The Intimidation Game (Game Series Book 1)

by C. L Stewart

  “Nikki,” he sighs and pulls me to him kissing me so softly it hurts, and my body physically relaxes into him. He lets me go and moves us both under the covers. I’m pulled into his side and I rest my head on his shoulder, feeling his heat and his heartbeat.

  And that’s how we stay until the sun comes up and I have told Dan every sorry, sordid detail of my life after I met Mike.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  I always remember my mum telling me and my sister that we used to freak her out sometimes at night when we were young. She said we’d go into her and dad’s bedroom and stand beside the bed staring at her till she woke up. She always said it was as if she knew we were there even though she was in a deep sleep.

  That’s why I’ve just woken up. I knew someone was watching me.

  “Hey,” I croak. God my throat is dry.

  “Hey sweetheart,” Dan says softly as he reaches across the bed and strokes my arm.

  Sweetheart. I smile. It feels nice to be someone’s sweetheart. I don’t think I ever have been.

  “Everything okay?”

  He nods. “Sorry I woke you. I didn’t want to leave you. Nikki,” he lies down beside me and I turn to face him. “I’m so sorry about last night.”

  I feel so bad for him. “Dan don’t apologise, please. My head is messed up. If I were you, I’d be running for the fucking hills. I’m surprised you haven’t actually.”

  “Nikki, do you realise how strong you actually are? To leave the way you did, knowing how he would have reacted when he realised you’d gone, was courageous.

  I smile at his analogy of how I left Mike. “Well I felt like a coward. Sneaking away like that with no explanation.”

  “He didn’t deserve one.” He reaches up and moves my hair from my face, tucking it behind my ear. It’s a beautifully sweet movement and I feel light and happy. It’s been so long since I’ve felt this way in a man’s company that it hurts.

  “Thank you for listening Dan, it means a lot.”

  “I wish my mum had been as strong as you,” he whispers. From my position, lying here inches from his face, I feel as though I can see right into his soul. I can see the hurt and pain in those world wise eyes. I can see the young man whose family was torn apart in the most tragic of ways. But more than anything, I see the eyes of a protector. His outburst in itself last night wasn’t what had scared me. I see that now. The thing that scared me more than anything was the knowledge that Dan felt so strongly about what happened to me. I know from the fire in his eyes last night that if he got his hands on Mike, he really would kill him.

  “Oh Dan, I’m sure your mum thought she was doing the best she could for you and Jason. You said your home life was good considering what your dad had been involved in.”

  “It was good for us, and it was probably her love for us that got her shot. That’s why I understand why you stayed. To try and make the best out of a bad situation. Can I show you something?” He asks, his eyes brightening a little.

  I nod and he gets off the bed and disappears from the room for a moment. When he returns, he has his phone in his hand. He sits down on the bed beside me and I sit up with him.

  “You see this tattoo?” He points to the soundwave above the binary date. “This is a soundwave of my mum talking. She was reading a book to Jason and I recorded it on an old cassette recorder we had. Jase and I used to record ourselves singing and play it back at double speed. His wee hearty laugh used to make me smile. Watch this,” he says as he opens his phone and holds the camera over his tattoo. I watch the slider move over the soundwave.

  “Big nutbrown Hare settled Little Nutbrown Hare into his bed of leaves. He leaned over and kissed him goodnight. Then he lay down close by and whispered with a smile, ‘I love you to the moon and back.’”

  The recording lasts less than thirty seconds but it is the most beautiful, soothing voice and I know that book well. My own mum read it to me.

  “Oh Dan, she had the most beautiful voice. What did she look like?”

  He turns his phone to me and shows me what appears to be a photo of a printed photo. The woman in the picture is as beautiful as her voice. “May I?” I ask and hold my hand out.

  Dan hands me the phone and I take a good look, enlarging the screen to get a better look. Her dark wavy hair sits just on her shoulders and her dark brown eyes sparkle with laughter. Dan has her eyes and her smile.

  “She was so beautiful Dan.”

  “Yeah she was. She had a beautiful soul. She was an artist and any time you ever saw her she was covered in paint. I always remember the old shirt she used to wear. It had belonged to her dad. He was a big guy, like really big and this shirt used to look like a tent on her. One of the things I loved about our luxury life was how happy it made her to be able to do what she loved. I sometimes find myself wondering what she actually thought about our lives. You know, was she really okay with what he was doing? There was a time when I was pissed at her for staying there and allowing him to do what he did to her but like I’ve said, we were happy. We never wanted for anything and our parents loved us.”

  “Dan I can’t even imagine what it was like for you and Jason to lose your parents like that. I am really sorry.”

  He smiles wryly. “It is what it is. It doesn’t define me or Jason. We did okay considering.”

  I laugh a little too abruptly. “Okay? Jesus Dan you have done more than okay for yourself.”

  He nods. “Yeah I suppose I have. I have a real riches to rags to riches story, don’t I?” He takes his phone back off me and places it on the bedside table. “I don’t know what it is about you Nikki, but I feel like I could just sit and talk to you for hours. I don’t tend to talk too much about my past with people but you, you make it easy. Thank you, sweetheart.” He leans over and kisses my forehead.

  I feel like I have little love heart bubbles popping over my head right now. He makes me feel so loved and cared for. Just being in his presence excites me.

  “I have a surprise for you.”

  “Dan you do know what you’ve done already is more than enough, although we’ve not really spent our time how I’d hoped.” I try to hide the embarrassment in my voice but, as usual, I fail miserably.

  “Let’s think of it as more than it was. Not that it wasn’t quite a distressing night. It sure as shit was, but I learned an awful lot about you last night Nikki. And you know what? I want to know more. But first my surprise. I got Tabitha to put in a call yesterday to arrange a lovely lunch for you today.”

  “Oh really? And where are we going?”

  “No not us, just you.”

  “Oh,” I say a little hurt.

  “You and your parents.”

  “Oh wow, Dan. Thank you. I was going to call them today to see if they were free.”

  “Well you couldn’t come to London and not see your parents, could you? Tell me I didn’t go too far?”

  I get up on my knees and place a kiss on his lips. “No,” I say against his warm mouth.

  He pulls me to him and kisses me hard. “Can I make love to you Nikki?”

  “Why are you asking?” I smile at him.

  His eyes blaze and, quick as you like, I’m on my back. I feel as though this could be the start of my real new beginning.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Lunch with my parents was a lovely if rather muted affair. What was even lovelier was learning that they are coming up to visit in a few weeks. My dad has a few meetings in Edinburgh, so they are going to spend a bit of time with Charlie. Dad’s work schedule is extremely busy, and he rarely gets to take time off. So much so, in fact, that he hasn’t actually met his new granddaughter. And that is a bone of contention for mum. All through lunch I could tell she was excited about the trip but also a bit pissed that it had to take a work trip to get him up there.

  He was his usual oblivious self. He always has been for as long as I’ve been old enough to notice. He’s very straight faced most of the time. I suppose it comes with the job, but I hav
e seen it get worse as he’s gotten older. Especially in social gatherings. I actually want to be there when he meets Georgie because it’ll be the most comical thing I’ll have seen in a long time and I’ve been dancing with Damo.

  I said goodbye to them around half an hour ago and decided I was going to take a walk. It’s a lovely day and Dan is visiting his London office this afternoon, so I have a little time to myself. We are off to a party tonight at The Savoy. I have no idea whose party it is or why we are going. I just know that I have an appointment in an hour at a boutique to pick a dress and a hair and makeup appointment after that. I honestly can’t say the last time I felt so content. I’m grateful to Dan for bringing me here this weekend. Since we talked this morning I’ve been smiling. I know it’s going to take more than one night to put Mike behind me, but I mentally feel better equipped to do it now. Finally speaking about it, out loud to someone else, has somehow made me feel that leaving it in the past is the best way forward. I make a deal with myself that I’ll speak to someone professional about it. I don’t feel that I’m ready to tell my family about what happened to me and I know if I do tell them, their reactions would probably be a million times worse than Dan’s and I just can’t handle that right now.

  I’m around a few buildings from Dan’s apartment and notice the entrance to the park that I was looking at last night from the balcony. Wow! I hadn’t realised it was Kensington Gardens. I must take a walk through with Dan before we leave tomorrow. As far as I know the weather will be on the warm side this weekend and I intend to enjoy it before we head back to Scotland and ten degrees colder.

  I feel absolutely spoiled and beautiful right now as I stand in front of the full-length mirror at the exclusive salon Dan sent me to. The dress I chose at the boutique is simple yet extremely sexy. It’s a very dark green satin with the thinnest spaghetti straps. The back is entirely open to almost the base of my back except for the criss-cross of the straps over my shoulder blades. My blonde hair has been styled in a retro 40’s movie star style. My make-up has been done to absolute perfection to complement the hairstyle. I’m almost in tears as I look at my reflection. It’s been so long since I’ve felt beautiful. I know Dan will like what he sees, and it makes me smile.

  “You okay honey?”

  I turn abruptly at the voice behind me. “Oh yes I am thank you,” I say to Jennifer, the lovely woman who did my hair and make-up.

  “You look beautiful. That colour with your hair is perfect. You’ve got a kind of Veronica Lake look about you.”

  My smile widens. I know exactly who Veronica Lake is. My mum and I used to watch a lot of Film Noir on a Sunday afternoon. As I got older, those Sundays became less frequent until we no longer spent them together anymore at all. The thought is just about to kill my good mood when the woman talks again.

  “So, you said you’re off to The Savoy tonight. Have you been before?”

  “No, I haven’t. My parents have stayed there before but I’ve never been.”

  She smiles. “It’s lovely, but very posh. I went to an afternoon tea there for my fortieth birthday. It really was very nice but extremely expensive. I’ll probably go back when I’m eighty.” She chuckles as she walks over to the reception desk in the middle of the Salon. “So, you ready to go then?” She asks as she lifts the phone.

  “Sure am,” I nod.

  “Excellent, I’ll get your lift organised.”

  I watch as she speaks to whoever is on the other end of the phone. I like this little salon, it’s so intimate and I wonder how much my hair and make-up actually cost. There is no price list, only a list of services and I notice that the sign says By Appointment Only. The place is simply decorated and is in no way pretentious or trying to be something it’s not.

  “Okay,” says Jennifer, “your driver will be here in a few minutes. You’re going to dazzle the room when you get there.”

  I blush. “Thank you.”

  “Oh, thank you. Your hair is divine to work on.”

  I smile touching my hair lightly.

  “Now, when you get into the car, just make sure you flatten your dress out under you and hold your seatbelt out a little, so it doesn’t crease you,” Jennifer says acting out the movements as she speaks. She reminds me of a flight attendant doing the safety announcements. I’m waiting for her to tell me where the exits are.

  “Thanks so much Jennifer. For the advice and for making me look beautiful,” I say shyly.

  “Oh, honey you don’t need much work. All I’ve done is given you a spruce up. Oh, there’s your driver.” She motions to the huge window at the front of the salon.

  I look out the window and see a massive, jet black Mercedes sitting at the kerb. It’s blacked out windows gives it a very presidential look and I all at once feel very small.

  “Thank you, Jennifer, for everything.”

  “You’re more than welcome. Now go and enjoy your night.”

  I smile at her as I leave the salon. The driver of the car gets out when he sees me and opens the back door for me. The inside of the car is luxurious. The two back seats are like a huge set of armchairs, the beige and black leather stitched into padded comfort. I get in and sit, fixing my dress the way Jennifer told me to and smiling. It’s one of those silly little bits of information that you find out but it’s a game changer. I’d normally just throw myself into the car and turn up looking like my iron had broken. The driver takes the car smoothly away from the kerb and we make our way through the streets of London. It still surprises me how long it takes to cross this city.

  We are only around three miles away, but it takes us almost twenty-five minutes to get to the Savoy and by the time we pull up outside, I’ve had far too much time alone to think. I haven’t seen Dan all day, since before I met with my parents in fact. I felt beautiful in the salon but now I’m starting to feel incredibly silly. Who the hell am I trying to kid here? I don’t belong in this world. I don’t get the chance to act on my insecurities as the door of the car opens and I’m greeted with the most wonderful sight. Dan flashes me a huge smile. God you’re beautiful, I think to myself as I take him in. He’s wearing a three-piece blue suit with a green check pattern through it. For some reason I’m sure that’s no coincidence.

  “My God you’re a vision in green Nikki,” he says as he helps me out of the car.

  I smile at him. “Not so bad yourself. So, whose party is this exactly?” I ask as we start making our way inside.

  He gives a little chuckle. “Mine,” he says with a smile.

  “Oh? And what’s it for?”

  “A business friend’s office has been open one year on Tuesday, so I decided to throw a bit of a birthday party for them while I’m here.”

  “And you couldn’t tell me, why?”

  His brows knit together. “I just thought it’d be a nice surprise,” he says, his voice sounding a little hurt that I should question him.

  “So how will you introduce me then?” My question may have come out a little harsher than I was anticipating it to, but I had thought things were going to be different. I thought that’s why we were here.

  “How would you like me to introduce you?”

  Oh, hell no! I shake my head and turn to leave but I’m caught by the wrist.

  “Don’t run Nikki, please.”

  I turn back to him and sigh. His dark eyes are pleading and in my pissed off state I find it pathetic. “What do you expect me to do Dan?” I say and yank my arm out of his hand. “You promised me things would be different. Fuck!” I shout and everyone in earshot turns to see what the commotion is.

  “Nikki, stop shouting, you’re causing a scene,” he says through gritted teeth.

  “I can’t do this again Dan.” Turning away from him, I walk as fast as I can in my heels but it’s like wading through water. I stop next to a huge plant pot holding some sort of greenery. Crouching down beside the pot, I put my head in my hands and cry. This is not how I had envisioned this night going. I looked beautiful when I left
the salon. I even actually liked myself a little. Now I’m a mess and I’m crouched down crying outside one of the best hotels in London. And I’ve just made a roaring fool of myself and hurt a good man in the process.

  A cool hand on my bare back makes me jump and I look up at Dan. He holds out his hand and reluctantly I take it. He pulls me up to my feet. “Do you want to leave?” He asks, his voice low and raspy.

  I close my eyes, steeling myself. “No,” I say quietly as I open them.

  Dan places his forehead on mine. “I’m sorry, that was a stupid question to ask you,” he whispers.

  “No Dan, I’m sorry. What the hell are you doing here with me? I’m all kinds of fucked up in the head.”

  “You’re hurting, there’s a difference. I don’t want to be that guy Nikki.”

  “What guy?”

  “The one that makes you cry like that. The guy that apologises to you every time he fucks up. That arsehole who makes you feel anything other than love for yourself.” He swipes my tears off my cheeks with his thumbs. “This ends now, you’re here as my date and that’s who I’ll introduce you as. That’s what I wish I’d gone with.”

  I can’t hide the smile that forms on my lips. “Thank you. And I promise to stop running.”

  He puts his hand behind my head and pulls me in close, kissing my forehead. “Shall we go inside?”

  I nod and he leads us towards the entrance, past the people who stopped to see what was going on when I shouted, the people who now throw accusatory glances my way.

  Dan turns to look at me and I see sincerity there, adoration even and feel sorry for the poor guy. I hope he’s as strong as he thinks he is.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  What a party this is. The food is amazing, the music is top notch and the venue is stunning. I’ve been introduced to quite a lot of people and Dan kept his word. I’m his date for the night and now people know.