Chapter 102: Truth or dare

Stella led Tom across the private courtyard to the lounge.

The seats there were low and open. They were arranged around a small table with enough space between them for conversation and enough closeness to make avoidance difficult.

Although, Tom followed her without hesitation, his eyes were on her back, still not certain what shape the morning was about to take. The see-through gown moving lightly around her as she walked, didn’t really make it easy for him to look away. The lingerie beneath it was a sight to feast on.

Her round ass cheeks bounced Invitingly as she walked.

She stopped by the seats and turned to him.

"Okay, we’re here. Sit." she said.

Tom blinked then sat, watching her with a half-smile. "You’re being very mysterious right now."

Stella took the seat across from him, crossed one leg over the other, and settled in with the composure of a woman arranging a meeting she already expected to control.

"We’re going to play a game." she revealed simply.

"A game?" He tilted his head. "Should I be worried? I think I should be." he said and nodded in agreement to what he just said.

A satisfied smirk made its way onto Stella’s lips then she replied;

"Possibly. Truth or dare... That’s the game."

Tom let out a short breath. "Truth or dare. Really?"

"Yeah."

"I haven’t heard those words since college."

"Then this will be an improvement," Stella said smoothly. "I want to know you better."

"You could just ask me whatever it is you want to know." he shrugged.

"I could." She tipped her head slightly, studying him. "But then you would have room to polish the answers. Soften them and definitely choose the version of the truth that sounds best in daylight. A game removes that comfort. With rules, you don’t get to evade without consequence."

Tom leaned back in the seat, interest already catching under the surface. "So it’s the consequences you’re after?"

"I’m after honesty. The penalties simply make honesty expensive enough to matter. And they will make this vacation more memorable than breakfast and polite conversation." Stella maintained firmly.

He watched her for a second longer then heaved a sigh.

"All right. What kind of penalties are we talking about?"

Stella held his gaze and her smirk got bigger as she answered. "If a player refuses the truth, fails the dare, or tries to slip around either one, there is a penalty. The first failure costs a piece of clothing. The second leaves you exposed while the other person is allowed one controlled touch without giving you release. The third requires you to admit, out loud, exactly what the touch did to you. And if you keep failing, you remain that way... aroused, denied, and not permitted to cover yourself until I decide otherwise."

The courtyard seemed quieter after she finished. Tom’s lips parted.

Shock hit first. Then, underneath it, something less obedient than embarrassment moved through him: interest. Sharp, unwilling to look away. He swallowed hard before he found his voice.

"Those are not light penalties." he pointed out.

"They aren’t meant to be," Stella said. "If they were light, there would be no reason to fear the next question."

"And how would we know either person is telling the truth?" He asked.

"For me, I rely on my instincts. And they are never wrong so I’d know if you aren’t telling the truth." She said, Utmost confidence laced her words.

Tom let out a low, disbelieving chuckle. And before he could form a response to counter her statement, and insist that that would be unreliable, the System cut into his vision.

[Oh, I love this.]

Tom’s nose scrunched faintly. "Of course you do." he replied inwardly.

The System’s tone shifted, less playful. [Do not dismiss it. This kind of exchange will accelerate recruitment. Truth under pressure. Desire under restraint. Host should play.]

Tom absorbed that in silence, then returned his attention to Stella.

"So?" Stella tilted her head.

"All right," he said. "I’m in." he said.

Her brows rose slightly. "That easy?" she asked because she had actually expected him to refuse although she was still going to persuade him. 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

"I can handle a game." His mouth tipped. "And I want to know more about you too. Seems fair."

"Good." Satisfaction moved through her expression, controlled but visible. "Then we understand each other."

Tom glanced toward the house. "If we’re going to sit out here taking turns damaging each other’s composure, we should at least have drinks."

Stella gestured lightly with her fingers. "By all means."

He rose and went back inside. From the kitchen he took cold drinks and a small plate of cut fruit and nuts, just enough to keep the morning from turning dry and severe. When he returned to the courtyard lounge, Stella was still seated in the same composed position, her eyes following him with open patience.

Tom set the refreshments on the table between them and sat again. "There. Now we can start."

Stella smiled at him in appreciation. Then she spoke; "We need a way to decide who goes first."

She didn’t allow Tom to contribute before she reached for an empty glass bottle among the drinks, placed it on its side at the center of the table, and spun it with one clean motion. The bottle turned, slowed, and stopped with its mouth angled toward Tom.

"You," she said, her voice rose with excitement even though she was trying to hide it.

Tom exhaled through his nose, half a laugh under it. "Of course it’s me."

Stella rested one elbow against the arm of her seat, elegantly. "Truth or dare?"

He studied her for a second, already aware that either choice would cost him something and he finally settled on...

"Truth."

"Very well."

She did not rush the question. She smiled, fixed him an intense stare for a whole second, then her voice came soft and clear;

"Do you enjoy taking what belongs to another man?"

Tom’s body reacted before his mouth did.

The question hit harder than a simple provocation. It reached backward through Adrian, through the secret meetings, through the hotel room and the kitchen table and every line he had already crossed.

Tom’s fingers curled against his thighs...