by Haley Travis
I realized that most of the eyes in the room were now locked on us, since we were elevated, and hoped that Jenna didn’t have stage fright.
“I suppose this would be extra publicity,” she said slowly.
“Stop working,” I said, taking her hands in mine. “Dammit, Jenna, I’m in love with you. I know it’s too fast, but let’s run with it. Just admit that you feel the same way, and kiss me already.”
Her chin quivered as she looked up at me, blinking hard. Then she reached up, winding her hands around my shoulders as she brought her lips to mine.
Even over the music, the applause was deafening. Through my closed eyelids, I could still sense the flashes of the photographers.
“I do love you, Jenna,” I said against her sweet, soft lips. “I don’t want to scare you, but I don’t want to play games unless they’re on a computer. Please, tell me that you’re going to be my girl.”
She nodded, moaning into my mouth as I held her tightly against me. “I can’t believe this is real.”
“You’re right. We might be in a computer simulation,” I chuckled, stopping my hands from grabbing those sexy hips. “Now wave to your adoring fans, and let’s go get some gamers to be our spokespeople.”
Her grin was pure bliss. Grabbing my hand, she held it up in the air as if I’d just won a prizefight. Another round of flashes blinded us, then I pulled her back into the VIP room.
“Stop working,” I laughed.
“Don’t try to change me,” she quipped, sticking her tongue out at me. Then she stood on her tiptoes to whisper in my ear, “I love you, too.”
I found a spot on the enormous sofa next to SnakeRunzz, pulling Jenna onto my lap. “Seriously, you two are cute as hell,” he grinned over at us.
“Partner goals,” FlashFleaze muttered, staring intently at something on the screen. “Okay, Andrew, seriously, this thing is wicked. How do I get my hands on this?”
Five of the gamers around us leaned in, listening carefully.
Jenna reached into her purse and unlocked her phone, calling up a note. “You give me your email, and you’ll be contacted in a few days with the details of an endorsement deal.”
SnakeRunzz laughed, taking the phone, his thumbs flying across the screen. “I get this for free if I tell people it’s the shizz? No problem.”
FlashFleaze nodded, then turned to SnakeRunzz. “You know, if we both sign on, it sends a good message that we’re into the tech and the games, not the old bullshit rivalries.”
SnakeRunzz handed him the phone. “Good idea.”
They fist-bumped, as Jenna’s phone was passed around the five elite gamers before returning safely to her purse.
Leaning back on the couch while they discussed the intricacies of the firepower on one level, Jenna snuggled into my shoulder. “Now that your work is done, do you want to leave?” I asked.
“Don’t be silly, you can’t leave your laptop,” she said. “Let them play for another hour.”
Somehow, amidst the loud music, the shrieks of laughter, and the crowd of strangers, Jenna and I had a quiet moment, just being together. More than anything else, that made everything feel real to me. A time of stillness, being comfortable with our arms around each other.
After holding her for at least ten minutes, I tilted my lips to her ear. “I’m taking you out to dinner tomorrow night.”
Her giggle shook her breasts right under me, but I tried not to stare for more than a split second. “If that’s your way of asking me out, try again.”
Kissing the tip of her nose, I said, “Jenna, my sweet, darling new girlfriend, may I take you out to dinner tomorrow night to celebrate how wonderful you are?”
“That’s better. Yes, thank you. That would be lovely.”
Her head rested on my shoulder. “I should be texting Corina and Brynn to tell them that everything worked out, but I don’t want to move.”
“I should text Terry and let him know that everything is amazing.”
“Five more minutes,” she murmured, her soft body melting against mine as we stared into each other’s eyes.
“Yes, dear.”
EPILOGUE ONE
_____
Jenna
* Seven Months Later *
“Come on, baby, I promise you’ll like it,” Andrew grinned as he dragged me downstairs to the gaming setup.
Since I’d moved into his house last month, I didn’t come down here often, figuring that he should have a man cave. I didn’t want to take up his entire space, and he seemed to enjoy having a place that was still just his own. Sometimes he played games for fun, but often it was research, and I didn’t want to get in his way.
Now that Andrew was on the A-list of the tech and gamer crowd, he had to be seen at high-end events at least once a month. He always came down here to unwind after being social. I couldn’t always go with him, since I now had a dozen new clients to juggle.
“You don’t expect me to murder a bunch of people, do you?” I asked, plunking myself in the center of the huge sofa.
“No. I promise.”
As he handed me the controller, I could tell by his jittery hands that he’d had a bit too much coffee today. Making a mental note to serve him a glass of wine at dinner to chill him out, I checked out the buttons as he called up a game called “Jenna’s Garden.”
“What’s this?” I laughed.
“It’s just an experiment,” he said, sitting close beside me. “As you’ll see, the graphics aren’t very smooth. Give it a try and see how much you pick up naturally.”
“Okay.”
It was rather lovely that he wanted me to help test some of his work, so I wanted to do a good job. I tried to focus on the game, but Andrew was sitting close beside me, seeming so jumpy that it was a bit distracting.
Although the animation was simple, it was a sweet adventure game. My character was some sort of pink elf, and I walked her through the elaborate garden earning points for pulling weeds and watering flowers.
After a few minutes, I was zoned right into it, learning how to compost the leaves and weeds for a boost that allowed me to go a bit faster. Meandering past the flowerbeds, I found a sparkling silver watering can.
A dialogue box in an ornate gold frame popped up. “Water everything? Yes / No?”
I selected, “Yes.” My character lifted the can, causing it to rain heavily for a moment. It played a little song while it watered the entire garden at once.
Glancing at Andrew, he was absolutely beaming as if I’d discovered some sort of secret.
Walking the pink elf back into the center of the garden, all of the flowers were now much bigger and brighter, with more complex textures. It looked more like a photo now than a video game.
“Wow, this is really pretty,” I said, then a spot of flickering light caught my eye on the left. Walking around the large flowers that were now becoming overgrown, a single red rose grew in a fancy sparkling silver pot.
As I moved closer toward it, the rose grew, its petals opening and turning toward me to reveal something inside. Zooming in, it was a very realistically rendered diamond ring.
Another gold dialogue box popped up. “Will you marry me? Yes / Yes?”
I turned to Andrew, who was on his knees in front of me, holding out a beautiful round diamond solitaire, identical to the one on screen.
My hands flew to cover my mouth, dropping the controller as I gasped.
“I love you so much, Jenna,” Andrew said softly, his deep voice slightly raspier than usual. “I love every single thing about you, but I especially love that you’re good for me. You make me a bit less of an asshole. You bring me balance. We belong to each other. Will you please marry me and make it permanent?”
Nodding, my lungs finally pulled in enough air to squeak, “Yes!”
He slipped the ring on my trembling finger, then lunged for me, flipping so that he laid across the couch with me on top of him in his arms.
Kissing him rough and deep, I finally pulled
my lips away to laugh, “You rigged the game. I only had one choice.”
“Do you think I’d actually give you the option to say no?” he chuckled darkly.
“You’re far too paranoid to give me options,” I laughed. Slowly kissing down his nose, I murmured, “You’re right. We do belong together.”
“You already plan events and have all those connections,” he said. “Let’s get married within a year, okay?”
“What’s the rush?” I asked. Looking into his deep eyes, I was shocked that he almost seemed…bashful?
“Is it weird that I want us to be married before we start trying to have kids?” he asked gently.
“Oh my God,” I laughed, “You’re old-fashioned. I knew there was something disturbing about you.”
Andrew rolled so that he was on top of me, caging me in as he kissed along the edge of my jaw. “That’s confidential, little PR girl,” he growled.
I loved that I was so comfortable with him now that I could just tap his arm, and he would move it out a little, giving me a few more inches of space under him.
“Well, I suppose since you’re still technically my client, I need to keep your dirty laundry buried.”
“Absolutely.” He shifted, spreading my legs with his knee. “Right now, I need to bury something inside my gorgeous fiancee.”
Although we had never had sex in his games room before, he pulled a condom from a drawer in the side table. How prepared of him. Sweet.
“I’ve been keeping a terrible secret from you,” I said softly. “But now that I’m officially your fiancée, I should confess.”
Andrew pulled my t-shirt over my head, then yanked off my bra, burying his mouth in my breasts before mumbling, “What is it?”
“I went on the pill last month. It should be working fine by now.”
“I love that you’re so smart,” he groaned, pulling off my skirt and underwear at the same time, while lightly grazing his teeth across my nipple.
I loved the way he took control of me, while always watching for my approval. “Get naked,” I laughed, trying to unbutton his shirt, but he was moving too fast.
“Yes, dear.” He stood up and tore his clothing off, spreading over me on the soft couch. His lips crashed down onto mine, overtaking me completely as he devoured my mouth.
The slight woodsy scent of his shampoo mixed with the warm scent of hot man made me whimper with desire.
Andrew’s tongue touched mine, exploring my mouth gently as he shifted his weight, grinding his erection against my stomach. I loved it when so much of our skin was touching, making me feel grounded, and unbelievably close to him.
Without breaking our kiss, he reached down to slip his fingers between my thighs, tickling and caressing. As his thick finger slipped between my lips, I gasped.
“I love that you’re always so wet for me,” he murmured.
I couldn’t express how badly I needed him, every single time. My hands tugged restlessly at his hair as my hips began to shimmy, trying to pull him into position.
“Is this what you want, gorgeous?” he asked, running his shaft between my folds, caressing me so gently it almost made me feel ticklish.
“Please don’t tease me,” I whispered, wiggling my hips as I tried to push against him.
Andrew plunged his finger inside me, making me squeal with delight, before replacing it with the tip of his cock. He felt almost painfully hard, and thicker than usual as he slowly slid in.
Placing my legs around his hips, I opened myself to him completely. He began to move in and out almost lazily, taking his time. His gentle touch always took my breath away.
He filled me so completely. Not just my body, but my entire life, and we kept getting closer every day.
Looking up, Andrew’s eyes were glazed as he stared at me. “Damn, baby, you feel so soft and wet without the condom. I’m never wearing those things again, and I don’t care how many kids we have.”
The feeling of his bare flesh moving inside me was making me lose control. His steady pace wavered, his thrusts becoming deeper and erratic.
“Yes,” I breathed. “Harder, please.”
“I love it when you beg for me,” he growled, his animal instinct taking over as he ground into me faster.
Suddenly he grabbed me, sitting up so that I straddled him. We’d tried this position before, but now I was bold enough to lean forward, grinding my clit against him precisely where I needed it, while I gripped his shoulders tightly.
“My sexy girl,” he murmured. “That’s it, let me feel you.”
My body took over, my thighs clenching as I slammed down onto him, chasing that edge that was so very close. His strong fingers gripped my hips, thrusting up into me frantically as his eyes blazed with lust.
“You’re so perfect, Jenna,” he groaned, gripping my hips roughly as he rocked against me. “My sexy fiancée.”
His adorable grin showed that he was thinking the same thing I was. We were bound together now. Nearly permanent. We were really going to be together forever. That thought sent me into an explosion of heat, screaming as I shook from the powerful force of my climax.
“Yes, baby,” he grunted, gripping me hard as he pounded deep, his cock growing even thicker as he exploded inside me.
The sensation of feeling so wet, saturated, made me come again, panting against his shoulder as I trembled. Every inch of my body felt like it had been rattled to the core. His hands ran up and down my back as he held me against his hard chest.
“Wow,” I murmured, trying to catch my breath.
“Yeah,” Andrew said, tipping my head back just enough so that he could see into my eyes. “I love you so much, Jenna. I just know you’re going to be an amazing wife and mother.”
Kissing along the scruff of his jaw, I giggled. “And you’re going to be an incredible husband and father.” Pushing back another few inches, I raised an eyebrow. “As long as I have a say in what video games you subject them to before the age of ten.”
“Yes, dear.”
Burying my face in his shoulder, I laughed while he held me. “I know you’re teasing when you say that, but to be honest, I absolutely love it.”
“Good. I’m going to spend a lot of time memorizing every single thing that makes you smile like this,” he said.
“Great. I’ll leave all of the research to you this time,” I laughed.
He laid me down in front of him so that we were spooning, picking up my left hand so we could admire the ring on my finger together.
“Thank you,” I said softly. “You have excellent taste.”
My back shook from his rumbling chuckle. “I asked Brynn and Corina for their approval, but Terry ended up picking it.”
I laughed. “I’ll thank him tomorrow.”
Andrew rolled me slightly so that I could look up at him. “It means a lot to me that you accept my brother as well as me.”
I nodded, stretching up to kiss him. “It means a lot to me that you accept me just the way I am.”
“Gorgeous, smart, sexy, sweet, and going to make us your amazing meatloaf for dinner?” I started to laugh, but he broke into a robotic computer voice. “You have two choices. Yes or Yes. Select your option now.”
“Yes.”
I was rewarded with a kiss so dreamy, so seductive, that I didn’t think I’d ever be hungry for anything else, ever.
EPILOGUE TWO
_____
Andrew
* Seven Years Later *
I honestly never thought this day would come, but time and love can create fascinating changes in a person’s life.
Standing in my slightly stiff black suit at the front of the church, I stared down the aisle to where Jenna was slowly walking toward me in time to the soft music.
She looked positively breathtaking in a light peach dress, with flowers in her hair on one side. She took her position, then looked to the back doorway to give Marnie and Jason an encouraging wave.
My heart swelled to bursting as our tw
o tiny children walked down the aisle, sprinkling rose petals messily from a basket, making the entire congregation laugh.
“I told you they’d be perfect,” Terry said, turning to grin at me, looking uncharacteristically dashing in black suit that matched my own. He was also wearing our grandfather’s gold cufflinks, monogrammed “AH” for Adam Harper. He’d said they were too flashy, but I convinced him it was tradition.
“You were right,” I said, clapping him on the back of the shoulder. “How are you feeling?”
