Changing His Game (Entangled Brazen) (Gamers) (9 page)

“And now, Marley, now, I’m feasting. I can taste you on my tongue. I’m holding onto your hips while you grind yourself on my mouth. You’re all over my face, and I’m working you with my tongue and lips.”

“Oh my God.”

Austin moved his hand faster. He’d brought her to orgasm three times now. He knew what she sounded like when she was close, the way her voice rose. “Touch yourself. Put two fingers inside your pussy. Imagine it’s my tongue. And rub that clit with your thumb. Do it, Marley.”

“Oh fuck,” she said, her breath coming in pants now.

“Tell me.”

“I’m so wet, and I’m so close.”

He could feel it too, his balls tightening up, wanting, needing to release. “Come for me, I’ll lap it all up, sweetheart. Come in my mouth.”

There was no sound, just silence, and then her voice broke through, a loud curse and then his name, “Auuuustin. Oh
God
!”

That was all he needed, his name from her lips in the throes of an orgasm. He came with a whispered curse, his hand working his cock as he shot all over his pants and stomach.

He was slumped in his chair, covered in his release, panting into the phone while Marley made small gasps on the other end.

He should hang up, before he did something crazy, like propose. He imagined her lying on her couch, beautiful breasts rising and falling, bare ass exposed, curls a mess. If he was there, he’d lay behind her, one hand on a breast, the other possessively cupping her wet, sensitive skin between her legs. He’d dip a finger in her folds while she squirmed, and he’d leave it there, keeping that connection.

Yeah, he needed to get off the phone. He opened his mouth, unsure what to say now that the urgent need to come had evaporated. He’d never had phone sex before. Was there etiquette?

Marley shifted on the other end and when she spoke, her voice was soft and a little slurred. “Thanks for that chance.”

And then she hung up. The silence on the other line was deafening in Austin’s ear.

The next day, Austin found himself cornered in Grant’s kitchen by Sydney. He’d borrowed Grant’s wet vac a couple of weeks ago and finally got around to returning it. Or maybe he just wanted out of his house, because being alone with thoughts of Marley was driving him insane.

But he hadn’t counted on the tenacity of a teenage girl.

“So, do you have a date lined up this month yet?” She tore a piece off of her muffin, which smelled delicious, and stuffed it into her mouth. She’d informed him she’d made cranberry-orange muffins, but he didn’t get one until he coughed up details about his love life.

The girl was pure evil.

“I do not.” He wasn’t going to kowtow to her.

She stuck out her lower lip, and his resolve began to crack. God, he was weak. Over a pout and a muffin.

He clenched his jaw. “I have a solid lead, though.”

Sydney rolled her eyes. “I can’t believe you just spoke of a possible date as a ‘solid lead.’”

“It’s an accurate description of the situation,” he explained, as his gaze darted to the pan of muffins.

“Nuh-uh-uh,” Sydney said. “You didn’t earn your muffin.”

Austin narrowed his eyes. “I don’t like you.”

Grant walked in to the kitchen, in his normal Sunday attire of cutoff sweatpants and an old college T-shirt with a huge hole in the left armpit. He picked a muffin off the tray and shoved half of it into his mouth, chewing as crumbs fell to the floor.

Austin salivated.

Sydney raised an eyebrow.

Grant frowned and brushed some crumbs off of his chest.

After the phone call last night, Austin had spent a lot of time pacing. He wanted to call Marley back and ask her out properly. He wanted to delve into more of her fantasies, and he wanted to get to know her. Which was a novel concept for him, but there it was, plain as day. So it wasn’t a hard decision. Plus, he wanted that damn muffin. Austin threw up his hands. “Okay, fine. You win, devil child. I’ll ask her out on a date, okay?”

“When?” she demanded.

“Today.” He’d text Marley. Or email. Whatever he got up the nerve to do. But he’d do it.

Sydney pointed to the tray of treats. “Do you actually want to go out with her or are you just doing this for the baked goods?”

A whole night with Marley. Her attention on him, her soft curves under his hands. Austin didn’t even hesitate. “I want her.”

Sydney blinked at his answer. “Okay, you may proceed to the nearest muffin.”

Austin grabbed one before Sydney changed her mind. Of course, he ate it with manners, unlike Grant. He wasn’t an animal.

Chapter Nine

The text had come on Sunday, right as Marley was curling up on the couch with Sadie, a bowl of reheated soup in her hand.

I’d like to take you out. Please be ready Saturday at 8 PM.

He’d even added the PM, as if she really thought he’d start a date at 8 AM. It was adorable.

She’d spent the whole morning wondering what the hell he was thinking about her email and their smutty phone call, so this text was a relief.

Her response was,
I’ll be ready.

The week had passed in a daze—one in which Marley went to bed hearing Austin’s voice, feeling his hands on her skin, and woke up aching and unsatisfied.

She recognized this was crazy and reckless. And maybe that’s what made it so appealing. She vowed she’d get her head on straight next week, after this night with Austin.

After glancing at the clock in her bedroom, she slipped a diamond stud into her pierced ear. He’d be there in fifteen minutes. At least, that’s what his email said. He’d told her to wear a dress.

She should have bristled at being told what to wear, but instead she was grateful because at least it narrowed down her clothing choices considerably. Less stress that way.

Which was greatly appreciated. It’d been a trying week at work, with Marley rushing to put out fire after fire. One of her copy editors had discovered a major factual error in an article which had been deemed finished, and another one of her staff found a screen grab of a video game was not the one mentioned in the article. On top of that, one freelancer had submitted his story with incorrect links, then seemed to vanish, so Marley spent a good two hours she didn’t have tracking down the correct URLs.

By the end of the week, she was barely hanging on. Her voice hurt from firing off directives and the last thing she wanted to do was think or make any more decisions. James had been pleased with her handling of each situation and even bought her lunch on Friday. But a date with Austin seemed like the best medicine for her week from hell.

He’d only emailed her that once, even though she wished for his dirty words in her inbox. None came. But hopefully, she’d get the dirty words in person tonight. Her imagination was starting to run dry.

It was amazing how he’d filtered into her life like vapor, so he was everywhere all at once, in all things she did.

She smoothed down her skirt and checked out her outfit in her floor length mirror. She’d chosen a simple, slimming red dress that hugged all her curves. A silver chain hung from her neck, a small sword pendant dangling from the end. She’d bought it this week because it reminded her of
Aric’s Revenge
, which would also bring up thoughts of Austin. She wondered if he’d notice.

She’d chosen the highest heels she had—black patent leather stilettos. She’d paired them with a pair of black thigh-highs. What was underneath the dress was for Austin. She grinned and fiddled with her hair at her shoulders. After one more sweep of powder on her face, neck, and chest, she walked downstairs to wait for Austin’s knock.

She had no idea if he was normally punctual. She looked forward to finding that out, plus a lot more about him. She knew his body and she knew he could play hers like an instrument. But other than that, he was a mystery.

She was idly straightening some throw pillows on her couch—and frowning at a stain she was sure had been made by Chad—when her doorbell rang.

Marley took a deep breath and walked over to the door, her heels clicking loudly on her hardwood floors.

When she opened it, Austin stood holding a bouquet of flowers. He wore a black suit but no tie, his white shirt open at the collar. His dark hair was combed back, and Marley spotted small streaks of gray at his temples. Damn, that was hot.

She reached out her hand and took the bouquet, which was elaborate. It was brimming with flowers she’d never seen before and—was that an artichoke?—the stem was wrapped in pale blue silk. She bit her lip. Just the sight of that color now was enough to make her dizzy.

“They’re gorgeous. Thank you, Austin.”

He didn’t say anything. His gaze roaming her hair, face, cleavage, and then down her legs felt like fingers.

When his gaze met hers, he smiled. “You look beautiful.”

She blushed. Actually blushed. When was the last time she did that? When was the last time anyone had called her beautiful? “Thank you. Let me go put these in water and then we’ll…go do whatever you have planned. You can come in.”

He took a step inside and shut the door behind him. She turned on her heel, nose in the bouquet as she made her way to the kitchen. She pulled a vase down off a shelf when he spoke again. “Dinner.”

She turned around with the vase clutched in one hand, the bouquet in the other. “Excuse me?”

He licked his lips then seemed to shake himself. He pushed back the edges of his suit jacket and shoved his hands in his pockets. “I’m taking you to dinner. I thought…I’m not sure I’ve made such a good impression so far. And you deserve to be treated well.” He cleared his throat. “Very well.”

She blinked at him as his words sank in. She turned to face the counter and began to fill the vase with water from her sink. She wished she could stick her face under the cool stream because she was burning up already. After the vase was full, she set it down and slipped the bouquet inside. “You don’t have to do that. I’m fine with Sour Patch Kids and a movie.”

When she turned back around, he looked confused, uncertain. She suppressed a smile. He was a computer guy, a video game nerd. She was sure he liked everything organized, compartmentalized. He would have planned this date because, in his mind, that’s what a man did—buy a woman dinner. Wine and dine her.

And she’d just thrown him for a loop.

She walked toward him and laid a hand on his forearm. She placed a kiss on his chin, the only place she could reach. “This is nice, Austin. I’d love dinner.”

That seemed to satisfy him. His face lightened, and he nodded. Then he cocked his elbow for her to take his arm. “Then we should get going. I have reservations.”

Of course he did. She smiled to herself as she grabbed her clutch off the counter and walked with him toward the door. His planning was cute. Although, she was sure he’d take his palm to her ass if she called him cute.

A jolt of heat shot through her. She made a mental note to call him cute later.

He opened her car door for her, then walked around the hood and settled into the driver’s seat. She enjoyed the feel of the leather seats on her legs, the gentle vibrations of the car under her.

She didn’t ask where they were going. They could have kept driving all night, to be honest. They had made it out of her small suburb now and were heading into the city. She watched the lights go past in the passenger window. He asked about her week and she told him about all of the uncharacteristic issues that had cropped up and how she solved them. “I just hope James made a note of every single one of these and uses them when he’s deciding who gets the promotion.”

Austin patted her thigh. “I’m sure he will.”

She hoped so. Jack Sorrel, normally a lazy piece of crap, had all of a sudden come alive, walking around with page proofs in his hands, looking important and barking orders at no one in particular. If he got the job over her, she’d spit.

She glanced at Austin as the fading light poured through the windshield. She wondered if Jack would make a scene if he found out about Austin. It bothered her, like a splinter under her skin, but she shoved it aside. It was just one date, right?

You’re falling for him,
said a voice in her head. But she shoved it aside.

“What would be a dream date for you?” Austin asked, taking her out of her thoughts.

“A dream date?”

He gripped the steering wheel and a muscle in his jaw tensed when he nodded.

She thought about it for a minute. “Well, there’s a Comic-Con coming up in Philadelphia. Did you hear about that?”

He glanced at her, then nodded again.

She smiled. “That would be a perfect date. We’d cosplay. You’d be Aric and I’d be Evelyn. How hot would you be in Aric’s leather pants, swinging a big sword around?” She giggled, on a roll now. “And I’d braid my hair and wear Evelyn’s corset, with cleavage busting out and that cool skirt with a slit up to my thigh, a knife tucked into my garter. Don’t you think that would be fun?”

She looked over at him as they stopped at a red light. He was facing straight ahead, his lips pressed into a thin line. “Austin?”

He swallowed. “Uh, I’m not really into that kind of thing.”

She frowned. “Comic-Cons?”

“No. Well, yeah, I’m not really into that either. But I don’t…cosplay. I don’t like attention or crowds.” He blew out a breath and Marley didn’t have the heart to be irritated. The guy looked flat-out terrified. He turned his head to face her. “I’m very sorry about that.”

She was disappointed. Of course she was. Chad had gone with her a couple of times, but she always dreamed of going with her boyfriend or husband. They’d dress up together and then sneak off somewhere to have sex all dressed up.

But that wouldn’t happen with Austin. And that was okay. She didn’t want to go on a date that would be torture for him. That wouldn’t be fun for anyone. “You don’t have to be sorry. It was just a stupid little idea.” She waved her hand.

He reached out and grabbed her fingers as the light turned green. He didn’t move the car. “It’s not stupid, Marley. It’s not stupid at all. I’m sorry but that’s just…not me.”

She smiled. “I know. It’s okay, Austin. Really.”

A car honked behind them and irritation flashed over Austin’s face before he let go of her hand and took his foot off the brake. “I’ll make it up to you.”

“There’s nothing to make up—”

“Marley,” he said, and this time when he looked at her, his beautiful eyes held a little bit of vulnerability. “Tonight, I want you to understand how well you deserve to be treated. And that I can be the man to do it.”

The things he said. Except this wasn’t dirty talk that sent heat right between her legs. This caused a bloom of warmth in her chest. Near her heart.

She closed her eyes. This was their first real date. She had to get it together and not dream about forever already.

When she opened her eyes, he glanced at her. She smiled. “Okay, Austin.”

He smiled back, and held her hand on the rest of the way to the restaurant.

He pulled into the parking lot of Vito’s. Marley raised her brows. She’d never eaten there before, and heard it was difficult to get reservations. Although, really, was she surprised in any way that Austin had pulled it off?

No.

He had a way about him that made people eager to do his bidding. It didn’t seem like it was just her. She glanced back at his car as they walked toward the front doors of the restaurant. He drove a Jaguar—a new one, from the looks of it. She tried to think of a way to ask her next question without seeming like a gold digging busy body. She only wanted to know him better—what interested him and what made him tick. “So I don’t see you at
Gamers
much.”

He cleared his throat. “I only work there part-time.”

“So it’s not your only job?”

Austin stared straight ahead. “I dabble in other things.”

She bit her lip so she didn’t giggle at his use of the word
dabble
. “Like real estate?”

He opened the door and ushered her inside with his hand on the small of her back. “Something like that.”

He was being kind of cagey, so a niggle of doubt tickled at the back of her brain. She trusted him with her body, since he’d shown her time and again he knew how to pleasure her the way she craved. But where would this relationship go? It wasn’t only about sex anymore if he was taking her out on a date, was it? And what if she got attached? Could she trust him with her heart? She turned to face him. “Is it illegal?”

He barked out a laugh and pressed his lips to her forehead. “I promise I’m a law-abiding citizen.”

She let it go, then.

Inside Vito’s, it was all creams and golds, low candlelight flickering on the tables. She walked among the tables, following the hostess. Austin’s hand lay on the small of her back, guiding her, yet his fingers were curled into her in a way that was possessive. Claiming. She loved it.

The hostess led them to a booth in the back corner. The light was even lower there and, while the restaurant was full, the nearest tables weren’t easily visible once they slid into the cool leather. Austin’s body crowded her into the corner, and she thanked the waiter for handing her the menu.

She opened the thick menu, the outside covered in some sort of fabric, and ran her finger down the cream paper, where all the dishes were listed in scripted font.

No prices.

“Do you like wine?” Austin asked.

She wanted to snort out a laugh, but that wasn’t very ladylike and maybe a little inappropriate for a restaurant as nice as this. So she said, “Yes, of course.”

“Red?”

“That’s fine.”

He ordered a fancy-sounding wine, and the waiter scurried off to supply it.

Austin finally opened up his menu. He glanced at it for about thirty seconds before shutting it and putting it aside.