Play of Love: The Gladiator Players Box Set

by Gray, Khardine

  "Why not?"

  "Because I only just started talking to you. It's like we just met," I chuckled.

  He frowned at me. "Like hell, we didn't just meet. We've known each other since we were kids. Come on sing."

  I shook my head. "I can't, but... maybe I will one day." I made a show of finishing off the rest of my ice cream and gesturing that my mouth was full.

  "You're torturing me," he huffed.

  I laughed and rested my head against the soft leather of the sofa. "I said maybe one day. That should give you some hope."

  "Alright, Miss Evie." He bit the inside of his lip.

  Miss Evie.

  He'd taken to calling me that the other night. At first, I was annoyed, but now I supposed it didn't seem so bad.

  "What about you?" We hadn't spoken about him at all.

  "Me, what me?"

  "How's football?"

  He raised his eyebrows and tilted his head to the side. "Oh, we're doing that are we? You share, then I share." The irresistibly devastating grin on his face drew my attention to his sensual lips.

  "I guess," I replied. He appeared genuinely interested in my music, so it seemed only right that I try to gather some interest for football. I hated the sport, hated anything like that where there could be potential violence and body clashing. In football there always was. "So how is it?"

  He thought for a moment, and a hesitant expression filled his face. "It's different to what it used to be." There was a hint of sadness in his voice.

  "Don't you like it anymore?" It would be odd if he didn't. I was sure he was just as obsessed with the sport as I was with my music.

  "Oh yeah, it's not that. I guess um..." he bit the inside of his lip, looked away and then continued. "It's been different since my accident."

  I knew that he'd been in a car accident, but I didn't know the details. When it happened, despite our differences, all I was concerned with was that he was okay. When I heard he was and didn't suffer any injuries I kind of dismissed it in my mind. However, from the look on his face, there seemed to be perhaps more to what had happened.

  "Is it from an injury?" Maybe he was more injured than what Lucy had told me. Lucy had a habit of not wanting to worry me, so she held back sometimes on details.

  "No... I was the only one to walk away from the accident with nothing wrong with me. There was three of us in that car. The driver was one of my best friends. He died instantly. The other is paralyzed for life. They were both wide receivers on the team. It's hard for me to play when they can't. The game's different."

  I froze, mind and body numb at the thought. I was speechless. I didn't realize it was a serious accident like that, or that anyone had died.

  "I didn't know that happened." It was classical Lucy to avoid telling me. Telling me all the details would have let on to the severity. "I'm so sorry."

  He nodded and offered a small smile. "It's okay, and thanks."

  There was only a mouthful left of his ice cream, but he threw it in the side bin next to the sofa. "I guess it made me think of my parents as well. It was similar circumstances."

  That didn't even cross my mind. What happened to his parents was extremely sad. They'd had a head on collision with a drunk driver. I never knew them, but had heard many good things about them from Lucy. I'd been told so many things that sometimes I felt like I knew them. I felt bad that I hadn't considered that the recent accident would have brought up painful memories for him.

  "But, hey. These things happen I guess." Although he tried to brush it off, I could see the sadness in his eyes.

  "I am truly sorry." I offered again.

  This time when he smiled the spark returned to his eyes. "It's all fine. I guess other than all that, football is fine. I do a lot of charity work now too."

  "Really?"

  "Yeah. Training takes up a lot of my time, so I can't commit to anything like climbing Kilimanjaro or Everest." He chuckled. "So I tap into other things like bungee jumping, skydiving, and last month I swam with sharks."

  I brought my hands to my cheeks at the frightening thought of that. "What? That's crazy."

  I loved looking at the sea, and I might venture into the shallow by the shore, but that was it. Sharks terrified me to no end. One of my friend's cousin's got bitten by a hammerhead shark. It took their leg off completely. I couldn't imagine swimming with the dreadful things.

  "I know, but it was supposed to fund a whole water system for a village in Indonesia. The whole thing was going to cost at least a million dollars."

  "I can't believe you did that." I beamed. "Weren't you scared?"

  "A little."

  I rested my head against the sofa again and hugged my knees to my chest, getting comfortable as I listened to him.

  He really had changed a lot. That in itself was a good thing, and I supposed that it would be easier, if only for Lucy's sake to try to get on.

  Chapter 5

  Gage

  * * *

  It was the sound of people moving around that woke me up. I shuffled against the pain in my back from the awkward position I'd placed myself in on the sofa.

  I sat up and looked over at Evie. She was curled up on the other end looking smaller than she was, almost childlike. Her ponytail rested on her chest and ran down to the edge of her waist.

  I didn't want to wake her, but from the movement around us, I could tell we'd have company soon. It was also beginning to brighten up outside. I looked at my phone and saw it was just after five. I imagined that the reception and housekeeping staff would soon begin to fill the area.

  "Evie." I moved closer and shook her arm gently. I tried to speak softly so I wouldn't startle her.

  She shuffled and stirred then opened her eyes gradually. When she saw me she looked confused, but then her expression softened, and the beginning of a smile tipped the corners of her mouth.

  "Gage, what... oh no." She looked about and saw we were still in the lobby. "I fell asleep. I'm so sorry, please don't tell me I fell asleep when you were telling me something important. I remember sharks, swimming with sharks. Not good." She wrinkled her nose, and even that didn't take away from her beauty.

  I shook my head. "No. It's possible I fell asleep talking." She giggled, and there was that feeling again. That spark of excitement that flickered within me. "I think I started talking about chewing gum, so you didn't miss much."

  She laughed again.

  "I didn't get to sleep in my beautiful room." She yawned, stretching her slender arms up.

  "It's still early. Why don't you go finish sleeping, and I'll come and get you later."

  She smiled at that. "Thank you." She picked up her little bag and shawl. "Gage." She looked at me with a gentleness I hadn't seen before.

  "Yes, Miss Evie." I smiled.

  She giggled at that. "I had a really good time last night."

  "Me too."

  "See you tomorrow. Or today," she sighed. "I'll see you later." There was a warmth in her smile that echoed in her voice. With that, she left.

  I made my way to my room which was in the opposite direction. Instead of going to sleep I spent the time going over the route and making the booking for a villa. I decided on a nice villa because there was a chance we'd be there for a good few days. Hotels were great, but I preferred somewhere homelier for longer stays. I also thought Grams and Evie would both be happy with what I selected.

  Since I had time, I got on with the task of looking for the contact numbers that matched the sister's names.

  Five minutes into my search made my heart sink. There were just over eight hundred Vanessa Rossi's and two hundred Anna Romano's who lived in Tuscany. Add that to the amount of Angelo's listed and we would totally have our work fully cut for them. They were most assuredly going to be in Italy for more than a week.

  I quickly made a spreadsheet, adding all the contacts and then I took a selection of two thousand from the Angelo's listed and did the same. I decided I'd focus on that list.

 
My grandmother's face fell when I told her about the number of people we had to contact. I thought I should make her aware of the situation, although I was by no means suggesting we give up.

  "It will be like looking for a needle in a haystack." She sighed resting her elbows on the dressing table.

  "But at least we have a place to look in."

  "Gage. I can see you're trying, but this is going to be hard isn't it? I don't want you doing anything that will take you away from your training."

  I knew she was concerned about my training because of how important it had always been to me, but I didn't want her to even think about that. I pulled up one of the chairs and sat in front of her. "Don't worry about my training. I don't want you to stress out about anything." I looked at her, observing her weak demeanor.

  As I'd talked to Evie last night, one significant thing stood out to me. We'd talked a lot about different things but she never once mentioned my grandmother's illness. Knowing how much Evie cared about her, I could only assume that it was because she didn't know about it.

  "You haven't told Evie have you?" I asked with care. It was a very delicate, sensitive subject.

  "Haven't told her what?" Grams looked away and picked up her hair brush.

  "You know what?"

  She turned back to me. "Gage, you know how I feel about that."

  I clasped my hands together and stared at her. She'd made her thoughts very clear on how she felt about the tumor in her brain. The tumor she took tablets for, to stop it from getting any bigger. To stop it from spreading and eventually taking her life. Taking her life from her, taking her life from me. I dared not think too much about it. I dared not, or it would destroy me.

  She covered my hands with hers and held onto me. "I can't tell her. I've wanted to, but I can't. Not yet. She won't understand."

  "Or, maybe she will." I offered thinking about the way Evie described her love for music.

  Grams was told she had a ten percent chance of having the tumor removed successfully without repercussions. The repercussions being she'd lose function of a sufficient part of her brain, mostly the part that allowed her to play the violin, remember her music and compose. Everything that governed her creativity would be damaged. Removed. She'd also need care for the rest of her life.

  She said she didn't want to live like that.

  The doctors told her if she were lucky she'd have another ten years if she did nothing and let it take her. However, she could have a greater life expectancy if she had the surgery. Her response at the time was, "I'm eighty-eight. Ten more years sounds great to me."

  She flat out refused the surgery. I could imagine Evie doing the same if she were faced with such a decision. Just listening to her last night made me think that. It was mesmerizing to hear how her brain worked. It reminded me of one of those TV shows that featured amazing creative people. I'd never heard anyone describe anything the way she had.

  "I'll tell her when the time is right." Grams assured me. "Can we please just cross this bridge first? I just want to find Angelo. That is all I want right now." Her voice withered.

  "Okay." I gave her hands a gentle squeeze. "I'll go get Evie. Let's be ready to leave in an hour."

  "I appreciate you Gage." I saw the wealth of her appreciation in her light blue eyes that were heavy with worry. "I really do."

  I knew she did. I leaned over and kissed her forehead before I got up to go.

  As the doors leading to the balcony were opened, I went that way to Evie's room hoping she'd be outside. She wasn't, but her door was slightly ajar. I knocked before I went inside and just as I was about to turn the corner to the bed an earth shattering scream pierced my ears.

  "Evie." I cried rushing in.

  I stopped sharply and felt my mouth drop as I beheld Evie standing on the chest of drawers wearing nothing but what she could pull around her from the short curtains at the window. I was too enthralled by the sight to do anything else but stare. She reminded me of that statue of Venus standing in a seashell covering her breasts and her privates. Except, Evie was real, and the statue of Venus had nothing on her. My eyes were glued to the perfection of what I could see.

  Sun-kissed, golden skin with an allure of satin glistened against the sunshine. Lust burned in my brain, and I could think of nothing else but admiring her magnificent, perfect body. She was flawless. My eyes trailed up from her thin legs to her shapely thighs of smooth skin and up to what I could see of her voluptuous breasts. The curtain was covering all the good parts.

  "Gage please. Get rid of them." She screamed trying to move into the wall.

  I didn't know what she was talking about.

  "Gage please come and get me." She begged.

  I tensed. That was a bad idea. I most definitely shouldn't go any closer. In fact, I should leave.

  "Evie –” something bounced around on the floor, or a few somethings. I could see them now. Lizards, at least three or four of them.

  "Gage help me."

  Oh no, this was just like that time with the frogs. Except this wasn't her back garden, and she wasn't nine years old. She was a beautiful thirty-three-year-old woman who I couldn't take my eyes off.

  She'd asked for my help then too but I'd ran off and left her to cry for what I was told was hours. It was best for me to leave now too but I wouldn't be leaving for the same malicious, vindictive reason I left years ago.

  She screamed again, bringing me back to the present. She was holding the curtain closer to her and stretched out her other hand towards me, her eyes pleading for me to help.

  Unlike that time years ago I couldn't just run off and leave her, especially not after last night when I seemed to get so far with her. I moved closer and got right to the area before her where the pesky lizards danced. They were only about an inch or two tall but none the less terrifying for Evie.

  "Gage get rid of them! They came in on me in the shower. I hate those things." Tears were actually streaming down her cheeks, and it made me feel bad for her. "Look, they're just awful, the beady eyes and scaly skin ahhhh." She screamed at the sight of another lizard skittering in from the bathroom. This one was bright green, a lot bigger, and made poor Evie shriek as if something was physically happening to her.

  I looked into the bathroom and saw the immediate problem. She'd opened the window.

  "Okay, calm down. Stay there."

  "Of course I'm staying here." She snapped at me.

  I ran into the bathroom and shut the window just as another was about to jump in, I then went back to her.

  "Evie try and get down and go in the bathroom."

  "No, I'm not moving. I can't. I'll die if they touch me. Help me."

  "Okay don't panic." I didn't know how I was going to get rid of the damned things myself. I rushed at the nearest two in an attempt to grab them, but they scampered away under the bed. The others skittered away as I got closer, heading in different directions.

  "Gage," she cried with a deep urgency that whipped my head around. Damn it, the big one had launched itself on the wall next to her and was making its way towards her. She screamed as it did that throat thing lizards loved by blowing out its whole throat into a big bubble. "Gage!"

  I tried to grab the thing as it got closer to her but missed. I turned to Evie to see if she was okay as it rushed along heading straight for her, but all I saw was breasts coming at me as she screamed and sprung towards me.

  On instinct I caught her but my mind went blank and I didn't even think about what I was holding or where I was touching.

  All I knew was that the perfect woman just threw herself at me and she was completely naked with her legs wrapped around my waist and her fully rounded breasts pressed against my chest. Her long wet hair really did feel like silk and smelled like fresh strawberries as it caressed my face.

  The crazy thing was she was totally oblivious. Fear had taken over her mind. If anyone had told me last week that this would happen, I would have laughed them to scorn. No way would I believe it, not
for a second. No way.

  "Evie." I could barely speak. Her ragged breathing sounded in my ear and touched my throat as she moved.

  "Gage do something." She lifted her head to look at me then looked around them as the lizards returned. As if being naked against me wasn't bad enough she tightened her legs around me and started making her way higher. My eyes glued to her breasts as they bounced and I could feel desire pulling intensely at my groin.

  "You're going to have to be more specific. What do you want me to do?" Right now I would do anything she asked.

  Anything.

  Blood throbbed in my veins with a scarlet web of desire, and her gorgeous body made me ache with need.

  When she saw I was looking at her breasts, she smacked my chest.

  "Stop looking and do something. The lizards. Let's just get out of here."

  "Are you crazy? I'm not running out of here with a naked woman wrapped around my waist."

  I couldn't go through the main door because it was the main door, and I couldn't go out on the balcony because that was outside. We would both get arrested, and while I might be fully clothed, no one would believe that I was rescuing her from lizards. On first sight, we looked like a couple deep in the throes of making passionate love. A desperate shudder rippled through my body at the thought.

  "Gage, please just get rid of them." She winced wrapping her arms around my neck and pressing her face to me.

  The desperate way in which she held me brought my mind back to reality. I held her trembling body and controlled my lustful thoughts and desire. Right now she needed me, and I had to comfort her. There was no point in standing around chasing lizards. We did indeed need to get out of there.

  "Evie, I'm going to take you into the bathroom. Get your clothes on and go to Lucy's room. I'll finish packing your stuff."

  "Those things came from the bathroom." She held me tighter.

  "It's okay now. I closed the window, and there won't be anymore."

  "You promise?"