Page 35 of The Games We Play

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Striding across the frontlawn, X’s hand protectively wraps around my waist. I wear a Cheshire grin under my mask. We’re unknown. Hidden in plain sight.

“Oh, my God! You two are the cutest! Look at your matching outfits!” A half-trashed zombie-nurse says as we get closer to the porch.

“Thanks…um,” I glance up at X, then back at the nurse. “Have you seen Jackson?”

“You mean Thor?”

I roll my eyes. Of course, the guy with a god complex would dress up as…well a god.

“Yup, that’s him. Thanks!” I wave her off and grab X’s hand, pulling him behind me.

“Not so eager, Puppet. We want to blend in. Keep people from pointing fingers at the power couple that strolled in halfway through the party.”

Couple?

Energy zaps from his touch at that word. Thank goodness he can’t see my eyes widen and lips part in shock at how the thought of beingwithX makes me feel.

We stride inside where the music is so loud, I can’t hear myself think. It’s easy to find Thor since he’s standing upside down on his hands in the middle of a coffee table. Beer fills a funnel, and he’s chugging through a tube. X squeezes my hip and we move closer, keeping to the walls as much as possible.

The room chantschug,chug,chugand X runs a finger low on my abdomen and I look up at him. He jerks his head in Jackson’s direction and I nod to his silent question.

I found my prey. Now, how do I get him alone?

I study him from the corner, bro hugging his friends and sticking his tongue down random girls’ throats as he walks by. They smile after him like they’ve just been given the fountain of youth. Eventually, he makes his way up the stairs and I’m quick to follow. X’s hand moves to interlace his fingers with mine, forcing me to slow my pace.

Right. We don’t want to look suspicious. I lose sight of him as he rounds the corner at the top of the stairs. My impatience gets the best of me and I slip on a step.

“Easy, Puppet. There’s a thrill in the chase. Embrace it,” X whispers near my ear. Adrenaline spikes and my heart rate picks up. I squeeze his hand.

He’s right. But for me, there is also a thrill in being chased. I wonder how Jackson will react?

“Yo! Bro!” someone shouts. We round the corner to Jackson beating on a locked door. “You better not be fucking on my bed!” A red-faced, Gatsby-styled girl with tousled hair rips the door open and scurries away. A smug guy stares after her and slaps Jackson on the shoulder before disappearing downstairs.

“Great, now I have to burn the sheets,” Jackson grumbles as he enters. X pulls me hard into him, slamming us into the wall and lifting his mask just enough to make his perfect mouth visible. He lifts mine and feverishly kisses me, like this is our last moment together. He breaks away, his mask sliding back down, and I adjust mine. His hardened cock presses into my abdomen and I am overtaken by the drive to fuck him for everyone to see. The anonymity is fucking hot.

“Get a room,” someone grumbles. I turn my head to see it’s Jackson going back to the party.

“Gladly,” X purrs and leads me into Jackson’s.

They say you can tell all you need to know about a person based on their room. Well, Jackson has nothing but half-naked women posters and dirty clothes on the floor. I spot a very delectable surprise on the nightstand and pick it up. X rips it from my fingers and sets it back down with a harshno.

“Come on, I smoke all the time. Just one hit.”

“How do you know that’s not laced with something?”

I shrug. He has a point. He pulls a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and offers me one. “I knew you smoked,” I say and shove my mask up my face. I expect him to take one, but he closes the box and places it back in his pocket. Placing the paper between my lips, I look around for a lighter. X is ahead of me when he flicks open a rectangle metal lighter and holds it up for me.

I inhale in a long drag and sigh as the smoke swirls in my lungs.

“You don’t smoke a lot,” he states. Not a question.

“No.”

“You never taste or smell like smoke,” he adds. I smirk and pull another drag.

“Only when the nights get hard,” I admit. It’s so easy to talk to him. Easier than Ryan even, which is shocking considering I tell him everything. Minus this new blood thirsty thing I have going on.

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