Page 64 of Worth Every Game
She sighs loudly, wringing her hands in her lap. “We fucked this up.”
My heart jolts back and forth like an ice cube in an empty glass. “Can you be more specific?”
She gestures between us. “This game. We fucked up. We shouldn’t have played at all. Now, every time I see you, for the rest of our lives, I’ll just remember you coming down my throat. When Kate gets engaged, or married, or has a baby or there’s aparty and you’re there, I’ll be seeing you naked in the kitchen all over again.”
I snort.Can’t fucking help it. “Is that so bad?”
She dips her head and presses her palms to her cheeks. “Awful.”
I wince. “My ego is taking a pounding tonight. But at least you’ll have your winnings to make you feel better.”
A mirthless chuckle escapes her. “I can’t take it. It’ll feel like you paid me for a blow job.”
It’s my turn to laugh. “Most expensive blow job ever.” We share a quiet moment, then I add, “The money was yours before that.”
Elly sniffles again, wiping her eyes with her hands. “What now? Do you want me to move out?”
My muscles tense. “Why would I want that?”
“Because this’ll be awkward.”
I hold her gaze, but she looks away. I hook a finger under her chin, forcing her to look at me. “I don’t want you to move out. This doesn’t have to be awkward. This isn’t some one-night stand where we have to do the walk of shame back to our respective bedrooms.”
“Then what is it?”
I release her chin. “I don’t know. But I really hope it’s the start and not the end. But we did fuck up a little.”
“How so?”
“There’s something we should have done first.”
“What?”
Elly’s pupils dilate, and the air thickens around us. My gaze drops to her mouth, and her lips part just a fraction. I can’t resist any longer. I cup the back of her neck, intending to ease her towards me, but Elly’s already moving, our mouths drawing together like magnets.
Our lips meet, and the energy of the contact runs through me like electricity. As if it shocks us both, our movements become hurried, desperate, our kiss furious. It’s wet and hot and Elly’s fingers press into the back of my neck and tug my hair as she pulls me into her. I can still taste me on her and it only serves to increase the heat sizzling through me. I don’t know how I’m going to resist carrying her up to my room and fucking her all night.
She finally pulls away from me, her lips all red and slick and puffy.Gorgeous. We rest our foreheads together as our breathing returns to normal.
“We definitely fucked up,” she whispers, breathless, as she leans into me.
“Don’t overthink it. We might not be playing a game anymore, but we can still have fun.”
“Fun,” she confirms, although I suspect there’s a note of disappointment in her voice that causes a twinge of discomfort in my chest.
“Exactly. Fun,” I repeat. “Shall we start now?”
23
ELLY
Jack stares at me with a hungry look in his eye. How bad would it be to go through with this? We’ve already crossed the line—I’ve already won—and that kiss has left me eager for another round and my clit is throbbing forcefully between my legs, demanding that I take action. I want to fuck him.I do.
But if we do this now, it’s still part of the game. It’s not real. And as much as I hate to admit it, I don’t want to be another woman Jack Lansen fools around with.
And to add to that, I’m not entirely convinced that everything I’ve done with him tonight wasn’t an attempt to make myself feel better, to give me something else to focus on, to drive out the crippling self-doubt after being assailed on stage with the leftover shit from the inside of someone’s burger. Those fuckers might not have wanted me, but Jack certainly does, and I’d rather keep it that way. If I give him everything right now, he might lose interest.
I’m overthinking it, even though Jack warned me not to. But I don’t want this to become some casual fling I’m indulging in with my housemate. Wouldn’t it be better—wouldn’t I prefer it—if there was a possibility this thing with Jack might really go somewhere?