Speaking of, where were all the other people? I glanced around the living room, realization sinking in. “There’s no game tonight, is there?”
Seth gave Ryan a thoughtful look before turning back to me. “I don’t know. We could role play something if you wanted.”
Ryan nodded. “Locking the princess in the dungeon, for instance.”
My cheeks warmed and anticipation spread through me. “Then rescuing her?”
Ryan seemed to consider this for a moment. “Probably eventually. I’ll only keep her in chains until she’s spent.”
I liked the sound of that. Being bound and at his mercy.
“Hey,” Seth interrupted. “Sometimes the innkeeper is going to want to be chained up too. This is only mostly about the princess.”
His implication made me laugh, and added a new layer of fantasy to the growing list of possibilities in my head. I was really looking forward to what the future held for us. “Druid,” I corrected them. “She’s a druid.”
THE END
~*~
To hear the other side of the story when it comes to who sold Ryan out at work, check out Roll Against Regret (3d20 Book 2). Keep reading for a free sneak preview of Chapter One
~*~
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Roll Against Regret Chapter One
I logged onto the game and loaded my character, ZaneyPixie. The assassin elf waved, before the character screen faded and the world took its place. At the same time, I connected to the live-chat channel I shared with my boyfriend, Jackson, and our in-game party mate, DarkAnge1.
“Hey, gorgeous.” DA’s deep tenor tickled my ears. “Ready to slaughter a dragon?”
“I’m in.” Jackson’s voice joined the three-way chat. He sat on the couch across from me, just a few feet away. We were in his apartment to play together, but I could only hear him over my headset. If I didn’t wear noise-canceling earphones, the echo made my head spin. “You weren’t going to pillage without me. Were you?” he said.
DA laughed. “I was thinking about it, Fiend.” TattedFiend was Jackson’s character. “You’re welcome to watch, though.”
“You and Pixie? I’d watch that in a heartbeat.” Jackson met my gaze over the screens of our laptops, heat lingering in his eyes. His blond hair was spiked, and the glow of his display added an eerily sexy cast to his pale blue eyes. Even with him hunched over his computer, it was clear he was tall and wiry.
A flush spread over my skin, and a tease of imagery danced in my mind. I had no idea what DA looked like, but his voice reminded me of an ex-boyfriend I had, so he always took on Carter’s face in my fantasies. When DA and Jackson started joking like this, those fantasies frequently involved being pressed between them, two sets of hands roaming over my body. I tucked the thoughts away, for when Jackson and I weren’t logged in. “Do I get a say in this?” I asked.
“Absolutely,” DA said. “You can say if he watches or joins in. You’re the boss.”
Tough call. Jackson had been pretty direct about the fact he wouldn’t mind watching me with another guy. Two months ago, when we hooked up, the idea had terrified me, but I had a new perspective on a lot of things these days. Both possibilities sent flutters through my belly and tingled between my thighs. I dragged myself from the lust-filled daydream. We were supposed to be forming a raiding party. “We’re still talking about slaying the dragon, right?”
“If that’s what you want to call it.” Jackson winked at me.
Men. I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “As much fun as this is, the event ends tonight. We doing this or not?” The event ending was just an excuse for hurrying. As much as fun as DA was, he wasn’t here. Jackson had greeted me this evening with a mind-numbing, panty-soaking kiss. He’d slid his hands down to cup my ass, pulled me close enough his hard-on pressed into my stomach, and then moved his attentions back up to roll my nipples between his fingers. He pulled away abruptly, reminded me we had an in-game date, and he and I would have to finish once we were done conquering.
I squirmed in my seat. Focusing wouldn’t be easy, but it would be worth it.
“We’re doing this.” Was that disappointment in DA’s voice, or just a glitch in the connection?
“Adding our party to the queue,” Jackson said. Seconds later, a message flashed on the screen, warning us this mission was meant for a four-person party or larger, and asking if we were sure we wanted to proceed. His avatar cast a series of protection spells on us.
Jackson clicked ‘Yes,’ and an on-screen timer counted down from sixty. DarkAnge1 fell into a battle pose, axe at the ready, I drew my daggers, and a transparent shield radiated out from Jackson’s TattedFiend to encompass all of us.
The screen flashed to black, and the cut scene started. The red dragon swooped in from the skies, and hit the earth hard enough to shake the world. Flame spewed from its nostrils and jaw when it roared.
I tucked the last of my arousal aside and leaned forward, ready to battle. “Dark. Minions, approaching from the west.”
“On it.” The joking was gone from DA’s voice, and his avatar fell into line.
“South.” Jackson barked the single word.
“Going for the wings.” My Pixie sprinted forward, weapons at the ready.
The next ten minutes were a mishmash of the same. All of us knew our roles—DA drew enmity, Jackson kept us alive, and I dealt damage. None of us spoke more than a few words at a time, mostly to announce our intentions, to keep from stepping on each other’s toes. Spells flew, hit points dropped and were magically replenished, and the dragon’s HP bar dropped lower and lower.
The dragon let out one final roar and dropped to the ground. I exhaled, pushing out the tension of the last fifteen minutes, as the ‘You Won’ cut scene played.
“Fuck, yeah!” DA’s cheer echoed in my head, drawing a smile.
“Owned!” Jackson threw his arms in the air in celebration.
I wasn’t sure I could find better words for it. Fights like that always pumped excess adrenaline through me, and sapped me of my ability to think. We spent the next fifteen minutes or so divvying up the drops and making random small talk.
“I hate to cut this short”—Jackson caught my attention visually again—“but we’ve got plans tonight.”
“Without me?” DA’s whine was exaggerated. “Not sexy plans. Right?”
“That exact kind.”
Jackson’s confirmation heated my cheeks. Even as comfortable as I was, joking with DA, I was still getting used to how honest and direct Jackson could be. Especially when it came to our love life.
“Sorry I have to miss it. We still on for tomorrow?”
“Totally.” Jackson said.
I’d almost forgotten. When we’d discovered DA lived in Salt Lake City, same as we did, we agreed to meet in person. There had only been one rule. No photos and no real names exchanged, until we saw each other in person. We didn’t want anything but our existing friendship waiting for us in the coffee shop.
We finished saying our good nights, I stripped off my headset, shut my laptop, and set it in its resting place, on Jackson’s coffee table.
Seconds later, Jackson stood in front of me. He grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet with a swift tug. The air pushed from my chest when I pressed against him. Our relationship was new enough I still felt a rush every time he touched me.
He pushed up the hem of my T-shirt, and his fingers danced along my spine. “You make it so hard to keep my hands to myself.” He traced his lips along my collarbone, and followed the line of the vine tattoo snaking around my neck. The ink was new. Something I’d always wanted to try, but never dared until Jackson. He’d helped me get past a lot of the reservations that had held me back in the past.
“I thought that fight would never end,” he said.
His erection dug into my hip when he held me closer. “We did. Dark is important.”
“He’d also understand.”
“We still have the rest of tonight.” Jackson nipped at my lips, and then deepened the kiss. He moved one hand to the back of my head, and tangled his fingers in my hair.
A vise squeezed around my chest at the intensity in his kiss. Elders, I loved that feeling. He pushed his tongue into my mouth, and it danced with mine. His free hand glided up my chest, brushed the bottom of my breast, and then flicked over a nipple. I groaned into his mouth.
He broke away and met my gaze again. “I’m so lucky to have you, Zoe.”
“Me too. I mean... You know what I mean.” The sudden compliment raised my arousal another notch. I trailed my fingers down to his crotch, and traced the outline of his cock through denim.
He jerked against my touch. His laugh was shaky when he grabbed my wrist and raised my hand to his lips. He kissed each knuckle. “I’m serious. I don’t ever want you to think otherwise.”
“I know.” The intensity in his words made my heart stutter. Why did something so sweet set me on edge? “Are you okay?”
He slid a hand into my back pocket. “I’m good. Perfect, even. I’ve just been thinking.”
It felt like he was dragging the conversation out. Hesitating to say something. That probably made me more nervous than his words did. Jackson didn’t hold back. “About what?” I asked.
“You know how I think it would be hot to watch you with another guy?”
The reminder tingled over every inch of me. I nodded.
“I’m not trying to jump to conclusions or anything.” He kissed up my jaw and caught my earlobe in his teeth. His voice was low, vibrating against my skin. “And I know there’s a really good chance it won’t work out this way, so really, this is just me fantasizing. But”—He breathed deeply—“what if that guy were Dark?”
I bit the inside of my cheek as the words sank in. My brain struggled to process the idea, while my body reacted on its own. My nipples tightened, and an ache grew between my thighs. I wasn’t sure if I was turned on at the prospect, or terrified we were one step closer to it becoming a reality.
“Pixie?” Jackson lifted my chin and forced me to look him in the eye. “Are you still with me?”
The story continues in Chapter Two...
Also by Allyson Lindt
3d20
Roll Against Trust
Roll Against Regret
Roll Against Discovery
3d20 Box Set (Books 1-3)
Game for Cookies
Seduction Games
Control Games (Coming Soon)
Love Hack
Breaching His Defenses
Sheltering His Desire
Securing Her Surrender
Love Hack Box Set
Love Hashtagged
The #5Star Affair
Too Goode to be True
Graphically Novel
Unconventional Fling
Love Hashtagged Box Set (Books 1-4)
Operation Holiday Cheer
Operation: Santa's Elf
Operation: Cupid
Ubiquity
Uriel's Descent
Uriel's Betrayal
Version 2.0
Denial of Interest
Conflict of Interest
Your Ad Here
Selling Seduction
Leasing Love
Auctioning Affection
Renting Romance
Your Ad Here Box Set (Books 1-4)
Standalone
Paranormal and Loving it!
Toeing the Line
Watch for more at Allyson Lindt’s site.
About the Author
Allyson Lindt is a full-time geek and a fuller-time contemporary romance author. She likes her stories with sweet geekiness and heavy spice, because cubicle dwellers need love too. She loves a sexy happily-ever-after and helping deserving cubicle dwellers find their futures together.
Read more at Allyson Lindt’s site.
Roll Against Trust (3d20, #1) Page 7