From the USA Today bestselling author of the Bliss series comes a new spin off series featuring your favorite Bliss series characters who are yet to meet their match. This time it is Zach and Danika’s turn.
I’m a gamer by nature and by profession. I’m all about strategy, performance, and coming out on top.
Five months ago I threw caution to the wind, and in the first miscalculated step of my twenty-one-year life, I made a move on my brother’s best friend.
The first mistake we made was keeping our relationship secret. The next was going off half-cocked when a train wreck of epic proportions hit us.
Now our secret is secret no more. As I struggle to deal with all of the swirling emotions, conflicted feelings, and the multitude of burned bridges that I need to mend, the one person who can help me through it all is the same man I need space from.
To fix it I’ll have to pull on my big-girl panties, focus on what I truly want in life, and put everything I have into winning the most important game I’ll ever play.
Life is a game, and it is what you make it.
Coming out unscathed is a whole other matter.
Prologue
Danika
“Yes,” I moan, grinding down against him.
“Fucking beautiful,” he says gruffly against my skin, his lips brushing my neck. His breath comes hard and fast in time with the upward thrusts of his cock, and I feel my orgasm barreling toward me.
“Feels so good,” I pant. His hand tightens around my back and his fingers zero in on my wonder button, stroking with expert precision and making my pussy clench around him. My body contorting as if it’s possessed.
“Jesus. Fuck,” Zach growls, planting his feet on the bed and thrusting up one last time before following me over the edge as he pours himself inside of me.
We collapse backwards, my legs falling limp on the way down, and together we lie there, chests heaving, bodies stuck together, struggling to catch our breaths.
“Every time is better than the last,” he murmurs in my ear, sucking my earlobe into his mouth afterwards. I whimper and my muscles spasm as aftershocks course through me. Shifting sideways, I stay draped over him, my fingers drawing mindless circles in the smattering of hair on his damp chest.
“What’s on the agenda today?” he asks, his hand running through my hair, roots to ends.
“Team meeting at eleven, lunchtime conference call with the west coast programmers at one, then I get to go play.”
“Such a geek.” He chuckles. I jerk my head up and I narrow my eyes at him. He just smirks, and my twitching lips give away how uncommitted I am to the death stare aimed his way.
“Your geek.”
“You better fucking believe it,” he replies with conviction, his arm hooked around my waist, giving a meaningful squeeze.
“I know it, firebug.”
Now he out-and-out grins. “Never going to live it down, am I?”
I push up with one hand on the bed so that my head hovers over his, our lips just an inch apart. “Never,” I whisper. “But that’s okay. I still love you.”
His entire body goes still and my eyes go wide as realization hits me. Way to go, Dani. Freak him out why don’t you.
My brain catches up with my body and flight mode kicks in. I move quickly, rolling backwards and scrambling off the bed. Making a smash-and-grab attempt, I scoop up my clothes scattered over his bedroom floor, but the first step toward escape is hampered by an arm wrapping around my waist.
I fall back and slam into his naked chest, my entire body going still at the contact.
“Wait a minute, Dani. You can’t say something like that then fly out of here like a bat out of hell.”
“Bats like hell. They live there.”
“They live in caves. Stop trying to change the subject.”
Deciding that redirecting this inevitable conversation is the best plan of attack, I continue. “I really have to go, Zach. I’ve still gotta go home, shower, get dressed, and then get to work.”
“It’s only six, and you just told me your first meeting isn’t till eleven.”
“I’ve got a lot of stuff to do before then.”
“I’ll drive you home and to the office if it means you’ll turn around. I wanna look in your eyes when I tell you I love you back.”
For the second time in as many minutes, my heart stutters to a halt. There’s no way in hell I’m in flight mode now.
Seven years ago, I fell in teenage girl love with Zach Cooper, my older brother’s roommate and best friend.
Five months ago, I fell into adult insta-lust with him the night I told him what I wanted. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t imagined what it would be like to hear him say those three little words.
What I didn’t know was that just a few days after one of the best moments in my life—one of those ones you know you’ll remember forever—everything would be turned upside down.
And there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.
