Playette

by T. L Smith

  I stop outside of my car and turn back to face Jasper. “Don’t be late. I look forward to seeing you.”

  His eyes roam over me. “Dressed in less.”

  I blush, I know I do. So, I quickly hop into the car, shutting the door, and driving off.

  It’s as I remember it, the mansion hasn’t changed, but it’s not as busy. Or maybe that’s just tonight. Walking up to the front door I knock twice before it’s opened. Jasper stands there dressed in a suit, looking hot.

  His eyes roam me up and down in my red dress. I went and purchased it especially for tonight. I’m nervous, so fucking nervous. It’s been ages since I’ve seen him, and even longer since we’ve been on a date.

  Is that what this is? Fuck! I don’t even know, I’ve never dated.

  It was always sex for me. Sex was what I liked, so why play around with the small talk and dinner or movies.

  “Well, fuck.” He offers me his hand, I place mine in his. He pulls me inside the house, his hand staying in mine as we walk. “You look…” He looks to me, shaking his head before turning back around. “You look real good, Isadora.”

  I smile as we walk through the mansion and out the back to where his house is located.

  “You look good, too,” I say. The suit he’s wearing looks incredible on him, showing all the right curves of his body. Black does everything for him, with a touch of white only on his tie.

  “It’s for you, to impress you into never leaving.”

  I chuckle at his words, and he spins around to look at me. “I like the sound of that.” His fingers drop from mine as he steps over to his fridge, and that’s when I look around. The place appears the same apart from the table which is set up for just the two of us. A candle sits in the middle with two white plates and rose petals scattered all over the floor.

  “You did all of this?” I smile, walking over and sitting at the table. He steps over with a bottle of wine in his hand, and a smile I’ve missed so badly.

  “Yes, for you.”

  “You didn’t have to.”

  “Yes, I know. But you and me, well, we have history that’s not good. So this… this is our way of starting afresh.”

  “Do you think we can ever forgive and forget?” I ask him.

  “I’ve already forgiven you, Isadora. I did that the minute I tied you to my father’s bed. It’s the forgetting we both will have trouble with, and if we didn’t, we should probably be tied to that bed again.” He steps closer and pours me a glass of wine then looks down at me. “You are quite perfect for me.” The bottle of wine is put on the table, his hand comes under my chin lifting it, so he now has my full attention. “I’ve worked out that I can kiss these lips…” and he does just that, with a brush of his own, “… for the rest of my life, and still be a happy man.” He pulls away and takes a seat across from me.

  “The question remains, can you be happy with me? Knowing full well what I do and who I am?”

  “If you would’ve asked me that months ago, my answer would have been a firm no. Everything you are is what I’m against. But I realize now that those thoughts were controlled and not my own. So, yes, Jasper… I could kiss those broken lips of yours for a very long time.” He pulls the lid off a large tray and beneath it is pasta and bread. I smile as we start to eat.

  Our conversation comes easy and natural, and not once does he ask me what I’ve been up to. I have a feeling he already knows that anyway.

  “I have something for you.” Jasper stands, walking away to his room, then he comes back and hands me something. Taking it from him, I turn it over and see my parents. It was the only photo of them I kept, and I kept it in the room above the garage at my uncle’s. So I assumed it was gone.

  “You burned it down.”

  He merely nods.

  “Thank you for this. Really. I know you didn’t have to, so I thank you.” I get up and wrap my arms around his neck holding him tight. He does the same, holding me to him and I even hear him breathe me in.

  “I would pretty much do anything for you, Isadora. So, burning that place down was for you, not for me.” I squeeze a little tighter and he pushes back without moving our hands away from each other. He looks at me, and I feel like he can actually see me. The real me. The person. Who I am. The one who’s still trying to figure myself out, without the world I’ve become accustomed to.

  “I haven’t had someone who wants me, for me, in a very long time. The only people who were my friends, have died,” I say telling him the truth and also letting him know who I am. I’m not used to anything he’s after. I’ve never had it, so this is all very new to me. If I wanted sex before I would have it simply for the fun and the release, not because I saw anything going further with the person I was sleeping with. With Jasper, I want sex with him for different reasons, because as a man he makes me want more.

  Moving my hands from his shoulders to his face I cup it and lean in to kiss his lips. I feel the jagged edge of his scar on my lip and I love it. I know these lips, I will forever be branded by these lips, for all eternity, of that I am sure.

  Lips move fast, hands roam to my back, then slide down to my ass. The desire I feel for him is next-level crazy. I like the way he evokes that in me. The passion, I’ve only ever felt it with him. And I like that feeling.

  Jasper’s hands lift my ass and I wrap my legs around his waist as he carries me. He places my ass on the table, pushing everything off and onto the floor, and smiles down at me as we separate. He doesn’t waste any time before his shirt, which was perfectly buttoned, but is now button-less, is pulled off and he’s back in front of me.

  This is the man who I’ve come to love.

  Yes.

  Love.

  The time we spent apart confirmed it, told me each and every day, because he was on my mind more than any other person before him.

  I quite enjoy it, being consumed by one man.

  He pulls my perfect red dress up my thighs and to my waist. When he sees I have nothing on underneath, he bites his lip, looking up at me with a smirk.

  “Naughty…”

  I nod at his words.

  “I’m going to fuck you fast and hard, then after, I will take my time. But for now, I just need you.”

  I reach for him, and he comes forward, his cock between my legs is begging at my entrance, as I start kissing his lips. He pushes inside of me and I feel him stretch me. The minute he’s fully inside me, my lips forget to move and a large moan leaves my mouth.

  “That’s my girl.” He bites my bottom lip and comes up, so he’s looking down over me and he starts moving fast and hard, pushing in and out, his fingers digging into my hips to keep me on the table while he takes what I have to give.

  It’s punishment, in its best form.

  It’s love, in its most sensual form.

  It’s everything I’ve missed and never knew I wanted.

  Jasper leans down and kisses the side of my neck and whispers in my ear, “I love you.”

  If I wasn’t already close to losing my breath from my orgasm building, it’s completely gone now.

  “Tell me you missed me, Isadora.” His hand slides to my neck, and he applies slight pressure, while his pace never slows. “Tell me. Tell me, now.”

  “I missed you.”

  “How much?” he asks, slowing his rhythm, waiting for me to give him the answers he wants. Needs.

  “So much.”

  “Did it hurt to breathe without me?” he asks, and then he stops moving.

  Damn it, I’m so close, so close that I try to move, but he has me pinned and it’s almost impossible to shift at all.

  “I love you, too. Is that what you want to hear?” I ask, while staring up to the ceiling.

  Those words have never left my mouth, for a man, and not for a very long time other than that. It almost hurts, or tears something open inside of me that I didn’t realize I had closed tightly shut.

  “Yes, it’s what I want to hear, you need to say it. Trust me, if anyone know
s, it’s me.”

  He starts moving again, but this time he isn’t fast as he leans down and kisses my lips with each slow movement pulling my orgasm from me. “I’ve missed you terribly, Isadora.” Jasper stands upright, my hands find the edge again, and grip it hard as his pace picks back up. I take what he’s giving and soon my eyes are squeezing shut and my hands are going white from gripping the table so hard. “Don’t ever leave me again.”

  “I won’t,” I reply, and I mean it. I don’t want to leave him ever again. He’s where I feel I want to be.

  He is it.

  Home for me.

  Two fucked-up people can make it work. Can’t they?

  There has to be hope for the broken, too.

  30

  Isadora

  I left, I had to. I didn’t want to move in with Jasper straight away, even if he would have liked it that way.

  It’s too soon for me. I want to do the second time around right.

  Well, as right as we possibly can.

  It’s been three weeks now, and each and every time he tries to get me to stay. Most of my clothes are there, so I do practically live there, but I’m trying to let him breathe to make sure I don’t suffocate him either. It needs to be right, no wrong moves by either of us.

  I hear a knock on the door of my small room, and I know who it is before I even open it. Same time almost every day he’s here to collect me. I argued a few times that we needed our space, to make sure that we’re doing this right. He laughed and slept in my bed. That was his idea of considering me having some space.

  Opening the door, he’s there, smiling. My heart skips a beat, pounding so loud, I’m surprised he doesn’t hear it.

  “I’ve missed you.” His hands wrap around my waist, pulling me to him.

  “You saw me this morning,” I say, wrapping my arms around his shoulders and leaning in to kiss him.

  “You make me come here, when you could easily live with me. Isadora, when I get home it’s you I want to see, so I come straight here.”

  “Here isn’t so bad, is it?” I kiss his lips again.

  “It is. It’s fucking awful. Now pack your shit and move in with me already, woman.”

  “Ask me nicely,” I say, smiling.

  He pinches my ass. “Fuck it! I’ll move you in myself.”

  “So demanding.” I roll my eyes.

  “You bet. Now hurry up. Have you finished work for the day?” I nod, pulling away before going to grab my bag. I look around at the few things I have left. I’ve never made this place a home, it’s never felt like one. Jasper’s home, on the other hand, has me written all over it.

  “Yep, and maybe tomorrow I’ll grab the rest of my things, and we can make this thing official,” I say.

  He smiles.

  Big.

  “You mean it?”

  I nod as he pulls me in and dips me, so I squeal.

  I know work for him has been good. I’m not into any of the illegal side of his businesses. Instead, I look after the staff at the night club and help Benny out, but Jasper asks that I don’t strip or dance for another soul apart from him. I agree, he’s the only person I like to dance for anyway.

  “Yes, I prefer it at yours.”

  “Ours,” he corrects me.

  “It’s too soon to marry you, right? That’s probably throwing you off, correct? Move in one day, marry you the next?”

  My eyes go wide.

  Fuck!

  Marriage.

  Shit!

  That’s not something I’ve ever thought about. Ever.

  Truth be told, I expected to die after I accomplished what I had planned. Now, I’m simply enjoying life and that just so happens to be with Jasper.

  “Okay, okay, I take it back. No marriage. Yet.” He leans down, grabbing my bag and walking out. “But I’m going to tell you, I dreamt of you, before I saw you. So, I know, soon you will marry me.”

  Shock glues me to the floor, my feet unable to move as he walks out. Did he just say what I think he did? Marriage? I never saw that in my future. Now, I guess I should.

  Ace is standing out the front, smirking when he sees me. I know he’s trying to contain his laughter. I’ve become good friends with him, and really enjoy his company. He’s very compassionate, so much more than I originally thought.

  “Don’t you laugh.” I hit his chest walking past him, but he drops over in fits of laughter.

  “Did she freak out? Tell me what her face looked like?” he asks Jasper.

  I’ve come to learn and understand their dynamic. They don’t just see Jasper as their boss, they respect and love him as well. He’s so much more to them, so much more than just a boss. He’s their form of a god.

  I get it, he is godlike after all. But if you look closely, you can see the cracks that were marked on him specifically to make him the man he is today.

  “Oh yeah, she’s still white,” Jasper says jokingly while opening the door.

  Ace climbs into the driver seat.

  “Fuck you both.” I flip them off.

  Climbing in, Jasper leans down and kisses my lips. “It’s okay, Isadora, there’s still tomorrow.” He shuts the door and walks around to slide in, while Ace continues to laugh.

  Jasper did the same thing with trying to get me to move in with him, he asked me every single day. I guess it worked. Because here I am agreeing to move in with him.

  “Don’t you dare ask tomorrow. It’s slow, remember?”

  He laughs, and I know he will.

  Jasper will keep on asking until I agree.

  And he will win.

  Why wouldn’t he? He owns my heart.

  Coming Next! Did you like Gunner? Well his story is next, and you will see more of Isadora and Jasper.

  Love Drunk.

  Preorder Now!

  One month, I fell for him.

  Two, I was a goner.

  Three, I was a daydreamer.

  But by the fourth, it was a nightmare.

  Everything came in beats.

  Beat one—love.

  Beat two—admission.

  Beat three—fantasy.

  But it’s the fourth beat that completely fucked me over.

  Beat.

  Beat.

  Beat.

  With blood-covered hands.

  He was my nightmare

  PREORDER

  Continue reading for the first chapter of Cavalier.

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  Chapter One

  Elicea

  The cool air hits my skin. I should have been home hours ago, but work finished late and I ended up walking Tracey home, drunk. I hug my body to keep warm. It’s frigid out tonight, it shouldn’t be this cold for spring. Head down, cell phone gripped tightly, I walk one more block to my apartment building. I can tell Siri to call the police.

  Does that actually work? Would she even recognize my voice? I should really try it sometime but not now.

  I walk home alone regularly. Night time doesn’t usually bother me. Tonight, though, I’m getting a weird vibe and I have a strange feeling in the pit of my stomach. Walking these streets—I’ve done it for the last three years, since I moved into this apartment. Arriving at my apartment, I hear it. It’s distant, it’s faint, but I definitely hear it. The cry is faint, but the begging is louder. I know this neighborhood, I grew up not too far from here. I’ve heard stories of people being beaten and left for dead. It’s mostly men, and it’s weird. The authorities can never work out why it happens, or who’s behind it.

  The scream pierces my ears, it’s much louder this time, and my fingers hover to unlock my cell as I look up. I can’t see anyone, so I step away from my building. No street lights shine down on me here, and I’m thankful that the night sky is dark and whoever’s doing this possibly won’t see me.

  My hand touches the edge of the building, it’s rough. The brick pierces my skin as I clutch it tight and something wet touches my finger. Lighting up my phone, I can see a small trail of blood appear
s on the surface of my finger.

  I notice a man on the ground, two men standing above him. One leans down whispering, the venom he speaks is repulsive. The man on the ground begs for mercy again, and I gasp.

  My hand grips the brick building so hard it pierces my skin again, making me drop my cell. I freeze, and so do the two men hovering above the guy not too far from me. They both look my way, I step back into the darkness.

  Reaching down, I pick up my cell and turn to run. My footsteps are loud colliding against the sidewalk as I try to make it back to my building’s entrance without one of them catching up to me.

  I dig into my jacket pocket for my keys. My hands shake uncontrollably. Opening and shutting the door, I try to catch my breath before I manage to turn around. I see one of the men, standing on the side of the street opposite me. I still can’t make out his features, they’re covered by the night.

  Looking down at my cell I press three buttons. When I look back up, he’s gone. And no one is around as I check up and down the street.

  After I tell emergency services what I saw, I manage to make it to my room, hands still shaking and my body cold.

  ***

  “Stop walking home by yourself,” Tracey says on the phone. She’s attempting to yell but with her raging hangover she’s failing miserably.

  “I’m fine. I’m always fine.”

  Tracey doesn’t know about last night, what I saw. She doesn’t need to know. If she did, she’d force me to move, but I simply can’t afford it. And a part of me is hoping it was only a dream. Maybe it was, and I won’t have to think about it. I waited up most of the night listening for sirens, but none came. After I’d calmed down, I peeked out my window to see if there was anyone around, any sort of sign that something wasn’t right. Nothing.

  “Don’t do it again.”

  I laugh as I look through my window again, just to be sure.