Page 78 of Don't Game Me
“I don’t care about the focus on me. Neither does your brother.” He leaned down, his nose inches from hers, his anger riding the oxygen around them. “I’ve studied this asshole for over a year alongside FBI and NSA agents, and other contract experts. He’s not going to kill me or Noah. He didn’t kill Tori, even though he threatened it multiple times. He likes to push buttons and play psychological games to torture people until they commit crimes for him. Crimes that make him rich.”
“I’m not under the influence of Symphis to be here. You have to believe me. I’m still running. Trying to hide. That woman from Comic-Con seems to have done a good job erasing me from the system. I had a way to check and got it confirmed that I was out, but I don’t trust her. Quan thinks Symphis is a woman. I wonder if it’s her.” Her lip quivered, and she bit down on it. So soft he almost didn’t hear she muttered, “He…or she doesn’t like loose ends though. She probably assumed I’d circle back to you. What better way to find me than stalk you?”
Her fear activated his need to protect her. But he didn’t know how to keep her safe. He was a video game programmer and an office jockey. He shot a gun once eons ago with a friend but didn’t have one, and he had no combat training or even much self-defense. Sure, he could scrap hard in a fight, but he couldn’t guarantee he’d win.
He could hire someone to protect her, but that took time to find someone vetted to be a good fit.
He asked, “Is there more you need to tell me? Because if you and I are going to have any sort of relationship, even friendship, there’s got to be honesty starting right now.”
She swallowed hard enough he saw it. “I do have a plan. I’ll be the bait to draw him or her out.”
“Draw out who? Symphis?” Jake asked. That tone—low and filled with anger—zinged through her body.
Her legs trembled with the urge to take a step back, but she held her position. “I have to catch him. To stop him. This is for you and Noah. For Kaleb. And for all the gamers who’re stuck in the vicious cycle of the Stadium and game play. It has to end.”
“Ending everything isn’t your job. Let the FBI and people with training deal with it.” He closed in on her. “Don’t do whatever new idea you’ve concocted.”
“I’m scared. But you’re right. There’s something between us. It’s always been there. But now isn’t the right time for it. Seems like there may never be a right time.” She turned toward the door. “I shouldn’t be here. I went a little nuts seeing her with you.”
He moved. Fast. He picked her up and carried her toward the bedroom with such speed that her legs automatically would around to clasp his midsection. By the time she sucked air to protest, he’d flattened himself over her on his bed. She squirmed against him.
His mouth crushed hers, and she stilled. He held nothing back, kissing her hard, pressing her head into the comforter. His tongue worked against hers, his powerful body surrounding her, and his hands dug into her hair to hold her in place.
She shifted against him, closing her eyes to kiss him back. This was what she’d wanted coming here. So much this.
“Becca.” His fingers tangled tight in her hair, the pain erotic as it tingled through her scalp. One of his arms slid around her waist and then down. His palm cupped her butt as he ground her against the thick length of him.
Mini explosions flew through her. She whispered, “This feels pretty real.”
Keeping his mouth pressed to hers, he stripped her. Once free of all clothes, he released her to look. She could get lost in the complex emotion of his gaze forever.
Could they have forever? If they caught Symphis, maybe. Their chances of his or her capture weren’t high. That meant she’d be running again, this time for good.
Shedding useless thoughts, she pulled at Jake’s clothes until he relented and stripped. He leaned down and fastened his lips around one of her nipples, sucking the peak into his mouth.
She bucked against him. He released her, propped himself up and cupped her breasts. His pupils had widened, swallowing the blue of his eyes.
“You’re everything, Becca. Everything good.” His hands slid down her bare sides.
The touch went deep inside her, where a part of him would always be. No matter what. She brushed his hair away from his face. “So are you.”
His finger traced her. She gasped in a shocked breath as he began to rub over her clit. As he increased his pace, her hips arched into his touch. He dipped a finger inside her, exploring her depths while still rubbing her clit with his thumb.
“Does that feel good?” he asked.
Her head thrashed from side to side as her fingers dug deep into his shoulder blades. “Don’t stop.”
“Not until you come for me.”
“Oh God.”
His fingers moved away. Sound strangled in her throat, part denial and part begging.
“I love the way you respond,” he rasped. He caught her mouth to his as his fingers returned to her, adding the fullness of pressure. The muscles of her back contracted and arched. “But you left after fucking with my company, and I’m pretty sure you didn’t intend to come back.”
“Jake…please.”
He let go of her hands and moved away.
