Page 7 of Off Her Game
Moments later, her incredible eyes lifted from the screen to him and widened.
Even in the low light he picked up the light blush that stole across her cheeks and pert little nose. Blood thrummed through him to have her full attention.Say something.His mouth wouldn’t work. He raised his hand and silently mouthed, “Hi.”
She stared at him for several more glazed seconds. Then her gaze bounced back to the screen. “Shit.”
After a series of animated moves over several minutes and many curses later she threw off her headphones. “Dammit, you made me mess up. You know better than to interfere with a player. I lost on level twenty-three.Twenty-three.That’s humiliating. How could you?”
He flinched. “I’m just here.”What in the name of God did that mean?He couldn’t think of anything else to say, being the focus of her glare.
“I had this.” He could’ve sworn he heard her mutter, “I needed this.” She cradled her face in her hand. She muttered an apology to the guy next to her, a teammate. As per the rules, this was sudden death. If a player’s character died, no second chances. The person was to leave the floor.
Noah followed her at a distance. As she stepped away from the banks of gaming stations a guy with a backward ball cap over shaggy dark hair, ill-fitting board shorts and a dark tank top leered at her chest. “Tori got her ass kicked, did she? Maybe she’s ready for this.” The guy rolled his junk suggestively at her.
Noah’s hands fisted.
Tori stepped into the bully’s space. “You didn’t just adjustthatin front of me like I’d want to jump on for a ride, did you,Martin Rodriguez?”
“It’s War Dawhg.” His leer fell. He tugged at his sagging shorts.
Tori said low. “Do that shit to me again and I’ll break what you’re so proud of and kick your balls into your abdomen until you squeal like a fifth grader for the rest of your life.”
Snickers surrounded them.
“Oh yeah. She wants me,” Martin sneered to his friends.
She took another step toward him.
Martin backed up with his hands raised.
She poked him in the chest. “You’re a decent gamer, Martin. I respected you online when you were with the MPG team, but out here, come on. Girls don’t go for this sort of crap.” She leaned in close to say low, “No one wants to see your grundies. Small hint: buy boxers.”
Fuck me. I think I’m in love.
Noah approached her at the back of the room where she hovered over the remnants of the breakfast table laid out long ago. She gazed at the stale bagels, doughnuts of undesirable flavors, and broken pastries.
“I’m sorry. Didn’t think I’d distract you.” So lame. He’d be surprised if she didn’t kick him in the balls.
“Are you sorry? Really? That seemed intentional.” Her eyes narrowed. Smart girl.
“Should I cover myself before you kick my balls into my abdomen?” He bit back a laugh.
She moistened her generous lips. Her eyes slow scanned down to his crotch before returning to his eyes. The tiny little nose stud on her left nostril glinted in the low light. “Bet you’ve got more to offer than Martin in that department.”
Said dick went on full alert. This woman was hands down a full-blooded goddess.Remember the script.“Let me get you some coffee. They’ve got a room for us where the coffee is fresh. I swear it’s ten times better than the crap out here.”
Not quite on script, but okay.
She glanced at the coffee carafes, which probably hadn’t been replenished in hours. Her arms crossed, causing the oversized dark shirt to fall off one shoulder, revealing a black bra strap. Maybe her panties matched, too.
Was she a thong kind of girl?
Was that the tail of another dragon tattoo under her bra strap?
Head out of the gutter. This is about saving lives.
She said, “Sure. Whatever. This stuff smells disgusting. You still owe me an answer on the bots question.”
He suspected she wouldn’t let that go. He wouldn’t have forgotten had he been in her shoes. Four doors down from the main ballroom he punched in a security code to a locked ballroom, not the security room, but the designated meeting space for the next step in the plan.
