PLAYED - A BRITISH BAD BOY ROMANCE (65 page)

Something
darker. Something more heated. Something that I wasn’t sure if it terrified me,
or if it gave me the greatest thrill I’d ever known.

Whatever
it was, it couldn’t have been appropriate. I removed my hand from his grasp and
used it to brush my hair out of my face. “I’m fine,” I lied, sighing as the
offending strand fell back into my eyes only a moment later.

Preston
lifted his hand then, the same one he’d used to hold mine, and swept my hair
back into place for me this time. His fingertips trailed down the side of my
neck when he did so and I felt him leave goosebumps in his wake.

“I’ll
walk you up,” he said. It wasn’t a question.

I
stepped out of the car, sucking in a breath of reality. Everything that had
happened inside of it seemed laughably strange now, and I was reminded of my
situation all-too-clearly once we began to mount the stairs. Obviously, I’d
just been desperate for some kindness, which Preston had provided. I was in a
low place, and I’d let my emotional needs get the better of me. He was my
stepbrother, or he soon would be, and there was no way anything romantic was
happening between us. The poor guy was probably wondering what the hell kind of
damaged goods he was letting into his family with the way I’d just behaved.

When
we stopped on my stoop, Preston turned to me. The sunlight filtering in past
the awning was enough to make his eyes look green. “Got your keys?”

I
held up my cheap ten-dollar clutch, the only bag I owned, and smiled faintly.
“Got ‘em. Thank you again for lunch. And for driving me. And… well, for
listening to me bitch for an hour.” I forced a laugh.

Preston
smiled. “I hope it won’t be for the last time. In fact, I was hoping that we
could do this again. Maybe after the weekend’s over?”

I
wasn’t sure what to say. It was true that I’d had a nice time with him, but I
had so much to worry about now that I wasn’t sure I could commit to another
rendezvous, if that was the word for it.

“Look,
Preston… I know for you, this isn’t a big deal, but I don’t have any options or
money. I’ll be lucky to find a job before the month’s over. That’s what I have
to focus on now. Keeping this place, as much of a shit hole as it is, and
putting food on my table. Those have to be my priorities. You understand, don’t
you?”

He
nodded slowly. “Of course I do. But I do want to see you again, and Monday
would be best.”

I
put my key in the door to open it. “I’ll try to find a way.” It was the best I
could offer him.

As
I stepped inside, Preston put his hand on the door to keep me from closing it.
Then he presented me with an offer of his own.

“That’s
the thing, though, Maddy. I want to see you Monday in my office. I want you to
be my new PA.”

I
turned around and stared at him. I was sure my jaw was dangling open, but the
shock of it had left me so numb that I could have been on fire and would have
missed it. “You’re… serious?”

He
nodded, leaning against the doorframe with another wolfish grin. “Absolutely.
You’ve got the qualifications. You have a great work history, I’m sure. And I’m
in need of a new girl anyway. You can start first thing on Monday after you’ve
taken some time to relax over the weekend. In fact…” He reached into his pocket
and took out a checkbook. “I’m happy to offer you a signing bonus for accepting
the job on such short notice. What do you say, Maddy—how does a bit of good,
old-fashioned nepotism sound to you?”

I
could hardly believe what he was saying. My entire life, family had been a
distant notion for me. It was something I barely entertained as worthwhile,
something I’d grown to consider as simply the framework for one’s genetic
identity. My mother hadn’t so much raised me as reared and resented me, and my
father had barely known me when he took off with some other woman, leaving me
in the dust of his memories. I’d never seen so much as a birthday card from him
in all the years he’d been gone. I had no idea if he was even still alive.

Everything
I’d ever wanted, I’d had to get myself or go without. There were no exceptions.
When all the other kids were having birthday parties, I was sitting at home
thankful that my mother had bothered to prepare my favorite dinner. Presents
were few and far between and came mainly from aunts and uncles, which my mother
always derided as “spoiling” me. The only gift I remembered her giving me was a
dragonfly broach when I was nine, and I’d treasured it fiercely right up until
the moment I’d found out she’d regifted it to me after receiving it from a
friend. I was only worth her trash, her leavings, and after that, the broach
had sparkled a little less for me.

But
now Preston, a man I hardly knew, a brother in name only—and that wasn’t even
official yet—was writing me a check on my stoop and ready to give me so much
more than that. He was offering me peace of mind, prosperity, and a way out of
the dismal hell hole I’d spent so much of my life in. For the first time, a
family member wanted to take care of me, and I had no earthly idea what to do.

Preston
must have seen my confusion, because he handed me the check with his business
card attached and waved his hand. “Don’t answer now. Just come in Monday. If
you’re not interested, at least we can have another lunch together. If you are,
we’ll get started right away.”

“I
don’t understand,” I whispered, staring at the multitude of zeroes tacked on to
the check. My hands were shaking. “You must want something in return…?”

Preston’s
face fell. He looked almost as bewildered as I felt. He shook his head very
slowly, looking right in my eyes as he said, “Just your happiness, Maddy. That
is the only thing I could want.”

Then
he left me, closing the door while I stood in the entryway, still gazing down
at the ten thousand dollar check in my hands. He’d given me a lot to think
about.

The
whole drive home, I couldn’t
help but to think about Maddy.

She
had looked so utterly confused when I’d handed her that check, like she had no
idea what simple kindness was. Given who her mother was, I could see why, but
it had hit me harder than anticipated. Had she never had anyone stick up for
her before? Had no one ever helped her up when she’d fallen down?

I
couldn’t imagine a world like that, or at least, not in that sense. I’d always
had people around to attend to every whim and desire, except for my father, who
could barely entertain my mere presence at times. In that way, I knew what it
was like to have a parent who seemingly hated you, who was always disappointed
and never uttered a word of praise. Whenever I did well by his impossible
standards, there was only relief on his face, never pride. I’d given up on
attempting to sway my father’s opinion of me a long time ago, but I realized
that not everyone had that luxury.

Maddy
seemed like such a strong girl. When she wasn’t crying, I could see this fire
in her eyes. When she snapped at me, I could hear that same flame in her voice.
There was one hell of a woman deep down in there, but it was hard to see when
she’d had such an impenetrable cage built around herself.

That
wasn’t her fault, of course. She was the victim of those with power, the ones
like my father who chose to hurt people instead of using his immense wealth to
make them better. She’d only ever been able to spread her wings as far as her
circumstances would allow.

But
I wanted to change that. I wanted to set Maddy free and see her full potential.
Something inside me told me that if I did, it would be impossibly beautiful.

It
was strange, though, that I cared so much. I wasn’t a heartless bastard like my
father was, but it was rare for me to get attached to anyone, let alone a
woman. There was something about knowing you could have any girl you wanted
that made the whole game feel less interesting, but something about Maddy was…
different. Maybe it was because she was forbidden fruit, or maybe I really did
give a shit about family. Whatever it was, I could feel her hooks in me. I
wanted more.

I
thought about her as the miles ticked by. I thought about her as I waited for the
gate to open at my own house. I thought about her as I walked inside, and I
thought about her right up until the moment I smelled the most amazing aroma
drifting in from the kitchen.

I
followed that scent like a bloodhound, my stomach rumbling all the way. Carla,
my housekeeper, must have been cooking. The variety of spices was like inhaling
a symphony, and my mouth watered as I imagined all the meals she might be
making. She was a goddamn artist in the kitchen, and from what I could smell of
whatever she was making, this was her masterpiece. Sure, I’d already ate, but
that wasn’t going to stop me from indulging myself a second time.

I
felt every muscle in my body relaxed the nearer I came to that delicious scent.
I tossed my blazer and laptop bag on the sofa as I passed it, loosening a few
buttons on my shirt as I rounded the corner into the kitchen, already rolling
up my sleeves to prepare for whatever sauce I could hear boiling on the
stovetop.

“Goddamn,
Carla, that smells—”

I
stopped so suddenly that I was sure my organs would fly right out of my body.
As it was, my stomach had dropped to my feet. It took several seconds for the
sight before me to register, and when it did, it made no more sense than when
I’d first walked in and seen it.

Carla
was, as anticipated, standing in my kitchen and slaving over a hot stove. She
had her dark, frizzy hair pulled back into a bun and her olive skin was aglow
with a light sheen of sweat. Her apron was stained where she’d repeatedly wiped
her coarse, calloused hands and from the way her back was bent, I could tell
she’d had a rough day.

But
that wasn’t what surprised me. What did was the person standing next to her, a
person who didn’t belong in my house, and certainly not when I wasn’t here.

“Jane,
what the hell?”

She
turned to me, beaming so brightly it was almost blinding. She had her long,
auburn hair braided down her back, and under Carla’s watchful eye, she was
adding sweet Marsala to a pan.

“Hey,
baby,” she said. The very sound of it made me cringe. “I thought I’d surprise
you. Carla’s teaching me how to cook—it’s veal Marsala. I figured after such a
hard day at work, you needed to come home and have a nice, hot meal waiting for
you.”

I
caught Carla looking at me out of the corner of her eye. She didn’t look happy.
I knew her pain.

“Carla
usually takes care of that for me,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck in the
hope of making my anger dissipate. “That was a nice thought, though, Jane. I
just wish you’d told me you were coming over. This is… a surprise.”

Jane
smiled sweetly. “That’s the point, silly.” Then she left the stove—and any
pretense of learning to cook—and crossed the room to me, sliding her hands up
my shirt.

“When
you didn’t come back to the office, I thought something might be wrong. I tried
texting you, but you didn’t respond. Didn’t you get my pictures?” She looked up
at me. “Was something wrong?”

There
was a hint of an accusation in her voice. Jane wasn’t good at hiding her
emotions. I looked at her, gently taking her wrists in my hands to move her
away from my body.

It
didn’t work. She only entwined her fingers with mine, swinging her arms gently
as I sighed.

“Yes,
actually. It’s my sister. She got fired from her job, and she needed someone to
talk to and drive her home.”

Jane
arched one of her perfectly-coiffed brows. “Sister? You never told me anything
about a sister…”

“That’s
because she isn’t my sister yet. Her mother is marrying my father. We’ll be
stepsiblings in just a few months, though I think it’s fair to start using the
title now.”

Jane
didn’t look convinced. I could feel her hands growing cold in mine. “So… you’re
not siblings yet. Then she’s just a woman you drove back to her apartment
instead of coming back to the office to fuck me?”

I
looked over at Carla. If she’d heard what Jane had said, she didn’t show it,
and for that I was thankful.

I
took Jane by the arm as gently as I could and pulled her out of the kitchen and
into the hallway.

“You’re
being ridiculous,” I told her, keeping my voice low. “First, you already know
that we’re not fucking again. Second, Madison is practically family. And unlike
me, she doesn’t come from money, so losing her job is a pretty big deal.”

“Doesn’t
she have any friends?” Jane asked, wrenching out of my grasp. “Someone
else
she could call on instead of her
‘big brother?’_” The way she put the words in air quotes made me want to break
her fingers.

“No.
She has no one. Her mother is… well, her mother is the kind of person who
wouldn’t give a burning man a glass of water. In fact, she’d probably use him
to light her cigarette and complain about the smell.”

I
smiled to myself. It was no wonder my father liked her. Those two had so much
in common.

“The
point is that I was the only one she could turn to. Besides, we ran into each
other by accident. I had no idea I was going to see her today.”

“Uh
huh,” Jane said, folding her arms across her chest. The kimono-style top she
was wearing left very little to the imagination, and the pushup bra she had on
underneath it ensured that her cleavage was practically touching her chin. I
remembered the first time I’d gotten a glimpse of those beautiful breasts. It
was funny how I couldn’t give two shits about them now. “You could have told
me, you know.”

“Jane,”
I said as calmly as I could, “I know you have expectations of what this… thing
we had going on between us was. But you aren’t my girlfriend. We ended this. I
don’t owe you anything.”

“See,”
she said, taking a step toward me, “that’s where you’re wrong…”

I
stepped back into the wall as Jane approached, sliding her body up against mine
like a cat in heat. I could feel her taut stomach stretching over my abs as she
purred, one hand sliding up over my shoulder as the other delved down between
my legs.

“Jane,”
I started, but she cut me off.

“Shh.
Easy there, big guy. You’ve had a rough day. Family drama. I get it.” She
rubbed me through my slacks, and for a moment, a ripple of pleasure pulsed
through me. “You’ve had all kinds of unexpected things happen to you today. How
about we make this one a good one?”

She
began working my belt, trying to slip the tongue through the buckle. Despite my
own desires—or lack thereof—I could feel myself hardening at her touch. Jane
could feel it, too. She had that look in her eye, that smugness that always came
over her face when she knew she had won.

Except
she hadn’t won. Not this time. And as she tried to tug my pants down past my
waist, I grabbed her arms again and gently pushed her away. “Stop. Christ, what
were you going to do, blow me right here in the hallway?”

Jane
licked her lips and grinned. “If that’s what you want…”

“It’s
not,” I said. “This isn’t something you can fix by putting my cock in your
mouth…” I let her go and set about fixing my zipper. “We’re not doing this
anymore.”

She
stared. “What does
that
mean?”

“It
means that you showed up in my house uninvited, harassed my housekeeper, and
then interrogated me about what I was doing with my sister. You’re not my
girlfriend, Jane. You’re not even my fuck buddy. You’re my personal assistant.
This is wildly inappropriate, and I think you should leave.”

Jane
looked at me for a long time, a longer amount of time than I was comfortable
with. Every second that ticked by, the air in the hall seemed to become
thicker, colder, like the intensity of her glare was sapping the life right out
of me. I was sure I’d find the house plants wilting later when I walked into
the living room.

But
I held her gaze. Maddy was right. Jane had crossed a line—again—and things
weren’t going to get any better until I stood my ground.

“Fine,”
she said. I hated that word, especially coming from her mouth. “I’m not your
girlfriend.
Whatever.
I’m just the
girl you fuck at your desk when you’re having a bad day, I guess.”

“You
drugged my coffee and handcuffed me to the chair!” I shouted indignantly. Sure,
I’d hired her because I wanted to get into her skirt, but the way it happened
wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.

“I
didn’t hear you complaining,” she replied, the anger evident as she turned
away.

She
was right, I hadn’t complained at the time. Hell, I’d liked it. Jane was nuts,
but she breathed a little excitement into my life. Trouble is, she didn’t
understand boundaries and her ever-escalating sexual escapades had started to
become even more dangerous. Sooner or later, our little office romance was
going to bite me in the ass. I was trying to put an end to it for good reasons.

She
walked back into the kitchen, grabbed her purse off the back of one of the
kitchen island chairs, and came storming back down the hall toward me. The
sounds her heels made on the tiled floor were like bones snapping. They gave me
the shivers.