Round 24

G ood morning, Rose,” Mr. Markham greeted me as I entered the office kitchen. His eyes traveled down my body, but he said nothing else and left immediately after.

Still, I recoiled.

I had awoken wanting to feel sexy, which resulted in me wearing a little black dress I hadn’t worn since Neema hosted a Spice Girls–themed party. Now, after Mr. Markham’s eyes were on me, I regretted it. Never mind wanting to rip off the dress, I wanted to rip off my skin so he’d have nothing to look at.

It didn’t help that Louisa avoided my gaze as we passed each other in the hallway. She didn’t need to spell it out for me to understand: Jeffrey Markham was the boss.

As usual, work was a wonderful place to be.

But it did have Shaun.

“The RSVPs are dribbling in.” His blue eyes brightened. “It’s starting to feel real.”

We spent the remainder of the workday sprinkling in talk about wedding plans, and it was exactly the distraction I needed.

“Did you bring your game?” Shaun asked later that afternoon.

“No, Neema is bringing it later.”

“I’m super-excited to play it again. Especially now that you and William have fine-tuned it. Don’t tell him I told you, but he’s really excited about this presentation. He won’t stop talking about Overpower and the themes. I swear I can hear him talking about it in the middle of the night.” Shaun let out a laugh. “And while he can be really annoying, there is no one better at games than he is.”

Shaun beamed, clearly proud of both me and his brother.

Was it normal for a stomach to flutter at the mere mention of a name? Did I need a doctor? What if something was medically wrong with me?

“I know,” I almost whispered. “He’s the best.” I couldn’t trust myself to say more about William. Not anymore.

When we arrived at Shaun’s place, Neema’s car was already parked, and Shaun barely stopped his own car before sprinting upstairs in search of her. My heart twinged at his never-ending enthusiasm to see the person he loved.

I was left behind wondering what silly comment William would greet me with. What secret game we’d be playing today that we were yet to figure out.

But instead, when I walked inside, he stared at me. His gaze roamed over my body, beginning at the top of my head and then trailing over my chest and down my hips, over my thighs, until finally reaching my feet. Then he slowly reversed direction until his eyes met mine again.

He brought his knuckles to his mouth and bit on them.

And now I didn’t regret the dress anymore.

Neema gave me a once-over. “I love this dress.”

“Well, I only have it because of you,” I reminded her.

Claire and Lincoln arrived a few seconds later, and William timed them while they set up the game. It only took a few minutes, but they had played it once before. I couldn’t imagine total strangers playing Overpower, especially without me there. It could be a train wreck, but the pride in William’s eyes said otherwise.

The game lasted thirty minutes longer than William and I had planned. Glancing at the time, I bit my nails.

“Thirty minutes is nothing.” William picked up the pieces. “Plus, I’ve got a few ideas of how to lengthen or shorten it as we go along.”

“Care to share?”

“Nope.” He smiled.

“It’s really good.” Claire gave me a tight squeeze. “I mean it. I’m not saying this because I’m your friend. If I didn’t absolutely have to go home, I’d stay for another round.”

“Really frikken good. It’s brilliant,” Lincoln said, which was uncharacteristic for him.

Hearing him speak with that much enthusiasm warmed my heart. I launched myself into his arms. He allowed it and patted my head, a soft laugh escaping him.

“Your genius engineering brain likes it? Or is it because you won?” I asked.

“Both.” He sighed, shaking his head. “I especially enjoyed learning the characters’ backstories as the game progressed.”

William’s chuckle echoed through to me. “Yeah, those backstories nearly had Rose shoving me over the balcony.”

“It was a gentle nudge,” I replied and peeled myself off a silently laughing Lincoln. His vibrating chest brought me an incredible amount of joy.

As soon as I stepped away, Lincoln reached for his backpack and made a strange struggling noise. “I probably should have given you this before we started playing but”—he shifted on his feet while pulling out a small cardboard box—“I know you made the gaming tokens, so I wasn’t sure if like…” He swallowed.

This may be the most Lincoln Carden had ever said to me.

“Is this for me?” I asked, extending my palm and taking the box from his hands.

He nodded. “I drew them up and used the 3D printer at work. You don’t have to use them. Just kept thinking about your game…” He trailed off again.

I lifted the lid, and my gaze fell on the hat, the bow and arrow, the heart, the book, and the crown. My eyes welled up.

“Please don’t cry,” Lincoln said, his dark brows pulling together.

“Too late,” William said with a guffaw as he made his way next to me and investigated the contents of the box.

“I love them,” I croaked out, and because I wasn’t sure Lincoln would accept another hug, I walked into Neema’s and Claire’s arms and wondered how in the world I’d gotten so lucky to have these people as friends.

When I said goodbye to them, Claire shifted her eyes from mine to where William stood and back to me. One brow cocked in question.

There was so much I wanted to tell her about, but telling her more than she already knew felt like a betrayal to Neema and Shaun. I was already keeping secrets from my best friends but… this was between William and me, and until we figured it out, I didn’t want to involve anyone else.

The wink she offered me let me know she understood that.

And then Lincoln shooed her out of the apartment.

I went out to the balcony, hoping William would follow, and he did, except Shaun and Neema were right behind him, rattling on about whether they needed both a photographer and videographer for the wedding.

“It’s unnecessary,” Shaun said. “The photos capture everything. We’re never going to watch the video.”

He would regret saying that as Neema whipped out her phone and navigated to YouTube, and I was sure she was going to show him all of her favorite wedding videos, of which there were about two hundred. I knew this because, for as far back as I could remember, she’d spent every first day of her period crying in front of a breathtaking wedding video.

“I’m going to make some tea,” I said, slipping away, entirely uninterested in reliving those moments. Wedding videos were of extraordinarily little interest to me at the moment.

And apparently to William too.

“Tea? Coffee?” I turned to him as he came around the kitchen island.

Walking toward me, he crowded me against the countertop and placed his hands on both sides of my hips, locking me in place.

My breath caught at the unfiltered desire in his eyes and the heat pressing through my dress where he pinned me.

His gaze dropped to my cleavage, and he bit his bottom lip. “This is unfair.”

“Whatever do you mean?” I batted my eyelashes.

“This dress. Come on, is this how you’re going to win? Because it’s working.” He slid his hand down my waist, over my hip, and squeezed. “One bend, and I’m throwing you on the couch and having my way with you. I wouldn’t even care if they walked back in.”

“I kinda had a dream like that last night,” I said, losing myself in his dark, lust-filled eyes.

“Don’t tease me,” he breathed. The tip of his tongue swiped over his bottom lip, his gaze boring into me like he had other places he’d rather use it.

I liked seeing him flustered for a change.

“Well…” I looked over my shoulder and checked that Shaun and Neema hadn’t come inside. Satisfied they were too caught up in their debate on the balcony, I stood on my toes, gripped his T-shirt, and pulled him close, touching my lips to the shell of his ear. “Best dream I’ve ever had. I wonder if the real thing will live up to it.”

He swallowed a struggling sound.

I put the kettle on before turning back to him. His eyes were lit up so brightly that I had to look away or I thought I might spontaneously combust. His hands stroked over and around my waist like he couldn’t get enough of me.

He groaned. “Okay, game over. I can’t take this any longer. I submit this round.”

My laughter was cut short when William dropped to his knees. My heart leaped to my throat, and I looked down at him, alarmed to see him kneeling in front of me. My head whipped back to the living room, but it was still empty.

A wicked smile spread across William’s handsome face. “I don’t think I can resist you any longer.”

I tried to respond, but my words left me hanging as, inch by inch, he slid my dress high.

He looked up at me, asking permission—silently begging me to let him continue. Even in my shocked state, I wanted him. My heart pounded against my chest, and my blood rushed through me. My entire body was a heartbeat. I nodded.

Turning his head, he ran his nose along my inner thigh, leaving tiny kisses in his wake. So soft. Softer than I’d have expected. I flooded with warmth. If he stopped now, I’d have to kill him.

“William,” I whispered, my mind fuzzy with unbearable want. My heart fluttering with the gentle way he held me.

“Shhh.” His lips climbed once more, his fingers following until, once again, he’d found the lace edge of my panties.

And then, painstakingly slowly, he pulled my underwear down, and the rest was a blur as my brain short-circuited. I trembled, my hands falling to the counter and searching for support. A thrill coursed through me, and with every passing moment, the tension grew, twisting inside me in a way I couldn’t make sense of.

“Rose, could I please get a cup of tea?” Shaun’s voice traveled through from the balcony.

A shock jolted through me, and my body straightened as Shaun walked across the room to his bedroom.

Shielded by the island between the kitchen and living area, William’s hand found one of mine and entwined our fingers. My heart skipped.

“Yes, sure. Earl Grey?” My voice sounded unsteady to my own ears, and I nearly choked on air.

“You know it,” Shaun said without looking at me while entering his room.

“Anything for Neema, while I’m here?” I squeaked out, suppressing a wild giggle that teased.

“Nah,” Shaun called out.

I was hyper-aware of William. My body was a giant, shaking nerve.

“Where’s William?” Shaun asked, walking out of his bedroom with a portable charger in his hand.

William looked upward, a wide grin spreading across his face before yelling, “Down here, looking for the syrup. I’ve almost got it.”

Another giggle strangled me, fighting to escape.

“Maple? I’ll take some in my tea, actually,” Shaun said, and slipped through the balcony door.

I wanted to shriek with delight, with laughter, as a lightness overcame me.

He gripped me in place and gently bit the inside of my calf before opening the cupboard. When he stood, he held in his hand a jar of maple syrup.

“Found it.” His words were breathy, and a dangerous smile spread across his handsome face.

I leaned against the counter, unable to move. My legs wobbled at the mere thought of walking.

William’s gaze met mine, but I turned away. I didn’t know what to say or do.

“Don’t look away,” he whispered. “I love seeing you like this.”

It would take me a while to recover.

“Did you enjoy that?”

I nodded. “Uhm, thank you.”

“Don’t thank me.” He leaned his head against mine and gazed directly into my eyes. “That was for me.”

With those words, he washed his hands and then prepared Shaun’s cup of tea.

With syrup.