Playing with Fire

by J. S. Cooper

  “Oh?” I asked him lightly, wondering what those reasons were.

  “Yes.” He jumped out of the bed and lifted up the chain from the floor and wrapped it around his arms again. “We have different ideas of fun.”

  “Oh?” My heart stopped for a second as I stared at his naked body in front of me. All he had covering his body was the thick steel chain. His cock was hard and standing at attention. I could feel my body trembling as I gazed at it. It looked thick and hard, and all I could think about was how it had filled me up the night before.

  “I like to go out and meet girls, show them a good time.” He shrugged as he looked at me. “He doesn’t always approve.”

  “I guess that’s not his business, is it?” I murmured, thinking of the warnings Tyler had given me. “You’re an adult and can do what you want.”

  “Exactly.” He smiled and dropped the chain on the bed, near my feet. “I’m glad you agree. Some people look at me and think...” He paused as he got onto the bed next to me. “It doesn’t matter what they think.” He smiled and kissed me lightly.

  “Who’s Eugenie?” I asked him softly, not able to stop myself from asking the question I’d been thinking about all night.

  “What?” He froze, his eyes growing cold as he looked at me.

  “I saw the photo yesterday in the living room. Tyler says her name’s Eugenie. She’s very beautiful.”

  “He shouldn’t have said anything to you.” Grant’s fists clenched as he gazed down at me with unseeing eyes.

  “Sorry, I didn’t know.”

  “Thinking about her makes me feel like I’m dead.”

  “I’m sorry.” I bit my lower lip as my brain screamed at me for bringing her up.

  “You will never know what I have lost. I cannot breathe without her. I cannot think without her. I cannot be without her.”

  “But you’re still here.” I murmured lightly. “You’re still alive.”

  “I go through the motions.” He shrugged. “I do not know if that is life.”

  “You’re still alive though.”

  “I am.” He nodded, his eyes sad. “Yes, I am.”

  “Did you love her very much?” I asked softly, really wanting to know what had happened.

  “Yes.” He said simply.

  “What happened?”

  “She left me.” His expression changed. “Enough of this. I don’t want to ruin our time talking about my past.”

  “I understand.” I smiled weakly. “Though I think I want to leave now. Will you call Tyler and ask him to give me a ride?” I tried to keep my voice calm. “I have some errands to run.”

  “I can’t do that.” He shook his head.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’m afraid I can’t let you leave.” He stepped back from me and shook his head again.

  “What?” My jaw dropped as I looked at him uncertainly. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean you will not be walking out of the front door today.”

  “You can’t just stop me.” I sat up and tried to see if he was joking.

  He gave me a short smile. “I can and I will. You need my help.”

  “What?” I frowned. “I don’t need your help. What the fuck are you talking about?” I could feel the blood draining from my face. “I want to leave now.”

  “Denial is not a good thing, Evie, if your real name is Evie.”

  “What?” My jaw dropped as I stared at him, my heart beating fast. “What are you talking about?”

  “Your body was so open to me last night. Did you enjoy making love?” Grant’s smile was as handsome as ever, but now I saw behind the facade. The look in his eyes was hollow as he gazed at my body, and I wondered what was going on.

  “We had a fun night, yes.” I nodded and pulled the sheets up around me. Asking him about Eugenie had been a mistake. Coming here had been a mistake. Now I was beginning to understand why I’d never had a one-night stand before. I closed my eyes for a few seconds to try and gather my thoughts. Then it hit me. I’d call a cab. I didn’t care how much it cost. I just needed to get out of here. I grabbed the sheet and pulled it around my body as I jumped out of the bed.

  “What are you doing?” He frowned as I walked over to my bag and took my phone out.

  “I’m going to call a cab. If Tyler is busy today, I don’t want to disturb him.” I offered him a weak smile and opened my phone quickly.

  “No, Evie. You’re not calling a cab.” He shook his head. “I just told you, you’re not leaving.”

  “You want me to stay another night? I didn’t realize I was that good.” I joked, hoping this wasn’t turning into a nightmare situation. This was just my luck. The one time I decided to be a bad girl, I got caught up in some crazy situation.

  “We’ll talk later.” He shook his head. “Go and shower and get dressed.” He walked to his closet. “Here’s a pair of shorts and a top you can wear. They should fit you. No need to put on any underwear. I don’t think the clothes will be on very long.”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” I shook my head as he handed me the clothes. “I’m sure you have plans today, and so do I.”

  “Don’t you want to stay, Evie? Don’t you want to make the five grand?”

  “You know what, it’s fine.” I mumbled. “I’d feel bad taking the money now,” I lied. I still wanted the five grand, but I wasn’t about to say that now. Not when he was starting to act like a psycho. I knew it was smarter for me to just leave and forget the money. I’d chalk it up to a lesson learned and kill Hailey when I got in. I was never going to do her any favors again.

  “Don’t lie to me, Evie.” He shook his head. “I know you want the money.” He laughed.

  “Last night was about more than money.” I watched as he took his hardness into his hands and started rubbing his cock.

  “Take your sheet off.” His eyes glazed over as he stared at me. “You’re just so sexy.”

  “What are you doing?” I could feel my body starting to warm like it was starting to anticipate sex. I was annoyed at myself for feeling turned on by this man when my brain was still trying to figure out if he was crazy.

  “Something I’d rather you be doing.” He walked towards me. “With your mouth.” He grinned as he stopped in front of me. “Will you pleasure me with your mouth, Evie?”

  “I don’t—” I had started, when we heard a knock on the door.

  “Yes?” Grant sounded annoyed as Tyler walked into the room. “Can we help you?”

  “I wasn’t sure if you got my text, Sir. You have a very important call in the study.” Tyler’s voice was monotone, and he stood there for a few seconds staring at me before looking at Grant again. “Shall I tell them you’re too busy?”

  “No.” Grant shook his head. “It’s fine.” His hand dropped from his cock and he walked over to his closet, pulled out a robe, and walked out of the room without saying anything to me. I stood there awkwardly staring at Tyler, who didn’t appear to be shocked at all that his boss had been standing in front of him naked.

  “Are you okay?” He looked at me with clouded eyes, and I wasn’t sure if he felt sorry for me or he thought I was an idiot.

  “Do you think you can give me a ride home?” I asked him hopefully. “I’ll be ready in a minute. Just need to put my clothes on.”

  “No.” He shook his head. “I only take my orders from Grant.”

  “Please,” I pleaded with him. “I just want to go home now.”

  “Long night?” He tilted his head and looked at the rumpled sheets.

  “That’s none of your business.” My body flushed as I gazed at him, lecturing myself internally. You are not attracted to this man.

  “No, it’s not.” He nodded his head in agreement.

  “I asked him about Eugenie.” I bit my lower lip, and Tyler’s face looked worried. “He was upset. I guess she broke his heart.”

  “Yes, she did.” He looked at me with narrowed eyes.

  “I guess they were
truly in love.” I continued. “Maybe they’ll get back together one day?”

  “Highly unlikely.” He shook his head and walked back towards the door to leave.

  “Why?” I asked quickly, not wanting him to go.

  “Eugenie’s dead.” He looked at me directly in the eyes and sighed. “So unless there’s a way to come back from the grave, I don’t think he’ll ever be seeing her again.”

  “What happened to her?” I gasped and ran to him, my heart beating fast. Why oh why did I take that job last night?

  “Like I said last night, you don’t want to know.”

  “Please.” I grabbed his shirt, and he froze before pushing me back into the wall. He grabbed my hands and pushed them back and pushed his body against mine so I couldn’t move.

  “You have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into, Evie Johnson. You have no idea at all.” He whispered the words against my lips, and his blue eyes flashed at me as he stared down at my scared face. “There’s no one here to save you.”

  “What about you?” I whispered, my breathing heavy as I licked my lips nervously.

  “I might be even worse than the monster you’re already with.” His tongue lightly licked my lips as he spoke in a deep tone, pressing himself into me harder. “You should have listened to me last night. This might be one game with two wolves. The question is, are you ready to play with both of us?”

  7

  “Touch me, tease me, and never leave me.

  Kiss me, lick me, I won’t think you’re easy.

  Fuck me, blow me, and close your eyes.

  I’m going to take you on the ride of your life.”

  “Don’t touch me.” I pushed Tyler away from me as hard as I could. He stepped back and stared down at me with a twinkle in his eyes.

  “Such a strong push for a girl so...” His voice trailed off, and I stared into his eyes, searching for some sort of glimmer. All I wanted from him was the truth about Grant.

  “Why won’t Grant let me leave?”

  “Why do you want to leave?” He stared at me disdainfully. “Didn’t you enjoy his lovemaking?”

  “You’re so rude.” I shook my head, my face afire with embarrassment. Was he calling me out for sleeping with Grant? Was he insinuating I was a slut? “It’s none of your business.”

  “I didn’t say it was.” He shrugged. “I should leave.”

  “Where are you going?” My voice dropped. I didn’t want him to leave me by myself. Even if I wasn’t sure I could trust him either.

  “Out.”

  “Out? Now?” I grabbed ahold of him. “Take me with you.”

  “You want to run away from Grant?” He paused and leaned in towards me, his tongue trailing down my cheek for a few seconds. “Or do you just want to be with me?”

  “What are you talking about?” I gasped and stepped back, my cheek hot with fire from his touch. “I just want to go home.”

  “Do you know the story of Little Red Riding Hood?” he asked softly, his eyes intense on me. I could feel the heat of his body close to mine and I swallowed hard, feeling confused and slightly turned on. What was going on here?

  “Doesn’t everyone?” I rolled my eyes and shivered involuntarily.

  “What was the lesson you learned from Little Red Riding Hood?” His eyes never left my face and my body started to tremble at the intenseness of his gaze.

  “I don’t know. ‘Don’t trust people pretending to be your grandma with hairy faces’?” I tried to crack a joke to lighten the mood, but he didn’t crack a smile.

  “No, the lesson to be learned is that Little Red Riding Hood should have been smarter before she even reached the house. She should have realized that anything could be waiting for her inside.”

  “But she got the better of the wolf in the end.” I licked my lips. “Also, it was her fault. She couldn’t have known the wolf was a psycho.”

  “What wolf is not?” He stared at me for a few seconds, and I could see him studying my face carefully. “Why did you come back here with him?”

  “You don’t want to know.” I bit my lower lip, feeling ashamed. All of a sudden I just wanted to run away. This was why I didn’t like to leave the house and get myself into unknown situations. Shit like this always ended up happening to me. Granted, nothing this crazy had ever happened to me before, but damn.

  “I do want to know.” He stared at the rumpled sheets and then back at me. “I very much want to know.”

  “What’s going on?” Grant opened the door then and walked into the room, looking at Tyler and me with narrowed eyes.

  “We were just talking.” Tyler said smoothly. “Do you have a problem with that?” There was a tenseness in his voice that surprised me. It was almost like he was calling Grant out or challenging him.

  “Why would I have a problem with that?” Grant looked annoyed and stared at Tyler, who was staring back at him defiantly. I stared at the two men in front of me and swallowed hard. There was Grant looking so handsome and virile. His dark hair shadowed his face, and his eyes were intense and possessive as he gazed at me. Then I looked at Tyler, so strong and buff, his blue eyes light as they gazed at me with questions. I shivered as I stared at his arms, so strong and muscular. Tyler licked his lips slowly and grinned a devilish, captivating, and spine-chilling grin.

  “So Evie.” He said softly as he took a step towards me. “What do you say?”

  “Say to what?” My heart beat faster as he looked me over from head to toe. What was he asking me? What was going on here? Was this some sick sort of game?

  “What do you say to the two big bad wolves that are both ready to eat you up?” he whispered into my ear.

  “What?” My jaw dropped as I stared at him. Was he saying what I thought he was saying?

  “Are you ready to be breakfast?” His husky tone dropped and I felt his hand on my lower back. “Or would you rather be lunch?”

  “What?” I repeated, my stomach churning. Was he propositioning me for a threesome?

  “Nothing.” He laughed and looked back at Grant. “The call go okay?”

  “Yes.” Grant nodded and his eyes narrowed. “Anything else?”

  “No, that was it.” Tyler smiled and walked out of the room without looking back. I wanted to call out to him to come back to me, but I didn’t. I didn’t want to make Grant suspicious. And I also wasn’t sure why I felt safer with Tyler either.

  I stood there staring at the door, wondering about our exchange. Grant and I stood there in silence, and when I finally looked at him, he frowned.

  “What was that about?” His lips thinned as he surveyed my body. “You seem to be awfully close with Tyler.”

  “We were just talking.”

  “Talking about what?” He took a step towards me.

  “Fairy tales.” I said softly, and laughed almost hysterically at my words. Fairy tales? I wanted to slap myself to see if this was real. Was this just a bad daydream I’d found myself in?

  “Fairy tales.” He looked smug. “Am I your Prince Charming then?” He cocked his head. “Or your knight in shining armor?”

  “Neither.” I bit my lower lip. “You haven’t rescued me. You won’t even let me go.”

  “What do you call the five grand I gave you?”

  “You haven’t given me anything, and I don’t want it.” I shook my head. “I just want to go home.”

  “Oh, Evie. Why do you want to leave so soon?” He walked forward and ran his fingers down my shoulder. “Didn’t you have a good time last night?”

  “Last night was fun, but that’s not who I am. I don’t sleep with strange men.”

  “You slept with me.” He leaned forward and sucked on my lower lip. “And I think you enjoyed it. Very much.”

  “I...” I paused, unable to lie as my body responded to his touch.

  “Do you want to go back to bed?” His tongue licked my lower lip.

  “Why?”

  “I’m hungry.”

  “What?” I froze. “
Hungry?” What was with that word? I looked towards the door slowly. Was this a test? Was Tyler about to come back into the room? Were they about to ask me if I wanted a threesome? My face burned as I realized that while I was horrified at the idea, I wasn’t totally against it. A part of me tingled at the anticipation. What would it be like to be with two men? And what did that mean about me? All my life I’d been the good girl. The one boyfriend at a time girl. The no casual sex girl. The only hooking up after three dates girl. Now here I was, and it all meant nothing. I’d had my first one night stand, and it had been amazing. The only part that felt bad was my guilt, but I knew it was all on me. It was my inner Catholic school girl shouting at me, telling me I’d done a bad, bad thing. I didn’t want to think I’d done a bad thing, but I knew I was in some sort of purgatory in my thoughts.

  “For your body.” Grant said slowly and then looked at the door. “Are you waiting for something?”

  “No, no, of course not. Why would you think that?”

  “I don’t know.” He shrugged. “You just seem preoccupied.”

  “I just, I don’t know. You’re acting crazy, and I’m wondering if I’m going to be stuck here forever like Sleeping Beauty or Rapunzel.”

  “Rapunzel?”

  “You know. The girl who was locked in the tower and had to climb down her hair?” My voice trailed off. What was I talking about? I was talking nonsense. Even I knew that.

  “No I don’t know her.” He grinned. “I don’t have a tower here, but I’ll see what I can do.” He winked at me and pulled me towards him. “I can climb down your...”

  Knock Knock.

  “Yes?” Grant’s voice was annoyed as we both turned towards the door.

  “I need to talk to you.” Tyler’s voice was stiff, and he didn’t look at me as he stepped into the room again.

  I tried to avoid looking at him. I wasn’t sure why my heart was beating so fast again. There was something about Tyler I couldn’t resist, and I didn’t know why. It confused me inside. And I was confused and worried enough as it was. I desperately wanted to get out of this house, but for some reason Grant didn’t want to let me go. The panic in my head was screaming at me for being so calm. The adrenaline in my veins was telling me to make a run for it. Every fiber of my being was trying to convince me there was something majorly off in this situation, but I just couldn’t seem to step away. A part of me, a part of me I didn’t know existed, was captivated by the two men I was with. I was caught up in some sort of spell. A part of me liked the hint of danger I felt. It was a part of me I wanted to shake out of me, but I couldn’t.