Dangerous Seduction

The Deal

"You're staring," Willow said and I switched my attention from the notorious fighter to her.

"I recognize him." I wrung my hands underneath the outdated diner table and took a shaky breath. "He fought Darien."

Willow spun in her seat, unapologetically staring at the three guys who paid no attention to her. "Him? The one with the fucking polo shirt? He looks like a guy from Ralph Lauren."

I hit her hand. "Shush, stop staring at him!"

"Ow!" Willow froze, her eyes widening. "Wait—wait!"

I cocked brow as Willow leaned in.

"Him," she whispered, as if they would hear her. "He'll be perfect."

"Perfect--no, no!"

"Yes-yes!" Willow snatched my wrist and tugged me up as we moved towards Wes's booth. My stomach knotted painfully tight.

You got this, you got this.

Willow didn't even say hello before she slid into the booth beside one of Wes's friends and pulled me next to her.

"Evening boys," Willow said and beamed at them.

"Uh, hi?" The guy beside Willow lifted a brow.

"I know you," Wes said, his dark brown eyes narrowed in confusion. I twisted my lips ruefully and watched his expression as he pinpointed exactly where he had seen me. "You were at the fight--with Darien."

I cleared my throat. "Actually, I was just there. Not with him"

"But this is about Darien Wilde." Willow leaned in closer, hands tucked under her chin and smiled at the boys. "I'm Willow and my friend here, Genevieve were wondering if you would be interested in destroying said douche."

Silence spread between the five of us, watching each other. Then it broke as one of the guys laughed.

"You gotta me fucking with me, Troy, you with me?" The third guy sat next to Wes--taller, but lanky and with neck long wavy hair.

"Shut up, Callum," Wes said, his entire focus on Willow and I. "And how exactly do you expect to do that, huh? Destroy Darien?"

"Well, not actually physically destroy him--just crush his self-esteem, make him realize how it feels to be treated like shit, you know, the basics," Willow said and took a sip of Troy's coke. "Don't you want to win against him? See him crumble to nothing?"

Callum folded his arms and glared at Willow. "And how do you expect to do that?"

"Wes pretends to be interested in Genevieve," Willow said simply and jerked her thumb to me.

All eyes swung to me and I desperately wanted to crawl underneath the table.

Wes grew silent again and tapped his finger against the table. Then he shifted his attention to me. He nodded his chin. "And why aren't you the one convincing me if you have to date me?"

I flushed at all the eyes on me. "I want," I paused to prevent any stuttering, "I want him to know how it feels. I want him to stop."

"So let me get this straight," Wes said, trouble forming words without laughing. "You want me to pretend to have a thing for you so he'll get pissed and what, pursue you? What if he doesn't care? Because trust me, Darien doesn't care about the opposite sex when he's used them and tossed them."

Willow glared darkly at them. "Ooooh, he'll care."

Wes's forehead wrinkled and his friends shot each other puzzled looks. "What exactly did he do this time?"