Scandalous Games (Arranged Games Book 1)

Obsession is like a disease.

Incurable.

Poisonous.

Addictive.

The deadliest thing about it is that it never goes away, not completely, and simply fools us into believing we have absolved ourselves. Love, one can grow out of, but never obsession. It fades into the background, disguises and submerges in a dark recess of our mind until destiny collides you with the heart of your obsession.

And then… you’re fucked.

Bianca became the heart of my obsession seven years ago.

The fact that she was my stepbrother’s girl and young and pure didn’t stop my obsession from growing deeper and more twisted. It had begun with the need to ruin my stepbrother. Instead, it ruined us all. She and I drifted apart until she became a ghost of my past. I thought it was the end.

Years later, we clash once more and with it, blooms the sick fixation from its dark corner. Now, it’s deadlier because there’s nothing holding me back from making her mine.

Nothing except the truth.

This utter fascination… or mania I have for her has a scary dark side. The man I become is vindictive, destructive, and villainous.

I want to resist the intangible pull between us but being around her constantly, it’s damn near fucking impossible. And if I let myself have her—like I’ve always longed—I’ll crush her already broken and fragile heart.

I’d rather die a thousand deaths before I hurt her.

So, I let her believe she’s just another woman, when the truth is she’s the first and only one I’ve dated—fake or otherwise—in my miserable thirty-five years of existence. The only woman I’ve wanted to spoil. The only one to make me delirious with lust and possessiveness.

Even though it’s unhealthy and dangerous to continue this arrangement of ours, I can’t walk away. Bringing her to Paris wasn’t a spontaneous decision, it was quite the opposite and left me staggering as well.

It’s like my mind’s floodgate has opened and every little memory I possess of Bianca, whether good or bad, is resurfacing without my control. I was sitting in my office when one of her private conversations with Niall flickered in my mind. It was hazy and incomplete, but her soft voice expressing her dream destination being Paris had stuck to me ever since.

Despite warring with myself that I shouldn’t give a fuck and it was a terrible idea, my hands had already been typing to my assistant to book our flight. After seeing the breathtaking look in her eyes, I knew it was worth it. Though the engagement ring was just an excuse, my real intent to bring her here is entirely deviant.

The wait, almost killing and heightening my excitement for tonight.

I had gone to check on her in the bedroom a while ago, only to find her sleeping peacefully. The jet lag must have made her tired because even though I had ordered her to rest on the plane, she had stubbornly refused.

I’m not going to lie, it was entertaining and arousing as hell to mercilessly tease her.

We arrived around twelve and now it’s a little after three, which means I need to wake her if we want to make it to our appointment at the jewelry store. While she had slept, I had gone through my important emails so I wouldn’t be disturbed for the rest of our stay unless it’s urgent. Switching off my laptop, I walk in the direction of the bedroom.

She’s still out, lying on her stomach with her right leg hitched high so her black thong is peeking out. In an instant, my dick is hard and begging for attention from her. It would be so easy to slip that tiny lace down her thighs or just shove it to the side and wake her up with my cock inside her.

Because I can still taste her on my tongue from that night at the club.

Can still hear the sounds she made and how she grinded her pussy against my mouth, silently begging for more.

She has no clue how I’d jerked myself off as soon as I’d gotten home while it replayed in my head. Especially her teasing voice whispering… I already let you in a long time ago, Dash.

Truer words have never been said.

As though she can sense my presence subconsciously, she turns onto her back and gives me a view of her stunning face. The features, so striking with a natural blush to her sharply cut cheekbones. My favorite part are her sharp brown eyes, now closed but when gazing at me, they reveal every emotion in her heart.

Every inch of her is perfect and delicate.

Every inch of her—mine.

Inching closer, I tuck her hair behind her ear and she leans into my palm with a sigh. The simple gesture, spreading warmth and rising protectiveness for her through my chest. I trace her lip with my finger, then lower it to move along her collarbone where I can see my love bite sitting proudly.

Something had come over me when she’d called me darling and I’d lost it.

I’d almost begged her to say it again because it felt real, like she meant it.

If I don’t fuck her soon, I’m going to lose my sanity. She has already driven me to the edge and I’m constantly distracted with the filthy visions of her my mind conjures. Visions that if I told her, will have her bright red and running for the hills.

Her defiant glare when I boss her around makes me want to fill her mouth with my cock shoved down her throat. Every time she walks around in tiny shorts and a loose shirt falling off one shoulder, I want to bend her over the nearest surface and fuck her without mercy. And just when she thinks it’s over, I want to do it all over again until she forgets her own name.

It’s not even close to the other depraved filth I want to do to her.

Like treating her as my whore after the way her eyes begged me that night. That soft, curious, and innocent curiosity tightening her body had me spellbound. She awoke a primal fiend inside me that craves to corrupt her. And had her friend not interrupted, Bianca would have said yes. It was on the tip of her tongue and I could taste it.

Those stupid rules of hers are the only things holding me back. However, it won’t be long before I have her begging. Besides, it’s fun to watch her squirm and resist me as much as it is torture.

“Kitten,” I murmur, cupping her cheek. “Wake up.”

She stirs slightly, eyelids still closed, so I nudge her a bit harder until she mumbles incoherently in her sleep. With a smile, I tickle her until she bats my hand away before turning to the other side and grumbles in a raspy voice that goes straight to my cock, “Go away.”

I chuckle under my breath. Resting my hands on the bed’s edge, I bend and brush my mouth against her ear, whispering, “If you’re not up in the next two seconds, I’m going to wake you with my tongue in your pussy, wifey. And once I start, it’s going to end with you riding my dick.”

As if her body is linked to my voice, her eyes fly open a second before she sits up and I move just in time so our heads don’t collide. Soft brown irises drop to my lips before slowly rising to my eyes and her cheeks darken.

“Are we late?” she asks, looking distracted.

I can’t help but tease, “I’m almost disappointed you woke up. I wanted to take off that little thong you’re wearing with my teeth.”

She blushes harder and looks away before sliding off the bed on the other side. If she wasn’t sluggish, her mouth would have hurled an insult for touching and staring at her flimsy panties when we’re alone. My smirk widens and I arch my eyebrow at her silly attempt of putting some distance between us. All it would take is two strides for me to crowd her into a corner.

“When do we have to leave?”

I take mercy on her and answer, “In an hour. Get dressed.”

Nodding, she searches around the room so I point toward the closet connected to the room, “In there. I unpacked our clothes.”

Mumbling a thank-you, she briskly walks inside while I go out to make arrangements for a car to drive us around town. When I return minutes later, she’s coming out of the bathroom in a robe. Her naked thighs teasing me with each step until I’m sure I’ll die if I don’t touch her soon.

The thick tension, mounting with each passing day until one of us cracks.

It’s almost becoming a game of wills.

I quickly take a shower and get dressed and even though she went first, I’m still ready before her. Deciding to check my emails, I wait for her in the living room. The merger my company is working hard on is finally about to pay off despite the trouble brought on by the investigation.

Kian Singhania, my new business partner, confirmed over email that they agree with the terms and conditions. Doing business with him will further strengthen my reputation and put rumors to rest. It also means I’ll have to leave for home soon and my chest constricts at the thought of leaving Bianca behind. Moving in with me is not something I can coerce her into. Her whole life is built here and my city doesn’t exactly hold good memories for her.

“Dash.”

Her soft-as-a-petal voice pierces through my musings and I suck in a breath when I take her in from head to toe.

Fuck. How many purple dresses does she own?

Each meant to drive me crazier than the last. The one she’s wearing today leaves little to the imagination despite covering her curves and reaching to the end of her legs. Molded so deliciously like a second skin, that I’m pondering how she got it on. Hair twisted in a bun with a few silky tendrils framing her face. Her neck is bare and I narrow my gaze realizing she covered the hickey.

In a flash, I’m in front of her, yanking her head back before she can react. I pull her flush against my chest by gripping her ass just as I bend down to suck where her neck and collarbone meets.

Her fingers grip my coat as she yelps, “Dash!”

I soothe the sting with my tongue before pulling back to meet her hooded eyes. “Did I say you can hide my mark?”

“The last time you said it was for your eyes only.”

“Anywhere else, I mind,” I growl before circling her nape with my fingers and rubbing the fresh mark. “But here—I want every man who dares to lay their eyes on you to see my marks.”

She glares even as her hard nipples press against me. “Stop acting like a caveman.”

“Stop driving me mad.” And being so beautiful.

“Don’t look at me like that.” Her voice trembles and limbs shake.

Not loosening my hold, I press against her hips and let her feel my hard cock until her eyelids flutter. When she doesn’t push me away, I walk her backward until her spine collides with the wall behind her. I bring my mouth close to hers until we’re breathing the same air. “Like what?”

“Like I’m yours.”

Leaning my forehead on hers, I slide my grip from her neck to cup her cheek. “Would it be so bad if you were mine, kitten?”

She goes rigid and a shutter goes down, and I know I’ve lost her.

“Yes.”

That single syllable holds so much finality it crushes me. Nobody ever gets to me. I’ve learnt to keep my emotions locked tight, except for her. Because she makes me feel every toxic and silly human emotion. At this moment, I feel unworthy. A feeling I felt all my life growing up, and it fucking bleeds. Stings like she ripped me apart.

Slowly, I let her go and put space between us. Hardening my expression into one of casual boredom, as if I didn’t just bare myself to her a second ago, I speak, “The car is waiting downstairs.”

“I don’t have a coat,” she hesitantly informs me.

I briskly walk to the other room and return with a garment bag, handing it to her without a word. She grabs it and methodically opens the bag, revealing an expensive dark purple full-length winter coat that matches her dress. I can tell she loves it from the way her gaze softens and sparkles as she runs her fingers over it reverently.

“When did you buy this for me?” She says in awe, stunned.

Instead of replying, I check my watch and coldly bark, “Let’s go.”

Hurt flashes across her face, but I ignore it and turn around to leave. Her footsteps follow only after I’ve reached the door.

If she wants to continue this arrangement like we’re strangers, then her wish is my command.