Page 10 of Let the Game Begin

I knew all too well how keenly men felt it when their male pride was struck, but my moment of victory didn’t last long. Neil shook his head and gave me the smile of a man with so much expert experience that he was completely unaffected by the absurdity I’d just spouted.

“Watch what you say, Tinkerbell.” He got so close to me that I could feel his breath touching my face and strangely, I shivered. “I can show you how wrong you are right now, if you’re brave enough.” His eyes locked on mine, waiting for an answer. The flicker of guile in his stare made me stiffen. I just kept staring at his eyes, glittering like two stars behind which a dangerous fiend hid, and I knew with absolute certainty that I had never seen such a singular color before.

“Hard pass.” I pulled myself together. “I’ll spare you the embarrassment,” I snapped with false bravado. We were standing so close to each other that we could feel the battle playing out between our bodies.

“You’re just a baby,” he whispered into my ear, breathing in my scent. “And, by the way, you should change up your look if you ever want to get a man hard.” He examined my perplexed face and smiled in victory.

Then he snatched Jennifer’s hand and dragged her up the stairs behind him. I was overwhelmed with frustrated embarrassment.

I thought that was the end of it, but I was completely wrong. That shameless, rude, and horribly sexy boy made sure I had a sleepless night. I heard every one of Jennifer’s moans. The pair could count on Mia and Matt being unable to hear them as they slept on the other side of the sprawling palace.

But I could hear everything. Absolutely everything. And it was truly a nightmare.

At five in the morning, after tossing and turning in my bed all night witha pillow over my head, I fell asleep for such a brief period of time that I didn’t even get to enjoy it. At seven, I rushed downstairs, grumpy and looking like a sleep-deprived panda. My head was pounding, and the thought of starting my first day at a new university like this only made it worse. Fortunately, my father had already taken care of the registration and various enrollment documents.

When I walked into the kitchen, Matt looked up from his newspaper and watched my exhausted form lumber toward the table.

“Good morning, Selene.” He smiled and gave me a suspicious look. I wasn’t looking so hot. I was well aware.

“Good morning,” I grumbled tonelessly.

Next to him, Logan smiled kindly, his neat hair and still-drowsy eyes making him look both silly and sexy at the same time. Chloe, on the other hand, always looked like she was drifting through life in her own private bubble, oblivious to the world around her.

“Did you sleep well?” asked Logan, whom I had decided was the superior stepbrother.

“Not remotely.” There was no point in denying it, and my tone even drew Chloe’s curious eyes to me.

“Neil, right?” He chuckled, obviously amused.

“I’m think I’m actually going to need earplugs,” I sighed in frustration, leaning back against my chair. Meanwhile, Matt just watched us in confusion.

To make the situation even worse, Mia jumped in, yelling, “Good morning!” in her coquettish voice. Her voice was so high-pitched, it made me jump. I rubbed my temples and silently cursed the day my mother had the bright idea to move me into this horror house.

Then I thanked Anna, the housekeeper, when she handed me a steaming cup of warm milk, and I forced myself to give her a polite smile. After all, she seemed like the only normal person in the place.

“Today is going to be a fantastic day, isn’t it?” chirped Mia, who, despite the earliness of the hour, was happy and radiant. Furthermore, she was perfectly made up; her bright hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and she had on a black pantsuit that displayed a bit too much of her large yet firm breasts.

I quit examining her and instead mentally organized my tasks for thenext few hours. I was concentrating entirely on myself when someone loudly yawned. My attention was immediately drawn to the giant striding through the kitchen doorway whom my body had bizarrely learned to recognize. Every one of my senses went on alert when he appeared.

Neil was bare-chested, only wearing a pair of gray sweatpants. It was a sight that would send any woman’s hormones into overdrive, and I was no exception. I noticed a peculiar tribal tattoo adorning his right bicep and shoulder and another strange tattoo that looked like interwoven lines on his left side. His brown hair was mussed, and his lips were notably rosy and swollen. It pained me to admit it, but his physical beauty was almost indescribable; he was strapping and masculine.

He noticed my presence and smiled slyly at me, turning to the pantry to get a chocolate pistachio protein bar, the kind that are a staple in every athlete’s diet. Each muscle in his back tensed, drawing my eyes to the perfection of his toned physique.

He turned back toward me and opened the bar. He bit into it slowly while leaning lazily on the counter behind him. I followed his every movement helplessly. He oozed sex from every inch of his body. Every breath, every hungry stare, every movement of his lips. He was a wild creature, carnal and greedy.

“Good morning,” he said in a deliberately lewd murmur while staring at me. The irony of his greeting did not escape me. He knew that I hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep because of him, and he was proud of it.

“Neil, could you put on a shirt?” Chloe muttered huffily. I didn’t know whether she was protective of her brother or just annoyed by him. He didn’t answer her and kept staring at me. Involuntarily, my eyes sank down his lean torso to the elastic waistband of his pants, hanging so low that it revealed the V leading to his pelvic area. Though he wasn’t aroused, the bulge in his underwear was still perfectly visible. Yep…extremely visible.

I’d probably been wrong about his size last night, but at the same time, I was glad I got to make fun of him. Neil noticed my inappropriate glances and continued to stare me down, this time smugly.

“Shut up, Chloe. The ladies dig it.”

I went back to frantically sipping my milk, fully aware that I’d been caught staring. There was no point in denying it.

“Are you ready for classes to start?” Mia asked suddenly, coming to my rescue.

“Yeah, Mom. Carter’s here; he’s going to take me.” Chloe looked elated when she left, but I caught her brothers’ frowns upon hearing that unwelcome name.