Theirs to Play (13 page)

“Yes. I heard you. I’m glad you’re going to trust me.”

“Good. Now do you promise to be a good boy during my probationary dating period?”

“Oh now you’re going to have me dating in phases?”

“Yes. I think that for now we’ll just take this date by date. Once you’ve been promoted to serious trustworthy level, then we can consider doing. . .other things.”

Thank God I was in the room by myself. As soon as she said other things, my hand flew to my dick. I clasped it in my fingers. My breath steadied in anticipation of the promise of more.

“Tell me about these other things,” I whispered.

“You told me that you’d show me how much you love whip cream. That would be one of those other things.”

“I love that idea. I’m going to have to be extra good then.”

“Oh yes, because once I feel like my heart is safe with you, then I completely let go. I give it all.”

“I bet you do. According to you, your ex-boyfriend is still calling.”

“Forget about him.”

“Have you?”

“Of course. I’m on the phone with you, right?”

Yes. You’re on the phone with me.

I relished in that answer. This was something I could enjoy. This, whatever it was, represented something new and untraveled. I wasn’t ready to say love. It was too early for that, but I damn sure enjoyed her. I couldn’t get enough of her presence, even though I’d only known Dawn for a short period.

Game over.

It had to be. I wanted to explore that unknown concept of
this
. I longed to sample and savor it, learn what all these feelings with her were. But, if I hoped to do that, then I had to end this game that I’d continued with Max. It couldn’t happen anymore.

“Anyway, goodnight, Freddy.”

“Goodnight, Dawn.” In a last attempt to keep her on the phone, I blurted out, “Will you dream about me?”

“No because I’m going to fantasize about you right now before I go to sleep. I’ve been slipping my finger in and out of my pussy as we talked. It’s making me crazy.”

Oh yes. Game fucking over!

If I’d ever discovered that she said something like that to Max, I wouldn’t have been able to deal with it. No. They couldn’t date or see each other anymore.

This stops now.

She moaned. My breathing grew hard while my body burst in tense knots that needed release.
I wish I was there.
If not to be touching her myself, then at least watching her do what I craved.

“Tell me what you’re thinking about,” I begged.

“I’m imagining your tongue on this slick little button. I’m loving the way you lick it. You’re doing such a good job, Freddy. It’s like you love the way my pussy tastes.”

She’s hotter than I thought. Is this what trust gets me? If so, I’ll be the most fucking honest man she’s ever met.

“I do, baby. I do.” Unbuttoning my pants, I pulled my dick out. “Have I started sucking on her yet. She deserves to be sucked, gently.”

“She does?” she whimpered.

“Yes, baby. Where do you want me to suck? Tell me where you want me to lick?” I slid my closed fist down my length.

“Oh, Freddy. This feels so good.”

Banging came at my door. Max’s irritating voice sounded next. “Hey man. Are you going to give me the money or not?”

Fuck!

Dawn’s laughter fled over the line. “I think I should let you go.”

“No. Hell no.” I put my dick back in my pants. “Just give me a second.”

“No way. We’ll continue another time.”

“But I don’t want to continue,” I whined. “This isn’t fair!”

“Really, Freddy? Are you about to have a temper tantrum?”

Max knocked some more. I kicked the door to signal for him to shut the hell up.

“Will I see you tonight?” I asked.

She yawned. “Maybe, when I wake up.”

“I don’t like maybes. Let’s say nine this evening.”

“I’ll probably still be tired. I can’t do anything extravagant. You already kept me out all night long.”

“Then let’s do something traditional. Dinner and a movie or something.”

“You can come to my house and I’ll cook.”

I grinned. “Can you cook?”

“Yes. I’ve never had any complaints. In fact all I’ve received were compliments.”

A little jealousy seeped into me, but I tried not to think too hard about what guy may or may not have complimented her cooking. “Dinner sounds good. I’ll bring—”

“You’re not supposed to bring anything, since I’m inviting you over. Just come. I’ll take care of everything.”

This is new, a woman telling me she’ll take care of everything. I love it.

“Okay. I’ll be there.”

As soon as she hung up, I swung the door open. “What the hell, Max?”

“You said you were coming back with a check so—”

“Oh, yeah. The check.” I walked over to my desk and did my best to conceal the erection in my pants. “We need to talk about Dawn.”

He chuckled. “I’m not telling you where I’m taking her for the next two days.”

“No. Not that.” I yanked my check book out, wrote in two hundred thousand dollars, made it out to him, and signed it. “Here you go. The game is done. I’ll give you the win. I just need you to do one thing for me.”

He put his hand in front of him as if to say stop. “Wait a minute. What has gotten in to you, and why are you talking so fast and crazy?”

“The game is over. Is that slow enough?”

He scrunched his face up in confusion. “Did you just say the game is over?”

“Yeah. No more dating or anything when it concerns Dawn.”

“Why not?”

“Why does it matter? Just stay away from her.”

“But why?”

I averted my eyes. I wasn’t sure how I felt about this myself. “I’m interested in pursuing something with her.”

“What?”

“I don’t know, but it doesn’t involve the game.” I handed him the check. “So you win, but what I need you to do is stay away from her.”

He didn’t grab the check and gave me a blank expression. “You’re giving me two hundred thousand dollars to stay away from Dawn?”

“Yeah.”

“What if I don’t want to stay away from her?”

“That’s dumb. Take the money.”

He grabbed it. “She did something to you.”

“No she didn’t.”

“I wasn’t asking. I’m telling you. She did something to you.”

“How do you know?”

He formed his lips into a frown. “Because she’s done something to me.”

Here we go.

“Game is over, Max. Take the money and stay away from her. Okay?”

“Okay.”

But he had that odd expression, the one he used to wear back when we were kids and I played with a shiny new toy. That was the thing about my brother. He always had to have what others possessed. Never was satisfied. Never could make up his mind about something, so instead he consumed it all, just because he could. Being that he was the baby, I just handed over my toys to him and moved on. It was easier to just give stuff to him and shut his mouth up, then fight Max on it. Even the yacht we both traveled and live on was only mine, but I let him use it as if it was his, because I could never say no to Max when he really begged for it.

But Dawn wouldn’t be the shiny new toy that I ended up handing over. With her, I wouldn’t share.

“Game is over, Max. I mean it. Stay away from Dawn.”

“No problem.” He winked.

The wink wasn’t a good sign.

Fuck.

Chapter 9

~Max

F
reddy had handed
me a two hundred thousand dollar check with the hopes that I would stay away from Dawn. I kept waiting for him to say the punchline. It never came. And that was when I realized that things were happening around me that I had no control of. This woman Dawn had not only messed with my head, she’d gotten into Freddy’s skull too.

When she left me on our last date, claiming to be through with us, I’d been outraged for so many reasons. One, not many women left me with a hard-on. They always stayed and took care of me. They did anything I asked and more. Not Dawn. She’d gone and her departure piqued my curiosity. However, the fact that
the game
was over served as another concern. I’d hoped to win the two hundred thousand from Freddy. With that amount of money, I could double it in a casino. That would be it, though. I would just double the amount and leave, nothing more.

Regardless, none of that mattered anymore.

I got the money. I should just go.

I glanced outside of my limo’s window. I’d asked the driver to take me to Dawn’s house since he’d already dropped her off. Our staff was accustomed to Freddy’s and my game, so they didn’t find it weird that I sat outside of her apartment.

But this
is
weird. What the fuck am I doing?

I fingered the check in my hand and then gazed at Dawn’s apartment again.

What is Freddy going to do with her? What are his plans? This isn’t like him.

Dawn already intrigued my body and ego, but her possibly snaring my brother fascinated me. Even worse, I felt like I might be missing out on something. We’d both met this fabulous woman.

Who said she had to be for Freddy? Maybe she was for me.

It was wrong to think that way, but I couldn’t ignore the tugging in my chest that I might be walking away from the most significant moment in my life. No one had ever gotten to Freddy. I scanned my brain, trying to think of any female that ever came this close to catching his interests.

No one.
That left me with the biggest mystery of all.
Why is Dawn doing it? And what is the affect she is having on me?

At the moment when I decided to just tell my chauffeur to drive off, Dawn opened her apartment door and strolled out to my limo. When she approached my side, I lowered the window down some more. Shock spread over her face.

“Oh hey, Max. What are you doing here?” She wore these tiny running shorts that exposed her toned legs.

“Hey.” I hurried with something to say. Nothing popped up in my head. “Were you about to go jogging?”

“Yes. I couldn’t go to sleep. No matter how out of it I am, it’s always difficult for my body to get rest while the sun is out. Exercising usually helps me get tired enough to finally go to bed.”

“That works for me too.”

“Is everything okay?”

“Sure.” I stared at the check again. “Well, no. Not really.”

She came closer, peered inside of the limo, and scrutinized the check. “That’s a big amount. What are you going to do with it?”

From any other woman, I knew what she would be insinuating. Anytime I pulled out a credit card or money around others, they all of sudden began complaining about pressing bills they couldn’t get money for or how they yearned for a particular piece of jewelry. Another woman would’ve expected me to spend some of this check on her.

Dawn asked because of my gambling problem. That was the type of woman I needed around me.

“You’re not thinking about going to a casino with that, right?” she asked, confirming that I’d been right about her.

“I’m thinking about taking half of the money with me to Atlantic City. Just fly up there and come right back.”

“Half of the money?” A breeze rushed through her hair and carried her perfume into the limo. It was intoxicating and captured all of my attention.

“I don’t think you should do that,” she said.

“Come with me?” I blurted it out.

“I-I don’t think I should. What am I going to do, get you to stop gambling?”

“Yes.”

“I doubt I have the power to do that.”

“You do.”

“Plus, Freddy and I had plans.”

“Cancel.”

She gave me a sort of half-smile. “I can’t.”

Envy swelled in my chest. Instantly, I wished there was a woman out there that turned down offers because of me.

“What time are your plans?” I asked. “Maybe you can run off with me real quick and come back in time for Freddy’s date. It’s ten in the morning now.”

She twisted her lips to the side. “I’m not sure if that’s a good idea. We’re suppose to meet at nine tonight. What casino are we going to again?”

“Atlantic City. It’s not too far on my private plane. We leave and come when we want to. Maybe you can take naps on the plane.” I watched her shake her head. “Come on, Dawn. Worst case scenario you’re a little late and Freddy realizes you were helping me out.”

“And what will I be doing at the casino? Do you expect me to drag you away when you’ve spent too much?”

“Pretty much. I can’t think of anybody who could.” And I wasn’t lying.

“Freddy, your father, or any of your many friends could do the same thing.”

“I don’t have friends. I have people I party with. Also Freddy as well as Dad are incapable of saying no to me, although they try a lot.”

“Poor spoiled baby.”

“I know right.”

“How long will it take us to get back?”

“Not long.”

She stood up and crossed her arms around her chest. “Okay. I’ll go but no detours or anything like that. I don’t like surprises.”

“What are you scared about?” I opened the car and got out. Her fragrance thickened the air outside.
Damn she smells good.
I tried to get closer to her, but she stepped back.

“What?” I raised my hands in the air. “You’re doing whatever with Freddy now, so you don’t have to worry about me being tricky anymore. This casino trip is about me asking you for help, nothing more.”

“Then why does it seem like something else?”

I looked around. “What? Have I done anything weird?”

“Besides sitting outside of my apartment for several minutes?”

“Well, yeah, besides that. Come with me. It’ll be fun.”

“Okay. Let me text Freddy and let him know.” She turned around.

“Wait. How about you text him on the way to the plane so we can get this trip started?”

She gestured to her clothes. “I’m not really dressed to go anywhere.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure there is a stylist and everything waiting for us.” I pulled out my phone. “In fact, how about I tell Freddy to meet us there?”