Playing To Win: The Complete King Brothers Collection (A Contemporary Romance Box Set)

by Teagan Kade

  My own orgasm builds in my balls, that familiar grab and release starting between my legs that signals the point of no return.

  I let my free hand grip an ass cheek, use it for leverage to hammer into her hot pussy.

  The syllables have become a low and building moan, a mere vibration that builds and builds, thrums through her entire body.

  I let my hand fall between her buttocks, a stiff finger poised at her asshole.

  Her own hand works faster against her clit in response and I know what I must do.

  Her asshole opens fractionally, and I take my cue, sliding that stiffened digit deep into the fiery channel beyond. It tightens against me immediately, drawing my finger to the second knuckle.

  “Oh… Go…. Hel…” But she can’t seem to get a full word out, each caught in a panted gasp.

  I slam my cock forward and her hand works in a frenzy below, holding firm while she comes. I let go of her hair and her head falls into the pillow, the deep bellow that follows muffled and lost.

  At the first contraction of her pussy, I lose it myself, bent over her back, my finger in her ass and filling her with hot release.

  It’s endless, the push and pull, the trigger-finger flush of climax that follows.

  She seems to come again when I slide my finger from her ass, jerking forward and holding herself.

  I fall back on my haunches, my breathing slowly returning to normal. “How’s that for payment?”

  She slumps and rolls over onto her back, rocking forward and separating herself. “Let’s just say you made quite the deposit.”

  *

  We have sex. We bake. We make jokes about my brothers. It’s been a very long time since I was this happy, this inspired to do anything. Before long it’s three PM.

  We’re sitting folded together on the couch watching some god-awful French movie from the sixties when Heather turns to me. “Don’t you have that auction thing with Bria?”

  Fuck. I’d forgotten all about it.

  I get up and start collecting my things. “Yeah, about ten minutes ago.”

  Heather turns her attention back to the TV, one of those old CRT boxes I thought had been relegated to museums by now. “Better get going.”

  “I promised Alissa I’d head over and tie up the auction loose ends, should probably thank her for everything she’s done.”

  “Just steer clear of my father.”

  “Will do,” she replies.

  Keys and jacket in hand, I come up to the back of the couch and kiss her on the top of her head, draw in the freshly shampooed scent of it that’s going to send me out the door looking like I’ve got a tentpole in my pants. “Wish I didn’t have to go, wish I could stay here all damn day and not to do damn thing except make you come.”

  “But duty calls,” she finishes.

  “That it does.”

  It’s painful to leave, takes me a second to muster the energy not to call Bria up and tell her I’m sick or out of town or something other than ‘I do not want to spend my afternoon with you’, but Heather’s right. Duty calls and Bria paid good money for this, which is, yes, going to a good cause. The least I can do is show up.

  *

  The same hesitation returns as I make my way into the basketball arena at Crestfall. It’s state of the art owing to the insane money poured into this place, brand-new digital scoreboards and PA system, a freshly waxed court so shiny you’d think it was a mirror. And that’s when I get my first shock.

  Bria’s standing there in the middle of the court with her hands behind her back. Her hair’s up in a high ponytail, a tartan skirt hitched up so high it’s almost a crop top. The boob tube she’s wearing isn’t much better, her tits practically seconds away from a jack-in-the-box reveal.

  I glance down and realize I see right between her legs, a hot pink thong wedged somewhere up there.

  Fuck me.

  There was a time not long ago this obvious shit would have had me on game, but now I want to turn around and throw up. How the fuck did I ever find this shit attractive?

  She spins around on the spot, skirt flying up. “Like what you see?”

  I state the obvious. “You dressed for sport or seduction?”

  She kicks her heel up. “Aren’t they one and the same?”

  God, get me out of here.

  I give a dull laugh and head to the sidelines to wheel the ball rack over to the top of the key. I take a ball and bounce pass it to Bria, but she makes no attempt to receive it, instead letting it bounce by and cat-walking her way over to me.

  I take another ball and hold it in front of myself. “Had to admit, thought your coordination would be a bit better than that given you’re a cheerleader.”

  Her lips press together into a tight pucker, eyes dropping past the ball in my hands. “Ball play isn’t really my thing. I prefer to go straight to the scoring.”

  I toss the ball to her and this time she catches it, looking at it like it’s an alien artefact. I ignore the innuendo, nodding to the ring. “Go on then. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

  She puts a throw up but it’s the worst throw in the history of throws, utterly fucking pathetic.

  I toss her another ball. “Come on. I’ve seen five-year-olds shoot better.”

  She tosses the ball back. “Wouldn’t you prefer to do something else?”

  She’s getting too close. I run away down the key and leap upwards for a quick dunk, dropping directly underneath the board and waiting to see what she’ll do. Sure enough, she does that stupid walk again, hips swaying as she walks over.

  “I like it when they play hard to get.”

  I send a wrap-around pass and this time she catches it with both hands.

  “See?” she smiles. “Now imagine what else I can do with these hands.”

  Why doesn’t she just come out and say it? I think.

  I walk in a wide arc around here. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you weren’t interested in playing basketball at all.”

  She gives a light laugh, placing one foot in front of the other, looks like she belongs in a Britney Spears video. “The game? It’s okay, I guess. The players? Those big, strapping players like yourself? That I enjoy.”

  I’ve made my way back to the rack, selecting another ball and sending it up for a three, a swish of the net confirming it’s hit home.

  Bria stops stalking me, changing tack. “What’s up with that girl I’ve seen you around with?”

  I play dumb. “Girl? You’ll have to be more specific.”

  “H-something… Hannah, Henrietta…”

  “Heather,” I correct, knowing full well Bria knows her name.

  “Yeah, Heather,” she spits. “What’s her deal?”

  “Her deal?” I’m trying to be diplomatic here, but this whole come-on thing is starting to piss me off. “I don’t know if it’s any of your business what her deal is or isn’t.”

  The façade drops and the real Bria emerges. “I think she’s a bleeding heart that’s not doing anyone any good, least of all you. You deserve someone better.”

  I resist the temptation to send the next ball on a one-way trip to rearrange her face. Easy, I remind myself. “I think she’s doing a lot of good for this town in an area most people want to ignore. If you think that makes her a bleeding heart, that’s fine, but I’m proud she’s that way.”

  My defensiveness only gets Bria’s back up. “You cannot seriously want to be with her. She’s trash. She works in the campus kitchen, for crying out loud.”

  I’d like to really amp up here, speak my mind, but Bria’s not worth it. She’s trying to bait me but all she’s going to get is truth. “Heather’s seen and done more in her life than you could manage in twenty.” I send out a chest pass as hard as I can, Bria only just getting her hands up in time to deflect it. “I think we’re done here.” I turn around but stop, holding a finger up. “And you know what? I think I’m done with basketball too.”

  “What?” comes the cry of incredulity
.

  I start to smile, speaking to myself. “Yeah, fuck it. I’m done with the whole thing, so I guess you wouldn’t want me anyway, right?”

  There’s no reply.

  I start to walk away. “Nice seeing you, Bria.”

  “I want my money back!” she shouts. “You owe me.”

  My hand moves to give her the bird, but I figure silence will be worse.

  I think I hear her stamp her foot… which only makes my smile grow.

  Fuck her. Fuck everyone here who thinks the way she does. Can’t they see what’s happening outside these silver walls? Are we that blind?

  It’s only when I’m outside I realize that a) I meant what I said one hundred percent, and b) I probably shouldn’t have announced it to the biggest gossip in Crestfall first.

  Unease grows, replaces my smile fast with the knowledge of how quickly things spread around here. One call, one text, and Bria could have the word out in seconds. I don’t know why, but I check my watch. Fuck, it could already be in motion.

  I pull out my cell, but as of yet there are no messages.

  Dad.

  Shit.

  I start to run towards my car, know I have to reach Dad before the news does, and it has to be face-to-face. The old man won’t believe it otherwise.

  I could deny it. That would be easy, but I’m sick to death of easy, of letting others control and influence my life.

  It’s time I took hold of the reins.

  It’s time I took back what’s mine.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  HEATHER

  It is the dictionary definition of a perfect day at Stone King’s mega-mansion. Cotton ball clouds sit overhead, reflected in the surface of the pool.

  A staff member in all white approaches with a silver tea tray, placing it down on the small table Alissa and I are seated at. The lavishness is almost too much to bear.

  “Thank you, Edwardo,” smiles Alissa, helping him with the tray.

  That speaks a lot to her character. Most high-flyers I know wouldn’t acknowledge ‘the help’, let alone remember their name. I recall Phoenix discussing Alissa, how she came from nothing, how she “got lucky” with Stone, but I think it’s more than that. Everyone underestimates her, but not me.

  It makes me question if Phoenix and I could ever make a real go of it given the massive differences in our world experience. But he has shown me a different side of himself. I was blindsided by that, I’ll admit it. Never in a million years would I have expected someone like him to not only fall for me but become so invested in my interests and values. I don’t want to take too much credit, but if I can make a difference in a King, perhaps there’s hope for the world after all.

  Edwardo goes to pour, but Alissa takes charge instead, filling my teacup. “I hope you like Tieguanyin. It’s named after the Iron Goddess of Mercy, a Buddhist deity.”

  I take the teacup. “Sounds like a badass.”

  Alissa smiles and it’s not the fake, ornamental smile I’ve seen before around her husband, but a genuine ray of sunshine. “I think you’re a badass woman.”

  I bring my arm in front of me. “It’s the tattoo, isn’t it?”

  She sips, watching the pool. “I’ve got one too, you know.”

  “A tattoo?”

  She winks. “It doesn’t see the light of day too often.”

  I sip myself, surprised how complex the taste of the tea is. “I bet.”

  “I see you’ve developed a soft spot for Phoenix.”

  “Is it that obvious?” I laugh.

  “I can’t profess to knowing him as well as I’d like, but I’ve never seen him like this, not since I’ve been with Stone.”

  “He is… unique.”

  “They all are in their own way, perhaps not what they project to society.”

  I quickly scan the area to make sure we’re alone. “Does the same apply to Stone?

  “Hmm,” she mumbles over the top of the teacup, bringing it down into her lap. “I’m afraid Stone King is more set in his ways.”

  Just what I was afraid of. “I wanted to thank you for all your help with the auction. It was a wonderful thing, you did.”

  She waves it off. “Please. I have nothing better to do, but I understand you’re looking for ways to get the mayor to change his policy, application of public pressure and all, yes?”

  She continues. “I can help, of course, but are you sure you understand what you’re up against?”

  “Oh, I know perfectly well.”

  Alissa reaches down to her LV handbag, taking out a folded series of papers and spreading them out on the table. “I’ve already started to compile some ideas, local and interstate organizations and activist groups that would be willing to come onboard.”

  I pick up a sheet of paper and marvel at how detailed it is. “You are sure you want to be part of this?”

  I feel like we’re starting a society here, sisterhood of the secret ass-kickers or something. It’s exciting.

  We spend the next half an hour detailing the plan, making notes and working out the best angle of attack. If he wasn’t before, the mayor’s going to feel the heat soon enough. He’ll be damn well roasting up in that office of his when we’re done with him.

  I don’t think either of us notice Phoenix has shown up until we hear him calling for his father through the house.

  We both turn, see him pass by one of the windows. He’s wearing his basketball uniform, seems to have cut the session with Bria short.

  “Dad!” he calls.

  I don’t like the tone of his voice. Something’s not quite right here.

  I consider going to him. He hasn’t seen us out here, but before I get a chance to get up, I hear Stone’s voice coming from inside. “Into my office. Come on.”

  Stone’s office backs the pool, probably ten feet away or less, the door open and certainly enough to hear every word clear as day.

  I didn’t even know Stone was home and he certainly didn’t see me.

  “Take a seat,” he tells Phoenix.

  Alissa and I remain quiet, listening.

  “What’s on your mind, son?” Stone asks. “You heading north or south? Jamie was telling me even China was interested, not that I’d advise such a thing in the current climate.”

  “Dad…”

  “Denver might be a contender, actually. I looked through their offer and—”

  “Dad!” shouts Phoenix. “I’m done.”

  I stiffen at the words, sending a panicked glance Alissa’s way. She remains composed.

  Stone laughs it off. “What’s that supposed to mean? Done deciding? Done jerking off? Help me out here, son.”

  I hear the exhale from here. “I’m out.”

  “Of?”

  “The game. Basketball. I’m done playing. I have been for a long time.”

  This time it registers. “If this is some bullshit prank you and your brothers dreamed up to get the old man going, I’m not in the mood. Was it Titus’s idea?”

  Both Alissa and I flinch as a hand is slammed down onto something. “Listen to me, Dad. I. Am. Finished.”

  A chair being pushed back. “Like hell you are.”

  Phoenix’s voice grows and shifts. He must be pacing around the office. “I don’t get a single scrap of enjoyment playing anymore. Did you know that? I’d rather pull my fingernails out than pick up that fucking ball again.”

  “You better watch your tone, young—”

  “Don’t you see it? Don’t you watch me out there?”

  Stone raises his voice. “I watch you kill it out there. You don’t think it’s your right to share that with the world, your gift?”

  “It’s not a gift, Dad. It’s a fucking curse.”

  “Oh, enough,” Stone rambles. “Do you know how much I’ve invested in you, in all of you, but especially you. I made you into a superstar, Phoenix, and you can go on to great things.”

  “I still can,” Phoenix fires back, “but it won’t be shooting hoops. I’ll brea
k my arm if I have to.”

  Stone is losing his patience. “Don’t be so god damn dramatic. What the hell’s brought this on? Is it that girl, she the one pulling on your heartstrings? Or is it your dick?”

  I go to stand, but Alissa places her hand on my arm, shaking her head. “Let them work it out,” she says quietly.

  I sit reluctantly, the mood in the office deteriorating into a shouting match.

  Another thump on the desk, Stone’s voice loud enough to hear through the whole house now. “What the hell am I going to tell Jamie, your coach, your brothers, Phoenix? Have you thought about that, how fucking selfish this is?”

  Alissa hasn’t moved at all. You’d hardly know she was there.

  “What’s selfish is forcing me to do something I hate, or does my happiness not matter to you? Has it ever?”

  “You… I…” Stone stumbles. “Ungrateful, little s—” He stops himself, trying a new tack. “Is it money? Because we can fix that. Jamie can go back to—”

  “It’s not the money!” Phoenix screams, losing it. “Do you think I’m that shallow. Really, Dad?”

  “Honestly? I think you’ve had a bit of bad pussy and damn well lost your mind.”

  I stiffen because I don’t want to let this turn physical. I feel I have to intervene, but again Alissa holds me firm, her eyes telling me what I already know.

  Phoenix just sighs, refuses to engage. “I assure you, father, my mind is clear as it’s ever been—maybe for the first time. And it’s made up. I can still do great things, but it won’t be wearing this.”

  I imagine him holding the hem of his basketball jersey. He doesn’t sound angry anymore, just disappointed, which is funny considering the power dynamics at play here.

  “I’m out of here,” Stone storms. “I’ll be back with you’re ready to speak sense instead of this gibberish.”

  “I’m not changing my mind.”

  There’s a long, extended silence before a door slams.

  Alissa nods and we rise together. I move to the office and rush inside to find Phoenix, embracing him. “You okay?”

  He nods, but I can tell it’s taken a toll on him, can feel it in the way his body is clenched tight, his shoulders high.