Hooked on the Game

by C. M. Owens

  He racks the balls, and I chalk the end of my cue stick as he finishes forming the perfect triangle.

  "Eight-ball?" he asks, making my grin only grow.

  "Perfect. You can go first."

  He laughs while walking over to join me. "I was raised that ladies go first. It's not an anti-feminist thing; just a gentlemanly thing. After you."

  He sweeps his hand in an ushering motion, and I shrug.

  "I just thought you might want a chance to shoot."

  His laugh comes out again as he shakes his head. "You're killing me. I'm really glad you came out with me."

  He didn't give me much of a choice. Winning a game of pool sounds like more fun than watching Courtney and Kade rekindle their lost romance.

  I keep telling myself it's for the best, but it still hurts. She's from his world, he obviously missed her, considering the hug he was wrapped up in.

  I shake free from the distracting thoughts as I line up the cue ball and set up my break. With one perfectly executed thrust, I strike the ball precisely. I watch as it clanks against the others and they roll out with an excellent spread, knocking two solids into the top two pockets.

  "I'll take solids," I say with a smile and a wink.

  He leans back, seeming amused as he watches me move on to my shot. The cue ball lightly kisses the solid three, and it rolls in, thudding against the padded bottom of the pocket.

  After a few walks around the table and several tricky, but well calculated shots, I end up with a ton of stripes in my way for the eight ball shot.

  "This has to be the most fun I've ever had watching pool," he murmurs, seeming to swoon over me a little.

  I've seen stars in the eyes of many people who watched in amazement as my dad decimated a table or two. His specialty is poker. Mine is twenty-one. Pool is always fun, too, though.

  "Eight ball, corner pocket," I murmur, tapping the pocket of my choice with the end of my cue stick for good measure.

  "That's going to be a tricky shot," he says, eyeing the predicament and mess of scattered stripes littering the route I'll have to take.

  "Those are my favorite."

  I don't look back, but I feel his grin. As I take a breath, I gauge the bank in which my shot will have to bounce off. A gentle graze of the cue ball against the eight ball will be all it needs to slip into the pocket, but I'll have to do it without scratching. That's not going to be easy.

  With a final stroke, I propel the cue ball to the exact place I mean to on the bank of the table. It bounces back and rolls straight between the small divide in stripes, never veering off course, and it taps the eight ball perfectly to force it to roll in. The white cue ball slowly drifts to a stop centimeters before it joins the eight ball in the pocket. Winner, winner.

  "That has to be the sexiest thing I've ever seen in my life. I'd fall to your feet and worship you right now if I knew you wouldn't get embarrassed."

  I sigh smugly while laying down the cue stick and pretending to dust my hands. "I prefer to be worshipped from afar."

  His laughter rumbles free as he shakes his head and goes to line up the balls again. I start to call the waitress over to order a new beer, but I'm met by deep blue eyes from a far off table. My heart almost stops beating. Kade is here, and damn... he looks pissed.

  Courtney's arm is draped around the back of his chair as she talks animatedly to Erica. Wren is talking to Tag, and Kade's death-glare is locked on me. Tag and Wren follow his gaze to me and Lyle. What did I do wrong? Is he pissed that I'm here with his girlfriend's brother? It's not like I'm making waves for his future business plans.

  Tag's smile falls when he sees the murderous gleam in Kade's eyes. He stands when Kade does, and puts his hand on his chest, as though he's holding him back.

  Lyle's hand slides around my waist as he asks the waitress for two more beers.

  "You okay?" he asks, moving to be in front of me and blocking my view from Kade.

  When his hands move to settle on my hips, I suddenly feel like maybe I have done something wrong. Kade probably thinks this is a date, and he doesn't like drama that could interfere with his master plan.

  "Are you... Are you or your parents in business with Kade's grandfather?"

  "Henry Burndell? Yeah... My mother's company is a huge supplier to them. Why?" he drawls out, seeming confused by what he assumes is a random question.

  Damn. No wonder he's looking at me like that. I'm messing up all his plans right now in his eyes. He's all business. And if he got involved with Courtney, knowing she would one day have some pull in her mother's business, then he must really like her.

  "I probably should have said something to Kade before-"

  I'm stopped short when Lyle is ripped away and shoved against the wall. Kade turns his glare on me, and I feel like crawling under the pool table.

  "What the fuck!" Lyle blares. "What the hell is your problem?"

  Kade ignores him and keeps his eyes on me.

  "Kade!" Tag growls, trying to keep himself between Lyle and Kade. Shit. I've really pissed him off. Worse than I realized.

  "What are you doing here with him?" he hisses, venom seeping from his tone as he steps toward me. "What happened to being tired and crashing?"

  I've never seen him this mad. Not even in the courtroom that day.

  "I... I thought... I'm sorry. I'll go," I mutter, holding back the tears wanting to fall.

  "No. Hell no," Lyle interjects. "If you're not dating her, then you have no right-"

  "Stay the hell out of it," Kade barks, cutting Lyle off.

  "You don't tell me what to do, you arrogant son of a bitch!" Lyle snarls.

  Wren comes to join Tag, and they both make sure to keep them separated. What have I done?

  "Kade, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to piss you off. I just wanted to have some fun," I lie. I certainly can't tell him I couldn't bear to see him with Courtney.

  She and Erica are silent as they look on, expressionless. This is utterly humiliating.

  "You shouldn't be out with him. You should have stayed in the damn house like you said you were going to, or you should have come out with-"

  "I said I'm sorry!" I blare, making anyone who wasn't already looking turn to observe our little show. "I'm leaving now. I'll take the bus back to Sterling Shore and I'll be out of the house before you return. I'm sorry."

  I don't look in his eyes to see any more fury as I rush out of the bar, wiping away the tears that have started pouring. He hates me. All this time I thought we were friends, but I'm the trailer-park girl he took pity on. Now I'm the embarrassing thorn he wishes to be rid of.

  It's not far to the house from here, and the streets are quiet. At least they're not covered in snow. I'd never make it if they were. A car pulls up to offer me a ride, and though it's incredibly stupid, I accept it because I'm freezing my ass off. I hate Aspen. I hate Kade. I hate myself.

  Chapter 13

  Close Enough

  Paul and Margaret were thankfully still gone when I got back. My shit is packed and ready to go as soon as the sun comes out. There's no way I could have walked all the way to the bus station tonight - in the cold, with no real certainty of which direction to head.

  I wouldn't chance riding with another stranger. A cab. Hell yes. I can call a cab. Why didn't I think of that earlier?

  My vision is so blurred by my tears that it's hard to see the screen on my phone. I pull up my web browser, but my hands are trembling so hard it's almost impossible to type.

  The door to the front slams loudly, rattling as though it might shatter, and I jump in the bed. Angry footsteps make their way toward my door, and I instantly regret not locking it.

  I turn away to keep him from seeing my tears when the door swings open.

  "Please go away," I strain out. "I get it. You don't want me fucking with your business and all-"

  "Did you go out with him tonight because you like him?" Kade asks, interrupting me, sounding just as furious as he did earlier.

  Wha
t the hell does that have to do with anything?

  "Kade, please... leave me alone."

  "Answer the damn question, Raya. Do. You. Like. Him?"

  "Yes. I liked him. He was nice, and sweet, and he didn't judge me for being less than the rest of you," I snark, hiccupping out a sob that defeats my attempt to sound unfazed by the hatred in his tone.

  "So, you want to, what? Date Lyle? Fuck Lyle? What were you planning to accomplish with a guy you knew five fucking seconds before you ran off with him?"

  I whip around, tired of hiding my tears, and I consider slapping him across the face as I stand up.

  "It wasn't a date, and I wasn't planning to fuck him, you asshole! He didn't want me sitting around like the outsider I felt like when you ran off to be with your ex-girlfriend. I didn't want to be here when the two of you came back reunited and happily in lust. I get it. I really do. I'm not good enough for you. I figured that out pretty quickly, but I was stupid enough to dare to dream. I couldn't see it though. I couldn't watch my hopes be crushed. So I went with Lyle to avoid the sting. Is that what you want to hear?"

  I turn away once I finish yelling. My tears pour out harder, but I give up on wiping them away. It's an impossible feat to rid myself of wet cheeks right now.

  "Close enough," he says dangerously close to me before spinning me around and crushing his lips against mine.

  My head spins with confusion, but my body reacts on its own accord. My hands fist in his hair, tugging him as though I want him even closer, when I should be pushing him away. Damn. What the hell just happened?

  He rips me up from the ground, and my legs clasp around his waist as he carries me out of my bedroom. I don't know where we're going, nor do I care when his tongue ring becomes a toy in my mouth.

  I moan against the devouring kiss, and his grip on me tightens as we cross the threshold to another room. He grabs my ass and tugs me closer to his center before dropping me on the bed and staying between my legs.

  So many weeks of pent-up frustration pours out into that kiss, and I put everything I have in it. His hands start moving over my body, feeling me through the thin fabric of the leggings.

  "Damn," he whispers.

  "What's wrong?" I ask, half afraid the spell is broken.

  "I have to get you out of these," he mutters before tugging my leggings down.

  I start to say something when he reaches up and rips my shirt over my head, tossing it to the ground as though he wants my clothes far away from me.

  He mumbles something about perfection and it being about damn time, though I can't really be sure what.

  I feel exposed, lying here for his eyes to see me in a lacy bra and a thin pair of panties I'm glad are sexy.

  "Raya, if you don't want this, tell me now," he murmurs softly as he leans down to press a kiss against my abdomen, making me squirm when his lips trail down slowly, grazing the skin just under my navel.

  He looks up expectantly, waiting for me to answer, but no words can form. Instead of gurgling out some unintelligible, possibly ridiculous response, I arch my hips to press myself closer to him, making his chin graze the top of my sex.

  Mmm. I'm going to die if he stops now.

  He starts to kiss me through the thin layer of silky material, and I shudder beneath him, making him smile as his lips press against the now damp panties. My eyes roll back in my head as I arch my hips involuntarily, unable to tell my body what to do anymore.

  A low groan comes from his throat as he starts pulling the underwear down, and with a quick dismissal, I'm bare before him - nothing but my bra offers me modesty, but I don't care.

  A pathetic cry mixed with a whimper spills through my lips when his hot tongue finds me in a way I never thought possible.

  "Keep doing that, and I won't be good for anything," he murmurs against my most sensitive spot, making me moan and whimper in unison.

  I grab at his hair, not caring if I leave him bald when the bar of his tongue ring pushes me into a small haze of ecstasy. Oh damn. That's... oh shit.

  No real thought can form as he pushes me closer and closer. Each flick of his glorious tongue makes me try to buck, but he keeps my hips firmly pinned beneath him as he owns me with his mouth.

  The heat of his breath mixed with the bar in his tongue does things to me I never thought possible. A girly cry comes out in a muffled screech as my body damn near tries to convulse. Ecstasy claims me as I shatter in his arms, and I almost forget where I am.

  Everything on me becomes sensitive after that, and each small kiss he trails up me almost makes me shiver. I feel his smile, though I refuse to look down for fear this is all just a dream.

  I feel my bra coming off, but I keep panting with my eyes closed, worried the illusion will disappear in the light.

  "Raya?" he says through a chuckle as his lips brush my right nipple.

  Mmm.

  "Raya, you with me?" he asks again, flicking his tongue and that glorious bar against that sensitive area and making me start up with the reflexive noises again.

  He trails his kisses up to my neck, and I wrap my arms around him to pull him to me, afraid to let go.

  "We can stop if you're not ready," he murmurs just before pressing his lips against mine.

  No.

  I finally find the courage to open my eyes and stare into his soft, sexy, pools of blue. This is real. It's not a dream or illusion. Right now, I'm in bed with Kade Colton, he's in my arms, and he just made me come apart with his incredible mouth.

  "I don't want to stop," I whisper, and his grin comes back as the kiss deepens.

  I'm sick of his body being clothed. I want him out of his clothes and on top of me, owning me the way his mouth just did.

  I tug at his shirt, and he helps me by pulling it over his head completely. The slow kiss becomes greedier when the fire between our wanton needs grows to be almost tangible. That wicked tongue explores my mouth just as thoroughly as it explored my most intimate area.

  I fumble with his belt and button, but he helps me as he draws my bottom lip between his teeth.

  "Christ," he breathes, when my hand slips down the front of his jeans and down his boxers to feel him for the first time.

  Damn, it's just as frigging perfect as I expected. My legs tremble as desire pools between my thighs. I want him. All of him. I know for a fact I've never wanted anyone this badly.

  "Take me," I whisper pleadingly, forcing a strangled moan to bubble free from him.

  He rustles about to get his pants all the way off, and then he leans over the side of the bed. I hear the telltale of a foil packet being dug out of his jeans, and a dirty vixen's smile comes to my lips.

  There's one thing I need to do before he taints his perfection with the taste of latex.

  I push him onto his back, and he thuds to the bed. A small laugh escapes him as I move to be on top of him and ignore the pack in his hand.

  "Hell yes," he murmurs as my lips press against his. "Much better."

  "What?" I murmur, trying not to grin or squeal.

  "You're finally acting like you want to do this."

  I lean back and study all the hard lines of his chest and stomach. The secret tattoos on his body make my fantasies come to life. I've wanted to have him like this for a long time - longer than I care to admit.

  "I really want to do this," I murmur while grinning and sliding down to kiss one portion of the tattoos.

  He sucks in a sharp breath as my hand slides against his firmness. Any reservations I've had in the past get swept under the rug. Kade Colton wants me. That's enough. We can figure out the rest when we have to.

  "Raya," he murmurs while tensing just as I brush my lips against the head of his erection.

  "Mm?"

  "Fuck," he moans, not answering when I push him deep into my mouth, taking him in with a full stroke.

  His head flops back as his hands tangle in my hair, and I pull him in deeper on my next stroke. Air hisses between his teeth when I drag out my strokes, and sud
denly I'm being ripped up and tossed on my back.

  I giggle when he rolls his eyes. "You're trying to torture me," he murmurs, letting his own grin fall free.

  His head drops down as the condom slides on, and then he nudges my legs farther apart as he settles in between them. He doesn't bother asking me if I'm sure again. I think I've made it perfectly clear by now how much I want him.

  His tip teases my entrance, and I arch my hips, doing all I can to force him in while I cling to his back. He stares into my eyes, showing complete desire and no hesitation, a gaze that frees me from anything that could sour this moment. With one quick, sublime thrust, he's inside me, melding his body to mine, and a content sigh rattles from his mouth.

  "Finally," he says in a prayer-like tone. "Damn, you feel so good."

  His lips brush mine as he keeps himself buried deep within me, and then finally, he starts moving, making those ridiculous sounds bubble free from me again. It was never like this before... oh damn. Never.

  He lifts himself to be just barely not touching me as he finds a quicker, more forceful rhythm. I lift my hips and tilt them just right, a move that makes him push deeper, and a sexy, deep moan rumbles from his throat to ignite a fire deep within me.

  It's like someone snapped whatever thread was holding him back, and that feral gleam glistens as he abandons any sanity. A grunt slips through my lips when our bodies collide almost brutally, but it feels so perfect.

  I hold on as though I'm terrified he'll stop at any minute and destroy this feeling of completion I have. Each violent thrust hits a spot deep within me I didn't even know existed. My stomach muscles tighten as something powerful builds, making me clench my legs against his waist.

  The sounds leaving me sound so foreign and unfamiliar as they spill free with an unkempt passion. That build inside me erupts, washing over me with hot and cold tingles that numb me and inflame me with a heady rush. His kiss becomes bruising as he gives up any effort of being gentle, and I unravel, hearing his name fall through my lips in a rambled mumble.

  It's almost blurry around me, and everything seems like a haze has settled when he thrusts in hard one last time and stills at the deepest point within me, holding himself there as his head falls to his chest and a harsh breath falls out.