Game Read online

  His deep chuckle vibrated through my body. "No babe, I'm not gonna stop until you cum so hard I have to cover your mouth to keep the neighbors from hearing."

  Anxiety crept in, displacing the heat of desire. He was expecting...oh God, what if I couldn't do it? My back stiffened and my fingers dug into his arms, not quite pulling them away.

  "Stop thinking so hard. Relax. Don't think...about anything...but my finger." His voice had dropped to a deep husky whisper and his finger stopped moving at the very tip of my crease, pressing into the little hollow just above my clit. I held my breath, half afraid he wouldn't start again and half afraid he would.

  One more slow circle down and around and he stopped again. Just when I thought he'd never move...he did. Using his finger like an insistent pendulum he flicked my clit back and forth, pressing hard, steady and relentless, stimulating my nerves so intensely they sent crazy messages up my spine making my legs tremble uncontrollably. My knees buckled, but he held onto me, never letting up, never slowing, whispering unnecessary words of encouragement in my ear.

  I didn't need to let go. My control was wrenched from my grip and I couldn't have held onto it even if I'd wanted to.

  The orgasm hit me within seconds, hard and sudden, with no time to think about what my face looked like or worry about what kinds of sounds I was making. At some point he'd pulled my bottom lip from between my teeth and pressed the meaty pad at the base of his thumb against my lips with the command to bite down. And I had, sinking my teeth in and sucking his salty skin hard as I let loose a moan approaching a scream into his hand.

  My head was spinning and my breath was coming in desperate gasps as I started to come down. Far beyond any little climax I'd ever given myself alone in the quiet of the night. That had been an incredibly intense, body wracking experience. But it left me with an empty ache deep inside that I longed to fill. I wanted more. I needed more. I needed him inside me. The thought had barely formed when his finger slipped inside me, pressing deep.

  "Damn that was beautiful, Cassie. Do it for me again."

  A deep moan of approval escaped me as another finger joined the first one and they began to move in and out at a slow steady pace. But he wasn't just pistoning into me, it felt like he was caressing my insides, slow deliberate strokes designed to stoke the fire deep within me. His free hand found its way back under my sweater to cup my breast, his thumb sweeping around and around my erect nipple, occasionally flicking or pinching it.

  Just as I felt the slow build of pleasure begin again, he stopped. With a soft curse he slipped his hand from between my legs and moved his knee, holding my hips until I was somewhat steady on my feet. With a deft flick he buttoned my shorts and then quickly turned away, leaving my back feeling strangely cold in his absence.

  Breathless, confused, and frustrated beyond belief at being cut off when I was so close, I clung to the counter like a lifeline, staring down into the sink, wondering what the hell had just happened. When I finally got the courage to look over my shoulder at Jax he was closing the fridge with two beers in his hand. Setting one on the counter he opened the other and looked at me with a shit-eating grin.

  "Your friends were right. It definitely isn't you," he said before lifting the bottle to his lips and taking a long drink.

  Oh. My. God. The anger and the blush welled up in me at the same time, but just as I was about to shove that beer bottle down his throat, Aaron walked in wearing nothing but jeans and a grin that looked suspiciously similar to the one on Jax's face. I closed my mouth and tried to quiet the pounding of blood in my ears. My hands were shaking and the fact that I couldn't tell if it was from anger or the after-effects of that amazing orgasm just pissed me off even more.

  "Thanks bro," Aaron said as Jax handed him the unopened beer. "Steph conked out. I sent her to sleep in my parents' room so we can get back to our game."

  Unable to turn my anger on its real object, I shot a glare at my brother. "Damn it Aaron, I told you I was planning to sleep in there while they were gone."

  "Get over it. What's got your panties in a bunch?"

  "Why don't you ask Jax."

  Jax, who'd been in the middle of a swig of beer, made an odd strangling noise and beer exploded out of the corners of his mouth. Aaron tossed him a dishtowel and watched with a raised eyebrow while he wiped his streaming eyes and tried to clean the beer off the side of the refrigerator.

  "What'd you do to piss her off this time?"

  "Nothing dude, your sister is drunk."

  "Your friend is a nosy douchebag."

  "Y'all are both crazy. Come on man, let's go finish that mission."

  "I'll be right there. I've got beer all over my hands." Jax moved to the sink, nudging me out of the way so he could wash his hands. "Are you trying to get my ass kicked?" he asked quietly, unsure how far away Aaron was.

  "It's a pretty tempting proposition right now. I can't believe you listened to our private conversation, you asshole."

  "Maybe you shouldn't have private conversations in the living room." He switched the water off and turned to look at her. "Come on Cassie, three hot girls discussing orgasms and vibrators? There's not a straight guy in the world that wouldn't stop and try to listen to that."

  "My name is Cass," I snapped, trying to distract us both from the fact that I knew he was right on both points. All the things me and my friends had talked about were coming back to me and suddenly I didn't feel so good. I turned to the sink, afraid I was going to throw up. "How much did you hear?"

  "Enough to know I could give you something you needed." He'd moved close again, the warm firmness of his chest pressing along my arm. "Call it a belated Christmas present," he said with a mischievous grin. My blush in full bloom, I tried to turn away but Jax stopped me with a hand on my arm. "Don't be embarrassed."

  "Yeah, nothing to be embarrassed about here. You only heard me discussing my most humiliating secrets and then cornered me in the kitchen to see if you could take on the challenge—"

  "Hey!" His hand tightened on my arm and he pulled me close. "It wasn't like that. I was just coming in to say bye, but I saw you standing here and you looked so...I wanted to make you feel good. I knew I could do that for you." The quiet insistence of his voice washed over me and made me tingle all over. Damn him. I shivered as his hand slid up my neck and worked its way into my hair. "I still can. I wasn't finished."

  A thump from upstairs had us jumping apart like guilty kids. I turned my back to him, grabbed the dish towel and a wine glass and started wiping it dry. "Yes, you were. And you better get up there before he comes looking for you."

  He took a half step toward me, but hesitated and glanced over his shoulder toward the door. "You know where to find me if you change your mind."

  I didn't know what to feel. There were so many conflicting emotions rolling around inside me it was easiest to just focus on cleaning up the kitchen and try, unsuccessfully, to pretend like nothing had happened. My head was still spinning, whether from the wine or the orgasm I wasn't sure, and my thoughts kept returning to that knee-buckling moment of pleasure.

  Good lord, Kayla was right. There was definitely no maybe about that orgasm.

  I was just putting away the last wine glass when my phone beeped in my pocket indicating I'd missed a call. My cheeks burned with the thought that it had probably rung while I was grinding against Jax like a wild woman. I rolled my eyes at myself. It was a wonder the rest of my body could still function since all my blood seemed to be located in my face tonight.

  A quick glance at the display and I froze. Trey. My boyfriend called while another guy had his fingers inside me and I never once gave him a single thought. I'd forgotten all about him. What kind of a girlfriend was I?

  The cheating kind apparently.

  Tears sprung into my eyes at the thought. Great, now I could add shame and guilt to that long list of confusing emotions. How could I have done that to Trey? He might not be the greatest lover, and he certainly wasn't someone I saw m
yself marrying or anything, but he was a sweet guy and we had fun together. He didn't deserve this.

  There was only one thing I could do in a situation like this. I dialed Blaire. After the fifth ring I hung up and dialed Kayla. Again, no answer. What the hell were they doing? Surely they weren't asleep already, it was only...good lord, was it really only ten o'clock? After chewing on my lip for a while, staring blankly at the phone in my hand, I hit speed dial once more.

  "Trey's love nest, how can he service you?"

  "Andrea, goddammit, give me the phone." Trey's voice didn't quite drown out the girlish giggles in the background. "Hello?"

  "Hi."

  There was a pause during which I was pretty sure Trey was shutting Andrea up because the giggles cut off abruptly.

  "Um, hey Cass. Sorry about that my, ah, cousin got a hold of my phone."

  "Your cousin?"

  "Yeah."

  "Who happens to have the same name as your high school girlfriend?"

  "I, um...shit. I, I—"

  "Don't. Seriously, Trey. Look, to be honest I kind of have my own issues going on here at the moment. Maybe—"

  "Wait, what kind of issues?"

  "Are you really gonna ask me that from Trey's love nest?"

  Another pause and then I heard him sigh heavily. "Fair enough."

  "Maybe we should just take advantage of Christmas break and have our own little break. You go have fun with Andrea and...well, we can see how we feel about things when we get back to school next semester."

  "I am sorry, Cass."

  "I'm sorry too."

  "I'll call you when we get back?"

  "Okay."

  As I hung up I found myself surprised at how little I cared. There had been a small thrill of anger when I heard the female voice answer the phone, but not much. Not nearly as much as there should have been. And I wasn't all that surprised; I'd often wondered if Trey was really over his ex the way he talked about her so frequently.

  No, I wasn't upset about the way things had turned out, though I still felt guilty about my own actions. As much as I wanted to blame Jax entirely, I knew I was equally responsible. He may have started it, but he'd given me plenty of opportunity to stop it. As I headed up the stairs to my bedroom I shivered at the memory of his voice in my ear.

  "Cassie? What do you want, baby?"

  I knew what I wanted, it was just a matter of whether I could. Or should. The sound of male laughter made me pause outside of Aaron's door. The rumble of Jax's voice, too low for me to hear his words, sent a little shiver of anticipation through me.

  Who was I kidding? There was no way I was going to pass up this opportunity. I'd been fantasizing about Jax ever since I could remember and now I finally had my chance at him. I just had to keep in mind exactly what he was offering and not fool myself into thinking it was anything more than...what had he called it? Physical recreation.

  A smile crept across my face as I closed my bedroom door behind me. Kayla and Blaire were always telling me to loosen up. This time I was going to take their advice. Jax obviously knew what he was doing. I'd take the chance, maybe learn a few things, definitely have some fun. Yes, I could do this.

  4

  "Bro, you are not on your game tonight."

  "Sorry. I never even saw that sniper."

  "It's cool. You're fortunate enough to be playing with me and I'm good enough for both of us."

  "You better keep your ego in check or I'll shoot you myself."

  "Yeah, yeah."

  Jax tried to focus on the game, but he was having hard time. His eyes kept dropping to the bite mark on his hand where a bruise was already appearing behind the teeth marks. Every time he saw it he thought about that moment when Cassie lost it in his arms. Then he'd get all flushed and his dick would start throbbing in his pants. And then he'd feel guilty again.

  He really hadn't meant to do it. Like he told her, he'd just seen her there in the kitchen, that sweater clinging to her curves, her cute little sock feet carelessly resting in third position as she stood at the sink washing dishes. She looked miserable, her shoulders slumped and her head down. She hadn't even looked up at him when he came in. And he'd remembered the resignation in her voice when she told her friends there must be something wrong with her.

  No, he didn't regret it and despite the guilt he knew that given half a chance he'd do it again. And more. He could show her how to get what she wanted from a man even if he didn't know how to give it to her. He could make her see that it was alright to make noise, to let her body writhe in pleasure, to ask for exactly what she wanted. And it certainly wouldn't hurt if in the process he'd get to run his hands over all that smooth creamy skin, kiss those soft full lips, taste that silky wetness between her legs...

  Damn. He glanced over at Aaron nervously, but he was too involved in shooting their way out of an ambush to notice Jax's sudden discomfort. He was walking a fine line, though. And really, there was no point getting himself worked up about it since she was clearly pissed at him and not likely to take him up on his offer.

  Oddly enough he couldn't bring himself to feel guilty about eavesdropping; the conversation had been partly about him after all. The Dick. He felt a twinge of irritation and decided that if Cassie ever talked to him again he was going to ask her about that. And he didn't feel guilty on her account for what they'd done; she'd obviously enjoyed it. The guilt was about Aaron. He wouldn't understand. He'd see it as a betrayal of his trust, assume Jax was just trying to get laid. That really wasn't what it was about, though.

  Was it?

  No. Definitely not. He honestly hadn't been thinking about getting anything for himself out of it. Okay, so laying his hands on her beautiful body was a definite plus. And he couldn't deny the ego boost he got from knowing he'd been able to give her something no other guy had. But mostly he'd just wanted to make her feel better; prove to her that there was nothing wrong with her. Mission accomplished.

  So why couldn't he stop thinking about what else he wanted to do with her?

  "Alright bro, I give up. We're getting slaughtered here."

  "Sorry man, I can't seem to get my head in the game."

  Aaron ended the game without saving it and stood up to stretch. "Did you drive all the way back this afternoon?"

  "Yeah, and I was up late last night."

  "So what happened? I thought you were supposed to spend Christmas with your mom."

  "Wildlife emergency in the Chattahoochie."

  Aaron snorted and rolled his eyes.

  "No really, we caught these idiots trying to shoot turkeys in the campground yesterday morning. Said they wanted fresh birds for Christmas dinner. Fortunately the campground was empty so no one got hurt, but the rangers arrested them for poaching in a national forest and I had to hunt down, catch, and help pick buckshot out of a bunch of traumatized turkeys. It took all damn day and I didn't want to drive at night so I stayed and had dinner with my boss and his family. I'm pretty sure he put an entire bottle of rum in the egg nog."

  "No wonder you're fried. That's what you get for going to work after graduation instead of grad school like me."

  "Yeah, well, I've been a grade ahead of you our whole lives. I figured I should give you a chance to get ahead."

  "Seriously though, do you like it out there? It sounds pretty cool other than the catching turkeys thing."

  "Yeah man, I love the job. I mean, I spend plenty of time sitting in front of a computer, but there's always something to do out in the park if I want an excuse to get out. And the cabin they gave me to live in is awesome. That alone makes the biology degree worth the four years I spent on it."

  "I bet. I'll have to come out and visit soon. I've been meaning to since you started, but it was a crazy semester for me. Maybe I can make it for spring break."

  "Any time, man."

  "Okay, I'm beat. You can crash here if you want, I'm gonna go downstairs and sleep with Steph."

  "What's the deal with her, by the way?"

&nb
sp; "Shit, I don't know. We've been going out a few weeks and we're not really that serious, but she kind of invited herself to visit. I only said yes because I knew my parents weren't gonna be here and she offered to bring a carload of boxes from my apartment in Birmingham. The more I'm around her the less I want to be around her, but I feel bad, you know? Dumping someone at Christmas just seems like such a dick move."

  "I hear you, man."

  "Anyway, she's only here for another couple days and I'm moving so it'll be a natural break."

  "Right."

  "Well, you know where everything is. I'll see you in the morning."

  "Night."

  After Aaron left, Jax sat for a few more minutes staring down at his hand, running one finger over the little indentions. No, Aaron wouldn't understand. They may have been best friends since they were kids, but they'd always had very different attitudes toward girls.

  Jax had grown up mostly with his mother, watching her put up with a long string of boyfriends that treated her like shit time and again, starting with his own father. He'd decided as a teenager that relationships weren't worth that kind of hassle; that he'd much rather be friends with girls and not have to deal with the whole boyfriend-girlfriend game that Aaron and most of their friends played.

  Of course as he grew up he'd amended that opinion somewhat, observing that not everyone was as unhappy in their relationships as his mother. He'd always been rather in awe of Aaron's parents, who seemed to be best friends and were still happily married after nearly thirty years. If he ever found someone he thought he could love like that it might be worth it, but in the meantime he refused to play by anyone's rules but his own.

  He heaved himself up off the bed with a sigh, dug a pair of sweatpants out of Aaron's dresser and traded them for his jeans. He walked across the hall to the bathroom, pausing only for a second to look at Cassie's closed bedroom door.

  With a familiarity that came from being in a place that felt like home he quickly cleaned up, washing his face and rubbing some toothpaste over his teeth with his finger. In high school he'd kept a toothbrush here, but it had been several years since then and he didn't see an extra one lying around.