Changing His Game (Gamers #1)

by Megan Erickson

  She did, her eyes widening as he slipped his index finger and second finger between his lips, sucking on them and then pulling them out of his mouth. He smiled. “I was right. Your pussy tastes just as sweet.”

  Her breath left her chest in a rush and her eyes dipped down to the front of his pants and then back to him.

  He shook his head and pressed a kiss to her lips. “Another time.”

  Her mouth opened but no sound came out. She swallowed, her throat working under his hand and tried again. “So now I owe you twice.”

  He chuckled. “Then I guess…another time…twice.”

  Her gazed bounced around his face before settling on his eyes. “Okay.”

  Chapter Four

  Chad smacked his gum, blew a bubble, and then popped it with his finger. “You wanna talk about why you were in the lobby so long and then came back all flushed and glassy-eyed?”

  They were sitting on her living room floor, passing a tube of refrigerated cookie dough between them.

  Marley bit down on a chocolate chip and didn’t answer. After the movies, she’d changed back into sweatpants. Well, she’d tried to go pants-less but Chad grumbled. He changed into some clothes that he kept there. He would probably sleep on her couch later, too. Hopefully she could convince him to make his stuffed French toast the next day.

  “Mars?”

  She looked up. Chad raised his eyebrows as he sipped his wine.

  Boxed wine and cookie dough. The Lake siblings were pure class.

  “Um…”

  “Austin left after you did and never came back.”

  She knew this fact. After their…encounter, he’d told her he planned to stay in the lobby to wait for Sydney. Marley had asked if he wanted to see the rest of the movie. He’d shrugged and said he knew how it ended.

  And she’d walked away.

  Her cheeks heated as she remembered when she had completely lost her marbles and allowed him to bring her to orgasm with his fingers in a fucking movie theater lobby.

  Again, pure class.

  Chad’s eyebrows were still raised. Maybe if she didn’t answer, they’d stay that way forever. She sighed. “We made out.”

  Chad’s eyebrows rose higher and she marveled at his ability to contort his face. “You made out?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Where?”

  She picked at a hole in her sweatpants. “In the lobby.”

  “Holy shit.”

  “Mm hmm.”

  Chad leaned back on his hands. “He is super hot, even if he talks like my senior biology teacher.”

  Marley snorted.

  “Well,” Chad patted her knee. “Good for you. You need to let go a little.”

  “I know. And it was…” Her cheeks heated again. “Amazing. But I owe him.” A giggle burst from her lips and she waggled her eyebrows at Chad.

  “Yeah, okay, no more details.”

  “But I don’t have time for a relationship.”

  Her brother cocked his head. “Who said anything about that? Just have fun with a hot guy for once in your life, Mars. A guy who can get you off. Enjoy the release. Why do you have to make everything so serious?”

  Not everyone can be like you, she thought. Her brother could do casual. That’s all he ever did. But she’d never done casual. She wasn’t sure she could.

  But as she thought of Austin’s husky voice in her ear, the feel of his lips on her skin, his fingers inside of her…

  She wanted that again. And again. And maybe one more time in the shower.

  She stuck another ball of cookie dough in her mouth and spoke as she chewed. “Don’t even know if I’ll see him again.”

  Chad dropped his head and eyed her. “You got off and he didn’t?”

  She swallowed and nodded.

  “Oh, Mars,” he laughed. “Trust me. You’ll see him again.”

  She sure hoped so.

  Later that night, after Chad passed out on her couch, she lay awake in her darkened bedroom, staring at her ceiling.

  She had never dated much. She’d had a couple of long-term boyfriends who were nice and safe and weren’t threatened by her ambition. But nice and safe boys didn’t hold their hands at her throat. They didn’t slip their hands into her panties in a public place—no matter how secluded—and whisper dirty things into her ear.

  She shifted under her covers as she began to get aroused just thinking about him.

  She’d always had fantasies, but when she suggested them to her first boyfriend, he’d looked alarmed. Like something was wrong with her for wanting him to use a little force when she’d asked for it. She’d been embarrassed and ashamed and hadn’t bothered any of her other boyfriends with a similar request.

  So her fantasies were for her only. She kept a private Tumblr account and a vibrator and she thought that was all she needed. Of course she longed for the real thing, but worried it could never live up to how she thought it would be.

  Until Austin.

  She picked up her cell from her nightstand and pulled up her Tumblr app on her phone. She scrolled to her favorites and there it was, that GIF that had started it all.

  It had always excited her, this vision of the man controlling the pleasure of this woman. Except now she knew what it actually felt like.

  And damn, but the reality was better than the fantasy. So much better. Because Austin had brought to life all her senses—the touch of his hands on her skin and the sound of his voice at her ear and the smell of his scent on her skin.

  Now she pictured Austin, those sea-green eyes glowing as he stood behind her. She felt his hand at her throat, the pads of his fingers digging into her skin, the constriction of her air, just enough so she couldn’t forget who was in control.

  His palm coasting down her stomach. His hand slipping into the front of her thong and dipping between her wet folds.

  She moaned softly, and raised her hips, not even realizing her hand had followed the same path and was now inside her panties. Her fingers were a sad substitute for Austin’s but she was achy and aroused and she needed to get off.

  She closed her eyes and swirled her fingers around her clit, biting her lip as the orgasm began to build. Quick, so quick. She’d never gotten herself off this fast.

  Austin’s words. His breath. His hands. That obscene bulge in the front of his pants.

  The orgasm ripped through her and she clamped her other hand over her mouth to stifle the sounds.

  She flopped her hands back onto the bed, spent, breathing hard. Wishing she could curl herself around a strong male body—Austin.

  She picked up her phone and lazily scrolled through her favorites, lingering on a picture of a woman with her back against the wall, blindfolded. A man kneeled in front of her, one of the woman’s legs thrown over his shoulder, his face pressed into her.

  Despite the fact that she’d just come, Marley found herself staring at the picture.

  Trust me, you’ll see him again, her brother’s words echoed in her head.

  She turned her phone off and tossed it on the nightstand.

  She sure hoped he was right.

  …

  By Wednesday, she hadn’t seen Austin. Which was fine because she was busy in meetings and getting her team organized for the next issue. She didn’t have time to daydream about Austin.

  Which didn’t stop her from zoning out at inappropriate times.

  During an unusual lull from work at the end of the day Wednesday, her email pinged. She kept on top of her inbox. Always had. Because as soon as she let that go, her whole job became harder.

  So she clicked over and almost swallowed her tongue when she saw the email was from AricoftheLobby@gmail.com.

  It couldn’t be anyone but him. Could it?

  She opened the email:

  From: AricoftheLobby

  To:MarleyLake@gamersmag.com

  Are you wondering how I taste?

  —A

  She’d never thought she could get wet from six words in plain, Tim
es New Roman font. But as she shifted in her chair, she knew she was. She craved privacy so she could take care of this properly.

  Damn him for doing this to her at work. It was so inappropriate, and yet that’s what turned her on the most. That everyone around her thought she was some uptight, controlling, frigid woman, not knowing that Saturday night, she’d been fingered in a movie theater lobby.

  How was this her life now?

  “Marley?”

  She jolted at the sound of her name and quickly closed the email. She brushed her hair behind her ear and turned around. “Yes?”

  She knew she looked anything but casual by the way Owen eyed her over the rim of his glasses. “You okay?”

  She nodded at her second-in-command. “Yes?”

  “Are you asking?”

  “No?” She couldn’t stop raising her voice at the end. She was going to kill Austin when she saw him next. After she got that damn taste.

  Owen leaned a hip on her desk. “Marley.”

  She waved a hand and shook herself. “Yes, I’m fine. Just…distracted. Sorry. What’s up?”

  He ran a finger over the head of her Yoda paperweight. “How was your weekend?”

  She smiled. “It was good.” Owen was the closest friend she had in the office. At first, she’d sensed that many of the men under her resented working for a woman. Or maybe that was her own paranoia. Owen had never acted like that. Not once. And now her employees treated her with nothing but respect. They still didn’t really know her though. Owen’s quiet, steady presence melted some of her frost enough to open up to him.

  “Yeah? What’d you do?”

  “Went to see Aric’s Revenge with my brother.” And had the best orgasm in my life about fifteen feet away from the popcorn maker. “How was yours?

  He shrugged. “Read that new Connor Takumi mystery.”

  One of these days, she was going to drag Owen out on a weekend, even if he was kicking and screaming. “Wow, look at you being wild and crazy.”

  He smiled at her. “Not my thing.”

  Owen had big, round blue eyes framed with blond lashes. He wore his slicked hair parted to one side. He seemed to do everything he could to blend in, which was a shame, because he was downright adorable. Shy, but adorable.

  Like a little nerdy puppy dog.

  “So no hot date with some nice librarian in a pencil skirt?” she asked.

  His eyes sparkled. “Not my type.”

  “A librarian?”

  He leaned in closer. “A woman.”

  Oh. Well then. She cocked her head. “I thought my gaydar was better than that.”

  He tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear and winked.

  Her email pinged again and she closed her eyes. When she opened them again, Owen still stared at her. When she didn’t respond, he straightened and walked away, shaking his head and chuckling.

  Cute, nosy brat.

  She turned back to her computer and worried her lip as she read Austin’s email again. Then she put her hands on the keyboard.

  …

  Austin sat in his home office, elbow on the arm of his leather chair, and stared at his computer screen.

  He didn’t know why he was doing this to himself. Why the one woman he couldn’t have was the one he wanted with every heartbeat.

  He should tell her who he was, that he was technically her boss, but he knew once he did, this would be over. She’d end it—any smart woman would. And Marley wasn’t dumb.

  He’d avoided the entire industrial complex that week, not wanting to run into Marley and be unable to school his features. Because all he wanted to do was shove her someplace private and get another taste.

  But today, his resolve had broken down.

  Emailing her was risky, but Austin had taken all precautions that this email wouldn’t be seen by anyone. If he couldn’t have her physically, then he’d allow himself this, teasing her with filthy words in serif font. Maybe this would be enough, and he could curb the ache for her in his gut. He tried to guess what other fantasies Marley was into. He wasn’t sure if it was torture for her but it was pretty much waterboarding to him.

  He still couldn’t stop himself.

  He didn’t want a relationship. A relationship meant talking about himself. It meant another person—other than Grant—knowing things about him. He couldn’t do that, didn’t want to do that.

  He didn’t plan to change, mainly because he didn’t date. When the need for physical affection began to claw at his skin, he traveled out of town and met a woman at a bar. He rented a hotel room and that was that. Of course, that sex was almost always very vanilla, which barely took the edge off, but it was better than nothing.

  But Marley… Smart, strong, beautiful Marley. He found himself wondering if she could actually like him for himself. Although he wondered if he even knew who that was anymore. What if he opened up to her? Even a little bit?

  It was ridiculous that the one woman he was attracted to in such a long time was his employee.

  So no, he wouldn’t tell her who he was. She didn’t need to know, since nothing more would happen. That’s what he told himself, anyway. The last person who’d known everything had been his father, and that had gone to shit. In Austin’s head, keeping people in their own compartments, on a need-to-know basis, made the most sense.

  He felt a tug of guilt at not telling Grant about this. But now there was another tug, like two hooks in his chest. Because he was keeping something from Marley, too. Something that could affect her career—and his—if anyone found out.

  Goose bumps pricked his arms as he thought about how he was already breaking so many rules with Marley. The public nature of the hotel lobby. These emails—even if he used a fake account.

  His body jolted as a return email hit his inbox.

  From: MarleyLake@gamersmag.com

  To: Aricofthelobby@gmail.com

  Yes. I’m guessing you’re not cherry flavor.

  —M

  Austin barked out a laugh. The harsh sound surprised him. When was the last time he laughed like that with a woman about something sexual?

  He shifted in his chair as he hardened in his dress pants.

  He had wondered if she’d chastise him for emailing her at work. And part of him wondered if she’d realize it was him.

  But no, his Marley was playing along. And making him laugh.

  The muscles in his face hurt. Maybe he should smile more.

  From: Aricofthelobby@gmail.com

  To: MarleyLake@gamersmag.com

  I don’t think I’m as sweet as you.

  — A

  The return email came half an hour later. A half hour he spent color-coding his pens.

  From: MarleyLake@gamersmag.com

  To: Aricofthelobby@gmail.com

  That’s okay. I like savory, too.

  — M

  He was officially hard. And officially unable to do any work that required more than a single brain cell’s worth of concentration.

  He pushed away from his desk and stalked out of his office. His facial muscles fell back into his comfortable scowl. He opened up the refrigerator and glared at the contents. Then he slammed the door shut and walked upstairs.

  He’d built a house at the end of a quiet street full of older homes and even older residents. His home wasn’t visible from the road, as it was built about five hundred yards back in an acre of woods, accessible by a twisty driveway that was a bitch to shovel in the winter. His snow blower was his best friend in January.

  When he got to his bedroom, he directed his glare at his empty bed.

  He’d already taken a shower that morning, but this hard on wasn’t going away and he needed to surround himself with white noise.

  He pulled his tie loose and then unbuttoned his shirt, slipped off his shoes and socks, and stepped out of his pants.

  He walked naked into his bathroom, to his large, tiled shower with a showerhead he’d spent way too much money on. He’d grown up in a home with a smal
l water tank and a shower with water pressure so bad, he swore he walked around with a permanent film on his body. So if he wanted to spend hundreds on a showerhead now, he was sure as hell going to do it.

  He stepped into the steaming water, not really surprised that his hard on hadn’t lessened. Not one bit.

  He leaned back against the shower wall and let the water pelt his chest and stomach. He gathered soap in his palm and ran his hand down between his legs, rolling his balls in his fingers. He groaned and closed his eyes, imagining Marley kneeling at his feet, those hazel eyes staring up at him, those full, pink lips wrapped around his cock. He gripped his shaft and began to stroke. His own hand was a poor substitute but imagination was a powerful thing. He imagined Marley’s soft moans, his fingers tangled in her thick, wet, curly hair.

  “Touch yourself,” he whispered to her, and then watched as her hand disappeared between her legs.

  Her hips rocked in time with her head as she bobbed on his cock, her cheeks hollowing as she sucked and swirled her tongue around the tip.

  He moaned and heard her echo him as she took him deep, so deep that he touched the back of her throat.

  He could feel his orgasm building. He widened his legs and dug his toes into the non-skid shower floor. His balls drew up and he whispered, “Come.”

  And she did, with a moan that seeped out around his cock in her mouth as she rode her hand to completion. And then Austin was there. Coming and coming down her throat. And then she pulled back and gave him a smirk.

  But when he opened his eyes, his cock was half-soft in his hands, his release washing down the drain.

  He groaned and turned around, thudding his head on the shower wall. He’d never gotten off like that before, thinking about a specific woman.

  And it made him wonder if he would ever get Marley and her playful smirk out of his head.

  He slammed his hand down on the faucet of the shower, shutting off the water, and grabbed a towel off the rack. This was crazy. He was crazy. She’d infected his blood like a damn drug and the only way to get rid of the pain was to have her again.

  Which wouldn’t happen. Nope. Austin was totally in control. Just a little midday shower while fantasizing about her mouth. Completely normal.