by Rene Folsom
Synopsis
Maci strives for one thing in life—anonymity. With her writing career in full bloom, all she wants is to work in peace while concealing her true identity from the public. Though readers love the science fiction worlds she creates, Maci knows that gender stereotypes could damage her career if she is exposed as a woman.
Liam is the envy of all gamers as the lead developer for nZone Studios. Over time, he builds walls around himself, keeping people at arm’s length who only gravitate to him for his material possessions rather than who he is as a person.
With thick barriers around their hearts and their past looming in the shadows, Liam and Maci challenge each other by slowly peeling away their protective layers and seeing each other for who they really are. It doesn’t take long after their chance meeting at a coffee shop for them to become one another’s game changer.
Note: This contemporary romance novel is the first book in the Playing Games series and contains adult situations meant for ages 18+. The prequel to this novel, The Wager, is an optional novella available at all major retailers and only meant to give a little extra back-story about the characters.
Find out more on Rene’s website at
http://renefolsom.com/playing-games
Copyright © 2014 Rene Folsom
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission from the authors, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Editing Services Provided by:
Cynthia Shepp - www.CynthiaShepp.com
Cover Created by Phycel Designs
www.Phycel.com
A special thanks to ML—
thanks for keeping me in line and making sure my gaming references are spot on.
Table of Contents
Synopsis
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Thanks for Reading
Books by Rene
Prologue
Maci: Anonymity
As soon as the door to my pod slid closed, I knew we were finally alone. The sound of his footsteps nearing me increased, seeming to fill the small space with an electrical charge that coursed through my body and down to my core.
Sciron, the small planet I once called home, was now fraught with evil—faces of my own species taken over by a demonic spirit I could only describe as foul and cruel continued to riddle my thoughts like diseased vines weaving their way through my sensitive soul. The sight of many other alien life forms taken in as slaves nearly had my hearts breaking into shards. Watching my own kind being so cruel had me thankful I’d joined this team of voyagers, and I sighed with relief that our foraging trip went as planned. I was all too eager to get the hell out of dodge and away from this galaxy as soon as possible.
Despite the planet’s decline, the time spent on Sciron’s surface was one of excitement and adventure, which seemed to increase the already edgy sexual tension between Captain Evans and myself.
Grazing his fingertip on my bare shoulder, he traced the line of my strap. My flesh tingled and beaded with chills at his touch. His lips inched close to my ear and his breath feathered over my skin as he whispered, “You okay?”
My hearts picked up pace, their frantic beating filling the silence of the room with an even rhythm. I turned to him, well aware his breathing had increased in my presence.
“I’ll be just fine once your lips are touching mine, Captain.” I tried desperately to sound confident as I put the moves on the human male who was considered my boss. Regardless of how rare interspecies relationships were, I couldn’t ignore our attraction anymore. Scirons and humans were very close in both looks and intelligence, and as long as you didn’t count the slight neurological and biological differences, our pairing made perfect sense.
His broad hand came up to cup my cheek. “You know that’s not what I meant, Fidorah.”
I sighed at the sound of my name from his lips. Oh, what this human did to me was beyond comprehension. He made me feel things I never knew were possible, and he still had yet to kiss me.
I nodded, never allowing my eyes to leave his—orange against blue—like a planetary sunset I’d once experienced light-years away. “I’m fine, really. I just can’t take this anymore,” I said with a waver to my voice, gesturing between our bodies like it would somehow reinforce the connection.
His answering grin let me know he was in agreement, clearly just as tuned into me as I was to him.
Bowing his head, he said, “I’ve been waiting for so long to do this.” Without another breath, he placed his lips against mine in a scorching embrace. It didn’t take long for my insides to melt from his touch, while he traced his fingertips up my body and began unzipping the vintage vinyl top that hugged my curves like a second skin.
The slow removal of our clothing was such delicious torture. My body craved his touch more than stars needed light, and I knew as soon as he touched me in my most sensitive areas, I would be done for.
“Oh, Evans,” I whimpered while he carried my light, feral body over to my small bunk. Laying me down against the plush surface, he hovered over me and palmed my face with his broad hand, gazing into my eyes as if seeing me was more important than his next breath.
“So beautiful,” he mumbled against my lips before thrusting his warm tongue inside my mouth, hot tangling with cold—such a delicious combination of conflicting sensations that gracefully described our odd pairing.
In one swift, gentle move, Captain Evans filled me, making me cry out, coating the room with sounds of pure ecstasy. I’d never had a human make me feel so alive, so at peace with myself and my lot in life. As he made love to me, I knew this was where I belonged—here, in his arms, beneath his powerful body, and under his full control.
It didn’t take long before my body began to tremble, an overwhelmingly warm feeling tightening inside me, screaming for relief. The urge to burst from the inside out continued to swell deep in my abdomen as I focused on the motion of him pushing and pulling over and over again. My breaths came out in ragged, short bursts while my hearts felt like they would pound from my chest. I didn’t know a man could cause these kinds of feelings in me, and the sensations were too overpowering for words to describe.
Looking deep into my eyes, Evans made a few more quick thrusts of his hips, sending me over the edge into a free fall, as if my body was floating in space with no tethers or attachments to keep me held down. I cried out, my mouth forming some incoherent form of his name, as he made me climax around him. It didn’t take long for him to follow suit, the sight of
him coming inside me taking my breath away.
Once the captain made me writhe with desire and both our bodies were sated, I couldn’t seem to get enough of him. Lying in my tiny bunk, nestled away in the corner of my pod on his rather large cargo ship, I stared at his gorgeous form and willed for this moment to never end.
With our faces eerily close together, Evans cracked one eye open and smiled.
“What?” he asked, wondering why I had been examining his features so diligently.
“What happens now, Captain? What happens with… well, with us?” I asked, worried this little intimate time we’d spent together would soon come to an end.
Adjusting his torso, he held his arm out and invited me to snuggle into the nook against his chest. After I was finally situated and oh so comfortable, his body rumbled with the vibration of his deep, sexy voice.
“Well, the way I see it, we have no other choice. We have the entire universe ahead of us, Fidorah. And I’d love nothing more than to spend every moment with you in the stars.”
The End.
As I typed that last little phrase, making my manuscript nearly one hundred and thirty thousand words, a nervous feeling abruptly enveloped me and my breathing became more rapid. This final scene that wrapped up the end of my book was by far the steamiest piece of material I had ever written, and the possibility that Science Fiction readers would hate me for it was not to be ignored.
Considering I chose anonymity with regards to my literary identity, this particular scene was bound to stir up some rumors. I had to face facts—male authors usually didn’t tap into the realm of romance or sexual scenes without some sort of backlash from readers, yet it was also not common for female authors to have such astounding success in the Sci-Fi genre as I have had. I would’ve been an idiot to ignore the possibility of what this ending would mean for my reputation.
Selecting the entire scene, my finger hovered over the delete button, and I seriously weighed my options. Indecision bounced around in my head, making me dizzy. Before I made a huge mistake, I saved my document and closed down the word processor, my heart beating frantically at the realization I was being so bold.
Of course, my editor, Samantha, would never allow me to make a game-changing mistake if she felt it was just too much for my readers to handle. She would ultimately step up to put me in my place if she thought I was committing career-suicide with my words.
The thought still didn’t stop the frantic feeling of anxiety and adrenaline pumping through my veins as I attached the document and emailed my latest story in the Celestial Series to Sam.
It never failed… Typing The End and pressing the bloody publish button were two tasks I never took lightly. My mind would always dream up some reason to freak the fuck out.
Chapter One
Maci: Smell the Coffee
Pushing my way through the doors of my favorite coffee shop, I sighed in disbelief. The joint was packed tighter than a barrel of monkeys, and the fact my favorite place to write was now becoming a noisy circus didn’t improve my mood.
Well, I’m here now. Might as well knock out a few thousand words.
My hair blew into my face as more people piled in, the air from the open door whooshing around my head in a frenzy and drowning out the smell of fresh coffee I so enjoyed.
As if it had a shiny, bright beacon calling for my attention, I spotted a small booth to the far side of the shop. Nearly leaping over other patrons, I darted toward the table and unloaded my laptop case and belongings in a sloppy heap of a mess. The plastic bag from the bookstore I just left made a seemingly permanent impression in my arm.
New books were always worth a few injuries though.
Blowing my hair from my face with a huff, I scanned my surroundings, worried to leave my things unattended while I got in line for a mocha, yet I also didn’t want to lose my table by taking them with me. The place was loud with a constant hum of voices, all trying to outdo each other in volume. A cackling laughter came from someone a few tables over, causing my eyes to become intimate with the back of my sockets as each new, annoying giggle from her grated on my nerves.
“Maci,” Ramon yelled from behind the counter. “You sit—I’ll bring your usual,” he added with a smile and a slight head bob before turning away. I was happy Ramon’s little coffee shop was doing so well, but damn if it didn’t irritate the shiz outta me that I had to share my sanctuary with a bunch of other people in this city. I always considered this place to be my haven—my writing cave of sorts. I’ve written so many amazing scenes in this little café, and I wasn’t usually known for sharing what I considered to be my space.
I needed to take a few breaths and calm myself. I knew I was just annoyed by the early deadlines my publisher forced on me almost immediately after finishing my book last week. If I could only find some time to write, I wouldn’t be quite so bothered by every little thing around me.
“Ahh, a mocha for the lovely Maci,” Ramon said as he set it in front of me with a flourish. “So good to see your beautiful face every day.”
“Thank you, Ramon. I hate to be such a bother when you’re so busy,” I responded with a wave of my hand, gesturing to the throng of people throughout the place. The smell of the fresh mocha hit my nose at that precise moment, causing my eyes to flutter shut and my mind to wander—at least until Ramon spoke again.
“Anything for you. I put some coupons in the local paper and all these people have come to check us out. Isn’t it wonderful?” he asked with obvious excitement bubbling in his light Italian accent.
“So very wonderful. Now that you’ve gotten their attention, I’m sure they’ll be lifetime customers just like me,” I said with honesty. Regardless of how put out I felt, I knew this meant a lot for his business.
“Oh, I hope so,” he said with a clap of his hands. “You enjoy. Just get my attention when you’re ready for another.”
“Thanks. Will do.” As he walked away with pep in his step, I chuckled and took a sip of my coffee.
Oh, that’s good.
My eyes nearly rolled into the back of my head with pure bliss, and it was all I could do not to moan out loud. Ramon knew how to make a damn good mocha.
Craving to get started, I shoved my earbuds into my ears before pulling my MacBook from my case and bringing it to life, impatiently strumming my fingers on the tabletop. Needing to get back into the groove after neglecting to write all weekend, I let the music fill my ears and tune out all the noise around me as I read over the last chapter I feverishly wrote in the middle of the night on Friday. As soon as I dove in, ideas began to flow and, before I knew it, I had written nearly three thousand words without so much as looking up from my screen.
It felt so good to write again after ignoring the voices in my head over the past several days. They needed their time in the limelight.
Taking another sip of my mocha, I realized it was long gone. All I had to do was look in Ramon’s direction and hold my cup in the air. Without hesitation, he began making another for me. I was beyond thankful for his faithfulness, never forgetting us little people during his new rush of coupon fame.
He brought it in a flash of silence, clearly needing to get back behind the counter.
Taking a much-needed break from the tiny words on my screen, I looked around and noticed the place hadn’t died down one little bit. Each table was occupied, and more people were coming and going by the minute. That must’ve been one hell of a coupon he advertised to cause this much of a traffic jam.
Before I could pull my eyes away from the door, a tall, thin man walked in wearing average clothes—a pair of surprisingly well-fitted jeans and a tee that said “Eat. Sleep. Game.” across the chest. Not that I was one to judge the appearance of others, but he definitely didn’t seem like the gamer type I would normally be attracted to. The confidence he so easily wore—cocky and entitled—was the first thing that made me realize he was probably one of those wannabe gamers… a poser of the nerd variety.
Suc
h a pity, I thought, and brought my attention back to my writing.
“Yeah, that’s not happening, Thad… I don’t need a reason…”
A loud, booming voice broke my focus and nearly had me gripping my hair with frustration. He was loud enough to overpower the music flooding through my earbuds. Looking back up over my laptop, I noticed the cocky geek boy talking on his cell, oblivious to the fact he was being extremely rude to those around him.
“Dude, you’re not listening to me. I don’t need a date.”
Silencing his gob for a few seconds, he grabbed his coffee from the barista and scanned the room, his eyes landing on the chair across from where I sat.
I was shaking my head before he even had a chance to ask. He looked put out at first, but then took a few more steps in my direction and flashed a pretty-boy smile.
“Hang on, Thad,” he barked before pointing with one of the fingers he used to hold his cup. Reluctantly, I pulled the buds from my ears and scowled in hopes of silently getting my point across. “Mind if I sit with you? There’s nowhere else to sit, and I’m waiting for someone.”
I hesitated. Was I really mean enough to tell him he had to stand when I was clearly not using the chair? Then again, he was obviously unaware of how utterly annoying his loud conversation had been.
Deciding I wasn’t a cruel person, I extended my hand out, gesturing for him to sit, while never allowing the irritated expression to leave my face.
One nod of his head was all the thanks I got as he plopped in the chair and continued the loud argument on his cell phone. Irritation continued to thrum through my veins.
“Again, who cares if I go stag? The event wouldn’t even be happening if it weren’t for me. Who’s to say I must take a date? Okay, look… I’ll find a date on my own. No… I don’t need you setting me up with anyone. All the women you come up with are nothing but mon—” He cut himself off, glancing at me and the frustrated facial expression that must’ve been burning holes into the side of his pretty little head. “Look, Thad, just come pick me up at Ramon’s Café on the south side of town once you’re done.”