Games We Play by Dana Isaly

Chapter Nine

“I want you to come out with me tonight,” I said as she finished her pizza. I was sitting behind her on the couch, rubbing her back, when I decided that little fantasy of mine with her dressed up on my arm was actually going to happen.

“Where?” she asked, turning around and looking a little surprised.

“My club downtown.”

She looked herself up and down. “You want me to go to a nightclub, looking like this?”

I smiled and peeled myself away from her. “No, obviously not.” I had already thought about this. “I’ll run you by your place, let you get ready, and then we’ll go. I had plans to meet some of my friends for a bit tonight but got too wrapped up in you and forgot. But I kind of like the idea of taking you out and getting a chance to see you all dolled up and on my arm.”

“Okay,” she laughed. “Whatever. I live over in Brookdale. Is that okay?”

“Yep!” I said and stood up off the couch. “I’m going to go take a quick shower so that I don’t smell like chlorine, and then we will head over to yours, yeah?”

“Okay.” She smiled a bit wider. Maybe she liked the idea of being on my arm, too.

* * *

Forty-five minutes later, I pulled into the parking garage of her apartment complex and followed her up to her twelfth-floor apartment. It was bigger than what I had expected for a writer, but I guess she hadn’t been lying when she said she was doing perfectly fine on her own.

“Remote is on the stand next to the couch. Make yourself comfortable. I’ll try to be quick.”

I looked around at her open apartment. She had plants everywhere. Some were hanging from the ceiling, some were sitting on little stands, and others just spaced out on the floor. Her home had so much personality it made mine seem stark and cold. She had an emerald velvet couch and a multicolored rug that almost took up the entirety of her living room floor.

When I heard the shower turn on, I ventured into her room and saw more of the same rich fabrics and fucking plants everywhere. Was I fucking some kind of garden fairy? A green witch?

Jesus Christ.

I opened her closet and sifted through all of her clothing until I found the section that seemed to hold all of her dresses. There was one that immediately caught my eye. It was the softest satin and a deep forest green that would look amazing with her hair. I pulled it out and laid it on her bed and then went on the hunt for shoes.

At the back of her closet on the floor were black strappy ones that I knew were going to do wonders for her ass. Looking at her other shoes, I guessed she wasn’t a huge fan of heels. Oh, well. I was more than willing to carry her anywhere we went.

She walked out of the bathroom in a cloud of steam, her skin still flushed from the shower. I spotted the bite mark on her neck that was starting to bruise and smiled. If that didn’t scream she was mine, I didn’t know what would. I had let her take the collar off before leaving the house, even though I would’ve liked to see everyone’s reactions to that.

Mine,I thought again as she dropped the towel and sauntered toward me. Her hair was wet and wavy, falling across her shoulders and dripping water down the valley between her breasts. I hadn’t been that possessive of another person in a long time, and it started a little thread of anxiety in my chest. I wasn’t the easiest person to deal with when I started down that road.

My dick stirred yet again.

“Please put these fucking clothes on before I throw you against the wall and fuck you until you scream and wake up your neighbors.”

She grinned and looked down at the bed next to us. “You picked out my outfit?” she asked.

“Yes. I want to see you in green.”

“Green it is, then. But you may have to carry me by the end of the night. I’ve never been great in heels. I’m clumsy at the best of times.” She walked over to her dresser and started sifting through bras and underwear.

“You may wear a bra. You may not wear underwear.” She looked at me over her shoulder, and I took a moment to admire her pert ass. “I want access to you at all times.” She rolled her eyes but only pulled out a bra. Grabbing the dress off the bed, she turned and walked back into the bathroom.

“I’ll be fast,” she said and closed the door. I was probably going to look underdressed next to her, but I had never really cared about that. Even though I was the owner of the club, I was known to show up in my signature black boots, black jeans, and black T-shirt.

After some time had passed, the door creaked open, and I sat up and drank her in. She had made her hair pin straight, and against the dark green of the dress, it almost looked purple. Her makeup was done dark and heavy, and I loved it. Against her pale skin, it made her look luminous.

And that dress.

That fucking dress.

All of her tattoos were out on display, and the way it hugged her hips had me reeling. It stopped at her midthigh, but the slit went almost up to her hip. That was going to make it very easy for me to slide my hand in there at any given moment.

“Like it?” she asked, seeming a bit shy.

“That’s an understatement. You’re going to be the hottest person in this club tonight,” I said as I picked up her shoes and then knelt in front of her. She held on to the dresser next to her, and I lifted one of her feet and slid it into her shoe. I clasped the buckle and kissed her thigh before moving to the other and doing the same thing.

When I looked up at her, she had her eyes closed. I kissed her leg a bit higher up and watched her chest rise and fall a bit quicker. I ran my nose up across her soft skin that the slit in her dress was showing off. Her hand came to rest in my hair.

“Don’t start something you can’t finish,” she said as her grip on my hair turned rough. The quick burst of pain made my stomach tighten in the best way. She looked down at me.

“Do you like seeing me on my knees for you, pet? Did you like it when my cock was in your mouth and I was begging you for it? Do you like that you can make me weak?”

She pulled my head back, and I smiled. I had never let anyone dominate me in any way, shape, or form. Not even in the small way Quinlan was doing in that moment.

But as she gazed down at me with that all-too-familiar spark in her eyes, I thought maybe I would be willing to see what it was like to be on the receiving end of that fire. I growled deep in my chest and ran my hands up the backs of her legs until I found her ass. Cupping it, I squeezed until she flinched.

I stood and kissed her on her neck.

“It’s going to be a miracle if I survive this night,” she said under her breath as we made our way out of her apartment.

“By the way,” I started, holding the door open for her. “What’s with all the plants? How do you keep them alive? Are you a witch? A little garden fairy?”

She threw her head back in a laugh. I really, really liked making her laugh.

“I just like taking care of things,” she said after she stopped laughing. “Trust me, I killed plenty before I got the hang of it.”

She clung to my arm to keep herself upright as we made our way back downstairs and to the car. She even had to lean into me slightly to make sure she wasn’t rolling any ankles. I offered to just pick her up and carry her down, but she pushed me away and told me to save it for later on.

On our way, I texted to my friend Wes as I closed the passenger-side door.

Wes: Our? Who are you bringing? You have other friends? Is this a girl?!

Behave.

I smiled at her as I started the car.

“Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.” I shifted and pulled out of the garage, hoping this last-minute decision wasn’t a mistake.