The Game (11 page)

I shook my head and stroked my tongue over my bottom lip. “No. God no. Riley. Move.
Damn you.” I squirmed against him, thrusting my pussy upward.

He chuckled for just a moment, and then stopped. His other hand came up to cup my
face, trapping my head on both sides.

Finally, he moved, pulling out and thrusting back in on a groan.

Again.

So full. So much better than the vibrator.

Stars swam in the darkness around my eyes. All I knew was pure bliss. Heaven. The
delicious feeling of having this perfect man inside me, pressing in and out, over
and over. Filling me so expertly.

His breath on my face told me of his struggle. He was so close to the edge—sharp gasps
that he tried to stifle. He picked up speed as his lips took mine possessively. His
tongue plunged into my mouth in rhythm with his cock in my pussy.

I was overwhelmed with sensation. Every nerve ending tingled as I reached closer to
the edge.

“Come, baby.”

I stiffened. It didn’t work that way. I couldn’t come on command. Could I?

“Come. Cheyenne, come around my cock before I do.”

Yes.

I tipped over that illusive edge so fast it didn’t seem as though I had any control
over myself. Riley controlled me. His words forced me to orgasm.

I shuddered as my entire body participated in the act, my channel gripping at his
cock. My legs shook as Riley sped up and pressed harder, deeper, faster. Two last
thrusts and he held himself deep within me.

His body went rigid as he emptied himself into me.

My heart stopped.

Among our gasps for breath, our sweaty bodies, my tangled restraints—I was his. No
man would ever compete with Riley Moreno.

I would never want anyone to try.

Chapter Thirteen

I was so exhausted Monday morning when the alarm went off, I groaned as I slapped
at my clock. I flopped onto my back and blinked at the ceiling.

My entire life as I’d known it until Friday night had been turned upside down. I wiggled
my hand down my belly and cupped my pussy before jerking it away as Riley’s demands
about touching myself filtered in.

The delicious tingle of sex was so fresh I could still feel Riley’s cock inside me.
I ached in places I didn’t know could ache.

The man had shown me things I never knew existed. And then he’d returned me to my
life last night under the command that I needed to think hard about what he was offering.

I knew it pained him. I also knew he was right. I needed to do some soul-searching.
And there was no way I could do that under his eye.

But first, I had to get to work.

I was in the middle of a project that needed my undivided attention. After one year
with Talent Marketing Group, I was on the radar of some of my superiors. I wanted
to impress the hell out of them and work toward a promotion.

I loved my job. And for that I was grateful. So many of my peers groaned and complained
about their work. Every day at my job was exciting and unexpected.

As a member of the advertising department, it was my job to present the client with
multiple options to lure cell phone users to switch to their company—Link. This current
project was winding down. I’d been on it a month. My team had met with management
at Link multiple times. Now I just needed to finalize my proposal and present it to
my boss.

I hurried through my morning routine and walked into the office a half hour early.

As I stowed my purse in my desk drawer, Stacy leaned around the divider between us.
“Did you hear about the new director?”

“No.” I knew the owners had been interviewing people for months, but I hadn’t heard
someone had been hired.

“I saw her when I came in. She looks formidable.”

I cocked my head. “How so?”

Stacy lowered her voice to a whisper. “She’s tall, model skinny. Her hair is pulled
back in a bun that makes my head hurt looking at it. I didn’t see her smile, but I
did hear her reprimand someone in the break room. I shivered. First day on the job?
That’s kinda weird.”

I shrugged. “Maybe she’s trying to establish herself as alpha.”

Stacy giggled. “If by that you mean tyrant, I think you’re onto something.”

A deep voice at the end of our row made us both look up. Jerald Harkins, the temporary
director of my department, cleared his throat and spoke louder. “As you all probably
have heard by now, a new member is joining the team. I’d like everyone to gather in
the conference room at nine sharp so she can introduce herself. Please pass the word
to those who haven’t yet arrived.”

By the time I got my computer up and running and my shit organized, it was time to
head to the conference room. I squeezed in behind Stacy and flattened myself against
the back wall in the crowded space.

The woman at the front was bent over the table looking at something Jerald was showing
her.

A chill went down my spine a moment before she stood tall.

And the bottom of my world fell out.

Christine.

Jerald spoke, but his voice was muffled by the ringing in my ears. “This is Christine
Parson. She’s joining us from…”

I heard nothing else.

I couldn’t blink or breathe. This couldn’t be happening.

She scanned the room as Jerald made her introduction. He rambled on about her accomplishments.

When her eyes met mine, she smiled as though she wasn’t the least bit shocked.

Fuck.

Whatever her game was, I started shaking and had trouble controlling the need to run
from the room, the building, and the city.

My mouth grew drier with every shallow breath I managed.

Christine gave a short speech, and then Jerald ushered us out the door to return to
our jobs.

It took me a moment to get my feet to move. In fact, Stacy nudged me from the side
before I could even consider the possibility of walking. I wandered back to my desk
silently and took my seat, grateful to have made it without falling on my face along
the way.

I stared at my computer monitor, setting my hand on the mouse, but still in a daze.
What the hell was I going to do?

Before I could gather a single thought, Christine herself stepped up behind me, clearing
her throat and making me jump. I swiveled around to face her. Would she fire me?

She glanced at me and then Stacy and mentioned not a word about knowing me. “I’m going
to be making my rounds, getting to know the staff and getting up to speed on what
everyone’s working on. Might as well start with you two.” She turned her gaze to me.
“You want to go first? My office in ten?”

I nodded, swallowing my tongue.

As she walked away, I stared after her. Should I text Riley? This was my place of
work. I needed to pull my shit together and not let the woman intimidate me. I took
the ten minutes to transfer the project I was working on to a flash drive and then
stood to head toward the office at the end of the hall that had remained vacant until
today.

“Good luck,” Stacy muttered under her breath as I passed.

Christine didn’t look up when I entered. “Shut the door behind you.”

My hands shook as I did her bidding and stepped up to the two chairs facing her desk,
decidedly not assuming anything about sitting in one of them.

“Please, sit.” She waved an arm and then met my gaze as I lowered myself. Her smile
was fake and made me want to vomit. “How crazy is this? What are the chances?” She
stood and shuffled around on her desk. “Sorry, I forgot your name.”

“Cheyenne.” I cleared my voice and spoke with more force. “Cheyenne Decard.” I sat
ramrod straight, my legs crossed at the ankles, my hands fisted in my lap with my
jump drive clutched in one.

“Cheyenne. That’s an interesting name.” Her voice was syrupy. Her demeanor told me
she thought I was scum with a trashy name. She smirked while she tapped her pen on
the desk. “Listen, I know we didn’t exactly get off on the right foot the other night.
Let’s call it water under the bridge and start fresh, shall we?” She smiled again,
but nothing about it said she was happy or even telling the truth.

“Of course.”

“Would you grab me a coffee when you leave? Black.” She ducked her head and concentrated
on the paper in front of her, totally dismissing me. To get her
coffee
?

I stared for a moment. Stunned. Somehow I managed to haul myself up and exit without
screaming. I also headed straight to the break room and poured a mug of coffee and
returned it to Christine.

Stacy arrived just as I entered the office. “Oh.” She glanced at my face and then
my hands, pursing her lips. Her eyes twinkled as she fought a grin. Apparently she
thought it was funny I’d been relegated to errand girl.

Christine took the cup from me without looking in my direction. “Stacy is it? Come
on in.”

I turned around and managed to make my way back to my desk, similarly wobbly to match
the way I’d felt after the brief meeting at nine. I did my best to tune out the insanity
for the rest of the morning, concentrating on the campaign I was working on. It was
only a few days from being presentable. Hopefully the client would like it as much
as I did.

At lunch, I ducked out of the building, headed straight for the coffee shop across
the street, and called Amy. I muttered under my breath as I waited for her to pick
up. “Come on. Come on. Please be available.” Amy loved her job at The Rockwood Group
where she tried to balance her own value as an employee against the fact that Cade
owned the company. She wanted to be taken seriously as a contributing member. And
she worked hard toward that aim.

“Hey,” she answered on the fourth ring. “Sorry, my phone was plugged in. I had to
run to grab it. What’s up?”

I’d spoken to her last night, so she was caught up on my weekend with Riley. But this
was unforeseen. “Christine is here.”

“Fuck. Where?”

“Here. In my office. She’s the new marketing manager on my floor.” I leaned back in
my chair and closed my eyes.

“Are you shitting me?” Her voice lowered. “Have you called Riley?”

“No. And I’m not sure it’s a good idea. This is my battle, not his.”

Amy moaned. “Honey, he would flip a lid if you didn’t tell him about this. It’s not
as if he won’t find out.”

“I know, but not yet. I haven’t wrapped my head around it. And I’m a grown woman.
This is my job. My territory. I don’t want him waltzing in here all alpha and destroying
what I’ve worked for on my own.”

Amy sighed. “He would do that. Probably buy the company out from under whoever owns
it before the day ended.”

“Yeah. That’s just wrong.”

“Okay, but your idea sucks too. What are you going to do?”

“Play her game. Try to show her she can’t intimidate me. Ride the storm.”

“Christine is a world-class bitch. Have you forgotten what she did to me? And how
she lied to Riley for years about who she really was and what her intentions were?
She’s a gold digger. I’m surprised she had the clout to get that job.”

“Yeah, well, somehow she did, and now I have to deal with it.”

Amy sighed. “Okay. Call me. Keep me informed.”

“Please don’t tell Cade. Not yet. Give me a few days.”

“Okay. But he’s going to kick my ass if you take very long.”

“I know. Thanks, Amy. I’ll call you later.”

“You better. I’m worried about you. That woman is pure evil. She probably knew about
you and hunted you down, and she can and will do everything in her power to ruin your
life.”

“Excellent. Good pep talk.” I tried to chuckle through the fear. She was right. How
had she managed to secure this job in such a short time? Was it just to intimidate
me? I wouldn’t put anything past her.

“How are you going to avoid telling Riley? You aren’t exactly known for your ability
to lie, even by omission.”

“Easy. He told me to take a few days and think about our weekend. It was intense.
He’s right. Even though I’m itching to have him call me and run to see him, I need
to get my head on and think.”

“I hope you don’t regret me dragging you down this naughty path. It’s been so hard
for the last year to keep this to myself. But I truly didn’t see you in the role.
If I had known about you and Riley at the engagement party…”

“What? Would you have done anything differently?”

“At least I would have been more sensitive. I didn’t know you spent the last six months
so frustrated. I’m so sorry. And I hope this enlightenment is something you can embrace
and run with. It’s so unbelievably fulfilling. For me, anyway.”

“Does Meagan know?”

“God no.” Amy chuckled. “For the same reason. At first I was worried about you two
judging me. It’s hard to understand. Unless you jump in with both feet and experience
it for yourself, it’s not easy to wrap your head around.”

“I can see that. I’m still struggling.”

“Cheyenne, it’s been three days. You should be. But let yourself feel. Rest. Eat well.
Get some exercise. Take a few days to put it aside and then revisit it.”

“That’s what Riley said.”

“He’s a good guy.”

“Why was he engaged to that raving lunatic for so long, then?”

Amy blew out a breath. “That’s difficult to understand. Even I don’t quite get the
dynamic because I only met her the night of their engagement party when she chose
to diss me and show her true colors. Even then, I was reluctant for Cade to call Riley
and tell him how she treated me. I didn’t want to be the cause of a broken engagement.

“But Cade didn’t hesitate. He’d had his suspicions for years about Christine, and
there was no way he was going to let his friend walk down the aisle to someone who
was two-faced and a total bitch. That woman is good. She played him for years.”

“And she’s also submissive? Riley said she wasn’t very good at it.”

“Apparently it was all a lie. She did the minimum and pretended to like it.” Amy hesitated.
I could hear her voice catch. “Riley’s been in a weird place for the last year. It’s
hard to trust after something like that. You were a breath of fresh air to him when
you two met, but he got cold feet. He was scared to trust and scared to introduce
you to BDSM if it wasn’t your thing.”

“He told you all that?”

“He told Cade.”

I glanced at my watch. “I better get back to the office. That crazy woman will probably
be timing my lunches.”

“Good luck with that. Call me later.”

“I will. Thanks, Amy.”

“No problem.”

When I got back to the office, I went straight to work. It was almost five thirty
before I looked up, feeling a presence behind me.