by Ivy James
A threat? “Mystic Magi is my game. I’ve overseen every aspect of it from the beginning.”
Apparently satisfied that she’d gotten through to him, Anne-Marie smirked. “Your contract states that anything created while under my employ is a product of Galaxy Games, including your precious Mystic Magi. If I think for a second you’re not giving this company your absolute best, I’ll have to take action. It’s what anyone in my position would do.”
He’d met plenty of playground bullies as a kid, but he’d never come up against a female version before. All because he hadn’t accepted her offer? Seriously? “You can’t afford to lose me.”
Anne-Marie arched an eyebrow and shook her head, releasing a caustic laugh on her way to the door. “Oh, Luke. Sweetheart,” she drawled, copying his Southern twang, “I’ve always liked you and I wouldn’t want to lose you. Never. No, I have no intention of ever firing you. But I will replace you as Lead Creative Director so fast your chair won’t have time to spin. Use that genius brain of yours and think about that before you waste my time flying home to your pregnant little hick.”
Chapter 15
LUKE WAS COMING HOME today. Shelby smoothed her hand over her hair and knew she needed a trim. The problem was her stylist was her mother and things were still…awkward.
You can’t be angry forever. She is your mother.
True. And despite the lies and the stunts, she still loved her mother. Knowing Zacharias hadn’t wanted to acknowledge her existence, could she blame her mother for lying to protect her?
She lied to protect herself. You were an added bonus.
Sighing, Shelby rubbed her forehead. She’d call later. Make an appointment for next week and deal with it then. Time was supposed to heal wounds, right?
Shelby pulled into her driveway, the flash of her headlights sending a rabbit scurrying for cover. She saw Luke’s rented sedan and the nerves she’d fought all day returned.
Don’t be stupid. You’ve talked to him every day this week, sometimes two or three times a day.
Their conversations had covered what she’d eaten and how many times she’d been sick, their favorite television shows, stupid stuff that happened at the country club, the game Luke worked so hard to perfect and everything in between.
She liked his nighttime calls the best. In the dark of the bedroom, she snuggled beneath her cool sheets and pictured Luke in his lonely office, the computer light glaring, his desk overloaded and a mess, those goofy, black-rimmed glasses he wore to read perched on his nose. She realized with a sick twist in her stomach that in a freakishly short amount of time she’d begun looking forward to hearing his husky voice, counting on those calls and on him the way she’d promised herself she wouldn’t.
But it was so easy to lie in the dark and talk to him.
Shelby parked beside Luke’s car, her heart pounding in her ears when she saw his tall form step from her back porch. Just the thought of him being there had her body warming. A deep-rooted quivering began inside her, because she knew what they’d do and she didn’t want to want him that much.
But you do.
Her car door opened with a squeak of the hinge. “Hey, sweetheart. Welcome home.”
She inhaled and grabbed her purse and the restaurant supply catalogs she’d taken to work with her. The moment she stepped out of the car, Luke pulled her to him and buried his nose in her hair.
“Mmm, you smell good. I’ve missed you.”
He was warm and solid, lean but strong. She closed her eyes, not happy to feel some of her tension drain away, just like that night in June.
“Come on. It’s getting chilly. Let’s go inside.”
Shelby glanced up at him, caught her breath at the heat and desire she saw in his gaze. Would it always be this way?
Luke dipped his head and brushed a kiss over her mouth, lingering, pressing for more when her lips parted and he could slide inside. Within seconds they were both breathing heavily and Luke hustled her toward the back door.
“Where’s your key?”
She gave it to him, hoping he didn’t notice the way her hand shook. The moment the door shut behind them, Luke lifted her up until her toes barely touched the floor and snuggled her hips against his.
“I don’t know if I can wait long enough to get to the bed. I’ve missed you so much, Shelby.”
His expression backed up his words. The tired lines around his eyes and the corner of his mouth told of a long week, and his muscles were hard and taut.
A surge of emotion she dared not name sparked to life and shook her to her core. Luke was smart, kind, handsome and actually moral. He wanted her, the baby, mistake or not. She could so easily fall for him.
But how did she know he wouldn’t change his mind?
Shelby shoved her thoughts aside and pulled away, far enough that she could yank his shirt over his head. Luke’s smile flashed in the dim house and he reached for the light switch, but she caught his hand and carried it to her ribs instead. Luke’s hand firmed, then shifted to her breast. He cupped her and squeezed, releasing a low, strangled sound of lust.
Without a word, they tore at each other’s clothes. She unbuckled his belt and tried to open his jeans, but he yanked her crested jacket down her arms and tossed it aside. She tried again, succeeding in undoing both the snap and zipper while he unbuttoned her blouse and opened her front-snap bra, shoved her pants and underwear down her legs until they fell to her feet, and she stepped out of them.
Luke followed her step for step toward the kitchen table but she stopped just shy of reaching it. Shelby settled her hands at his waist and pushed his jeans and underwear low, letting Luke take care of removing them. Head down, distracted, Luke didn’t see her bite her lip as she shoved him gently backward onto the side chair positioned with its back to the wall.
“Hey—”
She followed quickly, pressing her mouth to his and smothering his protest while straddling his legs and settling herself on his lap.
Luke’s hands gripped her waist, pressed her against the bulge of him until her breath locked in her chest. She closed her eyes and squirmed closer, reveling in the groan he released. He lifted her higher and took his dear sweet time nuzzling his way around the loosened bra cups.
“I want you.” He wrapped one arm around her and held her in position while using his free hand to cup her and tease with his lips. “Need you.”
The rasping quality of his words barely registered. She was lost in a haze of thrumming desire, focusing on the feel of his hands, but the way he looked at her, the way he watched her. He saw too much.
Remembering the scarf she’d worn, she tugged it loose and pulled it from her neck. Shelby bent low and kissed him, slipping the material into place over his eyes.
“Sweetheart, I want to see you.”
She kissed him harder, her hands tightening the scarf around his head and making it clear he was to leave it on.
Almost immediately Luke leaned forward in the chair and she gasped and held his shoulders, everything off balance, until he readjusted their positions and entered her. Aching and ready, knowing she’d secretly waited all day for him, Shelby bit her mouth to keep from releasing a moan and held on to him while he settled himself more comfortably in the chair. Blinded by the scarf, he traced her body with his hands, relearning the shape of her, the feel of her. Like he’d been gone years instead of days. She watched him, touched him, ran her hands over the bulging biceps to the leanness of his stomach. She felt freer, liking it that he couldn’t see her reaction to him.
A moment later Luke pulled her flush against him and used his hands to rock her. The chair creaked with their movements, loud in the quiet house.
Shelby lifted her legs and tried to find an anchor by putting her feet on the lower rungs. She held on to his shoulders, tried to catch her breath. Why was it so hard to breathe when he was near?
“Trust me.” He growled the words into her skin. “Relax, sweetheart. Just trust me,” he repeated huskily. “Y
ou like what we do. But you don’t want to like it, do you?”
Was she so transparent?
“But every time we do this?”
Below the blindfold his lips pulled up in a wickedly sensual smile that curled her toes, his hands locking down on her hips to hold them still on his when all she wanted to do was move.
“We get closer.”
No. She didn’t respond verbally, but she tensed. She couldn’t help it. She wasn’t going to argue because she knew it would be easy to prove her wrong.
After a second passed, Luke began rocking her against him again.
“We’re going to be okay, sweetheart. You, me and the bab—”
“Shut up.”
A chuckle rumbled out of his chest and his grip tightened as he reestablished the ebb and flow of them. “She speaks,” he growled, nibbling on the supersensitive skin of her neck. “Ah, honey, you’re going to have to learn what it means to trust me because trust and love go hand in hand.”
The words had barely left his mouth before Luke widened his legs in a sudden movement and the shift dislodged her feet from the rungs. Her body sank lower on him and they both moaned at the sensation.
“Shelby…I trust you.”
Shelby tried to get her feet back into position but he set up a rhythm that made it impossible. All she could do was hold on to him, let the pressure within her build. She wanted to scream, but she couldn’t. Her lungs lacked air, and she couldn’t focus on anything but Luke and what he’d said, how he made her feel, until they both cried out.
Her forehead on his shoulder, Shelby gasped. Luke trusted her…meaning he loved her? But that was crazy. People didn’t fall in love that fast.
Alex was right, though. You’ve always had a connection with Luke. Maybe he’s telling the truth?
Friendship, her mind argued, not love. Trust, yes, but not love.
She didn’t return it. Didn’t feel it, didn’t believe in it.
But you want it.
And that, she decided, was the most frightening thing of all.
FIRST THING MONDAY morning, John Watkins met Luke at the door of Galaxy Games and pulled him aside.
“You’re not going to believe this.”
Whatever it was, Luke knew he didn’t want to know. After blurting out his feelings to Shelby during their kitchen tango, she’d withdrawn more than ever. Maybe Anne-Marie was right because only a stupid computer geek would tell a four-time pageant winner he loved her like that. Trust and love go hand in hand? How lame could he get?
Way to go, Romeo.
Luke shrugged off his exhaustion and focused on John. “What’s up?”
“I had a revised version of Mystic Magi on my desk this morning, courtesy of Tony Giovanni, that new hire in programming. Word has it he and Anne-Marie started chatting it up last week after her brainstorming session and over the weekend they apparently decided to have a private party. Those changes you had programming remove because they were screwing things up? The idiot did them—and her.”
Luke swore, anger racing through him faster than a runaway train. He could only imagine how John knew that last fact. If there were no secrets in small towns, there certainly weren’t any in small offices. “We’re a week away from presenting and she’s letting a kid play on it?”
“Luke—” John glanced around to make sure no one was around to hear “—it’s gone. The magic is gone. She didn’t just let him play with it, she gave him free rein. The details we worked three years to perfect? The things that made it our breakout? Gone. The version on my desk looks like a poor quality bootleg.”
“We have backups. We can use one of them for the presentation.”
“Not unless Anne-Marie agrees.”
“Hello, boys. Is there a problem?”
Luke turned to find Anne-Marie walking across the white, black and red tiled floor toward them, her hips swinging in a confident strut that didn’t quite go with the look on her face. One glance told him John hadn’t exaggerated. She’d partied hard over the weekend. And if his suspicions were correct, the party hadn’t only included alcohol and sex.
“Is there a problem?” she asked again, not quite meeting his eyes.
Luke handed John the messenger bag with his computer inside and jerked his head toward the hallway leading to their department. “Would you mind putting this in my office for me, John? I need to speak with Anne-Marie.”
“Sure thing.” John took one last look at Anne-Marie and bolted.
“He’s always reminded me of a nervous little squirrel. The pocket protector doesn’t help. Who wears those things anymore?”
Luke stared at Anne-Marie, remembering when he’d found her sexy and attractive, and how tempted he’d been to ignore his business ethics and accept her advances. Something had always held him back. Instinct, timing. Reasons he couldn’t put his finger on but he thanked God for now.
But John was right. Anne-Marie was the owner of the company. Creator or not, she called the shots on what Sony saw.
“So, what was that all about? Or do I need to ask?”
Luke shook his head, having a hard time comprehending her thinking. “What did you do?”
“What do you mean?”
Luke took her arm and began walking toward her office. “What’s going on, Anne-Marie? The game was as close to perfect as it could get and you’re screwing with it? Why? Were you that mad at me for turning you down? Did you sabotage the project to get even?”
Chapter 16
ANNE-MARIE LAUGHED. “My, my, how your ego has grown. I let Tony have a little fun. I wanted to see what he was capable of. What’s the big deal?”
“So the demo you gave John was an edited copy? You don’t intend for us to present that to the purchasing team?”
Her gaze sidled away. “Tony has potential.”
“I’ll decide that for myself. That is part of my job.”
“When you do it.” She said that with an expression he couldn’t read. What was going on?
“Pay close attention to the changes Tony incorporated. They were very good.”
“Not that good. They can’t be. He’s fresh out of school and still too green.”
“Scared he’ll take your job?”
Another threat? He didn’t like where this was headed, didn’t like how nervous she seemed to be. Almost…panicked. “Why are you doing this? What are you trying to prove?”
Her chin lifted. “I’m looking at all the possibilities. Tony made Aiya sexier. She’s more appealing to our audience of teenage boys and old guys with no life.”
“The heroine was perfect. She was beautiful but flawed.”
“Too flawed. All that angst was boring. Look at the lake scene. Aiya has no money, nothing to barter. There is only one way for her to get what she needs.”
He blinked, unable to believe what she hinted at. “Not every woman would sell themselves,” he said tightly. “She has to work with the Magi and learn how to get what she wants, fight for it. Doing it that way allows the player to go underground in the Magi’s kingdom. It gave us a whole other dimension to explore.”
“Tony’s version is more modern.”
“I don’t believe this.”
“Tony’s onto something, Luke. There’s a whole untapped market for this type of game, one we could cash in on.”
“You’re not turning Aiya into a prostitute.”
“Perhaps we should leave it up to Sony. Present it both ways.”
“What?” Luke struggled to control his temper. “From the beginning, we agreed the game was to be rated for teens because the fighting involved wouldn’t let us have an everyone rating. I designed a clean game, something my nephew could play.”
“Designs change.”
“The lake scene would rate it mature. We’d lose a huge portion of sales because parents won’t buy it for their kids. I wouldn’t buy it for mine.” He glared at her. “Anne-Marie, don’t waste everyone’s time on creating a second pitch when you know Sony will like the teen
-rated version due to the higher revenue potential.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Don’t worry, Luke. I’m putting Tony in charge of the mature version.”
Luke blinked. “He’s a kid. He isn’t ready to be in charge of anything.”
“I think he is. What’s the harm? We’re simply adding a few scenes here and there.”
Luke swore. What’s the harm? It wouldn’t be his game then, wouldn’t be something he could be proud of. But his hands were tied and she knew it.
He hated the restrictions and problems placed on him by working for a business not his own.
“Luke, relax. Try to think of it as a little creative competition. We’ll present both versions and see what happens.”
“You’re not going to sell sex to kids.”
“Of course not. We’ll sell it to their fathers and older brothers. As Tony so astutely pointed out, gamers do get older,” she murmured, studying her fake nails. “Tastes change. They can’t play kiddie games forever.”
Frustration ate at him. All his hard work, time and energy. Years. Down the drain. What kind of self-destructive move was this? Why would she take his work and turn it into an X-rated game for adults?
Luke wanted to shout the place down, but one glance at Anne-Marie’s set expression told him it wouldn’t do him any good. He could talk until he turned blue but she would still do whatever she wanted. “Anne-Marie, I want what’s best for the company. I’ve worked my ass off for this company,” he said. “You and I both know Tony’s version might have some splash and sensationalism that would draw attention, but it isn’t what’s best. G-rated movies outgross R movies for a reason. Games are no different. I know you’re pissed at me and think I’m nuts for marrying Shelby, but do you really want to proceed with this?”
Anne-Marie nodded once. “It’s already done.”
Luke turned on his heel and headed to his office. It was going to be another long, hard week. No matter how hard he worked, he wouldn’t be able to fly to Beauty to see Shelby this weekend.
