Fair Play (5 page)

“That’s disgusting.”

His eyes softened, along with his tone. “My mother bought it for me when I was seven.”

In all the years I’d known him, I’d never heard Noah even mention his mother. Not that we were close and shared those intimate details about our lives the way girls do. But there’d been a time when we were friends. Still, I’d never asked him about why his mom had taken off, or why he had such a bad relationship with his father. But I had my suspicions.

Tossing the beanbag into an empty corner, he took the beer to the fridge. When he came back, he said, “Come on, Wheels, give it a try.”

“I’m not sitting on that thing after you’ve desecrated it.”

In spite of my protests, he pulled me from the loveseat. “Relax. The cover is removable. It’s been decontaminated many times over.” With a gentle nudge, he propelled me onto the beanbag.

Engulfed in a cocoon of softness, I wiggled until I worked myself into a perfect position.

“Now, just imagine your computer right here,” he said, motioning to the space across my legs. “Your neck is fully supported and all the pressure’s off your limbs. Isn’t it much better than that old allergen-infested lump of dust?” He cocked his head toward the loveseat.

“There’s nothing wrong with that lump of dust. I
did
actually clean it after I dragged it out of the dumpster. It took an entire bottle of Febreze.”

“You just made my point.” His smile lit his entire face. The effect left me breathless.

Tears pricked my eyes at his sudden show of kindness, which was in direct contrast with how we’d left things before.

“What’s this?” He kneeled in front of me and wiped the wetness away with the pad of his thumb. In the same motion, he tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ears. “Why are you crying, sweetheart?”

“I’m just tired, I guess. I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

He had the decency to look guilty. “And you’re stressed.”

I took a shaky breath. “Why are you being so nice?”

“How about we agree to take a break from all the head-butting?”

Closing my eyes, I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to stave off a downpour.

With the back of his fingers, Noah reached out and stroked my cheek. “Maybe if we lay down our swords and work together for a couple of weeks, we’ll figure a way out of this mess.” He held out his hand. “What do you say? Truce?”

I nodded and slipped my hand into the cradle of his, allowing its warmth to envelop me. “Truce.”

“We can all win, here. I want that more than anything, especially for you.”

“Why?” My gaze settled on the fine lines at the corner of his eyes—proof of frequent smiles and a certain charm the younger version of Noah had lacked. “Why is it so important to you that I
especially
succeed?”

“Because the sooner you get your shot on Broadway, the sooner you’re out of my hair for good.” His lips twitched at the corners.

I couldn’t help myself. I had to laugh at his comeback, knowing I’d totally set myself up for it. But the moment I did, other emotions took over and the floodgate of tears opened.

“Damn,” Noah said. “I hate it when I make girls cry.” He positioned himself next to me on the bag more than big enough to accommodate us both. Arms wrapped tight around me, he kissed my temple. “I promise, Ash. It’s going to be okay.”

If only I could believe it was true.

Chapter Six

Noah

This was crazy.

Absolutely nuts.

Part of me couldn’t help thinking Ashlyn was wielding her power over our truce, all in an attempt to see how far she could push me. I told her I’d rather rot than do anything remotely resembling scene enactment, but the day after our agreement to follow Lucas’s plan, Ashlyn had a new idea, one she’d been so excited about even I couldn’t deny her.

In this scene, Andy was supposed to be stalking Caroline. Why? I had no clue. But sitting on a park bench in a trench coat and sunglasses in one-hundred-and-eight degree heat met me at my role-playing max.

As if stalkers didn’t wear short-sleeved shirts and cargo shorts.

I’d been ready to bail on Lucas’s plan completely after Ashlyn had planted one on me. She’d taken me by surprise, hugging me after I’d installed her AC unit. Then she hadn’t let go. And true to form, my brain had meandered off somewhere while my body responded to her touch.

To her kiss.

She’d hated me for years, and suddenly she’d kissed me.

I’d thought maybe something was getting going between the two of us, but then she’d stopped kissing me and told me she’d been acting out the part of Caroline. Apparently I’d been acting the part of Andy Rich.

Damn her for not warning me first that the kiss wasn’t real. It would’ve spared me the few minutes of guilt I’d felt over my blatant participation.

My cell phone rang. Quinn. We’d been in constant contact since Pritchard showed up. Regardless of his heroic scene with saving the mayor’s son, in my opinion, the bastard reeked.

“What do you have for me, Q?”

Quinn got right down to business. “Equipment was sent and received. My contacts are already there and on target to finish installation later today. A video feed will link to your PC with footage stored on a secure channel. You’ll also be able to monitor activity from your cell phone.”

I heard the clack of fingers moving over a keyboard in the background. Hopefully he wasn’t hacking into the CIA while I was on the line.

“You’ll receive a text from an undisclosed source with instructions how to plug in to the feeds on video and GPS activity,” he added. “I’m already in Pritchard’s computer. Weird shit going on in there, but nothing illegal.”

“You mean nothing illegal other than you being inside his computer.”

“Semantics,” Quinn said.

“He’s at Lost Meadows RV Park, lot one-two-eight. You told your boys, right?” After Ashlyn had kissed me, I’d taken off to find out all I could about Pritchard and where he was staying. In a small town like Phair, it doesn’t take long for news to travel. I’d found out he was renting an RV slip and what lot he was in within twenty minutes.

“Right. Other than this, how are things? My sister doing okay? You keeping her away from Pritchard?”

I shifted uncomfortably, trying to stir some air within the confines of my coat. Babs had asked me the same question. And I’d given her the same answer I was about to give Quinn. “I haven’t exactly told her.” It never seemed the right time. She’d almost found out when the local paper had done a full page article about the “hero,” but thankfully, she had been in full-on writer mode and didn’t see the article. She barely stopped to eat, much less keep up on current events. Didn’t take much to hide the paper from her.

“That’s not a bad thing,” Quinn said. “Be prepared, though. She’s gonna be pissed when she finds out you withheld intel.”

Rivulets of sweat ran down my spine, giving me all I could take.

This playacting was fucking ridiculous.

Just as I took off the trench and placed it on the bench beside me, I noticed Ashlyn was on the move.

“Gotta go.” Promptly ending the call with Quinn, I left my coat and followed her.

What the hell was she up to?

She wore a full white skirt that stopped just above her knees and a fitted button-up top the same shade of blue as her eyes. And then there were the cowboy boots, giving a rustic edge to her appeal. Her sexy auburn hair hanging loose in the breeze had me wanting to sink my fingers in and hang on, all while burying myself between those milky thighs. I was getting so wrapped up in sexual fantasies that could never, ever happen that I almost missed her turn and go down Main Street.

The plan was supposed to have an element of surprise. She didn’t know when I’d strike, or where. Or what I’d do when I caught up to her. Well, rather, what Andy Rich would do when he caught up to Caroline.

But by the time she reached the chiseled columns of the limestone theater, Ashlyn knew I was tailing her. But rather than going into the safety of the theater’s front door, she slowed her pace, headed to the rear entrance. By the time I reached the back of the building, she was nowhere in sight.

I walked up to the back door, put my hand on the doorknob, and looked around. Had she scrambled inside and up the stairs? Or had she skirted around the opposite end of the building? Before I could make a decision on which path to pursue, the knob jerked from my grasp. The stairwell door opened from the inside, and I found myself facing Ashlyn, who wore an odd expression on her face.

Before I could say something, she grabbed my shoulders and hauled me in. Her chest heaved from the effort. I waited for her to speak, tried to read thoughts that buzzed around her frenzied behavior.

Ashlyn wasn’t acting afraid of me, like she should had she been playing the part of Caroline.

Was the game over?

Or was this just the beginning?

“You’ve been tailing me since the post office,” she said, her voice different. Odd. Caroline’s voice, I assumed.

“Longer than that.”

Her hands slid from my shoulders, down to my chest. “Okay, so that’s creepy,” she said in her regular voice.

I whipped my sunglasses off and hung them by one arm from the neck of my tee. Was I supposed to be me, or Andy Rich? I threw out a line either of us would ask. ”Why didn’t you run?”

“I watch Animal Planet,” she said. “Running is a fatal mistake. A wildebeest can’t outrun a lion. The only chance it has is to stay calm and out-maneuver it.”

“You’re no wildebeest.” I couldn’t tell if she was playing Caroline or being herself. Taking a risk, I traced the line of her flushed cheekbone. I figured I’d play the part of Andy Rich. He got more action with Ashlyn—I mean
Caroline
—than I could. “And you can’t out-maneuver me.”

She shook her head and cleared her throat, then spoke again in her “Caroline” voice. “The police were closing in, weren’t they? That’s why you left New York. It wasn’t to expand the family business. It was because of the mistake you made with your last victim, the evidence you left behind, the new victims still to claim.”

Back to role-playing, right? But she wasn’t an actress, caught up in a role, so why after I’d touched her cheek, did she start to tremble? If it wasn’t from fear, there could only be one reason.

Arousal.

“There’s only one thing I want to claim,” I said. “And it’s not a victim.”

She stepped backward, but not far enough that her hand couldn’t remain on my chest. “I’m not afraid of you.”

“Maybe you should be.” I stepped close again.

“If I said no, what would you do?”

What was she doing? Where was she going with this? Was I still Andy Rich? “If you said no to what?”

When her eyes dropped to my lips, I knew exactly what she wanted.

“If you said no, sweetheart, I would walk away, because that’s what decent guys do.”

Her gaze met mine.

And it hit me. She wasn’t channeling her inner Caroline. “Are you telling me no, Ashlyn?”

“Caroline,” she whispered.

We moved at the same time. Our lips collided in a hard kiss. This wasn’t supposed to be part of the scene, but hell if I could stop myself. Her legs wrapped around my waist and stayed that way as I pressed her into a corner not visible from the alley door. My fingers sank into her sweat-dampened hair, fisted around those fiery tresses while our tongues melded in a way much different than the day before. And not just tasting, but feasting like this might be the last kiss we’d ever share. The very thought filled my chest with an ache that stole my wind. When I could no longer breathe, I pressed my forehead to hers.

She moaned my name. “Noah.”

…

Ashlyn

My signals were getting all crossed again. This was Andy, not Noah. Andy. But the way he kissed me, like he couldn’t get enough, drained my will to stop this, even though I knew I should. I needed to re-summon my inner Caroline.

Because Caroline’s struggle was to overcome her sheltered existence, facing her fears of the outside world—the unknown—I put my heart into kissing Andy again, the way only she would. And I didn’t stop Noah when his fingers moved, unfastening the buttons of my shirt, nor did I stop him when his mouth covered my hardened nipples, sucked them, one at a time, into his mouth, giving me pleasure so intense it danced on the threshold of pain. I wanted his hands on me. All of me, everywhere. I wanted him to lose himself inside me, to put out that dark fire of need that had been rising in my belly since that day twelve years ago when we’d almost kissed.

Alarm bells went off inside my head as his hands fought against the layers of fabric of my skirt, trying to get at what lay hidden beneath. I’d done it again. Confused Andy with Noah, Caroline with me.

“Noah,” I said between kisses. “Stop, please.”

At that, I would’ve sworn his heart ceased beating. I could no longer feel the pulse-point beneath my hand on his neck.

He cleared his throat and stepped back, too far away for us to touch. “I’m no theater buff, Wheels, but there has to be another way to get the material you need without acting out improvisational scenes for your play.”

I finished righting my clothes. “Totally agree.”

“I mean, Jesus, what the hell?”

“Look.” My eyes locked on Noah’s. The last of my control snapped. “You made your point, okay? I’m really sorry you find it all such a hardship.” My eyes dropped to his obvious erection.

“You’re quite the wordsmith aren’t you, Wheels?”

“Isn’t that why you had Lucas bring me to Phair?”

“You’re really pissed about that, aren’t you?”

Ignoring his remark, I walked past him and up the stairs. I couldn’t believe I’d done it to myself again—that I’d allowed the lines between Noah and Andy to blur. That I’d actually felt happiness in the moment at finally getting to experience what Noah had backed away from all those years ago. Sure, we’d kissed yesterday, but that had been different from this. Way different.

By the time I reached the third floor landing, I heard Noah behind me, taking two steps at a time. Just as I reached for the doorknob, he grabbed my arm from behind.

“Hey,” he said, angry, “don’t walk away from me. We
will
talk about this.”

When Noah spun me around, my shoulder glanced hard off the side of the door jamb. I let out a curse more from surprise than pain. I looked down at where he held me in a steel-knuckled grip. His gaze followed mine, and when I looked back up at him, the color had drained from his face.

Noah released my arm and turned away, fast. “That’s it,” he said. “We’re done for today.”

…

Noah

Shit, shit, shit.

What was I thinking, getting rough and grabbing her like that? The look on Ashlyn’s face, how she grimaced in pain when her shoulder slammed against the door facing, and the way she stared down at my hand that gripped her arm, ate at me. She seemed almost disbelieving, maybe even a little afraid. What I’d done had left me shaken and ashamed.

As I walked down the back stairs of The Marshall Theater, I realized I shouldn’t have given in to her. I never should’ve agreed to act out that scene.

Ashlyn knew how to get under my skin, how to push every damn one of my buttons and yank all my chains. She heightened my protective instincts. My reactions, good or bad, became magnified. The way she made me laugh, or caused me to want to kill the person who made her cry. The way her touch lit up every part of my body. The way her kiss made me ache to possess.

More than that, though, it was the way she frustrated me, chipped away at my sense of control. Never had a woman made me want to punch my way through a brick wall the way Ashlyn Carter did. That’s what made me put an end to the charade. That’s what made me run.

I’d never hit a woman before. Had never even felt the urge.

Then again, neither had my father. Until one day he did.