Game of Love

by Melissa Foster

  Her eyes lingered on Dex for a few breaths, and in those moments he realized that there was far more to his parents’ actions than he’d ever realized. How much restraint had it taken for his father not to say something to Dex about Ellie being in his room at night? James Remington, control freak, six-foot-four retired four-star general. Stern father, harsh motivator, and when Dex was growing up…the man to be obeyed. To know his father had taken steps to protect Ellie cushioned Dex’s mixed emotions toward him.

  Joanie shifted her gaze to Ellie, and her smile faded. Dex’s heart ached. “I worry about her. She’s a sweet thing, and if she’s anything like she was as a teenager, she’s strong willed and very, very private. You can see that she feels safe beside you.” She sighed. “She looks as precious as you used to treat her. Be careful with her, Dexter. As much as you think you can’t take being hurt again, I’m not sure she could take it either.”

  “I love her, Mom. I’ve never been surer of anything in my life. But we have to trust each other. We’re working on it, and I think tonight helped a lot, but it’s kind of up to her.” He shrugged.

  “That’s where you’re wrong, honey. It’s up to both of you. To trust is also to be trustworthy. She has to be able to tell you things when she’s ready, even if it’s way past the time that you’re ready to hear them. And as much as that stings, you have to trust her enough to allow her to do so.”

  “That makes no sense. If you love someone, you share everything. You’ve always taught us that honesty was everything. I remember you saying, As long as you’re honest, you’ll never be punished. No matter what you did. Was that all a load of crap?”

  She smiled. “No, honey. I don’t dole out crap. Honesty and trust combined, they’re everything, but forcing someone to tell you anything before they’re ready is controlling. Trust in her and honesty will follow.”

  “But how? How can I trust when I know she’s keeping things from me?”

  “Do you trust me?” his mother asked.

  “Of course.”

  “I kept what we thought had happened to Ellie from you. Do you feel differently about me now that you know that?”

  “Well, no, but…”

  “Dex, until she can trust that you aren’t going to hurt her like everyone else in her life has, she’s not going to trust you.” She narrowed her eyes in a way that said she knew exactly how they ended up back on Marlboro Street that night. “And that includes forcing her to come forward with things she’d long ago buried deep inside herself. Just as you can’t trust her until she’s sharing her deepest thoughts with you. It’s a double-edged sword that needs to be danced around carefully. You’ll figure it out, Dexy.” She looked at the clock on his bedside table. “Goodness, we’d better get some sleep. When you mentioned she was back, I knew you would eventually end up back here. We’ll have breakfast in the morning.”

  Dex settled in beside Ellie and closed his eyes, hoping his heart wouldn’t get slashed too deeply. As he pulled her closer, he knew that even if he ended up hurt again, Ellie was worth the risk.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  ELLIE SAT ON the edge of Dex’s bed, trying to ward off the memories that being back in his room brought careening back. The fear of lying in the bed at her foster home, listening to the grunts and noises of that awful man pleasuring himself, irritated her skin like dozens of spiders crawling over her limbs. She fought against every muscle to remain motionless when her mind screamed, Get out! She’d seen her foster father in every shadow all those years ago—heard his voice in the wind.

  The only thing that had pulled her through and carried her young legs down the dark and eerie roads so long ago had been Dex. Dex had always been there for her, silently supporting her, loving her when no one else would—or could. She rubbed her hand over his pillow. She’d been so mad at him when she’d realized where he was taking her, and it had been a goddamn struggle to make it up that hill and face the nightmare that she’d tried so hard to forget. But Dex hadn’t forced her to do it. She’d felt his steely resolve, and his anger, fall away. He was trying to make them possible. And Ellie wanted them more than she wanted her next breath. She covered her ears and repeated the mantra that had pulled her through many dark moments. I’m okay. Just get through it. He can’t hurt me anymore. He couldn’t hurt her anymore. She chewed on that thought for a while. Yes, he could. Every time she backed away from Dex, every time she wanted to run, she was letting what he’d done hurt her. Well, fuck.

  DEX’S VOICE TRAVELED down the stairs to the lower level, where Ellie was debating how to handle seeing his parents again. When they were younger, Dex had complained about his father’s pushing things on him, demanding good grades, manly actions, and respect. What Dex couldn’t have known was how much Ellie had craved a parent who would care enough to demand those things from her. Of course, not manly actions, but respect, good grades. Hell, she’d have tried her damnedest to meet those expectations as if she’d had a real father instead of a heroin addict she’d never known. She listened to their conversation as she ascended the stairs.

  “I wish you would have told me, that’s all,” Dex said.

  “And what good would that have done?”

  Ellie stopped at the sound of his father’s deep, intimidating voice. She held her breath as he continued.

  “You were already out of your mind when she left, Dexter. I took care of it. I wasn’t going to dump a load of hurt on a boy who was already down.”

  “I get that, but maybe I could have helped her in those months afterward. Maybe it would have helped us somehow four years ago.” Dex paused, and Ellie held her breath. She could guess at what they were talking about. Obviously, his father must have had an idea about what had gone on with her foster father. Of course he did. Adults weren’t blind, like teenagers.

  She heard a chair scrape against the floor, then footsteps across the kitchen floor. “I did what I thought was right. You can question it, but it’s not going to change the outcome. What’s done is done, son. Now you have to deal with what happens next. And that is on your shoulders.”

  “Ellie?”

  Ellie started at the sight of Joanie Remington beside her. “Um…hi.”

  “Sweetie, how lovely to see you again.” She opened her arms and embraced Ellie.

  Shoot me now. “Uh…Good to see you, too. I’m just…um…” Eavesdropping. “Sorry we showed up so late last night.”

  “Oh, don’t be silly. Come. Let’s get some breakfast.”

  Ellie followed her into the kitchen feeling like an intruder. Dex reached his hand out to her, and she breathed a little easier. Sort of. Still stupefied by the discomfort of being a couple in front of his parents, her eyes darted from his mother to his father.

  “Hey, you’re awake,” he said in a groggy, sexy voice, void of the earlier angst from his discussion with his father.

  “Sorry I slept so late.” She stood up straighter as her eyes shifted to his father. He stood with his shoulders square, tall and rigid. His gray hair was shorn close in short military fashion. “Good morning, Mr. Remington.”

  “Good morning, Ellie. Would you like some coffee?” His navy blue eyes softened as he pulled out a chair beside Dex. “Sit, please.”

  She let out a shaky breath as she lowered herself to the chair, feeling as though at any moment the elephant in the room might trample her. She reached for Dex’s hand. Her leg began its let-me-out-of-here bounce beneath the table, and Dex settled their hands on her thigh and inched his chair closer to her.

  Words pressed at her lungs. Get it out in the open. Talk about it. She accepted the warm coffee from his mother. “Thank you.”

  “Dex tells us that you’ve got a job at Maple Elementary. I taught a few art classes there back in the day.” Joanie sat down across from Ellie. “Even back then their teaching methods were very individualized.”

  Thankful for something else to concentrate on, Ellie wrapped her hands around the warm cup to steady them. “I’m really excited abo
ut it. Did Dex tell you our idea to apply for an educational grant and try to develop an educational software program for kids?”

  “Your idea,” Dex corrected as he brushed her hair from her shoulder.

  She felt her cheeks flush at the intimate touch, worried about how his parents might react to their relationship.

  Joanie glanced at the two of them and smiled. “He did. It sounds like a great idea, and who better to help bring it forward than the two of you?”

  His father lowered himself into his chair at the head of the table with a fresh cup of coffee and set his eyes on Dex. Even without looking, she felt the tension radiating from Dex. James shifted his gaze to Ellie, and Dex put his arm protectively across the back of her chair and grazed the tightly strung knot at the base of her neck, which she’d been trying to ignore.

  “Are you here to stay, then?” he asked.

  Ellie couldn’t pull her eyes from his. “Yes. Assuming my job goes well.”

  He nodded. “And you’re living in the city?”

  “Well, for now—”

  “She’s staying with me, Dad,” Dex said.

  His father nodded. “I see.”

  “I was supposed to stay with a girlfriend, but she…It didn’t work out,” Ellie explained, feeling like she was taking advantage of his little boy, which was ridiculous given that Dex was twenty-six, and they were both adults.

  He took a slow sip of coffee, looking at Joanie over the rim of his cup. When he set it back on the table, he locked eyes with Dex. “I think it’s a good idea that Ellie stays with you. The city can be a rough place, and this way we know she’s safe.” His thin lips arced into a smile. His eyes softened as he turned to Ellie. “That is, of course, assuming Ellie wants to stay there.”

  The walls felt like they were closing in on her. Dex wanted her to be honest so badly, and her gut told her to claim him as he’d claimed her at his office, but what if she did and then his father nixed the whole thing? What if he thought she was bad news for his son? What if…? What if…? The hell with it.

  “Mr. Remington, I know I’ve had a messed-up life, but I’m on a good track now.” Damn it. Why were her eyes damp? Dex wrapped his hand around her shoulder and squeezed. Thank you. Thank God you always know what I need.

  “Ellie, honey, you’ve always been on a good track,” his mother said.

  His father’s stare iced over. His jaw clenched just as Dex’s had the evening before.

  Shit. I’ve ruined everything. She gripped the sides of the chair in anticipation of the trampling.

  When his father pinned his gaze on her, she whipped her head to the side and looked at Dex, afraid of what she’d unleashed.

  “What that man did in that house had nothing to do with you.” His father’s eyes narrowed.

  Ellie froze at his fervent tone.

  “He was a pig,” he said. “A beast. And just because you lived in that house and bore the brunt of his sickness does not mean that you were on a bad track.”

  He reached out and took her shaking hand in his as a tear streaked her cheek. She couldn’t wipe it away. She could barely breathe. Never in her life would she have imagined him reaching out in such a tender way, and for a moment, it scared the shit out of her.

  “You have strength like no other, Ellie,” his father continued. “Whatever happened in that house. Whatever he did or said. Remember, you are who you are because of your inner strength. Don’t let that bastard make you feel otherwise.”

  Ellie breathed in hindered gasps for air. Her shoulders rose and fell as she tried to gain control of the tears she fought against.

  “Ellie?”

  Dex? She heard his voice, but couldn’t focus. The hurt—no, the relief—was too great. They saw inside her. He recognized the girl she’d been protecting all these years. Fuck. And now I’m blubbering like an idiot. Her hand hung limply by her side as tears streamed silently down her cheeks. Dex’s arms came around her. Joanie’s comforting voice whispered in her ear.

  “It’s okay, honey. Let it out.”

  His father’s enormous hand grasped hers.

  She melted against Dex’s chest, her eyes locked on his father’s hands. Tears streaked her cheeks as her body trembled, overwhelmed by their support. She sucked in a breath. “I…I’m sorry. I just…” She wiped her eyes, feeling like a fool. She felt her cheeks flush. “I’ve spent my whole life proving who I was.” She patted her chest. “Inside. Trying to separate myself from all the crap I grew up with.”

  “We’ve always known who you were.” His father shook his head. A deep V formed between his thick brows.

  Joanie touched his shoulder and looked at him disapprovingly. “Of course you have, Ellie, and you probably always will. And that’s okay. But now you know. We have never seen you as anything less than the strong, beautiful person that you've always been.”

  How could his mother know just what she needed to hear?

  “I’m sorry. I’m so embarrassed.” She rounded her shoulders and shrugged away from Dex. He pulled her back. Of course he did.

  “Embarrassed?” James said with a shake of his head. “Embarrassed to be with a twenty-six-year-old guy who plays games for a living maybe, but embarrassed by who you are? No. That’s just unacceptable.”

  She smiled at his rare moment of levity. Dex rolled his eyes, but she saw relief in his sweet, compassionate smile.

  “I like that he does something he’s passionate about,” she said to lighten the mood.

  “Then he’s a lucky bastard.” He winked at Dex.

  Dex gazed into her eyes, and there was no mistaking the love that welled there. That had always been there for her.

  “That I am,” he said.

  But Ellie knew the truth. She had been the lucky one all along. She just hadn’t been able to see it through the cloud of awfulness that she’d grown up in.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  DEX AND ELLIE spent the day with his parents. Throughout the afternoon, Dex had stolen glances at his father, trying to reconcile the softer side of him that had come through after he’d so vehemently damned Ellie’s foster father. Dex had seen glimpses of that softer side when he was growing up, but his father’s stern presence had made a stronger impression on him. Dex had been ready to go head-to-head with his father when he’d asked Ellie where she was staying, and when he saw Ellie floundering to answer, he hadn’t hesitated. His heart led and his words followed. He didn’t know what he’d expected from his father, but the kindness he’d exhibited was far from whatever Dex might have conjured up.

  Now it was eight at night and his parents had just dropped him and Ellie off in the city. He’d had a dozen texts from Regina and Mitch about the review copies being sent out tomorrow, and they’d kept him up to date with reviews and prerelease events. With all that had happened, he realized that while the release was vital to his career—and the careers of his employees—Ellie was vital to his happiness. He drank her in now, the darkness of the past a thinner shadow than it had been just twenty-four hours earlier. He felt her heart open to him last night in a way it never had in the past, and he’d taken his mother’s advice seriously. From now on, he’d tread a little more carefully. He had to believe that eventually, together, they’d slay all of her demons. Just as they’d begun to slay his.

  “The last twenty-four hours have felt like a lifetime. Wanna get a drink?” Ellie asked.

  Dex pulled her against him. “I thought you couldn’t be trusted with alcohol.” He slipped his hands beneath the back of her top and felt her silky, warm skin.

  “Mmm. Maybe I don’t want to be trusted. I can take only so much seriousness before I feel like I’m gonna explode.” She pressed her hips into his. “Besides, I start work tomorrow. Then I’ll be getting up early every morning while you’re staying up all night, and we’ll be completely thrown off balance.”

  “I think we’ll figure it out.” Since that morning, she’d moved easier, stepped lighter. He’d felt the shift in himself, too. Clear
ing the air and getting it all out in the open had breathed new life into them. And now, with her breasts pressed against his chest and her sweet, tender lips slightly parted, he desperately wanted to take her upstairs and rip her clothes off. He wanted to see what that lighter feel did to their lovemaking. Just thinking about it made him hard.

  She hooked her finger in his jeans. “Seems like you have other things in mind.” She licked her lips as she met his eyes.

  “Can you blame me? I had to sleep next to you fully clothed last night. What do you think I thought about all night? Besides, you mentioned a drink and that made me think of NightCaps and you dancing like you wanted to have sex on the dance floor.”

  She blushed, and it made him want her even more.

  “Fuck the drink. Come on.” Inside the empty lobby of the Dakota, Dex wrapped his arms around Ellie from behind and kissed the back of her neck as they waited for the elevator to descend to the lobby. She arched her head back, giving him full access. The noise of the street was barely audible. He slid his hands beneath her sweater and cupped her breasts. She moaned, wiggling her ass against him. He was already rock hard. He slid a hand down the front of her pants and over her soft curls. She gasped a breath when his finger slid into her.

  “Dex,” she whispered.

  “Shh.” He sucked on her neck while he stroked her until she was wet and ready. The elevator reached the first floor and he withdrew his hand. She whimpered and turned to him with the hazy look of lust in her eyes.

  The elevator doors opened.

  “Hey, Dex.” Josh Braden and his fiancée, Riley, walked out of the elevators. Josh wore a bright smile, and his dark eyes dropped from Dex to Ellie. “And, Ellie, great to see you.” Josh wore dark dress pants and a white button-down shirt, and with Riley wearing a short black dress and sky-high heels, they looked like they were ready for a romantic night.