Page 46 of Playing Flirty

“More.” I slipped my hands into his soft black hair, dragging his lips back to mine. I needed his mouth—needed every part of him—against me. I cursed at the layers separating us.

I didn’t know kissing someone could feel this way. And it was William. William Ashdern.

Against my lips, he let out a husky laugh, his palm sliding down my back and playing with the waistband of my pants, edging me closer until we were as close as physics would allow.

But it wasn’t enough.

William’s eyes, dark and simultaneously playful, met mine, and his expression shifted. Lifting me, he turned and set me beside him on the couch. “I think that’s about enough ofthatgame. But it’s not over.” His eyes challenged me to play along.

I struggled to catch my breath, and my cheeks flushed hot with confusion. I’d been rejected by Patrick, but this didn’t feel like rejection.

Before I could respond, William placed a finger over his delicious lips.

“Listen.” He lifted his hand to the shell of his ear.

Shaun’s voice carried from the hall into the apartment, followed by Neema’s familiar cackle.

I blew out a breath, willing my brain to form a logical thought. I straightened my clothing while he patted his and shifted around.

“Tomorrow?” he asked, still breathless.

I shook my head. “Pole dancing tomorrow.”

His flushed cheeks paled, and he mouthed the words back to himself. I relished in the idea of leaving him with that thought.

“I’ll see you at game night,” I said, surprised I still knew how to use my mouth to talk.

He leaned down and kissed my cheek only seconds before the front door opened.

Game night came around quicker than I was prepared for, but took far longer arriving than I’d have liked. My heart had pounded all day, from the minute I woke up to the second I walked into William’s apartment and he jumped off the couch to greet me.

“Rose.” He shrugged, obviously attempting to appear casual when calling me by my name was anything but. Part of me missed being called hobbit.

He shifted on his feet as though staying away from me was taking every last inch of self-control. He threw himself back down on the couch and let his eyes rake over my knee-length gray dress, cinched at the waist and paired with black, sheer stockings and the high heels I’d nearly broken my ankle in.

I bit back a smile. “William.”

As soon as Shaun had his back turned, I winked at William, only to catch him winking at me first.

A tie.

Not unheard of for us. In our years of competing, many of our games—both on and off the board—ended in a draw.

But this one wouldn’t, so I sat beside him. “What are you playing?”

“I’m working.” His tone dripped its usual annoyance, but a coy smile played over his handsome features.

I studied his profile, and heat coursed through my veins. I turned my attention to the screen, where he was playing a fantasy-adventure video game I’d never seen before. “This looks cool.”

“It’s okay. Good concept, poor execution. The idea I’m toying around with is the same genre but way, way better.” His shoulders relaxed, and he turned to me with a childlike smile so different from moments before.

“What made you design a game in the first place?”

He nodded at the bag housing my board game. “What made you?”

“I wanted to play a game that combined my love for fantasy and strategy and, admittedly, economics.”

From the kitchen, Shaun chuckled. “That may be the nerdiest thing I’ve ever heard you say, and based on the fact that you’re you, that’s saying plenty.”

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