Game For Love: Winter Heat (Kindle Worlds Novella)

by Tasha Black

  Except Samir and his dad, of course – they had both been hurt.

  "You looked lonesome."

  Samir sank onto a fallen log. He rested his head in his hands.

  How could things have gone so wrong? He had one job. Not to let anyone discover that he was a damned yeti. Now he had let the most important person discover it.

  So why wasn't she running?

  The beast nudged him.

  Was she right? Was the beast lonesome?

  Immediately he knew that it was true.

  So what was he supposed to do about it?

  He looked up and Becca was crouching next to him.

  "Can you tell me more about this?"

  He sighed.

  "It's cold. Let's go back. We can talk on the way."

  She nodded and offered him her hand in a sweet gesture, averting her eyes after a glance at his exposed body.

  They headed back through the woods slowly, walking in silence for a long time. Samir was grateful to Becca for giving him the reins on this conversation.

  "How much do you know about me?" Samir asked.

  "Not much, I guess."

  "Well, I was born in Nepal and lived in an orphanage until I was two years old. My parents are American and they adopted me and brought me back to the states."

  Becca nodded. He figured she had heard that much on the endless loop of IW Games news.

  "When we got home, they were really happy. Dad says Mom would carry me around the apartment singing night and day. She didn't care about anything but me. Then at the first full moon I changed. And instead of a cute baby they had... a yeti."

  "Is that what you are?"

  Samir nodded his head.

  Becca seemed to consider it for a moment, then smiled.

  "I'm sure you were a cute yeti."

  He returned her smile, but it was tinged with sadness.

  "My mom didn't think so. She hit the road the next morning. I think they had been through a lot trying to start a family. Dad said she felt like I was a sign that she had pushed too hard for something that wasn't meant to be."

  "What a dumb idea."

  "That's what he says."

  Somehow it rang true coming from Becca in a way it hadn't all these years. As they reached the pile of clothes Samir had shed before turning, he squeezed her hand a little and she squeezed back.

  "Anyway, my dad tried to figure it out. It turns out that even though I want to turn more often, I only have to turn at the full moon," Samir said as he began to dress.

  Becca nodded, as though he had just explained how he saved fifteen percent or more on car insurance. Why wasn't she afraid?

  "So why did you want to turn tonight?"

  Oh boy. That was a tricky conversation.

  "Excitement always riles him up. And I think he, um, especially likes you," Samir explained as he put the last of his clothes back on.

  "Oh."

  They were almost across the field now.

  "We shouldn't talk any more about this in case anyone overhears."

  Becca smiled and made a zipping motion across her lips.

  Chapter 12

  Becca was in a fabulous mood. Ever since Christopher had exhibited a talent for skating, she had lived a monotonous existence.

  School. Skating rink. Sewing machine. Repeat.

  She had lived more in the last twelve hours than in the twelve years before.

  Samir had a bounce in his step too. Becca let her eyes run down his whole body – but there was no sign of the silky white beast he had been a little while ago. She admired instead the godlike physique beside her.

  Samir looked over at her and smiled. Becca was dazzled.

  "Hurry, I want to get you to bed," he said.

  In a rush of happy anticipation she picked up the pace, trying to match his long stride.

  Soon they had reached the stairs.

  "You first." He gestured to the stairwell.

  As soon as she had taken a few steps she could feel his hands on her behind.

  "God, you have a nice ass!"

  She blushed and found herself running.

  She could hear him exhale and pursue her.

  Somehow she beat him to the door of his room. She turned in time to see him run for her.

  His eyes were flashing with excitement.

  He pinned her to the door and kissed her with such passion she went weak-kneed. He pulled back, wrapped an arm around her to support her, and swiped his keycard.

  The door swung open and Samir danced her over to the bed, laughing. She heard the door swing shut.

  Then they were wrestling each other's clothes off.

  Before she could catch her breath, he was inside her again and they were rocking and straining and moaning as one.

  When it was over, he held her close, twining her curls between the fingers of one hand.

  "You're so brave," he told her.

  She smiled against his chest.

  "Aren't you even a little bit scared?"

  "You won't hurt me. And neither will he."

  As soon as she said it she knew it was true.

  Chapter 13

  Becca awoke to the sound of a muffled conversation and a door slamming.

  She sat up and wiped the sleep out of her eyes.

  Samir was pacing the room, pulling at his too-long hair.

  "What's wrong?"

  "The half-pipe is too icy. They're re-building it. The whole event is being put off two days."

  "That's good, right? No one will get hurt."

  Becca had a feeling there was something her sleep-addled brain was missing.

  "Two days out means that the televised half-pipe final happens during the full moon."

  Oh.

  "Are they definitely rebuilding?"

  "Taylor made it sound like it. Though I guess he could have gotten it wrong. I want to check it out. Will you be okay?"

  "Sure. Do you have an extra key card?"

  He slipped her the one from his pocket.

  "You're not going anywhere are you?" he asked.

  "No, I guess not."

  "Okay, good. I'll see you."

  He kissed her absently on the top of the head and disappeared out the door.

  Becca's heart ached for him. This was his big moment. But if he was going to turn into a yeti on the half-pipe there was no way around it – he would have to withdraw.

  She bathed and dressed. He still wasn't back.

  She looked at the television but didn't feel like watching it. She looked out at the mountain view. It was pretty, beautiful really, but it was no match for her nervous energy.

  She grabbed her sketch pad.

  As her mind went back and forth over Samir's problem her hands began to sketch on their own.

  She looked down. She had drawn a mountain with a full moon over it and a yeti on a snowboard.

  Perfect.

  She grabbed the edge of the page, intending to tear it out and toss it in the trash before someone saw it, but something inside made her stop.

  Biting her lip in concentration, she began furiously erasing and redrawing.

  Chapter 14

  Christopher skated around the rink, ostensibly warming up, though his cheeks were already flaming and his blood pressure was probably through the roof.

  Where was Becca?

  It had been all well and good for her to storm off last night. But today was different. How dare she be late for his qualifier?

  Sasha and Tanya had shown him a great time, but as it turned out, they weren't much for talking. And now that it was qualifying day, the lines had been drawn and they were solidly in their teammates' corner.

  Christopher felt completely alone.

  As the minutes passed, it began to occur to him that Becca might not be coming.

  The thought was terrifying . He tried to put it out of his head, but it had taken root.

  Where did she go last night?

  Where had she spent the night?

  W
as she okay?

  His heart began to pound.

  But the announcement was being made to get off the ice and there was nothing to do but glide over to his coach and try to focus on skating.

  Chapter 15

  Samir returned to the hotel, devastated. The half pipe was already being disassembled.

  It was over.

  He hung his head as he entered the room.

  Becca was on the floor, surrounded by drawings. She didn't even look up when he came in. She drew madly, the cloud of her red hair pinned through with colored pencils.

  "Hey," he said.

  She looked up from her sketchpad. Yet again, he was thrown by those big green eyes. He felt the beast stir, and the pain of his disappointment melt just a little.

  "Hi."

  He knelt on the floor beside her and looked at the drawings.

  Oh god. She had drawn him again, but as the beast. She must finally be expressing the shock at his true nature.

  Wait. Only some of the drawings were of a yeti on a snowboard, silken fur trailing out of his helmet and sleeves.

  The others looked like a clothing designs – variations of boarding gear with silken fur trailing off the cuffs and out of the helmets. They actually looked pretty rad.

  And there was a logo. It was a smiling yeti holding a board over his head.

  "Your size doesn't change. At least not much, right?"

  The pieces were coming together in Samir's mind.

  Could it work?

  "You're amazing!"

  She smiled shyly.

  "Amazing, beautiful girl!"

  "But it's not that easy. I need materials and time..."

  "We can get any materials you need! And we have two days. Is that enough time?"

  She nodded.

  "My agent will send them from New York. We'll text her what you need."

  Samir was floating on air. The only thing in the back of his mind was the simple question, if Samir couldn't hold back the change on the half-pipe...

  Could the yeti snowboard?

  Looking into Becca's smiling eyes, he resolved not to worry about it. She was glowing with happiness - all for him.

  Damned if he would ruin it with a reality check.

  Chapter 16

  Christopher was steaming. He had barely made it through the qualifying round to compete.

  Stupid Becca.

  That little cow had always been jealous of his success. That was the only possible explanation.

  Why couldn't she just be happy for him?

  Sasha was pretending she didn't know him today. Tanya had thrown him a sympathetic glance as she came off the ice, but when he started to approach her she had turned her back quickly.

  Although he was angry, he didn't want to call Mom. First of all, she would go crazy with worry and secondly, he didn't want her joining him at the village.

  If only he could find Becca so that he could get out from under the creeping worry that something was wrong.

  He decided to grab a bucket of ice for his knee. Maybe if he sat in one of the lounges he would see her or hear something.

  As he rounded the corner to the big ice machines he heard a familiar sound and froze in his tracks.

  Becca's laughter.

  He poked his head around the corner to see her surrounded by a bunch of knuckle dragging snowboarders. One of them had his arm around her shoulder and his hand tucked in the back pocket of her jeans.

  Christopher was filled with white rage.

  "Rebecca McCall!" he shouted.

  She spun around instantly with a look of fear.

  That was better.

  "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he demanded, grabbing her by the wrist and dragging her away.

  He was surprised to feel her resist him.

  Then the biggest knuckle dragger of all, the one who'd had his hand in his sister's back pocket, swaggered up.

  "Take. Your. Hands. Off. Her."

  "It's okay, Samir, he's my brother!" Becca said quickly.

  No. Not Samir Andrews.

  He took a closer look and could almost feel smoke pouring out of his ears.

  Christopher had been seeing red and he'd seen right past the thing that should have made him angriest.

  "I don't care who you are, you cowardly son-of-a-bitch, you will take your hands off her," Samir said.

  He was massive and he looked super angry.

  Christopher gave Becca's wrist a brutal squeeze, then let go.

  "Where were you?" he asked his sister through clenched teeth.

  "You kicked me out."

  "You didn't come to my qualifier."

  She had the decency to look guilty for a moment. But she didn't answer.

  Instead Samir stepped up.

  "You kicked her out, man – in a city full of strangers. You owe her an apology. And she does not owe you an explanation."

  Christopher looked around.

  Suddenly it seemed like every athlete in the village had come out of their rooms. They were all staring silently at him.

  It wasn't fair.

  "You walked out on me. And now you're with him. You're a witch, Becca. And you will get yours."

  He turned on his heel and walked away.

  Their chattering started before he had taken his second step.

  Chapter 17

  The day passed quickly.

  Samir had called his agent, who arranged to have fabric delivered by dinnertime.

  Becca took Samir's measurements, they poured over the designs and took breaks to hang out with the other snowboarders.

  Their crazy snowboarding language intrigued Becca. She didn't understand half of what they were talking about but she could have sipped hot cider and listened to them talk about shredding and stomping and whatnot all day.

  What was clear was that although these athletes were clearly competitive and serious about what they did, there was a sense of camaraderie and delight in one another's accomplishments.

  Samir sat in the center of a huge group of athletes from all over the world. She was tucked into his side and he rubbed her knuckles gently with his thumb as he regaled them all with funny stories of his many wipeouts. It was clear that he was a leader in his sport and more than that, that he was well liked. She had never seen Christopher so relaxed with his teammates – let alone with the skaters from other countries.

  Thoughts of Christopher made her feel dreadful.

  It must have been humiliating for him this morning. She was still angry but she was ready to let bygones be bygones. Christopher was her twin and it wasn't right to hold a grudge.

  Hopefully he would feel the same.

  She whispered in Samir's ear to let him know she was going out for a few minutes to check on her brother.

  A fleeting concerned look flashed across his face.

  "I'm coming too."

  "No, no, I'll just be a minute. He's my brother – he might still be mad but he won't hurt me or anything."

  She slid off the sofa of the lounge before he could stop her. When she reached the door she turned to give him a quick wave and a wink.

  He winked back in a way that made her blush and want to make him come upstairs with her instead.

  She dashed out the door before she could change her mind.

  Chapter 18

  It was a short walk back to Christopher's room, but it felt a million miles away.

  When she arrived at the door, she knocked, but there was no answer. She nearly turned around to walk away, but just in case, she turned the knob.

  The door swung open.

  "Christopher?" she called. "It's me."

  Her eyes went to the bed and she gasped in horror.

  It was covered in syringes and vials.

  Was her brother doping?

  It seemed incredibly unlikely, but here was all the evidence and then some.

  Becca didn't know much about doping, but she was pretty sure the paraphernalia on the bed was enough for quite a few athl
etes.

  What the hell was she going to do?

  Becca didn't realize she wasn't alone in the room until she felt a pair of hands tighten around her neck.

  "You must be the sestra," said a deep voice with a thick Russian accent.

  Becca couldn't speak.

  "I-I was looking for my brother."

  "He's not here right now."

  "Who are you talking to, Pyotr?" said another voice, this one female.

  He turned her around to face the speaker. It was Sasha, stepping out of the bathroom, accompanied, as usual, by the girl with the long neck.

  Tasha? No, Tanya.

  "Oh god - her again," Sasha said.

  "Please," Becca whimpered. "Tell him to let me go."

  "Becca McCall." Sasha shook her head. "I know you've seen what's on that bed. So I'm afraid I can't let you go."

  "That's not Christopher's."

  She knew as soon as the words were out that she should have said the opposite. But defending her brother was part of who she was.

  "She's as stupid as he is," Sasha said.

  "Why did you bring that stuff in here? Where's my brother?"

  "Your brother is not here. And this stuff is in here because he let Sasha and me have his keycard," said Tanya. "We don't want to keep it in our room."

  "You only slept with my brother to get his room card!"

  "Well we didn't sleep with him for his skills in the bedroom!" Sasha chortled.

  "What are we going to do with her?" Tanya asked.

  "Well," Sasha said. "She knows what's going on now. We can't leave any witnesses."

  Becca was trying not to panic. Her eyes went to the door.

  "Do you want me to kill her?" Pyotr's words seared into the back of her neck.

  Sasha thought for a moment.

  "We'll have to make it look like an accident."

  "You're not really going to kill me, are you? You know someone will find me and it will be obvious what happened."

  "What?" Sasha asked. "You mean that you came back to the room and fought with your brother over this?" She gestured to the vials on the bed.