The Seduction Game

Will’s words were whispered straight into her ear and she whimpered as the tingles began to abate, leaving her feeling completely spent. Completely boneless. Like nothing and no one could ever make her move again.

Only Will was still inside of her, still moving, and the friction was becoming overwhelming, almost unbearable. She was so sensitive, like all the nerve endings she’d never known about were now the only ones that mattered and Kate cried out as Will sped up, making the nerve endings sing all over again and he was crying out her name, his head buried in her shoulder, his body practically pulsing inside of her. “Katie,” he groaned. “Katie.”

He gave one last thrust, it filled her to the very brim, and Kate could actually feel his orgasm take hold. Feel him quiver inside her, felt her own body wring out every last tremor, and it was the most intense feeling of satisfaction she had ever felt. Like this was how it was meant to be. How it should have always been.

Skin to skin. Their bodies both glorying in the aftermath of their explosions, and as Kate wrapped him in her arms, and silent tears of pleasure streamed down her face, she knew that without a doubt, everything had changed.

Nothing would ever be the same again.

Nothing.





Chapter Nineteen


Several hours later, Kate slept in his arms, her body spooned into him. Her fingers intertwined with his. Her breathing was soft and rhythmic and he could feel her honey waves tickling his chin.

She was exhausted. No wonder. They had indeed undertaken round two, and Will had kissed every single part of her he could find—slowly working his way from her unbelievably kissable lips to her dainty little feet. Her skin was addictive, it tasted of her, that indefinable scent he had come to associate only with Kate, and he could have carried on for hours, but in the end she’d begged him to stop and let her rest. And so he had, tucking her against him and wondering why it had been so important to make her scream his name over and over.

He sighed deeply, the thought prodding him again, demanding he supply an answer. His body was completely and utterly satisfied. His limbs loose and relaxed. But underneath that satisfaction was something else, a niggling worry that would not let him do what he wanted, namely to fall into a sleep as deep as Kate, and wake up the next morning with her still clasped in his arms.

She was a virgin.

He shuddered, remembering the feel of her soft skin stretching to take him, her muscles holding him so tight it was any wonder he hadn’t shot his load in less than a minute.

A virgin.

Everything made sense now. The chase she’d put him through. Her embarrassment. The blushes. The nerves. All of it. If only he’d picked up on the signs sooner. Or better yet, that she’d told him. He would have gone a hell of a lot slower. Waited weeks and weeks maybe. Coaxed her. Teased her. Instead, the sight of her body, the delicate curves, well, it had been too much. He’d held out as long as possible until he could take it no more and his only thought had been to bury himself so far and so deep that he lost sight of who was who, and where they even were.

He’d gotten his wish. In the end.

So surely he should be content.

But he wasn’t.

Kate being a virgin meant more than it should have done. There was no doubt in his mind that she hadn’t been that way by accident. She was unbelievably cute. Sexy. Smart. Which meant she’d been holding out for someone. Mr. Right, maybe?

She stirred in his arms. Mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like his name and Will froze, not wanting to wake her, not when he was feeling so torn up inside. Another wiggle and she settled back down, her soft breath cooling his arm, her ass pressing into his groin. Not a good idea. Despite his exhaustion, his dick started to perk up and Will gritted his teeth, willing it to subside. Kate was in no condition for a round three. She’d need a little while to get used to him. For any soreness to fade.

A virgin.

He’d never slept with one before. Never felt the responsibility of it. In fact, it had been quite some time since he’d even slept in the same bed as a woman, years in fact, and never before in this apartment. It made Will feel something that was impossible to quantify. More than that though, it made him feel things he hadn’t expected. She’d done that from the very fucking start and he shook his head slightly, amazed that he’d imagined he could concoct his little plan and everything would then fall into line.

Will slipped his arm out from under her so that he could sit on the edge of the bed. A moment later he padded into the main room, breathing in the cool air with something that seemed almost like panic.

A little space was definitely in order. A moment to think.

The view was magical, lights sparkling across the way. Will grabbed a bottle of water, stood, and just enjoyed it. It was rare he ever got to do that and enjoy the success he’d worked so hard for. As he considered all the changes he’d made to his life to accommodate that success, Will realized that if he had someone to share it all with, someone who mattered, it wouldn’t be so bad.

There’d be more than just him.

He’d have a motivation beyond the money. Because it had always been about that, hadn’t it? Though his family was comfortably well-off, his parents had always worked hard to provide for him and his sisters, Will had always wanted more. He’d wanted the big house and the flashy car. He’d wanted enough money in his bank that he’d never have to worry. That he could do whatever he liked. Only it hadn’t quite worked out like that. Sure, he had all the trappings of success, but it seemed like lately—perhaps only since Kate had entered his life—that Will found himself thinking of those things as “trappings” and not aspects of his life to be savored. So many people depended on him. So many people needed him to keep working hard. That fact dictated so much of his life. Where he ate, how he dressed, what he did in his free time. Even his trip to London had not been a holiday. He’d barely spent a moment of it not working.

But if it could be about more than that. If there was someone to make the success seem worthwhile. Someone to share it with. Someone to take on vacation. To spoil…

Kate. He turned and looked through to the other room, wondering with that same nameless panic if Kate was possibly that person, and feeling ever so suspiciously like she might be.

Abruptly, he imagined taking her to Japan, watching her mix with all the other geeks. There was an entire mall full of electronics that were never exported. He’d read that somewhere hadn’t he? She would love it.

He would love it…

Will groaned. She’d had him trapped from the very first moment their gazes had locked. The game had been lost at that point and he’d thrown in the towel without even knowing it. All he could do now was pick up the pieces.

He thought of his ridiculous plan to use her obvious crush on him to get his own way and laughed softly into the empty room. Only one thing remained now: the resolution of The Risings and dealing with the man who had messed it all up in the first place. The final jigsaw piece he had to fit into the picture that was Kate Kelly. Once that was done, nothing would stand in the way of wherever they were going to go. But he had no idea where that might be and he was shocked to realize that he was as scared as he had ever been in his life.

The stakes were high.

The odds unknown.

There was nothing else he could do now but play it until the very end.