Bedroom Games (27 page)

“He needs to be in you as of yesterday.” He
tore open the condom and smoothed the latex over his length.

I shimmied out of my clothing and then
wrapped my arms around his neck again, pulling him close as if we
were dancing together. His hands smoothed over my bare hips and I
gave a happy sigh.

“Ready for me?” Brodie leaned in to kiss me,
his tongue slicking against my own. When I lifted my leg in
response, his hand hooked behind my knee and his weight pressed me
back against the bathroom door once more.

“Mmm, always,” I told him, my hands sliding
to his nipples and brushing over them through the fabric of his
t-shirt. Neither one of us had our tops off; I didn’t much care.
The sex with Brodie was consistently amazing, and if we were in too
much of a rush to fully undress, so be it.

He pushed into me with a
hard thrust, and all thoughts of teasing him to his own orgasm
quickly went out the window. The feel of him seated deep inside me
made my own pleasure change from a sated hum back to a full blown
roar once more, and I felt my pussy clench around him in response.
The angle had him tilted perfectly, and his cock seemed to be
rubbing me
just
right.

“Feel good?” he asked, panting.

I nodded, another whimper escaping me when he
thrust again. Oh God, that was so perfect. “I…think I might come
again. Keep doing that.”

“Right there?” He adjusted his hips and
thrust again, hard.

“Oooh.” A shiver rippled through me. “God,
yes.”

His hand moved up the door and tangled into
my hair, tugging on it even as he thrust again. His mouth descended
to my throat, and I cried out when he licked the hollow of my
collarbone. “You’re mine, aren’t you Kandis?”

“Yes!”

“Good.” He groaned and began to thrust
harder, his free hand hiking my leg up higher. His weight pressed
me harder against the door, and his shallow thrusts began to speed
up until I was crying out inarticulately with every motion of his
cock inside me. “Because you’re mine, and I’m not letting you
go.”

I shook my head and moaned when he thrust
even harder. The building orgasm began to quake through me again,
and I felt my entire body clench in response.

Brodie sucked in a breath and then he slammed
into me, movements getting harder and jerkier as I tightened around
him. “God, I fucking love you, Kandis,” he gritted out as he
came.

I smoothed a hand down his back as he
shuddered out his release, my thoughts whirling.

He’d just declared love for me.

Was it because he’d had a heated orgasm? Or
was this more cement in our alliance glue to ensure that I’d take
him to the end?

Or…did he really love me?

For a moment, I hated the game. I hated that
I didn’t know what anyone was truly thinking and that no one would
tell the truth. I hated that I had to second-guess every word,
every move, every thought. I couldn’t trust anyone while I was
here, and I wanted to know the truth from Brodie. I wanted to know
if he’d still say the same thing once we were outside of the house
and there was no prize money to be had.

But I kept my thoughts to myself and hugged
my lover close.

Two days left to go.

~~ * ~~

“Kandis, can you tell us a little about the
state of things in the house?”

I laughed at the interview question, but
there was no humor in my tone. It was just a reaction since they
expected one. I curled up in the interview booth chair, shifting my
weight, and stared at the screen. “The state of things in the house
depends entirely on who is interacting with who. Me and Jendan?
It’s all strategy talk. Me and Brodie? It’s all sexual tension and
chemistry. Brodie and Jendan? They are circling each other like two
dogs fighting over a bone.”

I frowned at my own analogy. I was the bone.
Lovely.

“If you win the final Power Play, have you
decided what you’ll do?”

I hugged my legs tighter against my body,
bothered by the question. “Have I decided what I’ll do? Yes and no.
Either way I decide, I have to betray someone. If I go with Brodie,
I’ll upset Jendan, and he’s had my back since day one. But…I can’t
go against Brodie. Not with things the way they are right now.”

God, I fucking love you, Kandis.

I shivered to myself. His confession had
completely caught me off guard. I didn’t know if it was the truth,
but I wanted desperately to believe it. I needed to believe that he
really did love me, and that it wasn’t all just one big epic
game-move to him.

“So, yeah,” I concluded lamely. “If I go with
Jendan and honor my word, I destroy Brodie’s chances of winning.
Which I don’t think I can do. Not now. I feel awful about it either
way—just a few days ago I was thrilled that the house was going to
come down to this, and either way, I’d have a seat in the final
two. But now that it’s here, I just feel sick about it. I keep
playing everything through my mind. If I take Jendan with me to the
final two, I can probably beat him because I played harder. I’m
just a girl, and they’re two big strong guys, so for me to win the
final two Power Plays would make me look like I fought hard. But
Brodie? All the girls love Brodie, so if I go to the end with him,
I don’t know that I can beat him. So I’m screwed if I do, and
screwed if I don’t. If I play this careful and go for strategy, I
fuck over what could potentially be a real relationship.”

If
Brodie wasn’t lying to me.

And I didn’t know if he was or not. Which
meant that if I chose Brodie and he was playing me and he won the
money? I’d have nothing.

“So you’re going to give it your all in the
challenge?” the interview voice asked.

My mouth pulled into a wry, bitter smile.
“That would make things easier, wouldn’t it? I considered it. If I
don’t win, there’s no way I can choose, right? The decision will be
made for me. But…I can’t do it. There’s part of me that needs to
compete no matter what, so I can make sure that I have control of
the situation. Even if I don’t win it, I want to go in knowing I
tried my hardest. So, yeah, even though it would make my life
easier, I can’t just go out there and blow the final challenge.
What if Jendan won the challenge and it pissed him off that I gave
up? I wouldn’t blame him—as many times as he’s saved my ass and
then I just belly-up on the final Power Play? If that was me, I’d
be angry.”

I shrugged. “So I’m going to go out there,
I’m going to fight my hardest to win the final round, and then I’m
going to take Brodie with me because I’m a sucker and I believe in
happily ever after.”

And because I was pretty sure I’d fallen in
love with the guy.

The confessional interviewer asked me a few
more questions, and then I was free to go. I unfolded my legs and
climbed out of the chair, yawning as I padded out of the room. It
was early still, and when I’d come downstairs for breakfast, Brodie
was still asleep. I wondered if he was awake yet. It was weird that
I missed him when he wasn’t by my side, but I’d take advantage of
it while we were together. I exited the confessional and headed to
the living room.

It was like the man could read my mind. Sure
enough, Brodie was lounging on one of the old-fashioned couches in
the living room. He frowned at something off in the distance and
then his smile returned at the sight of me. He sat up and patted
the couch, indicating that I should join him.

I looked around. No Jendan. That made me feel
a little easier about being openly affectionate with Brodie.
Instead of sitting on the couch, I crawled into Brodie’s lap and
greeted him with a kiss.

He hugged me close, his arms wrapping around
me and cradling me against him. “Well hello, gorgeous.”

I laughed and ran a hand through my messy
mohawk. It had been sticking up at all angles this morning so I’d
simply wet it down and gone on my way. Gorgeous, I was not. But
Brodie was always sweet like that to me, and the way he watched me
with such appreciative eyes made me think that he thought I was
beautiful.

Either that, or I was a total sucker after
all.

He glanced over my shoulder again.

“What?” I asked.

Brodie shook his head, frowning. “I
just…thought I saw something. A shadow.”

I snorted. “I told you I’ve been seeing those
for weeks now, and you kept saying I was crazy.”

“You think this place is haunted?”

I wrapped my arms around his neck, glancing
around at the shadowy room. I’d been so wrapped up in the game
itself that I’d forgotten all about the fact that the house was
supposed to be haunted. “You mean to tell me you’re going to
finally going to worry about ghosts two days before we leave?”

He shrugged. “I’ll just cuddle under the
blankets with you if I get scared.”

Now that had potential. I grinned. “If you
must.”

“Morning confessional?” he asked, leaning in
to nibble on my ear.

“Mmm, something like that,” I told him. “All
kinds of questions about the final challenge. I thought it might be
the case, but it was still weird to hear.”

Brodie’s expression grew serious, and he
regarded me for a long moment. “Can I ask you something?”

His blond hair was flopping adorably on one
side of his forehead, and I smoothed it back with my fingers. “Of
course.”

“What’s it mean to you to win?”

That…wasn’t what I expected him to ask. I
frowned a little. “You know what it means to me. It’s a chance to
save my mom—”

“No, that’s what it means
for her. I want to know what it means for
you
.” His blue eyes were serious,
arguably the most serious I’d seen since I’d met him.

I thought for a moment, wanting to give this
question the consideration it deserved since it apparently bothered
him so much. After a pause, I answered. “Relief. It means that I
won’t have to spend my days worrying if I should do more for my
mother. If I should get a second job, or a third one, to help her
out when I know she won’t appreciate it or do anything to help
herself. It’ll let me relax and just, I don’t know, be me. It’ll be
an end to stress.”

He leaned in and nuzzled my neck. “It worries
you to have to look after her, doesn’t it?”

“It does,” I agreed, and I felt that
familiar, sick clench in my stomach. “There are days that I can’t
sleep because I don’t know what she’s going to do or how I’m going
to save her. She doesn’t have anyone but me.” My eyes pricked with
tears. “And if I can’t save her, what kind of daughter am I?”

“One that tries really, really hard,” he said
softly. “No matter what happens, she should be proud of you.”

I nodded, though it was hard to think about
not winning and what that would mean. I pushed the thought out of
my mind a moment later. I refused to think about it. Instead, I ran
a finger along Brodie’s jaw-line, feeling the overnight growth of
blond beard stubble. “What about you? What does winning mean to
you?”

“It’d be a new start for me,” he admitted. “I
like being on these shows, but I realize now that I can’t make a
life out of this. I need a back-up plan.” His mouth crooked to one
side. “I was thinking about starting a business. Showing everyone
that I can be successful at something other than flirting.”

I brushed my thumb over his lips. “You’re
excellent at flirting,” I told him impishly. “But you’re good with
people, period. No one can stay mad at you. Don’t sell yourself
short.”

“You believe in me that much?”

“Of course.” I smiled. “You’re smart, you’re
funny, you’re enthusiastic, and you always know just what to say.
Not everyone’s good at that. Something in public relations would be
excellent for you, you know.”

“Maybe so.” He looked thoughtful. “I have a
few ideas, but we’ll see. I have to win the money first.”

I gave him a soft smile. “And I’m going to do
my best to stand in your way.”

“I know, baby.” He gave me a typical Brodie
grin. “You trust me, right?”

There was the million-dollar question. I
thought for a moment and decided to go with my gut. “I do.”

He nodded. “We’ll get you the money. Somehow,
we’ll make everything right for both of us.” He laced his fingers
with mine and then kissed the back of my palm. “I promise you
that.”

Jendan walked into the living room just as
the intercom chimed overhead. “Contestants,” it blared. “Please
proceed to the challenge area for the final Power Play.”

A nervous ball of energy seemed to settle in
the pit of my stomach. I slid off of Brodie’s lap. “This is
it.”

“I need to find my shoes,” Brodie said, and
he raced up to our bedroom.

I turned to head to the back door, but
Jendan’s hand caught my arm. I paused and looked back at him,
surprised.

“Can we talk?” Jendan said quietly.

I glanced up at the Power room, where Brodie
had disappeared. “Let’s make it fast.”

“I just wanted to tell you not to trust
Brodie.” Jendan’s handsome face was serious. “I know he’s saying
all the right things to you, but he’s been saying the same stuff to
all the girls since we got here. I thought you were too smart to
fall for it, but it looks like he’s gotten to you.”

I bit back my frown. “Don’t worry about me,
okay?”

“I just wanted to warn you,” he said,
shrugging. “He’s playing harder than all of us. His game may be
full of flirting and smiles, but I’m telling you, it is a game. If
he gets to the end, both you and I are going to lose.”

I said nothing.

“You’re taking him, aren’t you?” Jendan’s
words were quiet. “I can’t ignore the way you two have gotten so
close. You’re going to take him to the final two if you win.”

“Jendan,” I said softly. “I haven’t
decided.”

“Yes, you have,” he said, seeing through my
lie. “And I just want to remind you before we head out to the
challenge that if you keep your word to me, it’ll look like smart
gameplay. But if you break it, and take him? The jury’s going to
eat you alive.”