Page 35 of Graveyards & Greed

Lust scored through my system, and my nipples peaked. His filthy talk made my toes curl, and I swayed into him. “You’re doing it again, you damn cheater, trying to distract me and mess with my head right before a game.”

But two could play. Turning to face him, I ran my hands down his chest and grazed his hard cock with my fingers. “I love the way you stare at me—like you’re either going to say something snarky, or devour me and smile while I scream.” I leaned up and licked and bit him behind his ear. When he started pulling me in, I evaded him and tried to shake off the lust coursing through me.

I grinned at his scowl as we settled down to play. “Your move,” I muttered, eyeing the board critically. He grunted and began with a simple E4 to E5. I countered with the Sicilian Defense.

“Playing chess with you is like trying to read a newspaper in the middle of a hurricane. You’re a major distraction,” he grumbled.

“I'll take that as a compliment.” Lust settled between us in a low hum.

“It also reminds me of playing with my grandfather. He enjoyed baiting me while we played.” Drakos paused, his light tone giving way to something more reflective.

“When did he die?”

“When I was ten. He raised me after my father died, then my stepfather came along, and we moved away. It all went to shit after that.”

“It sounds like your grandfather was a good man.” I nudged a pawn forward, listening intently.

“He was. My mother always seemed overwhelmed by life, and my stepfather was rotten to the core.” He shook his head and studied the board. “What about your family?”

I smiled with bitter fondness. “My mother was larger than life. She sucked up all the oxygen until she decided it was time to check out, but I happily suffocated to be with her. My father and his family are also rotten, but the rest of my family is a force of nature. I love them and wouldn’t want any other family. But they aren’t… conventional.” I leaned over and took my turn, giving Drakos an unfettered view down my top.

His eyes narrowed, and he adjusted himself. The sexual tension ramped up, but the desperate need to win seemed absent.

At one point, Drakos leaned back and clasped his hands behind his head. His biceps bulged nicely as his sweatshirt rode up to show off that delicious V.

I raised an eyebrow, but he smirked and continued our conversation. “Tell me more about your parents.”

Sighing, my eyes dropped to the board. “My father is in prison. He’s a drug addict, and like a lot of addicts do, he started dealing. Unfortunately, he was good at it. He’s also a psychopath, and when my mother died, he tried to get his hands on my inheritance. My maternal grandmother was well-off, and she left all her children a respectable trust fund.”

“You don’t seem to flaunt it.”

I shrugged. “It’s nothing extravagant, and Ezra wouldn’tletus flaunt it. My mother was a mess, but she protected me the best she could and let Luna live with me when her life went off the rails.”

He studied me. “Luna mentioned once that your father tried to kill you. What happened?” As we talked, I methodically tracked his moves on the board, letting my subconscious strategize for me.

“After my mother died and I inherited from her, my father waited for me after school. Luna was with me, and that was the day we met Alexa.” I shrugged, but my hands had gone sweaty. “We were able to overpower him.”

Drakos stared at me. “How old were you?”

“Fifteen. It was a rough year.” I avoided his eyes and studied the board.

“Is that why he’s in prison?”

I moved my queen into place. “Yes. That wasn’t the worst thing that happened that year though. My dog, Maggie, died.”

He lifted his eyebrow and took a turn. “You consider your dog dying worse than your father trying to kill you?”

“Yeah. Checkmate,” I announced as I moved my rook into position.

“What?” He looked down at the board distractedly, then studied it more closely.

His chagrined, incredulous expression made me laugh. I leaned over and patted his knee. “You haven’t been concentrating, and it was my turn to win.”

“Don’t patronize me.” He stood and walked around the table. “You giving me a view of your beautiful tits every time you leaned over didn’t help, either.”

I grinned up at him. “Nice of you to notice.”

“Oh, I definitely noticed, Lollipop. I’ve sucked and licked those lovely breasts, and they’re even more magnificent up close. Let’s take a dip in the hot tub before we go to bed.”

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