Just a Game Ch. 02

"Dude, you are not on your game tonight."

"Sorry. I never even saw that sniper."

"It's cool. You're fortunate enough to be playing with me and I'm good enough for both of us."

"You better keep your ego in check or I'll shoot you myself."

"Yeah, yeah."

Gabe tried to focus on the game, but he was having hard time. His eyes kept dropping to the bite mark on his hand where a purple bruise was already appearing behind the teeth marks. Every time he saw it he thought about that beautiful moment when Cassie lost it in his arms. Then he'd get all flushed and his dick would start throbbing in his pants. And then he'd feel guilty again.

He really hadn't meant to do it. Like he told her, he'd just seen her there in the kitchen, that sweater clinging to her curves, her cute little sock feet carelessly resting in third position as she stood at the sink washing dishes. She looked miserable, her shoulders slumped and her head down; she hadn't even looked up at him when he came in. And he'd remembered the resignation in her voice when she told her friends there must be something wrong with her.

No, he didn't regret it and despite the guilt he knew that given half a chance he'd do it again. And more. He could show her how to get what she wanted from a man even if he didn't know how to give it to her. He could make her see that it was alright to make noise, to let her body writhe in pleasure, to ask for exactly what she wanted. And it certainly wouldn't hurt if in the process he'd get to run his hands over all that smooth creamy skin, kiss those soft full lips, taste that silky wetness between her legs...

Jesus. He glanced over at Aaron nervously, but he was too involved in shooting their way out of an ambush to notice Gabe's sudden discomfort. He was walking a fine line, though. And really, there was no point getting himself worked up about it since she was clearly pissed at him and not likely to take him up on his offer.

Oddly enough he couldn't bring himself to feel guilty about eavesdropping; the conversation had been partly about him after all. The Dick. He felt a twinge of irritation and decided that if Cassie ever talked to him again he was going to ask her about that. And he didn't feel guilty on her account for what they'd done; she'd obviously enjoyed it. The guilt was about Aaron. He wouldn't understand. He'd see it as a betrayal of his trust; assume Gabe was just trying to get laid. That really wasn't what it was about, though.

Was it?

No. Definitely not. He honestly hadn't been thinking about getting anything for himself out of it. Okay, so laying his hands on her beautiful body was a definite plus. And he couldn't deny the ego boost he got from knowing he'd been able to give her something no other guy had. But mostly he'd just wanted to make her feel better; prove to her that there was nothing wrong with her. Mission accomplished.

So why couldn't he stop thinking about what else he wanted to do with her?

"Alright bro, I give up. We're getting slaughtered here."

"Sorry man, I can't seem to get my head in the game."

Aaron ended the game without saving it and stood up to stretch. "Did you drive all the way back this afternoon?"

"Yeah and I was up late last night."

"So what happened? I thought you were supposed to spend Christmas with your mom."

"Wildlife emergency in the Chattahoochie."

Aaron snorted and rolled his eyes.

"No really, we caught these idiots trying to shoot turkeys in the campground yesterday morning. Said they wanted fresh birds for Christmas dinner. Fortunately the campground was empty so no one got hurt, but the rangers arrested them for poaching in a national forest and I had to hunt down, catch, and help pick buckshot out of a bunch of traumatized turkeys. It took all damn day and I didn't want to drive at night so I stayed and had dinner with my boss and his family. I'm pretty sure he put an entire bottle of rum in the egg nog."

"No wonder you're fried. That's what you get for going to work after graduation instead of grad school like me."

"Yeah well, I've been a grade ahead of you our whole lives. I figured I should give you a chance to get ahead."

"Seriously though, do you like it out there? It sounds pretty sweet other than the catching turkeys thing."

"Yeah man, I love the job. I mean, I spend plenty of time sitting in front of a computer, but there's always something to do out in the park if I want an excuse to get out. And the cabin they gave me to live in is awesome. That alone makes the biology degree worth the four years I spent on it."

"I bet. I'll have to come out and visit soon. I've been meaning to since you started, but it was a crazy semester for me. Maybe I can make it for spring break."

"Any time, man."

"Okay, I'm beat. You can crash here if you want, I'm gonna go downstairs and sleep with Shelly."

"What's the deal with her, by the way?"

"Shit, I don't know. We've been going out a few weeks and we're not really that serious, but she kind of invited herself to visit. I only said yes because I knew my parents weren't gonna be here and she offered to bring a carload of boxes from my apartment in Birmingham. The more I'm around her the less I want to be around her, but I feel bad, you know? Dumping someone at Christmas just seems like such a dick move."

"I hear you, man."

"Anyway, she's only here for another couple days and I'm moving so it'll be a natural break."

"Right."

"Well, you know where everything is. I'll see you in the morning."

"Night."

After Aaron left, Gabe sat for a few more minutes staring down at his hand, running one finger over the little indentions. No, Aaron wouldn't understand. They may have been best friends since they were kids, but they'd always had very different attitudes toward girls.

Gabe had grown up mostly with his mother, watching her put up with a long string of boyfriends that treated her like shit time and again, starting with his own father. He'd decided as a teenager that relationships weren't worth that kind of hassle; that he'd much rather be friends with girls and not have to deal with the whole boyfriend-girlfriend game that Aaron and most of their friends played.

Of course as he grew up he'd amended that opinion somewhat, observing that not everyone was as unhappy in their relationships as his mother. He'd always been rather in awe of Aaron's parents, who seemed to be best friends and were still happily married after nearly thirty years. If he ever found someone he thought he could love like that it might be worth it, but in the meantime he refused to play by anyone's rules but his own.

He heaved himself up off the bed with a sigh, dug a pair of cut-off sweat pants out of Aaron's dresser and traded them for his jeans. He walked across the hall to the bathroom, pausing only for a second to look at Cassie's closed bedroom door.

With a familiarity that came from being in a place that felt like home he quickly cleaned up, washing his face and rubbing some toothpaste over his teeth with his finger. In high school he'd kept a toothbrush here, but it had been several years since then and he didn't see an extra one lying around.

As he headed back to Aaron's room he heard the squeak of hinges and looked up to find Cassie's eyes on him. He registered that she looked nervous before he realized she was standing in the doorway of her room wearing nothing but a white tank top and pair of panties with little yellow flowers on the front.

The only thing that kept him from passing out cold was the fact that he was already walking toward her. Her eyes locked on his, widening a bit as he backed her into her room and kicked the door closed behind him. He slid his hands around her waist and pulled her close, but just as he dropped his head to kiss those irresistible lips she pulled back.

"Wait."

He licked his lips and looked down at her, holding his breath in anticipation. Her cheeks were bright pink and her pupils were so wide they made her eyes look black, but she said wait so he waited.

"I think we should set some boundaries here."

He straightened, but didn't move his hands. They'd found the cute little divots at the top of her ass and were enjoying themselves too much.

"Boundaries?"

"Yeah. If this is just physical recreation, like you said, there should be rules. Every game has rules, they keep things fun for everyone and no one gets hurt."

He raised his eyebrow at her, somewhat surprised at her take on the situation. There was something about calling it a game that rubbed him the wrong way, but he had to admit he was curious where she was going with this. "So what kind of rules are you proposing?"

"No sex."

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine with that." He could tell she'd expected an argument and for some reason it pleased him to surprise her. "What's the next rule?"

"No kissing."

"Hm." He frowned at that. "I don't like that rule."

"You have a problem with the no kissing rule, but not the no sex rule?"

"Yeah, well. I like kissing." His eyes dropped to her lips again and watched as her tongue darted out and moistened them.

"You don't like sex?"

His lips twisted into a smirk and he met her eyes, noticing the twinkle of amusement beginning to replace the nervousness. "I'm not even going to answer that. But there are a lot of strings that come with sex. If it makes you more comfortable to rule that out, I totally get it."

"It does. And it makes me more comfortable to rule out kissing too."

"Alright, if you insist." He shrugged in capitulation. "Any more rules?"

"That's it for me. Do you have any?"

"Now that you mention it I believe I do. No faking."

The corners of his mouth twitched as he watched her chest and face turn pink, but he smothered the smile before she looked back up at him. He wrapped his arm around her waist to keep her from turning away, guilt cutting through his amusement as he saw the mortified expression on her face. "Hey, I told you before; nothing was said that you need to be embarrassed about."

She twisted out of his grip and turned away. Walking over to sit down on the edge of the bed, she grabbed a pillow and held it on her lap in a subconscious effort to cover herself. "Did you hear...everything?"

"Yeah." He knew she was talking about what Jill said about her still wanting him and briefly considered feigning ignorance, but couldn't bring himself to lie to her. "I mean it, Cassie. I'm the one who should be embarrassed for being so dense that I never noticed you've hated me for years."

She turned even redder, if that were possible, and he walked over to her, cutting her off as she opened her mouth to speak. "Which is something I definitely want to get an explanation for later, but at the moment I think we should finish discussing our rules."

Cass sighed and gestured at him to continue as he knelt in front of her and pulled the pillow from her hands, tossing it toward the headboard. "Okay, first no faking and don't try to fool me because I'll know." He wasn't entirely sure he would know, but it sounded good and he hoped the threat of it would keep her from trying.

"And second...well it's not so much a rule really. I think we should keep this just between us. I'm not saying we should lie about it if anyone asks, but maybe we could just not broadcast it. Your brother would beat the shit out of me if he knew I was in here with you right now." As his hands slid up the outside of her thighs and wrapped around her lower back his eyes drifted over her body and his voice dropped an octave. "Touching you like this."

A hint of a smirk crossed her lips and she snorted. "I've seen you guys spar. I think you both know you could take him down."

"Yeah well, I'd rather it not ever come to that. And I'd probably let him kick my ass if it did; I'm still not entirely sure I'm not a total asshole for even thinking about doing this."

"Wait a minute, now. This isn't something you're doing to me. If I didn't want you here, you wouldn't be here. In fact, I'm pretty sure I'm the one who tempted you into my room with my sexiest underwear so I could proposition you."

Gabe fingered one of the little flowers on the front of her panties and grinned up at her. "This is your sexiest underwear?"

"Shut up. Lace is itchy and silk doesn't breathe well."

"I'm not complaining, you look sexy as hell to me," he said with a chuckle, the laugh fading as his hand flattened against her stomach. It was warm and firm under his palm and he had to suppress the sudden urge to fist the thin cotton and tear it off her so he could see if she looked as good as she felt. Instead he lowered his head and brushed the top of her thigh with the stubble on his chin, smiling when he felt her shiver. "So this no kissing rule..."

"Yeah?"

He continued dragging his chin slowly up her thigh, enjoying the way her voice suddenly sounded so breathy. "You just meant on the lips, right? I mean," he paused as he reached the top of her leg and looked up at her, his lips just a hairsbreadth from the skin above her waistband. "I can kiss you other places, right?"

"Yeah." This time her voice was a faint whisper and he couldn't help teasing her a bit more.

"You're sure?" He straightened slowly, letting his warm breath drift over her stomach then her ribs before stopping at her nipple. "If I kissed you here that would be alright?" he asked, letting his lips brush the dark nub trying to poke its way through the white cotton. "Huh Cassie?" He heard her breath catch in her throat and lifted his eyes to her face.

"Mmm..."

Her eyes were squeezed tight and she was biting both her lips to muffle herself. She was holding back, hiding her reaction from him and he didn't like it. Seized with the need to provoke a response, he took her nipple gently between his teeth and pulled.

It worked.

With an exclamation of surprise she released her death grip on the comforter and buried her fingers in his hair, pulling him closer. Oh yeah, that was more like it. Gabe tugged down on her shirt, resuming his attack as soon as her breasts popped free through the top. He sucked first one taut bud deep into his mouth, then the other, swirling and lapping at them with his tongue, scraping them lightly with his teeth. Her skin was like silk under his tongue, the puckered areolas drawing him back over and over again. He couldn't get enough.

Her feet pressed against his lower back, pulling him close and squirming against him. Damn, her legs were strong, those powerful thighs clenching and releasing his ribs, riding him as if she were sitting on top of him. A long groan escaped him when he realized he could feel a warm damp spot on his shirt and he used his hand on her back to pull her closer, wondering vaguely if he'd be able to make her come like this.

He leaned back to pull her shirt off over her head and it broke the spell. Cass released his hair and tried to move back, pushing lightly on his shoulders. When his lips found her breasts again she sighed and started to move with him again, little moans of pleasure escaping her, but after a moment she stiffened again and he backed off.

"What is it, babe?"

"I'm too loud."

"You are not too loud. But we could try to drown it out a bit if you're nervous about being heard."

He glanced around the room and saw her laptop sitting on her desk nearby. Standing quickly he walked over to it and opened the music player. Frantic base accompanied by Jennifer Lopez's voice filled the room and he shot her a grimace.

"Dance music," she said with a completely un-self-conscious grin.

After a cursory glance through her albums he turned on Al Green and did a little pivoting spin as he walked back to the bed. "Nothing like The Reverend to get you in the mood."

She snorted at him and shook her head. "You'll have to remind me to teach you some moves. You dance like a nerdy white boy."

He narrowed his eyes at her and started swinging his hips in an exaggerated motion as he slowly pulled the t-shirt over his head. "Still nerdy?"

She nodded sympathetically. "But if it makes you feel any better you make a pretty sexy nerd." Her eyes traveled down his body, then snapped back up to his face. "And then when you stop dancing it just leaves the sexy part."

She was joking around, but he could tell that she was trying not to be too obvious that she was staring at him. It wasn't the first time she'd seen him shirtless, not by a long shot, but he figured it was the first time she'd been able to look openly. He moved slowly toward the bed, giving her some time to check him out. He didn't have anything to be ashamed of; taller than average and on the skinny side, but between work and keeping up with martial arts he stayed in shape and had ropy muscles that gave him definition.

"Scoot back," he growled in mock offence, gesturing toward the headboard with his chin. "I've got some moves I want to teach you."

Her cute giggle and the sight of her pert little breasts jiggling as she shimmied up to the head of the bed and was enough to bring him to his knees. Luckily he was already kneeling at the foot of the bed crawling toward her.

"Let me explain something to you," he said, pushing her feet apart so he could move up between them. "I love those little noises you seem to be embarrassed about, and I can't wait to hear the louder ones that you're obviously trying to hold inside. Those noises tell me you like what I'm doing to you. And I definitely want you to like what I'm doing to you."

He continued up her body, pushing her legs further apart and stopping here and there to place a nibbling kiss, pointedly avoiding her most sensitive spots so he could be sure she was paying attention to what he was saying.

"If you want to talk to me and tell me what you like or don't like, feel free. If there's anything you want me to do, just ask. I guarantee you aren't going to shock me. But you don't have to say a word if you don't want to, just relax and let go. The noises you make and the way your body moves tells me where you want me to touch you, how you want me to touch you."

"But it's so embarrassing..."

He shook his head and sighed against her belly, smiling as he watched goose bumps spread across her pale skin. "You have no idea, do you? What an incredible turn on it is for a guy to know he's getting a woman off? It is so hot when I breathe on your skin and you shiver and your nipples get all hard. And when I flick the tip of your nipple with my tongue and you jump." He demonstrated as he let his fingers drift lower, trailing them over the wet spot in her panties. "And when I brush my fingers over your pussy to see how wet you are and you moan my name and push your hips against me like you're dying for me to shove them inside you..." He trailed off into a moan of his own.

By this time he was on his hands and knees over her, face to face. He could tell his words were getting to her the way her breath was coming in shallow gasps. Her lips were slightly parted and it was an exercise in self-control to keep from dipping his head down and sliding his tongue into her mouth to taste her. He licked his own lips in a weak approximation of a kiss and fixed her eyes with his.

"And when you start bucking and shaking and begging me to make you come because you need it so bad...goddamn I'm hard as a rock just thinking about it." He took her hand in his and pressed it against the growing tent in his sweat pants to prove that he was telling the truth. "Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"I...yeah." Her nod was jerky.

"Good." He released her hand, noting that she let it linger for a few seconds before moving it away. "Now I'm about to peel those sexy little panties of yours off and bury my face between your legs for a while because I've been dying to taste you since you came for me in the kitchen. And when I do I want you to remember what I just said..."