Page 141 of Let the Game Begin

“Don’t get me wrong, I would be thrilled if he opened his heart to you, but he still has so many problems to resolve. Enormous problems, Selene. He’s not going to be capable of loving another person if he doesn’t learn to love himself. Just like he’ll never be able to move forward if he doesn’t get closure with his past.”

I stared down at my legs. What could I do to help him? Nothing.

Being with him wasn’t enough; having feelings for him wasn’t enough. In fact, it might have made things worse. But I couldn’t just give up. I couldn’t let myself be scared off by his personal issues. Maybe I couldn’t fix everything, but I could at least support him as he tried to make choices that might improve his current reality.

I looked up at Logan and smiled, giving his hand a squeeze. I saw wherehe was coming from; I understood his concern for his brother and for me, but I had entered into Neil’s labyrinth now, and the only way I was leaving was with him.

Maybe that made me crazier than the person I was trying to help, but my heart told me it was the right thing to do.

After Logan had left, a very stupid and possibly even dangerous idea popped into my head. I left my room and walked the short length of hallway between my room and Neil’s. I hadn’t encountered him in two days, and despite Logan warnings, I still wanted to see him.

Maybe he wasn’t even in the house. Maybe he was out with the Krew or was with whichever blond was on deck tonight, but none of these possibilities made me abandon my search. I knocked three times on his door and immediately felt my heart rate speed up. Footsteps, sure and measured, on the other side of the door told me he was about to appear. When he finally opened the door to reveal himself, I had the immediate urge to run away.

Neil stood there in just a pair of gray sweatpants. My eyes roved over his broad shoulders, the half-moon shape of his pectoral muscles, his sculpted abdominal muscles and divots of his lower abdomen, below which his manhood was concealed. I examined what I could see of the pikorua on his left side and thought about how I’d touched it those few times when Neil had been naked beside me.

“What do you want, Tinkerbell?” he began in his low baritone. “Or is it Tigress tonight?” He added, sounding amused as he looked at the decidedly unsexy, even childish print of my pajamas.

I swallowed hard and forced myself to look him in the eyes. God, but those were magnificent as well, that uncertain gold-yellow color that shifted hues depending on the light.

“Well?” he prompted me.

My throat was so dry, and I probably had the same look on my face as the girls who gawked at him every day. “So, I was bored and…”

What the hell kind of answer was that?

“And so you thought it was fine to come bother me at this hour because you’re unattached now and want to fuck more often?” he taunted me, givingme a smug smile, one of the few kinds of smiles I ever saw his perfect face. My eyes went wide when I processed what he’d said.

“No!” I said immediately, trying to recover. “Oh my God, no, that wasn’t… I don’t…” But he’d already stepped back and made it obvious he wasn’t going to stand there listening to my rambling explanation.

“Come in,” he offered, and I obeyed, feeling like my body was responding more to his will than my own. I also had no idea why I’d come looking for him or why I wasn’t more wary of him, especially after what he’d done in the pool house.

I glanced around, taking in the sophisticated yet typically masculine decor. It was a space that I had memorized by that point. His amber scent lingered in the air, and the half-open door of the bathroom emitted steam, as though it had just been used.

“You covered it up…” he murmured in reference to my bruise, moving closer to examine my face in more detail.

“It doesn’t hurt much anymore,” I answered, trying not to get distracted by all those exposed muscles.

Why the hell am I in this room?

Neil was unpredictable. At any moment, he could fly into a rage and kick me out or he could suggest playing an erotic dice game or…

The train of thought was derailed when he grabbed my wrist and pulled me against him.

“You’re not wearing a bra,” he said in a sensual whisper. My hands came to rest on his bare skin; I could feel his warmth beneath my fingers. I didn’t have the guts to move or even utter a word. I barely came up his sternum, and my eyes got caught on a random portion of his abdomen.

“I…don’t think it was a good idea to come here… I…” I started to back away to leave, but he grabbed a handful of my shirt and tightened his fist around it. Again, he pulled me to him. This time, he pressed my back against his chest and breathed against my neck, plastering me to his body.

“Where do you think you’re flying off to, Tinkerbell?”

That tone… That was the tone always presaged his desires, and right now he wanted me. I could feel it.

“Tell me something about yourself before you take something from me,”I whispered, shutting my eyes as I felt his erection nudging the base of my spine. I had to admit that his overwhelming physicality excited me, and I liked the feeling of him exerting his will on me.

“Player 2511 sent me another envelope with a puzzle,” he confessed to my surprise. I turned, prepared to ask him more questions, but Neil just bent down to kiss and lick my neck. I let out a stupefied moan at the voluptuous feeling of his tongue on my skin. My head was spinning; I felt like I’d pounded a bottle of vodka.

“W-what was in it?” I managed, though I could feel his hands touching me all over, even the places where we were separated by my horrendous pajamas.

“Photos of every family member and a riddle that I don’t want to think about right now,” he whispered in my ear, using his body to coax me backward, toward the edge of the bed.