Playing with Fire

by J. S. Cooper

  “What do you want me to say, Evie?” His voice was angry. “I’m just following orders. You should have thought about what you were doing when you got in the car with Grant last night. You should have thought twice before you went to a bachelors’ party to strip naked for men. You should have thought twice before you decided to sleep with a strange man. Maybe you should have been asking questions before you made those decisions.”

  “I know I was stupid.” I sighed. “But I was attracted to him, and he was nice, and it was just going to be one dance.”

  “Really?” He laughed, an angry sarcastic sound. “You thought you were coming back for one dance?”

  “He seemed nice.” I bit my lip and turned the water on hotter. “Yes, I was attracted to him. Yes, a part of me thought it would be fun to hook up. I don’t know what I was thinking. I guess I wasn’t thinking. I mean no one expects their first one night stand to be with a psycho.”

  “Grant’s not a psycho.”

  “Oh, okay, sure. He just won’t let me leave his house. He’s not a psycho at all,” I exclaimed angrily, and he laughed. “It’s not funny.”

  “I’m not laughing.” He said softly and turned around slowly. “I’m not laughing,” he said again as his eyes looked at me seriously, and I gasped and placed my right hand and arm across my breasts and my left hand in front of my pussy.

  “What are you doing?” I glared at him. “You said you wouldn’t look.”

  “No I didn’t.” He raised his eyebrows, and I saw a glint in his eyes as he stared at me. “You asked me to turn around, and I did. I didn’t say how long I’d turn around for.”

  “If you were a gentleman, you’d turn back around.”

  “If I was a gentleman?” He burst out laughing, and his eyes crinkled as tears fell down his cheeks. “Oh Evie, what makes you think I’m a gentleman?”

  “You’re not.” I shook my head, and then I felt shampoo running into my eyes “Shit,” I mumbled. I didn’t know which hand to use to brush the shampoo out of my eyes. Either hand being moved would reveal something I didn’t want him to see.

  “Oh Evie,” he sighed, and I gasped as he stepped into the shower with me and rubbed the shampoo out of my eyes. “Put your head back,” he said bossily, and I felt his fingers rubbing my head and rinsing the shampoo out.

  “Your clothes are getting wet,” I muttered as I blinked at him, standing so close to my naked body.

  “I don’t care,” he muttered, staring at me with a grim smile, his blue eyes dark as he continued to rub my scalp.

  “You didn’t need to do that.” I shook my head and bit my lower lip. He was so close to me. If he moved one inch closer, my naked body would be against his.

  “I didn’t want you to have to move your hands and expose yourself,” he said with a laugh in his hands.

  “Oh,” I gasped as his hands fell to my shoulders. “If you had turned back around, it wouldn’t have been a concern.”

  “But what fun would that have been?”

  “Why are you flirting with me?” I gasped as his hands rubbed my back, his fingertips massaging my muscles.

  “Because there’s something about you I like.”

  “I slept with your boss last night,” I spat out, as much for him as myself. I needed to ignore the heat rising up through my stomach. I needed to ignore the sexual tension I felt for him.

  “You made a mistake. It happens.” His hands ran down to my lower back and stopped just above my ass. “You didn’t know then what you know now.”

  “Tyler.” I moved my right hand to push him back.

  “Yes?” He grinned, and it was then I realized my mistake. He took another step forward, and I felt my breasts push up against his chest. He looked at me with glittering eyes, his eyelashes filled with water drops. His arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me towards him. I felt his erection pushing up against me through his pants, and I held my breath as his fingers made their way up my body.

  “Your clothes are getting wet,” I whispered against his lips.

  “As wet as you are right now?” He grinned, and my body crumpled against his. I had no resistance towards this man. His fingers made their way to my stomach, and we both stood still, waiting to see what was going to happen next. I stood there with my body on fire, and I had no idea what I was going to do next. He kissed my neck then, and I reached out and grabbed his shoulders so I didn’t fall. I felt his teeth biting into my skin, and my legs trembled at his touch. And then he stepped back and out of the shower. I gazed at him in surprise and disappointment.

  “I’m not going to hurt you, Evie.” His eyes pierced mine as his fingers ran over the top of his head. “You can trust me.”

  “I can’t do anything with you.” I shook my head and closed my eyes, trying to ignore my body’s cries. “I don’t know why I’m even here, and you’re not exactly my savior.” I tried to remind myself of the situation I was in. “I can’t—”

  “It’s okay.” His voice was soft. “I know you’re confused. It’s okay.”

  “I’m not confused.” I opened my eyes. “I just want to leave.”

  “You can’t leave until the boss says you can.”

  “What’s he going to do to me?”

  “I won’t let him do anything to you, Evie.” His voice was rough. “In every wolf pack, there is an alpha. And in this case I’m the King.”

  I stood there staring at him and rubbing the soap softly off my body, imagining it was his fingers touching me. I shivered as he stood there staring at me with a closed off expression. What was Tyler talking about? What was he going to do? And if he was going to help me, would he expect something from me? And if he did, would it be something I’d be willing to give?

  9

  “Don’t leave me in here.” I said softly as Tyler walked to the door of the room he’d brought me to. “Please.”

  “You’ll be safe.” He stood by the door and frowned. “He won’t come in and do anything. I’ll make sure of that.”

  “How long am I going to be in here?” I looked around the small bedroom and sighed. “And have I been kidnapped?”

  “You came here of your own volition, did you not?”

  “Yeah, but I—”

  “So I’m pretty sure you weren’t kidnapped.” He opened the door. “Just relax.”

  “How am I supposed to relax?” I ran over to him. “Let me leave.”

  “No.” He shook his head. “Not yet.”

  “When?”

  “When it’s the right time.”

  “I know you know. What happened to Eugenie?” I asked him again, hoping to break through to him. I knew this was his job, but if his boss was a psycho, he had to know what he was capable of. I refused to believe he would just leave me there.

  “I don’t even know who Eugenie really was.” He shrugged. “Stay in the room and be quiet. I’ll see what I can do.”

  “Why won’t Grant let me leave?”

  “I can’t tell you that.” He shook his head. “Please stay in here and be quiet. If you make a lot of noise, I’ll have to handcuff you.”

  “What?” My voice rose, and he pursed his lips.

  “Evie.”

  “This is crazy!” I shouted. “I feel like I’m in The Twilight Zone. What’s going on here?” I tried to grab his arm, but he walked away from me and out the door. He pulled it closed behind him, and I heard a key turning. I tried to turn the handle, but the door wouldn’t open. Why me? I banged on the door for a few seconds and then stepped back. I didn’t want Tyler to come back and handcuff me. Then I’d really start to panic. How had I not seen that Grant was a psycho? I was so confused by everything. I just didn’t understand what was going on.

  Why oh why had I let Hailey talk me into this? Why had I thought it would be a good idea to spend the night with Grant? What dance did I think was worth five grand? Especially a dance from someone like me. I went and sat on the bed and tried to think. What was I going to do now? I tried not to feel sorry for myse
lf. I knew that wasn’t going to get me out of this predicament.

  Then I thought about what I would tell someone else to do in this situation. I wasn’t an investigative reporter for nothing. I needed to find out why Grant wouldn’t let me leave and what had happened to Eugenie. I decided to look around the room to see if I could find any clues. It was the only thing I could think to do which wouldn’t make me feel like I was about to lose it. I knew I needed to keep my mind occupied. I looked around the room and saw a large closet and decided to explore in there first.

  As soon as I opened the closet, I froze. It was filled with women’s clothes. Were these Eugenie’s clothes? I bit my lower lip as I went through the pockets of all of the trousers. I didn’t feel like I was snooping in the closet. I mean I was just looking through the clothes. It’s not every day you get locked in a room with nothing to do. It’s not every day you think you’ve been kidnapped, even if you did go to the house voluntarily.

  I was searching through a pocket when I saw a stack of letters on the top shelf. My heart froze, and I pulled them off the shelf quickly. They were all stacked carefully, with a small silver paperclip keeping them together. I held them to me and looked towards the door to make sure no one was about to come into the room. I walked back to the bed and looked at the pile of handwritten letters anxiously. I stared at the first letter and immediately my eyes started reading.

  The first kiss was like poison. Once I had a taste of him, I was dead. Once he had a taste of me he was crazy. We were crazy in love. We were crazy in the head. We were parasites to each other. I didn’t know how to get away. How do you leave the man you love? How do you cleanse yourself of toxins when your body craves them? I don’t know the answer. All I know is I’m consumed by him.

  There was no name at the bottom of the letter, but all I could think was Eugenie must have written the letter. I eagerly placed the first letter next to me on the bed and read the second one.

  He took me out today. I thought he was going to give me my freedom. I cried at the possibility of my loss. He cried too, but for a different reason. We made love in the fields. There were flowers of every color: green, red, yellow, blue, purple, and pink. They filled my every sense. I felt like I was in another world. I wanted to be in another world. I didn’t want the magic to stop. I didn’t want to go back.

  My heart started beating rapidly as I read the letters. What did she mean by she thought he was going to give her freedom? Had Grant kidnapped her as well? I quickly turned to the next letter.

  I got high today. It felt good. I didn’t tell him, and I feel guilty. I think he knows though. I don’t want him to know where I got the drugs. I don’t want him to know what I did or my secrets. I feel dirty. But I also feel good. God help me, but I love this feeling. I’m flying so high. I’m fucking flying on a magic carpet and he’s taking me to hell and back.

  I shivered and turned to the next letter quickly.

  Am I crazy? I lied. He lied. I want to leave before I break down. I made a mistake. I shouldn’t have trusted him. He’s going to be my downfall. And now it’s over.

  What had Eugenie lied about? Was it the drugs again? I felt frustrated reading the letters and not knowing exactly what she was talking about.

  Help me. I’m scared. If you find this, please help me. I’m Eugenie Parker. I’m 21 years old, and I’ve been kidnapped.

  I dropped the letter on my lap. So it was Eugenie. I could feel my face growing hotter as my stomach started to churn, but I kept on reading.

  I am, I cried. I am. I’m trying. Writing in black and white is hard. He doesn’t know what’s happening. What’s happened? I don’t know if he cares. He abandoned me. I haven’t left this room in three days. Help me, please. There’s no magic anymore. Just me. Only me.

  I turned quickly to the next letter, but it was just a blank piece of paper. All of the rest of the pages were blank. I glanced back at the letters and reread them, trying to memorize them and find clues anywhere I could. ‘What happened to Eugenie?’ I was thinking. ‘What did Grant do? How did she die? Does Tyler know what happened? Was he here working for Grant? Did he lock her in this room like he did me? Did he promise her she’d be okay as well? Did I walk into a trap? And if so, what does it mean that I’m now in her room? Am I next?’

  10

  I woke up to someone touching my face. The room was dark, and I realized I must have fallen asleep after I’d hidden the letters back in the closet. I blinked in the dark and tried to make out the face of who was with me. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw Tyler. I wasn’t sure what I would have done if it had been Grant.

  “Hi, how are you doing?” He asked as I sat up and looked at him.

  “How do you think?” I replied in a surly fashion. I didn’t care if he thought I was a bitch. He couldn’t expect me to act happy to see him.

  “You look well rested.”

  “Are you going to let me leave now?”

  “What if I said you could leave?” He tilted his head to the side.

  “I can go?” I asked eagerly, a light weight coming off of my shoulders. I wasn’t cut out for this. I didn’t want to find out what had happened to Eugenie. I just wanted to leave.

  “Do you want to go?” His brows furrowed, and he gazed at me with such a sad look I felt my heart breaking for the unspoken hurt in his eyes. What was Tyler’s story? Something in me couldn’t look away or talk as I stared at him. I’d never experienced such a feeling before. I felt as if I were having an out-of-body experience as we stared at each other.

  “What are you thinking about?” He asked me softly as we sat in the dark room.

  “Wondering how I got myself into this position,” I said after a few seconds of silence and sighed as I continued to stare at him. “It’s just my luck the one guy I chose to have a one-night stand with is a psycho.”

  “That is a shame.” He nodded.

  “How could you work for him?” I asked him with a confused face. “How could you work for someone so crazy?”

  “I don’t think he’s crazy.” He shrugged.

  “He had you lock me up in this room.” I rolled my eyes. “He’s crazy.”

  “He does everything for a reason.”

  “What sort of reason?” I was starting to get annoyed and loud.

  "I'll huff and I'll puff and..."

  "You'll blow my house down?" I finished his sentence for him, and he smiled slowly.

  "You're not a little piggy, dear Evie." His voice was throaty as he grabbed the front of my shirt. "I'm planning on doing a lot more than blowing your house down."

  “What?” I gasped as I fell towards him. “What are you doing?”

  “I was about to kiss you, unless you wanted to leave. However, I feel like you’re the sort of girl who wants to get to the bottom of this before you leave.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Because you’ve had several opportunities to make a run for it.” He paused. “I gave you several opportunities.”

  “I didn’t realize how serious everything was.” I said honestly. “I’m not sure I want to get to the bottom of it all, anymore.”

  “Did he show you his chain last night?”

  I nodded without answering, my face burning with shame at how easily I’d given myself to Grant.

  “Did you use it?”

  “Use the chain?” I repeated dumbly. “How would we use the chain?”

  Tyler stood up then and bent down and picked something up. I could see the silhouette of his body reflected on the wall behind him.

  “It’s long and hard and stiff, yet surprisingly supple in my hands.” He said softly as he stood there.

  “What are you talking about?” I looked down to his pants.

  “Get your mind out of the gutter.” He grinned as he held up the chain. “What do you think?”

  “Oh.” I stared at the chain for a few seconds and jumped off the bed. I touched the chain gingerly, wondering how this cold piece of metal could ever be used i
n a loving way.

  “Are you thinking about him?” He whispered in my ear as his right hand grabbed my breast.

  “No.” I shook my head slightly and gasped as he pushed me back onto the bed.

  “Good. This is about us.”

  “Why did he—” I started and he cut me off his with his lips.

  “Now is not the time for talking. Now is the time for loving. Now is the time for me to show you what it’s like to experience ecstasy in every fiber of your being.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “What am I not allowed to do?” His voice was hoarse.

  “Why?” I gasped nervously. How far was he going to go?

  “Because that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

  “I can’t sleep with you.” I shook my head. “It wouldn’t be right.”

  “Why not?”

  “I, I...” I looked away from him and blushed. “I already slept with Grant.”

  “So you want to be with Grant?” His voice was a question.

  “No.” I shook my head and then paused. “I mean, I don’t know.” I shivered as he ran his fingers across my stomach.

  “What are you thinking about right now?” He bent down and kissed my stomach.

  “I’m thinking this is absolutely crazy. I’m thinking I need to leave.” I held my breath as his tongue played in my belly button and he kissed my stomach. “I’m wondering why I haven’t really seen Grant since that night. He’s barely spoken to me.”

  “Grant thinks you want to have a threesome,” he said softly as his tongue licked down my stomach and stopped at the top of the pants he’d given me to wear earlier.

  “No, of course not.” I shook my head. “I don’t want that.” Just because I thought they wanted it didn’t mean I did. No, not at all. Especially now that I was pretty sure Grant was a psycho. Now, I couldn’t lie to myself about Tyler. I wanted him bad.

  “Good.” He nodded. “That’s not what I want either.”

  “What do you want?” I looked into his eyes and searched for an answer.