Page 5 of Let the Game Begin (Kiss Me Like You Love Me #1)

“Excuse me…” I passed a couple absorbed in leafing through books right in the middle of the great classics section.

I smiled. It seemed I wasn’t the only person who loved them.

I stroked the rows of books with my fingers, soaking in the smell of the pages as I closed my eyes.

A sleepy calm came over me as it always did whenever I sought refuge in this kind of environment.

The thud of something falling to the floor, however, had me on alert again.

A book lay open not far away from where I was standing.

I glanced around to see who had dropped it, but the couple was gone so I assumed I must have knocked it over.

I bent down to pick up the volume and saw the title: Peter and Wendy .

Something about those words caught my attention and convinced me to buy it.

This would be the book that marked the start of my new journey.

I paid for the book and slipped it into my bag, politely telling the cashier goodbye.

By the time I got off the train back in Bedford, it was dusk, and I had a two-and-a-half-mile walk before I got back to Matt’s home.

I sighed and opened my Maps app again, typing in the address of the house.

I started off and tried not to notice all the dark, deserted streets that crossed my path as I headed for my destination.

My phone indicated that the battery was running low, and I swore softly, hoping it wouldn’t die before I could navigate back.

“No, shit, no… Hold on.” I turned down the brightness and prayed that luck would be on my side, at least for another two miles or so.

I kept going, following the directions down the street until the display went black. My phone was officially dead.

“Great. Fantastic,” I grumbled, rubbing my face. I shook my phone as if to jostle it back to life, but unfortunately, it needed a charger and my pleas and curses were of no use. I didn’t even have Matt’s number memorized.

“Shit. Shit. Shit,” I burst out. I wanted to kick something.

I threw my phone into my bag and just kept walking, following my instincts.

I hunched my shoulders as the sun started to set and the streetlights lit up.

It was the time of day when the brightness of the colors began to fade and disappear into the textured shadows of the dark.

I had no idea whether my father would have been worried if I didn’t make it home for dinner.

Maybe he would have just given me up for missing or—worst-case scenario—dead.

“How many times do I have to tell you about the importance of car maintenance! You’re such a dumbass!”

I stopped on the edge of the sidewalk under a streetlight and saw an old black Cadillac parked in the street with a tire that was either punctured or entirely flat—I couldn’t tell which.

A guy, whose shadow looked deformed from so far away, was shouting angrily, waving his arms in the air. I frowned and stared curiously at him.

“Calm down, Luke. We’ll figure it out,” answered another guy, this one tall and slim with black hair. I couldn’t make out his features, but I could see a piercing glinting from his lower lip.

“Doubt it. How are we supposed to get home if you don’t even have a spare tire?

” A girl with bizarre blue hair put her hands on her narrow hips, which were clad in a pair of black shorts with fishnets in the same color underneath.

She gave her friend a snort and then crossed her arms over her chest, pushing up her small breasts.

I didn’t know what these people’s deal was, but whoever they were, they didn’t inspire a lot of trust.

I sighed and tried to walk past the group without being noticed.

I kept my head lowered and my posture rigid as I passed them.

I’d almost made it, but then I heard their voices falter and the silence build around me, and I knew I’d been clocked.

I sped up but someone behind me yelled, “Hey, baby doll. You in a hurry?”

I didn’t know which of the boys had spoken, but I froze.

The deep timbre of the voice was confident and menacing, and everything inside of me vibrated with fear.

I didn’t know whether I should try to run or turn and face the situation.

In any event, I didn’t get the chance to think it over before the voice called out to me again.

I turned and looked at the boy, whom I could now see more clearly. He had dark eyes, a small nose, and a thin mouth. His features were almost delicate, but the look he was giving me was disturbing to say the least.

“We’re out here flat on our asses, and you’re trying to holler?” the other guy, the blond one, huffed noisily, running a hand through his short hair.

I startled at his words and cleared my throat awkwardly. I needed to get out of this situation—make up something, anything.

“I am in need of some information,” I hazarded, smiling tightly.

The dark-haired man cocked an eyebrow, and the blue-haired girl moved next to him, looking me up and down as though I were a prostitute.

She was wearing too much makeup, and her hazel eyes were rimmed with extra-long fake eyelashes; she looked like a dollar-store version of Harley Quinn from Suicide Squad .

“And what would you be willing to give me in exchange?” The boy approached me slowly, analyzing my body with deliberation while I backed away in alarm.

Who are these people?

“Xavier!” The blond boy called him back, irritated. Maybe he was the sane one of the two? Nevertheless, the boy named Xavier didn’t give up and just kept staring at me like an animal in rut.

“Shut up, idiot. Have you seen her?”

“Yeah, I saw her, but here comes another problem.” The blond pointed at the car just as another guy emerged from it, followed by curvy blond Barbie. The guy slammed the car door hard, making everyone turn in his direction. He leaned arrogantly against the hood and stared the other two down grimly.

For a moment, I forgot about the situation I was in and just lost myself admiring the virility of his muscular body.

He was tall, so tall.

A leather jacket tugged on his folded arms, his biceps bulging with a strength that was entirely masculine.

His jeans, though not especially tight, wrapped around a pair of firm, athletic legs with the muscled calves of an athlete.

A white sweater, not at all showy, clung perfectly to the lines of his clearly defined chest.

More than his magnificent body, however, it was his face that stunned me—finely drawn features in striking contrast to his explosive physicality.

There was a hint of well-groomed stubble on his jaw.

His nose was straight, the tip upturned ever so slightly.

His plump, perfectly shaped lips looked like they were drawn on him, and his eyes were an eerie golden color, like honey in the sunlight.

Then there was his hair, a thick mass of unruly brown curls.

He looked around at his friends and smiled, amused by the strange circumstances we had all found ourselves in.

“So…do you plan to keep acting like idiots for a while longer or are you going to engage your brains and figure out a solution?” His voice was a raspy baritone, and the vibe he gave off was that of a superior to his cohorts.

“You’re so hot when you do that…” The blond girl rested a hand on the guy’s chest and then rubbed all over that Adonis body, planting a kiss on his jaw as she did. He, however, remained unmoved. He stood imposing as a god, focused on the two other guys who still hadn’t responded.

“This girl here wants some information…” Xavier pointed, shifting Tall, Dark, and Handsome’s attention to me.

I blushed unexpectedly when I felt his gleaming, golden gaze on me.

I looked at him and he looked back at me for seconds that felt like an eternity.

His eyes were truly something special. Never in my life had I seen anything like them.

“What information do you need?” he asked me, and it felt like his voice lit up still-unexplored corners of my body. He was intense, certain. More than anything else, he inspired awe with his towering frame, even though he wasn’t specifically attempting to intimidate me.

“I think I’m lost. My phone is totally dead, and I need to get home,” I explained with a miserable sigh. I would never have approached these people to ask for help before, but now that I was here, I had to seize the opportunity.

“We have our own damn problems. We don’t need hers,” the blond guy grumbled in exasperation.

“Baby doll is lost, dickhead, be nice,” Xavier said, giving him a lewd wink.

“Do you at least remember where home is, princess?” he added, extending an arm out toward me while I backed away apprehensively.

The two girls burst into laughter, delighted by my reaction.

Xavier pivoted to grab his crotch instead in an obvious obscene gesture.

He was aroused. I knew I couldn’t appear to be submissive or frightened.

I prepared myself to fight back if he tried anything.

“Okay, that’s enough.” The Adonis, whose name I still didn’t know, pushed up off the car and that movement was enough to make his friends go pale. He was a giant for real, at least six three, and his broad shoulders suggested a physical power that would have cowed anyone.

“Where do you live?” He turned to me again and I gulped. I couldn’t say exactly by how much he towered over me, but I had to tilt my head back to look him in the eyes. When I did, I was able to see the tiny amber stripes in his otherwise light, sandy irises. I just kept staring vacantly at him.

I had lost the power of speech. I felt so disoriented and confused. His eyes scanned me while mine darted to the blond who wouldn’t stop glaring at me as though I were some irritating insect that needed squashing. Was she jealous? I just wanted some basic information, not to steal her boyfriend.