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“Hell no!” Adriana retorted immediately, her eyes widening as she shook her head. “No way I’m telling my brother that. Just told him it didn’t work out between us.”
Odysseus went silent, having no idea what to say, and after a few seconds, even Adriana found the silence uncomfortable.
Lifting her head, she looked at him. “See, I know you’re still beating yourself up about what happened that night. And while I’m not taking away from the seriousness of that whole situation, I’ve forgiven you for it.”
“But you haven’t forgotten about it,” Odysseus replied, a solemn look in the green eyes that stared down at her.
“Why do you say that?”
“Because I know that is the last time you’ve let a guy get that close to you, the last time you really submitted and let yourself go.”
It was Adriana’s turn to stare without saying anything. He was right, yet he was not.
“So maybe it was. Maybe it wasn’t for me, the whole BDSM thing.” The last part was said on a whisper as she leaned in towards him, a move that brought her close to him. “And to correct your notion, I’ve had relationships since then.”
Rarely exciting ones, but she wasn’t going to tell him that.
Odysseus looked at her as he replied, “I know that’s a lie, because I remembered how perfectly you responded to me. The noises you made when I had you over my knees, and how your eyes tried so hard to show your resistance before you gave in. How you’d get so wet just at the tone of my voice, eagerly going on your knees to do as I commanded. I remember all these things, and I know that there is no way you can tell me you enjoyed going back to plain vanilla.”
He was like a mage, the words coming out of his mouth like spells unlocking secret places she had thought gone for a long time, transporting her from where she sat to a secret place where the promise of what he could do to her tempted her to bend her knees yet again.
Clearing her throat, Adriana shook her head. “I was young and naïve back then. Hell, kissing you alone was enough to drive me crazy.”
He smiled at her. “And you think it won’t now?”
Adriana wisely chose not to answer that question. “What I am saying is I tried it, and yeah, it was kind of nice. Not into that again, and I am fine with what I have . . . what I am now.”
“Only it is not who you really are.” Odysseus took her hands in his, his big ones covering her much smaller ones as their knees brushed against each other’s. “It’s what my stupidity made you be. I was stupid then, Ari.I got caught up in the moment with you and made a very stupid mistake.”
Adriana chuckled to hide the reaction she was having to his words, a reaction she was not totally sure she wanted or liked. “And you know what you’re doing now?”
“I should ever get the chance to prove that to you, I promise I’d show you just exactly how much you’ve missed.”
Adriana laughed as she looked away from him, knowing that if she opened her mouth in that moment, it would be to beg him to take her away from there and do just that. Her nipples were hard, and her panties were soaked. Her mouth was slightly opened because her nose seemed incapable of drawing in enough oxygen to power her brain.
Seven years and three boyfriends later, and he was still the one able to turn her brain to mush without even trying. Adriana couldn’t believe it, and as she looked around her at the cosplayers in their costumes, gaming fans like her who had gathered together to partake in their fantasies, she realized that was the whole point of this. Sure, her fantasy when she walked into this hall had been to beat every single competitor in theHalocompetition and walk away with the prize. But what rule said she couldn’t have more than one fantasy fulfilled? What if she could truly walk away from here knowing exactly how much she had missed? Of course, like every fantasy, she would have to return to reality soon. But while she was here, why not take advantage of the opportunity?
Lips curving in a smile, she turned and looked at him. “You never know. You just may get the opportunity to prove what you just said.”
ChapterTen
After a very busy and exciting day attending panels, watching new games being unveiled, and listening to some of her favorite YouTube gamers, theHalotournament finally got underway. Adriana listened to the beeps signaling the start of the game. Slayer. 15 kills to win, no teams. She took a deep breath as she grabbed her sniper and assumed her position on the highest point to the left inBlood Gultch. She was slowly getting into her groove after a few minutes to get accustomed to the feel of the controller in her hand. She had been shaky for a while, and the reason for her initial shakiness was even now calmly clearing the levels a few feet away from her. Funny, since they had spent most of the day together, riding on his bike to the convention venue. As Adriana stared at him, she wondered what it was about him that, after all these years, the idea of him still tempted her so much.
He glanced her way, and Adriana found herself blushing and hoping the red tint of the game in front of her hid that from the eyes of the audience around her. He winked at her, the gesture almost screaming that he knew what he was doing to her and was enjoying it. A small smile appeared on Adriana’s lips, and she batted her eyes at him before turning back to the game with a single-minded focus borne from a deep, burning desire to prove to him that irrespective of how many years had gone between them, she was still far better at this game than him. Her eyes, hands, and mind became one as she played the game with a dexterity that bordered on precognition. She won the first game by a mile. Level after level were conquered as time flew by. When Adriana finally lifted her head, it was with a triumphant grin on her face. There was no way anyone here could match her. The tournament was supposed to be a three-day affair with final scores determining rank and serving as the basis of elimination. The first day would leave just ten contestants for the next stage, and the second day just three contestant for the final showdown.
It was easy to see from the gazes of most of those around her that they had not made the cut, and just like she expected, her name was the first on the leaderboard that flashed on the screen in front of the hall. Smiling smugly, she turned towards Odysseus. He returned her smile, far too confident for Adriana’s comfort, and she found herself wondering why. Then he pointed back to the screen behind her, and Adriana turned around to look at it. To her shock, she found Odysseus’s name and score . . .
Blinking right above hers. Adriana’s jaw dropped.
* * *
“You know you have to delete that picture, right?” Adriana said, scowling at Odysseus.
“Why would I do that?” He had a teasing smile on his lips as he replied. “But really, you should have seen your face.”
Adriana had seen the picture and knew it truly depicted her shock to find out Odysseus had bested her score.
“So tell me. You’ve been training for this, haven’t you?”
