The Game (4 page)

Riley stood, jerking his arm out of her grasp. “Christine, I don’t know what you’re
trying to do, but go away. It’s over between us. It has been for a year. I can’t imagine
why you’d decide to move to Atlanta, but you need to stay away from me.”

She leaned into him, a pout on her face. “Oh, Riley. Don’t overreact. I love Atlanta.
And I’m moving here because this is where I got a job. Don’t worry. I won’t keep you
from your evening with this little toy of yours.” She flicked her gaze to me, glancing
up and down as if I weren’t worth the dirt on the bottom of her shoes.

She smirked then and stepped closer to me. Shocking me, she touched my face.

I flinched back, but from my perch on the stool, I didn’t have much room.

“Your skin is so delicate. It must bruise easily and last for days when he spanks
you.” She shivered. “I can’t imagine what happens when he uses a flogger.” She grabbed
my wrist next and flipped it around before I could stop her. “How does he keep your
wrists from getting marked?” She turned toward Riley, dropping my hand. “Did you get
some softer cuffs, my love?”

Riley lurched forward and grabbed Christine by the arm. He turned her around without
a word and marched her through the crowd.

I lost sight of him quickly. My entire body shook.

What the hell just happened?

Her words swam around in my head. Flogger? Cuffs? Spanking? What the fuck?

I gripped the edge of the table with both hands until my knuckles turned white. I
needed to move—get the hell out of Sky, grab a cab, and go home. But I didn’t trust
my legs to function properly yet.

A chill raced down my spine. I felt dizzy, perhaps from the wine, perhaps from the
insanity of the last five minutes.

If I’d had any brain cells, I would have left the bar before Riley returned, but I
clearly had none, so I nearly jumped out of my skin when Riley’s hand landed on my
shoulder.

I lifted my gaze to see his face.

He was on the phone. “Yes… No, I’m not fucking kidding. She was right here in Sky…
Yes, I spoke to the manager… He was very apologetic… No, you don’t need to fire him…
I’m sure I made myself clear. That bitch won’t be coming through the doors of Sky
again… Right. Okay.” He flipped the phone shut and turned to face me.

“Jesus, Cheyenne. I’m so sorry.”

I shook my head.

His fingers on my shoulder burned into my body. All I could think about was the way
he’d grabbed Christine’s arm and marched her out of the room. Had he also beaten her
when they were together?

I yanked myself free of his grip and jumped down from the stool, legs wobbling “I
need to go.” I backed up, running into a passing waiter almost instantly.

The man steadied me from behind with a touch to my back. “Sorry, ma’am.”

I twisted around to smile at him, but my mouth wouldn’t work to form words or acknowledge
his statement.

He furrowed his brow. “You okay, ma’am?”

“Can you get me a taxi?”

Riley interrupted behind me. “That’s not necessary. I’ll have my driver take you anywhere
you want to go.”

I didn’t look at him as I turned and grabbed my clutch from the table. I didn’t acknowledge
him again as I shoved my way through the crowd toward the entrance. There were twice
as many people in Sky than had been there when we’d entered.

I burst through the front door and gasped for air.

Riley was right behind me. “Cheyenne, let me explain.”

I spun around to face him and held up a hand. “No. Please. Just let me go.” My fingers
shook in the air.

“Sir? Did you want me to take you someplace else?” The voice of Riley’s driver at
our sides made me turn toward him.

“I’d love if you would take me home. Riley is staying.”

The man glanced at Riley, who nodded. “It’s okay, Les. You can come back for me later.”

Les nodded and took two long strides to the car at the curb. He opened the rear passenger
door and stepped to the side.

“Cheyenne.”

I twisted toward Riley. “Please. Just let me go. This was never going to work anyway.
I’ve told you that a million times. Thanks for letting me use your driver. Don’t call
me.”

Riley ran both hands through his hair until it was a messy blond disaster that made
him look younger than his thirty-four years. I could almost feel sorry for him. His
eyes were wide. His face was red. And he started to pace a few steps in both directions
in distress.

Did it have anything to do with me leaving? Or was it because he was worried about
the things I’d just learned?

I didn’t care. I just wanted to get the fuck away from him.

“Good bye, Riley.” I slid into the back seat and held my breath until the driver shut
the door.

The man rounded the car in a hurry and sped off before I glanced out the window.

A tear ran down my cheek unbidden and uncalled for.

I would not cry over this man. It was stupid.

I’d only seen him on three occasions. He wasn’t worth it.

And if anything Christine said was true, he was abusive.

I closed my eyes. My mind ran all over the place as the vibrations of the car lulled
me enough to calm my shaking body down.

There was no way Riley was abusive to Christine and Amy didn’t know it. Hell, Amy
had given Riley my phone number and then my address. No way in hell would she do that
if she thought Riley would harm me.

Something didn’t compute.

I took deep breaths and held on to my composure by a thread all the way back to my
apartment.

I could do that. There was plenty of time to fall apart when I got there. Here in
the limo with no one but Riley’s driver watching was a bad idea.

Chapter Four

The moment I entered my apartment, I turned the deadbolt, dropped my purse, kicked
off my shoes, and padded toward the bathroom.

I needed to get out of my dress before it suffocated me. I needed a hot bath to stop
my limbs from shaking.

I turned on the faucet over the tub, stripped out of my clothes, and pulled my hair
up in a band on top of my head.

When I slid into the water, I sighed.

I closed my eyes and leaned back as the water rose around me.

The shaking wouldn’t stop.

I was a ball of nerves.

Confusion wrapped around me, weighing me down. What the hell had Christine been talking
about?

The woman was certifiable. How could Riley have ever been engaged to such a raving
bitch? And he’d known her for over a decade. How could he have planned to marry a
woman who would speak like she did to any other living human?

More proof that I had made the right decision when I told him I didn’t want to date
him.

I worried about my own sanity for being ferociously attracted to a man who found someone
like Christine worthy of one minute of his time.

I took a deep breath. That crazy woman insinuated he beat her. That he would beat
me too. In fact, she’d acted like he already had.

If he were abusive, why was he friends with Cade? And why hadn’t Amy told me about
Riley? Jesus, she’d known I was going out with him tonight. She might not have known
I spent the evening with him at her engagement party, but Riley got first my number
and then my address from Amy and Cade.

I lifted my arms out of the warm water and rubbed my temples.

Maybe Christine was lying.

That was certainly possible. She was obviously insane.

I needed to speak to Amy. And I dreaded the idea at the same time. I just wanted to
go to bed and sleep for a week. Or at least for the weekend. I was suddenly exhausted.

When the water grew too cold and my skin was sufficiently wrinkly, I hauled myself
out of the bath, wrapped in my favorite huge fluffy towel, and headed to the kitchen.
I grabbed a bottle of water and then dug my phone from my purse on the way back to
my bedroom.

It buzzed in my hand. When I swiped my thumb across the screen, I smiled. At least
a dozen texts from Amy.

Of course.

Riley would have called her.

It buzzed again, this time an incoming call which I answered. “Hey.”

“Girl, I’ve been calling you for an hour.”

“Yeah, my phone was in my purse. My ass was in my tub soaking.” I padded back to my
room, dropped my towel, and climbed under my covers. Naked wasn’t my usual sleeping
style, but I just wanted to get under the blankets and ask Amy about ten thousand
questions.

“So, what happened?”

“I’m guessing you know more than me since you’re calling, but in a nutshell, Riley
took me to Sky and tried to talk me into dating him, and then his certifiable ex-fiancée
leaked her venom all around, and then I left. I’d be so grateful if you’d fill in
the blanks.”

“I didn’t realize you were interested in Riley.” Naturally, that’s where Amy would
choose to start the conversation.

I wasn’t surprised. I blew out a breath. “We spent the majority of the evening together
at your engagement party in April. I never told you because at the end of the evening
he left without a word, and I never heard from him again.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

I shrugged, although she wouldn’t be able to see me. “I don’t know. It was sort of
embarrassing. I mean, he’s one of Cade’s best friends.” I lowered my voice as if someone
could hear me. “I fell for him, Amy. He’s smoking hot. He’s polite, attentive, sexy.
His smile melts me. I knew I had it bad for him within a few minutes of meeting him.
And then he walked out on me. I didn’t want to say anything.”

“So, you saw him at the fundraiser Monday and he asked you out?”

“Basically.”

“Ah. That makes sense.” She sounded excited.

“More like told me, but whatever. I knew it was a bad idea. I shouldn’t have gone.
He didn’t really give me much of a choice though.”

Amy giggled. “Yeah, that sounds like Riley. He’s bossy. So, he took you to Sky and
that tramp was there?”

“Yep. And she said some very interesting things. I had already told Riley I didn’t
want to see him again before she showed up.” My memory flooded back. “Fuck. In fact,
I even showed him my hand.”

“What do you mean?”

I rubbed my palm down my face. Damn it. “I told him I was too attracted to him to
date him.”

“Is that even a thing?” Amy laughed again. “What does that mean?”

“It means I can tell he would break my heart if I let him. I don’t fit into his world
at all. And I can’t control my libido around him. I just want him to jump my bones.
It’s unnerving how fucking sexy he is and what he does to me.”

Amy’s laughter was muffled as she must have covered the phone and then spoke to Cade.
Then she was back. “We need to talk.”

“We
are
talking.”

“No. I mean really talk. There are things I need to tell you.”

“Please don’t tell me he’s some sort of abuser, because if you do, I’ll kick your
ass for giving him my number.”

“What? Of course not. Why would you think that?”

I inhaled deeply. “Some stuff Christine said.”

“What the fuck did she say?”

“She implied that he was abusive.”

“What?” Amy’s voice rose to a near scream. “That fucking cunt.”

“Yeah. That describes her.”

“Riley would never lay a hand on anyone in anger, Cheyenne. Trust me.”

I winced. He’d grabbed Christine’s arm and dragged her from the bar.

“What exactly did she say?”

“Some shit about spanking and flogging and handcuffs. She thought my skin looked too
sensitive to endure that sort of thing. I don’t know. My adrenaline was pumping so
hard by then, I might have misheard her. She was probably just spewing shit to try
and shock me or get me to leave him. And that’s fine. She can have him.”

Amy didn’t speak again for several seconds.

“Amy?”

“Yeah. Listen. Are you sitting down?”

“I’m in bed.” I tried to flatten myself and release my tense muscles to no avail.
“Just say what you need to say. I’m a big girl.”

“He’s not abusive, Cheyenne. He’s a Dom.”

“A what?”

“A Dom. A Dominant. Someone who practices BDSM.”

“Okaaay. Seriously?”

“Yeah.”

“And you know this why?”

She hesitated again.

Oh. Fuck me
. “Cade is too.”

“Yes.”

“Jesus, Amy.” I gripped the phone so hard my hand hurt.

“It’s complicated. But don’t judge me without educating yourself. It’s not what you
think. I love it.”

“You mean you let Cade hit you and tie you up and stuff and this is a good thing?”
I was stunned. This wasn’t the girlfriend I thought I knew.

“It’s not like that. It’s consensual. And trust me, it’s fucking hot.”

“Uh-huh.” My hand shook now. Who was this woman?

“God, Cheyenne. I wish I were there so I could take three days to explain it better.
Listen, I’m not talking about abuse. I’m talking about submission. I willingly give
my control over to Cade when we play, and he in turn rocks my world. I’ve never experienced
anything so fulfilling.”

I knew Amy well. “Amy, you never experienced anything at
all
before Cade. He was your first. How the hell can you possibly know what sex might
be like for the less deviant.” I was seriously concerned.

“Please. I know it’s a lot to take in, but just calm down and look into it. I’ll make
arrangements for us to come down there next weekend. Don’t freak out on me. Google
BDSM and read about it. I don’t want you to think I’m not making my own choices. I’ll
show you what it’s all about next weekend. Okay?”

“Show me?”

“Sure. I’ll have Cade take us to a club. You can see for yourself.”

“A club? You mean a fetish club?”

“Yeah.”

I wasn’t sure I liked this plan at all. But on the other hand, I didn’t want to ignore
whatever one of my best friends was involved in if only for the sake of making sure
she was safe. There was no fucking way some man was going to boss me around or tie
me up, but the entire idea had become moot. My attention had shifted to Amy’s safety.
Not my own. “Okay.”

“Okay? You’ll look into it?”

“Yes. For you.”

“Do it for you. Not for me.”

Whatever
…