Deep In You (The Phoenix Series Book 1) Page 8

  “Sorry,” I murmured in her ear. “After you.”

  My bedroom was the nicest room in the house, aside from my home gym. A large sleigh bed with a black leather headboard dominated the open space. A desk lined one wall, and a dresser sat against another. There was an oversized walk-in closet and, through the open door near the dresser, a private bathroom with an oversized shower and hot tub.

  I set the glasses on the desk and flipped on the light. I watched Lily look around the room as I poured the wine and took a sip, letting the flavors roll over my tongue. Satisfied, I handed her the other glass, watching the way her throat moved when she swallowed.

  I set the glass down with a clink. “Cards?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Do you play cards?”

  “Not often.” Lily looked completely bewildered. I popped the lid off the cashews and smirked. “Why are we playing cards?”

  “I think strip poker sounds fun.”

  “You would think that.”

  “I’m usually right.”

  “Okay, so if you win, you get to see me naked. If I win, what?”

  “You mean you don’t want to see me naked?” Silence was my only answer. I chuckled. “All right, Lily, what do you want if you win?”

  “Information.”

  “You can ask me anything; you should know that.” I was genuinely confused at her request. It’s not like I was hiding things.

  “Sure. I ask, and you always deflect or distract me. I want you to answer anything, and answer honestly.”

  I hesitated. Something about her tone gave me pause. She was up to something… still, I was confident in my card playing ability.

  “Agreed, but let’s sweeten it further. Whoever loses the round can choose their fate. She can remove any article of clothing, answer a question with absolute honesty, or must perform a task left to my imagination.”

  “She? Your imagination? Kind of cocky, aren’t you?”

  “Do we have a deal?”

  She thought for a moment. “What kind of tasks? Cleaning? Sexual?”

  “Anything.”

  Lily narrowed her eyes. “Make it two things. And winner’s choice, not loser’s.”

  “In a hurry to get naked for me? Or you want to see how devious I can be in regard to tasks?”

  “Neither. I plan to win. I have a lot of questions.”

  I considered. Two “prizes” would speed things to their inevitable conclusion, but this game was all about seduction. I wanted to drive her wild for me. Stalling for time, I popped more cashews in my mouth.

  Perhaps this would work after all. I’d twist it so I could see what sort of things she wanted done to herself, as well. Plus that would limit the number of nosy questions. Even though I was pretty open about things, I shouldn’t lose sight of what she does for a living. “Done. Two things, but the winner chooses one, and the loser chooses one to have happen to her.”

  “Do they teach this level of cockiness in some school somewhere? I mean, I’d bet you couldn’t lay it on any thicker if you tried. No deal. The point of two prizes was for me to ask you questions.”

  “Then you’ll just need to win. What’s the matter? Afraid you won’t be able to?”

  She gulped down the rest of her wine. “Oh, fine. Get the damned cards.”

  “Wait here.” I left the room and walked down the stairs again, wincing at the ache in my ankle. I went into the closet of the guest room and pulled out a collapsible card table and a folding chair, then grabbed the cards. The nauseating smell from our disastrous night together still permeated the room. I should have cleaned it earlier. I firmly closed the door as if that would make it all go away and returned to Lily.

  “Wow, a card table and everything? You do this often?”

  “No, not often at all. I can’t remember the last time I played cards with anyone.” That wasn’t exactly the truth. I had played with my buddy John, Sam, and his wife Melissa quite a few times in the past. It had been a while, though, and I knew she was asking if I often played strip poker with other women.

  I finished setting up the table and chair, then spun my padded desk chair over to the table as well. I refilled the wine glasses and shuffled. “Five card draw. No wild cards. That okay with you?”

  “Umm… sure.”

  Oh, this was going to be all too easy.

  I dealt, leaving my hand on the table while I watched her. She picked them up and rearranged them in her hand, her delicate fingers awkwardly moving cards around as if she’d never seen them before. Her confident bravado she’d displayed during “negotiations” had completely vanished.

  Her nostrils flared; it was adorable. The frown line on her forehead relaxed a little. She placed two cards on the table and tapped them with her nails.

  “Two, please.”

  Without looking away, I dealt her two more. Her eyes widened and darted to mine. She had a shitty poker face, it was almost comical. Whatever she had must be pretty good.

  “Xander, aren’t you going to look at yours?”

  I gave her a crooked half-smile and picked up my cards. I had decided that, no matter what, I was going to throw this hand. I discarded two queens and a ten, drawing three new ones. I set them down and took a sip of wine. “Staying in or folding?”

  “Oh, I’m in,” she answered a little too quickly. She was trying and failing to hide her excitement.

  I toyed with my glass. “So am I. Call.”

  She flipped her cards over, practically giddy in her perceived victory. “Full house. Read ‘em and weep.”

  “Full house, huh? You hustling me, Lily?”

  “What? Did I say it wrong? That’s what they say in the movies,” she said with a giggle.

  “Well, you got me. I have a pair of nines.”

  “You lose! What are you going to do now, Xander?” She rubbed her hands together, a wicked look on her face.

  “Hmmm.” I untied my tie and tossed it onto the bed. “Just as well. I only left that thing on since we were playing strip poker. Much more comfortable now.”

  “I’m glad to hear that. Wouldn’t want you to be uncomfortable. Well, not physically. Now it’s question time!” She rubbed her hands together, an evil grin plastered on her face. “Hmm… I’d better make it good. What should I ask?”

  “Is that your question?”

  “You should be so lucky. I’m thinking out loud, that’s all. I want to choose the right one. I want to ask you why you don’t have girlfriends. I want to know how many women you’ve been with, how old you were the first time. I want… wait, I know.” She paused, her forehead wrinkling. “Why me?”

  “Why you?”

  “Yes. That’s my question. You could have had any girl in that club. But you took me home. Why?”

  I drew out finishing my wine and refilling it, buying time. “Like I told you yesterday, you stood out to me. I wanted you from the moment I saw you. As for tonight, I don’t know, Lily. You’ve gotten under my skin. Maybe it’s what we went through, maybe it’s fate, but I feel drawn to you. When you aren’t around, I miss you. I couldn’t stop thinking of you after I dropped you off this afternoon. And, then, when you are around, I want nothing more than to be inside you. It’s you because I can’t seem to help myself, and that is the whole truth. Is it my shuffle?”

  “Don’t change the subject, Xander. I still want to know why. The real reason why.”

  I picked up the cards and straightened them, feeling frustrated. I didn’t know how to explain better because I didn’t understand myself. “That makes two of us, Lily. I don’t know what more to tell you.”

  Lily took the cards from me, shuffled, and dealt. Compared to the last time, she had very little reaction. A glance at my hand showed me the three of spades, and a three, four, five, and an ace–all of hearts. Why had I said no wild cards? Oh well. Chances of getting a two when I discarded a single card was pretty remote, but I needed to decide to try for the last heart or to play off the low pair. I smiled at Lily and d
ropped a single card. “One, please.”

  She handed me a card, then discarded three of her own. The new card was the ten of diamonds. I had nothing. I set all my cards down. “I’m in.”

  Lily’s eyes searched mine. “I fold.” Her voice was so small I almost questioned hearing it.

  “What was that? Sounded like you folded. You know what that means…”

  “It means we deal the next round?”

  “Nice try. It means you lose. So what’s it gonna be?”

  “Ask me a question.”

  I stilled. It hadn’t occurred to me that she’d want me to ask her things. I felt confused and unprepared. What was this, anyway? Some odd variant of Truth or Dare? Why had I even agreed? We should have stuck with tasks and nudity.

  “That’s not what I had in mind.”

  “Well, you shot down my idea of both prizes being the winner’s choice, so deal with it. What’s your question?”

  I’d show her. She wanted to play Truth or Dare? So be it. “Fine. What is your deepest, darkest sexual fantasy?”

  Lily’s complexion paled. “What kind of question is that? I have no idea.”

  “I’m waiting.”

  She picked at the vinyl table covering with a scarlet fingernail. I sat back in my chair, steepling my fingers in front of me.

  “Well, promise not to laugh?”

  “How can I promise something without knowing exactly what I’m promising? I promise to try not to laugh.”

  “Damn you. Fine. We did it tonight.”

  I leaned forward, regarding her. “Go on.”

  “In the alley. It was so… forbidden, so sexy. We could have been caught at any moment. The risk turned me on.”

  “Why would I laugh at that?”

  “I don’t know. Because you’re you. Because you’d think I meant that you’re my…”

  “Yes?”

  “Nope. I’m done there. Your turn to choose something I have to do.”

  “I’d think you meant I’m your–what?” It hit me. “Your fantasy?”

  “No! That’s not what I said,” she squealed. “Fuck you, Xander.”

  “That’s the plan for later. For now, take something off.”

  Leaning forward, Lily slid her hand under the back of her shirt, lifting the front just enough to yank out a strapless black bra. She tossed it on the bed. “Now I’m more comfortable.” Her tone sounded exactly as mine had when discussing my tie. I stared at her chest, admiring the way her nipples pressed against the thin fabric of her tank top. “Less staring, more dealing.”

  I chuckled and grabbed the cards. It was on now. I quickly shuffled and dealt, keeping an eye on her and watching for her tells. I won the next round with three of a kind, barely beating her two pair. She chose to remove her shoes, then looked up at me expectantly.

  “I think I’ll go with a task this time,” I said at length. My mind raced as I considered the possibilities. The thought that overrode the rest, though, was I wanted an unobstructed view of her beautiful breasts. “Take off your shirt,” I bit out, already turned on from just imagining what I had in store for her.

  “That’s not how this is supposed to work. I’m supposed to get to choose what clothing I take off and when.”

  “That would be true had I told you to remove some of your clothes. I didn’t. You are fulfilling a task. Now, do what I told you.”

  Lily took on a stubborn stance and looked like she wanted to argue. I leaned forward in my chair, folding my arms on the card table in front of me. I tapped my fingers impatiently as I stared her down. She swallowed hard, then shook her head and sighed. “Fine.” She snatched off her tank top and flung it over her shoulder.

  My eyes devoured her chest. Her nipples stood erect, begging me to touch them. Outwardly, I maintained my composure, not moving, forcing myself to breathe normally. In my head, however, I was feasting on those nipples, her back arched as she moaned, begging me to touch even more. Fuck me. My heart rate accelerated, my dick pressed painfully against my pants. I wanted to adjust myself, needed to adjust myself, but refused to let her see how much she affected me. I’d only had her a short time ago, but already needed her again. I forced my eyes up to hers, noticing her eyes had darkened. Oh, yeah. She wanted me every bit as much as I wanted her.

  I cleared my throat, forcing our attention back to the game. At least I tried to. She dealt, but I couldn’t focus. While we examined our cards, I sneakily reached under the table and adjusted my dick.

  Lily was terrible at bluffing. When I met her gaze, I saw the excitement there as obvious as if someone had written “I have a winning hand” on her forehead. A quick glance at my cards told me I didn’t have a chance in hell. I discarded three, but the new ones were not any better.

  “I’m out. You want me to take off my pants, right?”

  “Wrong! Question time. How many women have you been with?”

  Well, doesn’t that just destroy the mood? I frowned. “I don’t know.”

  “You said you’d answer honestly.”

  “And I did.” I unbuttoned my shirt and tossed it behind me on the bed, then grabbed the cards.

  “Wait. How was that honest? You must have some idea. Example: I’ve been with five different men.”

  I sighed, shuffling the cards absently. “I was with five women in just the last couple of weeks. More than five, now that I think about it. I said I don’t know because I don’t know. You’re a reporter, Lily. A tabloid reporter. I’m having trouble with the idea that you didn’t know that.”

  “So when you saw me in the club, you’d just intended me to be a one night fling for you?”

  “Yes. Yet, here we are, together on an entirely different day. Until this question, I was having a good time. I told you I wanted to see you again, told you I couldn’t stop thinking about you. Why isn’t that enough? Can’t it be enough for now? We’ll see how things go, like regular people.” I really regretting agreeing to answer her questions. Nothing good could come of this.

  “Yes, Xander. I’m sorry.”

  “Besides, those were two questions.” I grinned, making a show out of checking out her bare tits. I wanted to lighten the mood and regain some of the sexual tension that had been building between us. This game needed to be put back on track.

  I won the next hand. Lily shimmied out of her skirt and stood before me in nothing but a tiny black thong and high heels. I swallowed hard, my mouth going dry. All my annoyance from just a few minutes before evaporated. Christ, she was hot.

  “What do you want me to do now, Xander?”

  “I–” I cleared my throat and tried again. “I want you to kneel down on the floor next to me.”

  “What? Why? Are we done playing cards?”

  “Why isn’t part of the deal. Just do it.”

  Lily circled the table and dropped to her knees at my side. Her tits hung freely, her nipples were hard, pointed. I wanted to touch them. My mouth watered at the thought of taking them in my mouth.

  “Now what?”

  “Lean forward. More, a little more. Yes, just like that. Now look at me.” Her eyes rose to meet mine. Her eyes were dark with desire, her breasts thrust forward, begging for attention. “Do you know how sexy you are, kneeling there in nothing but your heels and thong? I want so badly to touch you.”

  “Then do it.” She breathed heavily.

  I flashed her a wicked grin. “Not yet. First, I want you to touch yourself. “Feel your breasts, caress them, massage them. Let me see how much you enjoy it.”

  “I’d enjoy it more if you did it for me.”

  “Soon. Very soon. But not yet. Go on; I’m waiting.” She ran her palms over her thighs and up to her belly. She hesitated, tensing. “Close your eyes. Don’t think about being watched. Pretend your hands are my hands. Pleasure yourself the way I would pleasure you.”

  She closed her eyes and threw her head back. Her hands skated up her skin, testing the weight of her breasts. She pinched her nipples, her breath coming faster.<
br />
  I fell silent, watching her in rapt attention. She squeezed her tits together, releasing rhythmically, kneading her flesh. My hands twitched, I wanted so badly to join her. She pinched her nipples again and moaned. The sound awoke every nerve in my body.

  “Happy now?” she asked, opening her eyes. I watched her gaze travel to my crotch, my tented pants more than obvious. She licked her lips, her expression predatory. She looked like she wanted to eat me alive.

  I held out my hand, refusing to give in, determined to remain in control. “Almost. Suck it.”

  She eagerly rose up on her knees and moved toward my lap, but I stopped her, restraining her with the hand I had offered. I traced her lower lip with my thumb. “This. Suck this.”

  With agonizing slowness, Lily drew my thumb into her mouth. Her eyes locked with mine. She swirled her tongue around, sucking hard. She scraped her teeth across the skin and moaned as if my thumb were a delicacy.

  My cock throbbed at the sound. I couldn’t take it anymore. I needed her badly, needed to sink balls-deep inside her. The only thing stopping me was my own iron will. I was determined to play out this game of seduction, though it would inevitably drive me insane. My breath caught as she drew my thumb fully into her mouth. Oh, fuck! Why hadn’t I taken my pants off earlier when I had the chance? They felt much too tight. Gently I pulled away from her. “Lily…”

  “Yes?” Her voice was breathy, full of need.

  “It’s your shuffle.”

  Confused, she jumped to her feet and plopped into the chair. She dealt the cards, which I tried to focus on, but all I could think about was getting her lips wrapped around my cock. Feeling her lick the bead of pre-come off the tip and taking me all the way back into her throat. I managed to pull off a single pair, which was mostly by sheer chance. She won the hand.

  “Wait.” Lily chewed her lip.

  “What?”

  “It’s just… I want to ask you a question, but there’s something I’d like you to do.” She looked up at me pleadingly. Did she expect me to let her do both? Not a chance. These pants were coming off.