Scandalous Games (Arranged Games Book 1)

(Seven years ago)

Dinner with my father is always a headache and the longest minutes of my life that I can never take back. And when I have to do it sitting across my asshole of a stepbrother, Niall, it seems never-ending. Half the time, I’m just contemplating to get up and leave without looking back, but ingrained habits are harder to kill.

My father and I have a complicated relationship. Hell, lack of a relationship is a better choice of word. The army taught him to guard and lock his emotions, so much so that he forgot his family should’ve been the exception. Instead, he turned me into his replica.

Like father, like son has never been truer.

My whole life, I’ve always felt like a burden to him and when he married the second time, it put an end to whatever little bit of a connection we had. Though we pretend one exists on the surface. He found his perfect family with a pretty wife and an obedient son. A fact Niall throws in my face every dinner while receiving endless praise from my dad. A small smile, a pat on the back, and the worst is when he says, “That’s good, son.”

An effort he could never make for his actual offspring in over twenty-eight years. However, it’s not my father’s behavior that hurts, it’s the little kid inside me that burns and no matter how hard I try to kill him, he always resurrects. The only reason I even go to these awkward dinners is because of my stepmother, who tries to include me in the family.

I don’t have the heart to tell her that those efforts are in vain.

The damage has been years in the making, there’s no fixing it. There’s no changing the man I’ve become now.

Days like today are when I reminisce over these unresolved emotions. Otherwise, they are kept locked away and never to be let out. After a long day at work, followed by a god-awful dinner, I just want to go home, have a glass of whiskey, and sleep in my bed.

However, as soon as I arrive and notice Niall’s car parked in the driveway, the peace I used to feel at having my own place dissolves into ire. It’s just my bad luck that I have to tolerate him twice in one day.

God knows I have thought so many times about kicking his spoiled ass to the curb, but my stepmom’s sweet face stops me short.

Yet people claim I’m a heartless bastard.

Parking my own car beside his, I shut the door behind me after getting out while pondering why the fuck he’s at home tonight. More often than not, he stays at his friends’ or the last I heard, at his girlfriend’s apartment.

As soon as I think of her, my annoyance shifts into burning anticipation that she might be here tonight with him. Since when was the last time I felt excited and eager to hurry inside the door? At the thought of a woman, no less? None comes to mind.

I haven’t been able to forget that woman ever since I caught her half naked in my bedroom, looking like a vision from my filthy sex dreams. No other girl has ever intrigued or caught my attention for this long or so strongly in one encounter except her.

Bianca Chopra.

Too young and forbidden.

How Niall impressed someone like her is beyond me. Can’t she see he’s an arrogant prick who only cares about himself? Or maybe she’s just like him.

If that plus the fact that she’s my stepbrother’s girlfriend doesn’t lessen my attraction to her, I’m seriously fucked. Again, that boggles my mind. Women hardly ever distract me, yet I’ve thought about Bianca more than any other girl in my entire life.

I blame it on the fact that I didn’t get to fuck her out of my system that night or that she’s the first girl to not fall for my charms.

Instead, she insulted me, followed by threatening to call the cops for being in my own house. I didn’t know whether to laugh or admire her unafraid attitude, considering her vulnerable state. Not that I minded.

What hot-blooded man would? Those tits and them lean legs I wanted wrapped round my waist live in my head rent-free. Purple has officially become my favorite color.

If she wasn’t off-limits…

I let the thought drop.

Even if she were single, one night is all I can give her. I’ve no intention of tying myself down to anyone for the rest of my life. It has disaster written all over it, especially for a man like me with demons that would send any woman running.

Unlocking the front door, I’m welcomed with darkness and silence as I make my way to the kitchen to find some alcohol. Sliding my suit jacket off, I throw it on the back of the couch and loosen my tie. The past week has been super hectic, more so than usual when you’re starting your own company.

Soon after graduation and working for a firm, I had realized it wasn’t for me and that I wanted my own business. I had grown up seeing my father build his own defense equipment company after retiring from the army and I knew I wanted to work in the same industry, except I didn’t want to continue his legacy but build my own.

At least one thing I can thank my father for is his discipline and dedication toward work that he built in me. Those are the only good memories I have of him when he used to take me to his offices and manufacturing plant alongside him.

There are times when I wonder if, subconsciously, I’m still trying to earn his approval.

Or trying to compete against him.

“Ouch, shit!”

The loud curse yanks me back to the present and I’m momentarily awestruck, staring at Bianca as she skips on one foot to go settle down on the couch. She came from the direction of the stairs on my right and can’t see me since her back is to me as she walks by.

Just like last time, she’s wearing almost next to nothing, dressed in sleep shorts and a cami with one strap falling dangerously low on one shoulder.

What the hell is she doing in the middle of the night?

The girl is strange, I swear.

I ignore the jealousy that flickers in my chest, knowing she wore this outfit for Niall and probably came from his bedroom. She’s not mine, I remind myself. Nonetheless, I keep seeing the vision of her lying underneath him, kissing him… fucking him.

The male pride and ownership in his eyes when he yanked her into his arms after catching us so indecently close, filled me with rage. She’s mine, was the message I’d gotten loud and clear.

Suddenly, I wanted to steal her from him.

And as I stare at her, the idea sounds tempting. Nothing will hurt his ego more than me stealing his prized possession.

The room is dark so she doesn’t see me lurking in the shadows just a few feet from her. She can’t hear the illicit and dangerous intentions forming with each second that passes. Nor do I make my presence known, content on watching while she’s unaware. Oblivious. Beautiful.

Some of the light from the stairway drifts into the living room, casting a soft glow on her profile while her body is slightly turned away from me. I breathe quietly, not wanting to alert her to my presence yet, while sipping from my glass of whiskey I poured earlier.

I’m guessing she hit her foot in the dark and I wince, knowing that always hurts like a bitch. I would find it funny that it made her upset enough to curse out loud but I can’t see past the haze of lust she’s cast on me.

The adorable yet fiery woman intrigues me.

Abruptly, she stands up and my fingers tighten around the glass when she bends over, giving me a view of her tight ass as she searches for something on the couch. Once she finds it, she straightens and I realize it was her phone. She’s about to turn around and leave when it rings loudly, startling her.

“Ro!” she says, her hand coming to rest on her heaving chest. “You scared me.”

“Why am I awake?” she repeats incredulously to whoever is on the other end before plumping down on the couch. “Why are you? You’re calling me in the middle of the night.”

I shouldn’t be eavesdropping on her private conversation but my house, my rules. It’s not my problem she’s lost in her own little bubble. My grin is devious because after tonight, she’ll think twice about letting down her guard at my place.

Relaxing my back against the counter, I cross my legs as I continue listening to her. She has the softest voice I’ve heard with a touch of breathlessness. I adjust my cock when I imagine her voice becoming deeper as she whispers my name while I have her beneath me.

“God no, I didn’t run into his hot stepbrother.”

My attention snaps back to her and my lips tilt to one side as she calls me hot, even if it’s in infuriation. Hmm, so she’s been thinking about me too.

The truth spreads unfamiliar warmth to my chest.

“I don’t need to see his smug face again, knowing he’s seen me practically naked.”

My grin widens as she huffs a breath, trying to hide her embarrassment, and the slight hoarseness in her voice. I bet she’s imagining our encounter just like I am. Only in my head, it doesn’t end with her running away.

“Niall says he’s a manwhore.” Asshole. “And that I should stay away from him.”

I bet he did.

“I already hate him for ruining my night.” Her tone is angry and she mutters, “He’s the reason I’m still a virgin, Rosa.”

Holy fuck. A virgin. Hence, the fuck-me lingerie that night.

How the fuck hasn’t he slept with her yet? Does he have a malfunctioned dick or something? And why does it make me feel relieved?

If she were mine, I wouldn’t let her leave my bed until she begged me for mercy. I’d be fucking her night and day until her throat was hoarse from screaming my name and her body spent.

She certainly wouldn’t be complaining to her friend about how unsatisfied she is sexually. With all that fire and sass, she’d be a wildcat in the sheets. The things I could do to her… my cock jerks in my pants just thinking about it.

I’d honestly be doing her a favor by taking her from Niall.

“Niall is not a dud in bed, Rosa,” Bianca snaps. “I’m not going to cheat on him just because I’m horny. You know what? Bye. I don’t even know why I’m having this conversation with you. Go annoy Nova.”

As soon as she ends the call and rises from the couch, I put down my glass on the island. The sound echoing in the silence freezes Bianca in her tracks. With a startled gasp, she turns in my direction until my cold eyes collide with her vivid ones.

Her nervous swallow is audible and music to my ears.

I wish I could see the color on her cheeks that I can feel radiating from her as she realizes I overheard her whole conversation. She remains stunned for the longest seconds while the tension in the room thickens.

Her unmistakable shyness feeds the primal beast in me.

I continue silently staring at her as she tries to gather a semblance of courage. I’m curious to see if she’ll confront me head-on or pretend the last few minutes didn’t happen. Perhaps she’ll scurry away to Niall’s bedroom.

However, something tells me she isn’t one to run away.

“It’s impolite to eavesdrop,” she scorns, despite the slight hitch in her breath.

When I don’t say a word, her confidence falters. Her hands fall from her hips as I straighten to my full height and slowly round the island. Each step I take, she takes one back, but my strides are longer and it’s not long until I reach her.

Her eyes fall down to my chest, then lower farther, and when she bites the corner of her lip, I want to groan. As if remembering she shouldn’t be checking out her boyfriend’s stepbrother, her gaze snaps back to my face.

“Wh-what are you doing?” she whispers when I crowd into her personal space. “Dash?”

Fuck. I’ve never loved my name more than on her lips.

Her soft curls fall down her back as she tilts her head back to maintain our eye contact. Our chests brush when I lean forward and her lips part, eyes going wide like she’s afraid I’m about to kiss her.

I can’t resist smelling her fruity scent before I pull back. When she sees me holding my suit jacket that I dropped earlier, her mouth snaps shut. A pink blush darkens her cheeks and I smirk, making her nostrils flare adorably.

She can deny it all she wants.

Fight her instincts all she wants.

But the truth is… Bianca is attracted to me.

And soon, it’s going to be Niall’s downfall and… hers.

“My advice,” I speak, staring down at her as I step back, “dump Niall or you’ll die a virgin, kitten.”