All The Truths (Lies & Truths Duet #2) by Rina Kent

Sebastian must feel Asher’s murderous mood, too, since he smiles in an obvious attempt to defuse the tension. “We were just leaving.”

“We were?” Owen seems oblivious, but I’m not sure if it’s genuine or just for show.

Seb grabs him by the shoulder and forces him to release me. “Yes, we were.”

Owen winks at me. “See you, Rei.”

I wave at them, trying—and failing—to ignore the presence standing in front of me.

As they pass him by, Asher stops Owen and whispers something clipped in his ear. I strain to hear what he’s saying, but I can’t catch it.

Owen’s face remains blank for a moment before he laughs. “That’s what I’m talking about.”

He winks at me again before Sebastian drags him out.

As soon as the door closes behind them, I realize it’s only Asher and me now.

My pulse picks up and I fight the urge to fidget. True, I agreed to confront him earlier, but I’m not ready so soon.

I need more time to cultivate my courage.

“What the fuck were you talking about with those two?” Something ticks in his jaw, and I can’t help watching him and his face…his handsome, dreamy face.

Is it weird that I like him seething like this? It means he cares, means he’s affected. It fills me with a weird type of hope, the belief that maybe, just maybe, it’s not too late.

I lift a shoulder. “The usual.”

“Define the usual.”

“Just stuff, Ash.”

He strides toward me and towers over me, his shoulders on the verge of snapping. “What type of stuff, Rai?”

My heart skips a beat at that name. Even though he knows about it, he only ever calls me Reina. It feels both strange and liberating to be called by that name, the name of the child me.

“Why did you call me that?” I whisper.

“Every time you call me Ash, I’ll call you Rai. Don’t you hate it?”

“I don’t hate Rai. It was my name for twelve years, after all, so if you think it’s a jab against me, you have it all wrong.” I pause, watching him closely. “Do you hate Ash?”

His lips thin into a line but he says nothing.

“Or do you secretly love it and hate that?” I continue, holding my breath.

Somehow, I think that’s how Asher feels about me, or at least that’s what I’m hoping for.

He ignores my question and motions behind him. “Let’s go home.”

Home.

My heart flutters at the word. Why the hell does he keep playing my heartstrings today?

I mean, why would he call my apartment home? Does he really think of it as one?

When I don’t move, he closes in on me.

He’ll take me back to the apartment, bring me to orgasm, and then sleep in another room as if I have the plague or something.

It’s time I change that.

Today, things will go my way, not his.

I step out of reach and fold my arms over my chest. His sharp glare makes me drop them on either side of me. Fine. I can do it without crossing my arms.

After all, Asher has other triggers.

“What makes you think I want to go with you? I was making plans to have drinks with Owen and Bastian.”

His face doesn’t betray his emotions, but the stiffness of his shoulders does. There’s something I’ve learned about Asher: he’s possessive to a fault. After I lost my memories, he tried to hide it, but it’s deep in him. I often catch him glaring at the male cheerleaders and any guy who talks to me. Besides, he admitted to wanting to hurt them whenever they touch me.

If I want to get something different out of him, I need to stir up his ugly side.

Luring the lion in his den is dangerous but thrilling.

Sure, I might end up paying a higher price than I bargained for, but if it manages to break the pattern, it’s worth it.

“Is that so?” he asks with a lethal undertone.

“Totally. You just ruined my plans, dude.”

“Reina,” he grunts, as if he’s on the verge of blowing.

“What, Ash?” I feign nonchalance.

His hand shoots my way and he wraps it around my upper arm in a deadly grip, making me wince. With a tug from him, I end up flush against his hard chest, rising and falling with his harsh breaths.

My nipples tighten and my bare stomach erupts in tingles with every brush against his T-shirt.

This close, his sandalwood and citrus scent envelops me in a halo, both smothering and liberating.

When he speaks, goosebumps form across my sensitive flesh. “I know what you’re doing, prom queen, and you’ll regret it.”





You’ll regret it.

Although those words should scare me, something entirely different courses through my veins.

Yes, fear is still there. It snaps my shoulder blades together and keeps me on my toes. It’s the Asher effect; there’s no way to tell what he’s going to do next when he’s in such a mood.

The moment we step into the elevator and it closes on only the two of us, Asher types in the code to my apartment. I never asked him how he got it, but I don’t care right now.

He’s still silent like on the ride here. My thumb moves up and down the strap of my bag in an absentminded caress as I watch his side profile.

My toes curl in my flats and my heart rate hasn’t been able to go down since we left campus.