by BJ Harvey
Game Maker (Game #2)
Copyright © 2016 by BJ Harvey
Edited by Lauren McKellar
Cover Designed by Najla Qamber Designs
Photo by Lindee Robinson
Photography Models: Victoria Morin & Chad Demchick
Interior Formatting: Integrity Formatting
ISBN: Epub - 978-0-473-35400-8
ISBN: Mobi - 978-0-473-35401-5
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the above author of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
(Game #2)
From the USA Today bestselling author of the Bliss series comes a new spin off series featuring your favorite Bliss series characters who are yet to meet their match. This time it is Zach and Danika's turn.
I’m a gamer by nature and by profession. I’m all about strategy, performance, and coming out on top.
Five months ago I threw caution to the wind, and in the first miscalculated step of my twenty-one-year life, I made a move on my brother’s best friend.
The first mistake we made was keeping our relationship secret. The next was going off half-cocked when a train wreck of epic proportions hit us.
Now our secret is secret no more. As I struggle to deal with all of the swirling emotions, conflicted feelings, and the multitude of burned bridges that I need to mend, the one person who can help me through it all is the same man I need space from.
To fix it I’ll have to pull on my big-girl panties, focus on what I truly want in life, and put everything I have into winning the most important game I’ll ever play.
Life is a game, and it is what you make it.
Coming out unscathed is a whole other matter.
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Dedication
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Epilogue
Sneak Peek ~ Game Saver (Game #3)
Preview ~ Temporary Bliss
About the Author
Other Books by B.J. Harvey
To any girl who’s ever crushed on the hot older guy
“Yes,” I moan, grinding down against him.
“Fucking beautiful,” he says gruffly against my skin, his lips brushing my neck. His breath comes hard and fast in time with the upward thrusts of his cock, and I feel my orgasm barreling toward me.
“Feels so good,” I pant. His hand tightens around my back and his fingers zero in on my wonder button, stroking with expert precision and making my pussy clench around him. My body contorting as if it’s possessed.
“Jesus. Fuck,” Zach growls, planting his feet on the bed and thrusting up one last time before following me over the edge as he pours himself inside of me.
We collapse backwards, my legs falling limp on the way down, and together we lie there, chests heaving, bodies stuck together, struggling to catch our breaths.
“Every time is better than the last,” he murmurs in my ear, sucking my earlobe into his mouth afterwards. I whimper and my muscles spasm as aftershocks course through me. Shifting sideways, I stay draped over him, my fingers drawing mindless circles in the smattering of hair on his damp chest.
“What’s on the agenda today?” he asks, his hand running through my hair, roots to ends.
“Team meeting at eleven, lunchtime conference call with the west coast programmers at one, then I get to go play.”
“Such a geek.” He chuckles. I jerk my head up and I narrow my eyes at him. He just smirks, and my twitching lips give away how uncommitted I am to the death stare aimed his way.
“Your geek.”
“You better fucking believe it,” he replies with conviction, his arm hooked around my waist, giving a meaningful squeeze.
“I know it, firebug.”
Now he out-and-out grins. “Never going to live it down, am I?”
I push up with one hand on the bed so that my head hovers over his, our lips just an inch apart. “Never,” I whisper. “But that’s okay. I still love you.”
His entire body goes still and my eyes go wide as realization hits me. Way to go, Dani. Freak him out why don’t you.
My brain catches up with my body and flight mode kicks in. I move quickly, rolling backwards and scrambling off the bed. Making a smash-and-grab attempt, I scoop up my clothes scattered over his bedroom floor, but the first step toward escape is hampered by an arm wrapping around my waist.
I fall back and slam into his naked chest, my entire body going still at the contact.
“Wait a minute, Dani. You can’t say something like that then fly out of here like a bat out of hell.”
“Bats like hell. They live there.”
“They live in caves. Stop trying to change the subject.”
Deciding that redirecting this inevitable conversation is the best plan of attack, I continue. “I really have to go, Zach. I’ve still gotta go home, shower, get dressed, and then get to work.”
“It’s only six, and you just told me your first meeting isn’t till eleven.”
“I’ve got a lot of stuff to do before then.”
“I’ll drive you home and to the office if it means you’ll turn around. I wanna look in your eyes when I tell you I love you back.”
For the second time in as many minutes, my heart stutters to a halt. There’s no way in hell I’m in flight mode now.
Seven years ago, I fell in teenage girl love with Zach Cooper, my older brother’s roommate and best friend.
Five months ago, I fell into adult insta-lust with him the night I told him what I wanted. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t imagined what it would be like to hear him say those three little words.
What I didn’t know was that just a few days after one of the best moments in my life—one of those ones you know you’ll remember forever—everything would be turned upside down.
And there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.
Rewind five months.
Having finished a last minute conference call with our west coast project team, I’m running so late it’s beyond a joke.
I rush home, order a cab, and jump in the shower, where I simultaneously brush my teeth and wash my hair, before drying off. I rub peach body lotion over every inch of my skin and throw on whatever dress I can find that’s clean and not on the floor, ending up with a floaty azure maxi dress with a high-low hem and fitted high-necked black bodice.
With a quick check in the mirror to check the very low cut back isn’t bordering on indecent, I run out my front door and make my way downstairs to the waiting taxi.
Twenty minutes later, I pull up to my sister Mia and
her husband, Matt’s, house in Hyde Park. He bought it for her and their unborn baby four months ago, and—together with his dad, brother, and the large group of friends we all have been adopted in to—they renovated the whole place within a few months. Now, the two of them live there, soon to be three, once my sister finally pops and gives birth to their little girl, Emma.
After paying the driver, I get out and run-skip up the concrete path to their front door.
“Hi, hi, hi. Sorry I’m late. Work kicked my ass,” I say quickly once I’m inside. I come to a sudden halt when I’m met by a wall of people in the living room and hallway. So much for a small social gathering.
“Excuse me. Coming through,” I announce, squeezing my way past the throng of people blocking the corridor that leads to the back of the house where the kitchen is. Three gropes and one unfortunate drink spill down my front later, I arrive at the kitchen doorway where I find Matt, his brother, Noah, my brother, Zander, and their friends Daniel, Sean, Cade, and Thomas. I wave like a dork to all of them before stepping forward and giving my brother a side hug while simultaneously wrapping my fingers around his bottle of Coors, lifting it to my mouth and downing whatever was left of it.
Sean, Cade, and Thomas all look at me with wide eyes, Noah and Matt just grin at me, and Zander’s mouth drops open.
“What?” I ask, lifting my thumb to my lips to wipe off a stray drop before licking it. “I was thirsty.”
“Jesus, Squirt. You’re impossible,” Zander mutters. “Take it easy, will ya?”
See, there are two problems with being the baby of the family: the constant meddling by my three older siblings; and nicknames that haunt you when you grow up.
First there’s Zander, my big brother who is nine years older than me. He’s the stand-in father figure I once needed but not so much now. Then there is Zoe, my oldest sister who is two years younger than Zan. She’s the down-to-earth, semi-crazy type, and interesting concoction that only someone like her husband Noah can control.
Then there is Mia; she’s the full steam ahead crazy one of the bunch. Well she was; now she’s pregnant and married to Noah’s brother. See? Complicated much?
I look up at Zander and shoot him a saccharine sweet smile. “I’m a big girl now, Zan. I can even drink legally too,” I reply sarcastically.
A deep rumbling laugh I’d recognize anywhere—even blindfolded—comes from behind Zander, and I poke my head around to see the man of my childhood dreams and the star of my dirtiest fantasies, Zach.
“Hey Zach, I didn’t see you there. Zan’s overprotectiveness was in the way,” I say, poking my tongue out at my brother.
Zach chuckles, and Zander narrows his eyes at me. “At least tell me you’ll get a ride home or something.”
“Yes, dear,” I reply, patting his shoulder. “Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to find the mother of my future niece and apologize for being late, then find a drink.” I grin and wave, but don’t miss the chance to give Zach a covert head to toe scan.
I’ve liked him since I was a dorky fourteen-year old smartass and he was my older brother’s hot best friend. Throughout the years we’ve seen each other a lot, and each and every time I’ve always been ‘Zander’s baby sister’ or ‘Squirt,’ never catching anything resembling a male–female interest in his eyes or body language—and believe me, I’ve looked.
“Hey Zach,” I say with a flippant wave, still feeling like the geeky schoolgirl I was when I first met him. His perfectly shaped lips curve up, making me want to jump his leg and start humping like a bitch in heat. And strangely enough, being seen as either a bitch in heat or a geek are not exactly how I’d like the man of my fantasies to picture me.
Unfortunately, this is the first time I’ve seen him in a few months, mainly because he’d been working whenever get-togethers like this had been held. One look at him and I can tell those few months have done him good—and I mean good. His navy blue tee hugs his biceps like a stripper hugs her pole on fight night, and his shoulders resemble those of a NFL linebacker. He’s bulked up in all the best ways, and he was already a fine specimen the last time I saw him—and during the seven years before that.
If that’s what happens from working as a firefighter, then hallelujah!
Dark blue jeans frame his hips, drawing my well-trained—and somewhat perverted—eye to how well he fills them.
Laughter from the next room snaps me out of my inappropriately long appreciation. My breath catches when I glance up to Zach’s face and his eyes lock with mine. An unreadable expression crosses his face and embarrassed beyond belief, I mumble a quick “bye” before hurrying through the first door I find and coming face to face with Mia and Matt who robbed us all of a wedding and eloped to Vegas two days earlier.
“Meems, you jammy bitch,” I say, jerking her out of Matt’s hold and wrapping my arms around her. “You just didn’t want to fork out for bridesmaids’ dresses.” She giggles and hugs me tighter, tears following as she sniffles in my ear. “Oh hey, now. I was just joking. I still love you . . . maybe.”
She pulls back and gives me a playful whack on the arm. “Stop teasing the pregnant woman.”
“Don’t mind her. She’s been alternating between being sickeningly gooey with Matt and crying at the drop of a hat even since they got home,” Zoe says, coming up beside me and kissing my cheek. “She’s more hormonal than I ever was.”
“What part of ‘no picking on the pregnant lady’ did you not understand?” Mia says before whirling back to face me. “Besides, you’re late!”
“I got stuck at work.”
“It’s a Sunday!” both Mia and Zoe say in unison.
“Girls,” my mom warns in a low voice, the three of us freezing in place.
“Damn, Helen, you need to show me how to do that. I can never get Zoe to listen to me, let alone stop what she’s doing immediately,” Noah, my other brother-in-law and Zoe’s husband, says.
Zoe’s head turns, and she shoots him an evil death glare that would have any other man quaking in his boots. Noah just winks at her and turns back to talk to two other friends of the group, Sean and his wife, Sam.
My siblings, their spouses, and their friends have a somewhat incestuous history. Somehow they have all stayed close, and immediately welcomed me into the fold when I moved to Chicago a year ago to start my internship with Atlas Multimedia in the Product Innovation department.
“Danika,” Mom says, enveloping me in a hug that I feel deep in my bones. I’ve always been very close with my mom, my dad having died from liver failure when I was two years old. She’s the only parent I’ve ever known and I idolize her. In fact, the hardest thing I’ve ever done was telling her I was moving four hours away from home to live in Chicago. She only let me do it because Zander, Zoe, and Mia were all living here, and she knew they’d watch out for me.
Being the baby of four is not easy and more often than not, one or all of them are getting in my business and making sure I’m keeping my nose clean.
Not that I’ve ever been the kind of person to court trouble—exactly the opposite, in fact. The only thing I have managed to keep to myself has been my admiration—if from afar—of Zach. The only person who knows about that is my roommate, Abi, and that’s because we held a mandatory—her words—cohabitation ritual where we got very drunk and divulged our deepest darkest secrets the night I moved in.
Ever since then, she grills me whenever I see him and tries to tag along to every birthday party, barbecue, or get-together that I’m invited to where there’s even a faint possibility of Zach turning up. The only reason she isn’t here tonight is because she’s working at one of her two jobs, this time as a hotel night manager. Her other job is as a part time stripper at the Pink Monkey but that’s a whole other story.
“You look tired,” Mom says, rubbing her hands up and down my bare arms as she takes a step back to study me. “You’re working too much.”
I shrug. “Interns work long hours.”
“You’ve gotta
look after yourself, honey.” Her brown eyes narrow and she looks me up and down. “And you’ve got to remember to eat.”
“Hey, Dani. Want a drink?” Zander’s wife, Kate, asks, coming up to Mom and me with two full champagne glasses. “The big brothers are going to toast the happy couple.” I take both glasses from her and hand one to Mom before wrapping an arm around her waist and cuddling in close.
Matt moves behind Mia and hugs her from behind, resting his hands on her round baby belly. I’m still not used to seeing the two of them all over each other, and it’s been commonplace for the past two months since they sorted their shit out.
The large group of friends and family gather in the large open plan room. I let Mom go and move backwards until I hit a wall.
“Looking good, Dani,” the wall says in my ear—right by my ear—and it takes everything I have not to shriek like a girl and run from the room.
I don’t need to turn around to know that Zach is standing behind me, and I was leaning against him like a hooker on her favorite street corner. At that realization, my back goes ramrod straight and I step forward. His hand on my arm stops me mid-escape.
“Stay.” That’s all he says—it’s all he has to say—and it takes everything I have not to melt back into him.
Before I can freak out any further, Noah clears his throat and together with Zander, he moves to stand beside Matt and a smiling Mia. “There’s no way I ever thought I’d be giving a speech to toast the marriage of my brother and Zander’s sister.”
A quiet chuckle reverberates around the room before Zander speaks up. “And considering I’d already had to watch one Taylor man sweep a sister of mine off her feet, I really didn’t expect to be watching history repeat itself with the only other Taylor sibling. Squirt, just be thankful there are no Taylors left.”
“Thank God for that!” I yell.
When the new wave of laughter dies down, Noah continues, “Matt and Mia, although it surprised us all in the beginning, as soon as we saw you together, it made sense. Considering I’m already connected by blood and marriage to both of you, it feels as if I’m not gaining anything—”
