lingered on me for a
Page 82 and 83: “You scared Louis half to death,
Page 84 and 85: the sharp trill of an incoming call
Page 86 and 87: RHYSBRIDGET WANTED TO LEAVE FOR ELD
Page 88 and 89: “He raised us, you know.” Bridg
Page 90 and 91: “What?”“You said you wanted t
Page 92 and 93: the seat behind her so I didn’t h
Page 94 and 95: BRIDGETRHYS AND I DIDN’T TALK AGA
Page 96 and 97: forced Nikolai to leave the room ea
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Page 100 and 101: A smidge of relief softened his exp
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Page 104 and 105: Oh, for fuck’s sake.I hardened my
Page 106 and 107: and my gut was never wrong.Maybe sh
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Page 112 and 113: tried not to notice how good he sme
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Page 116 and 117: cheek. I wiped it away angrily.I ha
Page 118 and 119: RHYS3 WEEKS LATERSome people have s
Page 120 and 121: Fuck pummeling his face. I wanted t
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Either fuck me, or I’ll find some
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“You’re going to live your life
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both our minds.Since I couldn’t,
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He’s on vacation right now and le
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Our conversation was depressing me.
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back a huge grin.Ziplining looked s
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“Yes. You should go shirtless mor
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gave her was fake. She was alone, p
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I gave her another hard kiss before
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“Making sure I can take my sweet
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out until just the tip remained.“
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expected such a one-eighty so soon.
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The next morning, I woke up earlier
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PART II
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BRIDGETSIX WEEKS LATER“His Majest
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“Yes.” A small grimace crossed
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at any minute and at the prospect o
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but I had nothing against the actua
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It’d only been six weeks, but it
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here again after six weeks because
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short black hairs on his cheek and
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broken the ice between me and Rhys.
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BRIDGET“MIGHT I SAY, YOU LOOK ABS
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diamond necklace resting against my
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hearing about his clothes and gym e
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received an invite despite not bein
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“It’s not a big deal.” Rhys w
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my gun. Maybe I would’ve pulled i
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I’ll be staying with her until sh
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we were children, and he thrives on
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None. Zip. Nada.I had as much roman
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announcement blared over the PA sys
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princess. Happy?”I tried again.
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BRIDGETTWO WEEKS AFTER MY DATE WITH
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“They’re not random people, the
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it hadn’t been our priority, and
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I closed my eyes and stifled a moan
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We stayed silent until we reached t
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“Please.” She clutched at my ar
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me deeper.“This is for all the ti
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rating shot sky high, nearly rivali
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“That wasn’t a request.”My ni
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him thrusting in and out of me—
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and left, but not before shooting m
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RHYSI WAS ADDICTED.Me, the man who
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“Come here.”“You ordering me
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things in the world I couldn’t wi
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BRIDGET“STEFFAN.” MY HEART THUM
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this weekend for the final preparat
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“Okay, but laws can’t be repeal
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know me so well.”“I do.”“Hm
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Andreas raised his eyebrows. “I
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“Third floor’s not that high.
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BRIDGET“IS EVERYTHING OKAY?” SA
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kingdom…and if it wasn’t alread
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RHYSAS EXPECTED, PRINCE NIKOLAI AND
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“The princess and the duke. Fairy
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Possessiveness and anger gripped me
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BRIDGETMY DRESS POOLED AROUND MY AN
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against my skin. “There’s not m
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“Okay.” A hint of doubt remaine
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I should tell Rhys. He’d know wha
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moments, it couldn’t last.Eventua
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you fix this.” Whenever Elin was
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For a second, I thought Markus had
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RHYS“…REPORTS THE KING IS IN ST
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exercises, so please.” She gestur
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top of that…“It’s not,” I s
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BRIDGETDON’T LOOK AT HIM.If I loo
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Gray thunderstorms stared back at m
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I smiled at the reminder of our aft
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hospitalization died down. As a bon
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“So, it’s done.” She regarded
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RHYSMY FIRST TASTE OF ALCOHOL BURNE
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On the surface, Christian looked li
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ice cream on quiet nights. Someone
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he opened the door wider and steppe
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secrets with them to their graves.
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Unfortunately, I was running out of
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BRIDGETTHE PALACE ASSIGNED BOOTH AS
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classic, if cliche. The Maldives ar
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But it wouldn’t be love. It would
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“Grandfather!” I jumped out of
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certain bodyguard.”The desk blurr
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Baby, we’re way beyond like.I dia
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BRIDGETI’D LOST MY MIND, ASKING A
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I let out a soft laugh as I hugged
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whipped. Watch.” She raised her v
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I didn’t think he would reveal an
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RHYSSHE WASN’T COMING.I stood on
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She froze at my low command, roughe
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vulnerability entered her eyes. “
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eighty of Eldorra’s most powerful
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tightened. “I love you.”Another
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BRIDGETAFTER MY NIGHT WITH RHYS, I
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true.”The murmurs exploded into a
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molten flame. “You did good, prin
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RHYS1 WEEK LATER“Your Highness!
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degrees hanging on the walls.I stud
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I wasn’t here to beat down on Erh
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and will never want your money, you
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Another laugh, another easing of ne
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A deep sound rumbled in Rhys’s ch
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BRIDGETWE SPENT THE REST OF THE DAY
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something more scandalous would’v
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Brisk and efficient to the end.“N
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to-be ex-friends and ex-employees h
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RHYS“YOU CAN’T SIT BY A QUEEN
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match you want to watch?”Football
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her as they would anyone else—war
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box, the knot of nerves in my stoma
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“I will.”Pride seeped through m
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We always end up where we’re mean
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circumstances instead of letting th
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followed soon after. We couldn’t
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TWISTED SERIESA series of interconn
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTSThank you to everyon
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ABOUT THE AUTHORAna Huang is an aut
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Twisted-Games

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