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  Jax stifled a groan. He wasn't sure if it came from irritation with the selfish bastards Cassie seemed to go out with or the lingering image of her moaning loud and wiggling around.

  "Boy, you sure can pick 'em."

  Once again, Kayla echoed his thoughts...part of them, anyway.

  "No, they aren't that bad. Greg was just afraid his mom would hear me and know we weren't studying. Brian and I were both virgins and neither of us knew what we were doing. And Trey...well, let's just that he may be under the impression that I'm, you know, enjoying things more than I really am."

  "You're faking?" Kayla's voice rang out through the house and even Jax froze for a minute, afraid Aaron was going to come investigate.

  "Can you keep it down please? God, why are we even talking about this?"

  "Because you're drunk enough to be honest with us and we love you and want to help you."

  "Thanks, Blaire."

  "But he'll never figure out what you like if you keep faking."

  "I didn't do it on purpose. Not the first time, anyway. I thought it was going good, I was enjoying things and then...bam. It was over. And he looked so happy when he asked me if I...you know—"

  "Came? Orgasmed? Climaxed? Pick a word, Cass."

  "Shut up, Kayla. Anyway, I felt bad so I just said yes."

  "Well, you should have been straight with him, but if he was paying the least bit of attention or had any clue what he was doing in the first place, he'd have known you didn't cum. If not the first time, he definitely should have picked up on it by now."

  Yes. That. Listen to Kayla.

  "Have you ever had one, Cass? Like by yourself?" Blaire asked hesitantly.

  "A couple of times, maybe."

  "Maybe? Girl, there should be no such thing as maybe when you are talking about orgasms. I am SO getting you that vibrator."

  Jax didn't hear Cass's vehement objections or Blaire's barely stifled giggles. He was overwhelmed by the mental image of Cassie naked on a bed—his bed by the way, not that it mattered—with her legs splayed wide and a vibrator pressed tightly to her wet flesh as her back arched up in mid-climax.

  Holy fuck. That was definitely not the kind of thoughts a guy would be having about his little sister. As he attempted to will his sudden painful erection to deflate, he tuned back into the conversation.

  "I'd get you off myself if I thought you'd let me, but you don't appear to be drunk enough for that," Kayla said in a matter of fact tone.

  And there went his dick again.

  "There's got to be a guy around here we can recruit for such a worthy cause. One that's not related to you, of course."

  "Blaire, don't even start."

  "What? I'm just saying. The Dick isn't getting any less attractive and the way he was looking at you—"

  "Shut up, Blaire. First off, I have a boyfriend so there will be no recruiting of anyone. Second, it doesn't matter how attractive he is, he's still The Dick. And third, you're full of shit; he wasn't looking at me any way."

  There was a long pause during which Jax ran through the possibilities of who The Dick might be and came up blank.

  "God, he is hot though."

  There was just enough frustrated desire in Cassie's husky voice that Jax gave up entirely on getting his dick under control. Who the fuck was she talking about?

  "Seriously, seriously hot," Kayla chimed in. "I mean, a lot of guys from high school you look at now and wonder what you ever saw in them, but he just keeps getting better."

  "He and Aaron both," Blaire muttered.

  Oh shit.

  "Yeah, but we're talking about getting Cass off, not you, Blaire. And I noticed him looking too, Cass. I'm pretty sure it wasn't your new socks he was drooling over."

  His jaw dropped when he realized they were talking about him. And that they caught him checking out Cassie's legs. And that they were calling him a dick.

  "I think we should stop talking about getting Cass off and put a cork in this bottle of wine. I'm officially too drunk when I start fantasizing about The Dick."

  Jax was having a very hard time keeping himself from walking in there and demanding...well, he wasn't sure if he wanted to demand they continue talking about getting Cassie off or if he wanted to demand to know why they were calling him a dick.

  "Oh please, like you ever stopped fantasizing about him."

  Wait, what?

  "Shut up, Kayla," Blaire and Cassie said at the same time.

  "Why? It's true. We all know you act like you hate him when what you really hate is that you can't stop wanting him."

  There was another long pause and then a jingling sound close enough to make Jax panic and jump into the guest bathroom to get out of sight. He hadn't thought his heart could beat any harder than it had been after what Kayla said, but now it was pounding so loud in his ears he was afraid Cassie might hear.

  Through the crack in door he watched her walk down the hall toward the kitchen, socks jingling, the empty bottle of wine clutched in her hand. Her shoulders were pulled tightly up to her neck in a posture he recognized as indicating a state of being royally-fucking-pissed-off when Aaron was doing it.

  "You shouldn't say things like that to her," Blaire gently admonished.

  "Why the fuck not? She's been holding that grudge for way too long. She needs to get over it. Jax's a nice guy, he doesn't deserve her attitude. Even if he doesn't notice it."

  "I know, but making her feel stupid about it is just going to make it worse."

  "You're the one who brought him up. I was just trying to give her a push."

  "I think you might have pushed too hard."

  Kayla heaved a sigh that was audible even from where Jax hid. "Fine, I'll apologize. But I should probably go soon. I'm still pretty drunk and can't promise I won't say more stupid shit."

  "Alright. Hey, what were you saying earlier about your roommate teaching you some tricks?"

  The laugh that came from Kayla was full of lusty promise. "At least one of you is drunk enough to go for it. Walk home with me and I'll show you exactly what I was talking about. You can spend the night."

  They went on to discuss trying out some of Kayla's toys in a conversation that would normally have brought Jax to his knees, but he hardly heard a word. His mind was occupied with trying to figure out why it felt like his world had been rocked off balance. Cassie hated him? Cassie wanted him?

  He'd known she had a crush on him when she was younger. It had been the source of a few moments of embarrassment for him in high school when she was still a scrawny freshman following him around like a puppy, but he thought she'd gotten over it when he went off to college. In fact, she'd hardly acknowledged him since then except the occasional snarky comment in passing.

  Of course in retrospect it was obvious. What he'd taken for sullen teen behavior and good-natured teasing must have been her understated way of brushing him off and being rude, but he'd never paid enough attention to really pick up on it.

  Well, he was paying attention now. She'd grown up quite a bit in the last few years. With a body like hers he couldn't exactly avoid noticing it, but she was still Aaron's little sister and he'd known her forever so he'd cut off those thoughts before they could take hold.

  Okay, so maybe he indulged occasionally, but hell, when she was wearing tiny little khaki shorts like she had on tonight with those long, toned dancer's legs stretching out below them, he could hardly be blamed for taking notice.

  Blaire and Kayla followed Cassie to the kitchen a few minutes later carrying the mostly empty snack bowls and Jax took the opportunity to slip back up the stairs. As he approached Aaron's room he noticed the door was closed and realized that in his long absence they must have found something to occupy themselves with other than the Playstation.

  With a wicked grin Jax rattled the doorknob loudly, confirming it was locked, then rapped on the door a few times. "Hey man, what's up? You accidentally locked the door."

  "Fuck off!" Aaron's muffled voice was punctuated
by a loud moan from Stephanie and Jax walked away chuckling to himself at the thought that her voice didn't sound nearly as obnoxious when it came out like that.

  He stood at the top of the stairs leaning on the railing overlooking the front door and wondering what he should do. No, he knew what he should do. He should go home, kick his sandbag for a while work off some of this excess energy, and then go to bed. Alone. That was what he should do, but damned if he could bring himself to do it.

  What he wanted to do was go down there and show Cassie exactly what she was missing going out with losers who didn't know what to do with that luscious body of hers. He wanted to prove to her that there was nothing wrong with her except maybe bad judgment when it came to picking dudes. He wanted to slide his hands up those long legs, spread them wide, tease her with his fingers, then his tongue, maybe his teeth. He wanted to push her right to the edge and keep her there until she was begging and then he'd give her something she'd never forget.

  He caught himself running his tongue along his top lip in anticipation, his fingers tapping the railing impatiently, his dick pressing uncomfortably against the inside of his pants. Apparently his body considered itself fully recruited to the cause. But really, what was wrong with that? They may have grown up together, but she wasn't his sister. And yeah, she was younger than him, but only by four years. If it were any other twenty-year-old he wouldn't hesitate. Well...yeah, he probably would, but the point was they were both adults. She could always just say no if she wasn't interested.

  Goddamn, what the fuck was wrong with him? This was Aaron's little sister. This was Cassie. No, he couldn't do it. For a lot of reasons, not the least of which being that Aaron would tear him apart. He was going to have to just go down there, say goodbye, and go home to take a cold shower.

  He'd just made it to the bottom of the stairs when Blaire and Kayla passed him on their way out, still giggling. Kayla was twirling her little red thong around on one finger and turned to him with a huge grin as she brushed past.

  "If you're looking for something to eat, there's something sweet in the kitchen."

  Blaire's jaw dropped and she hit Kayla on the arm and dragged her out the door telling her to shut her drunk ass up. Had Jax not heard their conversation earlier he might have been confused as hell, but as it was he felt the blood rush to his dick at the thought. Oh hell yes, he bet she was sweet and he was dying to find out for himself.

  No. Decision made. Not gonna happen. She was Aaron's sister and he was...well he was The Dick apparently. Even if he had no idea why.

  3

  I was still fuming about what Kayla had said as I cleaned up the kitchen. Not so much because it was untrue, but because it was obviously true and I hated that Kayla threw it in my face like that. My crush started right around the time I was beginning to notice boys and it just never let up. Still to this day I'd occasionally catch myself daydreaming about him, indulging in half-formed fantasies that would leave my breath short and my heart beating fast. The fact that I couldn't seem to stop was part of the reason I made such a show about hating him.

  That and old habits die hard. We'd been calling Jax The Dick for years, but it didn't really mean anything anymore. Throughout our adolescence he'd borne the brunt of all our anger and frustration with males (or at least all of mine and my best friends went along with me). Not that I noticed; he seemed to see it all as a game. He teased and insulted me back, but there was never any heat in it. He treated me like an annoying little sister.

  Which just pissed me off even more.

  At any rate, I knew I'd been clinging to my grudge for far too long, but he'd hurt me at such a fragile point in my life that it was hard to let go of being mad at him. Especially since letting go of being mad would mean I was left feeling like a sad loser who never got over my unrequited childhood crush.

  Which is exactly what I was, but that didn't mean I wanted to acknowledge it.

  And if I stopped avoiding him, or when that failed being rude to him, he was bound to notice that I could hardly look at him without blushing. Could barely speak when he was around without stumbling over my words.

  It was ridiculous. I was a grown woman...well a mostly grown woman, and I knew I was attractive. Dancing kept my body lean and in shape, even if my breasts were on the small side, and I was blessed with pretty features and gorgeous hair. I never had trouble meeting guys or talking to them, but despite all that, somehow just being around Jax made me feel like a stupid little kid again.

  "You trying to scrub the Santas off that bowl?"

  I jumped and dropped the bowl in the sink with a loud clatter. I didn't turn and look at Jax, hiding my blush and afraid he'd notice I wasn't wearing a bra. Instead I picked the bowl up and rinsed it while I attempted to get my pounding heart under control.

  "Aren't there virtual people you should be shooting with a virtual gun in a virtual war of some kind?"

  "War's on pause. Stephanie's got a hold of Aaron's joystick."

  "Ew, I really didn't want to know that."

  "All's fair in love and war."

  "Love? Is that what that is?"

  "Well, it sounded like she was loving it from outside the door."

  "Oh my God, stop. I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit."

  "Why? There's nothing wrong with having a little fun, is there?"

  I froze. His voice suddenly came from right behind me, so close I'd have sworn I could feel the heat from his body against my back, but he wasn't touching me. My heart pounded loud in my ears and a wave of dizziness washed over me. Was I still drunk?

  As I stared down at the sink wondering what I should do, I saw his hands come down on the counter on either side of me and then he was touching me. His chest leaned lightly against my back, not quite pressing me into the counter. I slowly lowered the bowl into the sink and braced my hands against the counter to hide their shaking.

  "I mean, we're all adults here, right? If adults want to spend some...free time with each other...enjoy a little...physical recreation...there's nothing wrong with that, is there?"

  My head shook side to side, almost of its own accord. I couldn't speak even if I wanted to, my breath was coming so shallow and my brain seemed to have turned into mush. If I could have enunciated my thoughts they would have been something like, "ohmygodohmygodohmygod."

  When he brushed my hair back off my neck and laid it over my shoulder, I shuddered and then his hot breath hit my neck and I felt the warmth bloom throughout my body.

  "Do you have any idea how sexy you look in this sweater?" He murmured the question against my skin, his hand sliding around my waist, fingering the soft fuzz. "With no bra on."

  My eyes tracked the progress of his hand as it slid higher and rested just below my breast. I could clearly see both nipples straining against the fabric, aching to be touched. The soft knit suddenly felt prickly against my skin and I realized I had goose bumps.

  One thumb flicked over my tight nipple and I jerked back against him. His arm tightened around my waist to steady me and his knee came up between mine, pushing my legs slightly apart to support some of my weight. If I arched back against him just a little I'd be able to feel...yep, there it was. Oh god, The Dick's dick was pressing against my ass. I suppressed a hysterical giggle and leaned back harder.

  There was a low moan from behind me and somehow knowing I was affecting him at least a little bit gave me my voice back, though it came out as a whisper and shakier than I'd have liked. "What...what are you doing?" His fingers had found the bare skin between my sweater and shorts and was inching along it toward the button in front.

  "Do you want me to stop?" His voice was a whisper in my ear, more felt than heard, and the only response I could come up with was a weak whimper. I didn't know if I wanted him to stop. Or, more accurately, hell no I didn't want him to stop, but I was afraid if I thought too hard about it I'd panic. He smelled so nice, like sandalwood, and when I leaned back against him he felt warm and solid and just so damn good.
And his hands...no, I definitely did not want him to stop.

  "Cassie?" His fingers closed on my aching nipple, pinching at it through my sweater. A rush of heat hit me between my legs and in my face as my breath caught in my throat. His hand drifted lower, cupping me over my shorts. I could feel the warmth of it seeping through the fabric, searing my skin. "What do you want, baby?"

  "Don't stop," I whispered, my hips lifting against his hand.

  It seemed like everything happened at once after that. I couldn't keep track even though I was trying to record it all in my memory as it happened. One hand slid under my sweater, his firm touch soothing and torturing me at the same time, while the other hand pulled open the button on my shorts and slipped inside.

  We moaned together as his fingers found their way into my panties, brushing my outer lips with soft strokes, one finger sliding along the crease where they met, teasing them apart.

  "You're so wet."

  He was kissing me now, licking along my jaw and sucking the soft skin under my ear into his mouth. I had just a moment to register how good it felt before one finger slipped inside me and drew all my attention. He played with me for a while, teasing and touching, before settling into a pattern of slow circles around my clit.

  His other hand continued to toy with my nipples, rolling first one then the other between his fingers, plucking and tugging them mercilessly. It wasn't long before my hips were moving in time with him, riding his thigh where it was pressed against my ass, mentally willing him to touch me where I needed it most. Without thinking about it I stepped my legs a little further apart to give him more access.

  "Does that feel good?" His finger continued to tease, moving in tantalizing circles faster and with more pressure, but still not quite touching my clit except the occasional accidental brush. I could hear his ragged breath in my ear and tried to bite back my own urge to groan with each exhale.

  "Yes, please don't stop." I didn't recognize my own voice, it was so low and husky. And I didn't know when I moved my hands but they were clutching his biceps, the taut muscles rolling under my fingers as I held him tight.