“Damon…” he scolded, growing angry with me.

I could hear it in his voice, and my pulse raced a little as he continued the game, going through the motions as if we’d gone ’round and ’round about this for years, and he was done with my bullshit mistakes and impulsiveness. He just wanted to get the game and his inevitable win over with so he could get back to work now that my head wasn’t in the game.

My bishop to C4, his pawn to D6, my other knight to C3, and as he reached for his bishop, I stopped breathing as I watched him move it to G4, pinning my knight to my queen.

You idiot. That actually fucking worked, and he didn’t see what he’d done yet. I moved my knight to E5, snatching his pawn and leaving my queen completely vulnerable to his bishop. He saw the opening, shook his head, and captured her, removing her from the board and moving his bishop into my queen’s spot.

My heart jumped into my throat. He thought he had me.

But it was my move now, and as soon as I moved my bishop to G7, I had his king in fucking check.

He paused, realizing what had just happened and re-examining the board. His eyes flashed to mine.

As expected, he tried moving his king to E7, but the look of defeat was already in his eyes.

I slid my knight into D5. “Checkmate,” I said.

He stared at the board, scowling like he wasn’t sure how that just happened. “Seven moves...” he mumbled.

Yeah.

Not ten.

His eyes darted up to mine. “You hung your queen. I didn’t teach you to do that.”

Just then there was a knock on the door and my driver moved to open it. Erika Fane entered, and I stood up, fixing my jacket as the driver closed the door behind her.

“The queen is the most powerful piece on the board,” I told Mr. Garin, keeping my eyes locked on Rika’s. “Why not use her?”

Rika, the fiancée of one of my high school friends, stepped farther into the room, looking ready for anything except a night at the club. A smile tugged at my lips. Her tan baseball hat sat low, casting a shadow over her eyes, while her long, blonde hair spilled down her back. She wore jeans with the hood of a gray sweatshirt sticking out the back of a tan jacket, her hands tucked into the pockets. She stopped when I started to approach, no doubt trying to keep a safe distance.

I veered for the couch, sitting down on the opposite end as the boyfriend, who still watched—or tried not to watch—what his girlfriend and best friend were doing.

“Have a good night, Damon,” I heard Mr. Garin say.

I nodded, and when I looked up again, he was gone. Rika stayed back, watching me as I dug out my wallet from my breast pocket and pulled out a stack of bills.

“I want to stop,” the young girl said, pulling away from the guy’s mouth.

“You can stop whenever you want,” I said. “Door’s not locked.”

And I started slowly laying down one-hundred-dollar bill after another on the frosted glass table between us. Next to the cash I’d already paid them for what they were doing.

“Or you can stay there,” I continued, laying down another hundred and then another, “and keep doing nothing while your little boyfriend lets his best friend put a hand inside your dress.” I put down the last hundred. “And you can earn next month’s rent money while you’re at it.”

“What the hell is the matter with you?” Rika demanded.

I glanced up at her, seeing her shoot a glare from them to me.

“You can look,” I told her. “I won’t tell Michael. I’m good at keeping our secrets.”

She looked away, and I cast my stare back down at the girl—who’d arrived earlier, trying to sneak into the club with her boyfriend and his friend, none of them twenty-one. She was hot, they looked fun to play with, so here we were.

The young woman’s brown eyes dropped to the money on the table and lingered for a moment. And just like with Mr. Garin, heat coursed slowly down my arms, through my stomach, past my groin, and into my thighs as I waited to see if she would do what I wanted her to do.

Her young tits rose and fell as she got more nervous, no doubt wanting to do it but afraid of what seeds this would sow between her, her boyfriend, and his friend once they left this room. Did she just want the money? I swallowed, watching the indecision on her face. Or did she like the kink? The danger.

She threw a look to her boyfriend, whose face was etched with discomfort, but he sure as hell wasn’t standing up and taking her out of here either.

Come on, man. Make a decision. Get your woman or sit back and enjoy the show.

What a pussy.

But slowly, she made that decision for him. She relaxed into his friend, he fisted the back of her auburn hair, and buried his mouth in her neck as he slid a hand into her dress and took hold of her breast. Her eyes fell closed, her breath shook, but she remained rigid.

For the moment.

And after another moment, I was him, with her in my lap and taking what someone else didn’t want me to have. The boyfriend on the couch saw his friend’s desire and knew the truth now. Something his buddy had been hiding. They were changed, and pleasure fluttered into my chest.

Yes.

I closed my eyes for a second, finally fucking feeling something. Just a twinge, but it was better than nothing.

I heard Rika’s sigh. “You wonder why everyone hates you.”

I opened my eyes, shaking my head. “I don’t wonder.”

I stood up and tucked my billfold back into my breast pocket.

“I like chess.” I approached her, noticing her hands were still tucked into her pockets. “Knowing and seeing what I want in front of me. Knowing that it won’t come easily. Knowing that it takes patience and a series of carefully constructed maneuvers all plotted into a specific sequence.” I paused, looking down at her. “Knowing that the longer I have to wait and possibly alter my course makes getting what I want so much more enjoyable.”

I loved making her uncomfortable. Mindfucks were sometimes more fun than actual fucking.

And for a moment, it was like I was looking down at her.

At Winter.

They had the same hair, although Winter’s was a shade lighter, and the same colored eyes, except Rika’s were darker. Winter had this ring of darker blue around the outside of her pupils that made them…piercing. I was glad she couldn’t use them, because if she could look at me with those eyes…

Yeah, Winter and Rika were both so similar, and not just in their looks. They were both defiant. Both liked a little danger. And both fought back.

“And knowing that the path to success changes based on the game pieces I choose to use,” I continued. “And people are my favorite pieces, Rika.”

She narrowed her eyes but didn’t say anything. She was probably trying to look bored, impatient, or unimpressed, but I knew better.

“Look at her.” I nodded once to the girl in the chair. “That beautiful body, hesitant at first, but now she’s responding. She wants to touch him.” I glanced at Rika and back to the couple making out. “You see how she’s fisting her dress in her hands. She’s turned on, but her boyfriend is watching, and she’s scared of what he thinks. She doesn’t want to show how much she likes his friend’s hands and mouth on her, so she’s feeling her man out. Waiting for some sign from him that it’s okay to enjoy it.”

“Then why did she say she wanted to leave?” Rika retorted.

“Because it’s what girls are supposed to say, isn’t it?” I fired back. “It’s risky to bring out your king or queen too early.”

The couple continued playing, nibbling, kissing, and touching as we talked.

“That’s what they teach you, isn’t it?” I went on. “That’s what I taught Banks?”

Women weren’t supposed to want it as much as a man, right? And they certainly weren’t supposed to like it casual. That was what I taught my sister to keep her safe.

I pressed forward. “So why did she stay?” I questioned Rika.

Her jaw flexed, and she looked away as if she wasn’t playing, but then I saw her gaze slowly flash back to the college kids and then to the money on the table.

“Because it was your move, and you pushed back,” she replied.

“Yes, very good.”

The girl might be doing it for the money. Or maybe she needed a good enough excuse to agree.

“Now him.” I eyed the best friend under her as he kneaded her tit under her dress. “He’d do this for free. I told him to kiss her, but he’s eating her alive right now. He’s wanted her for a long time.” I saw his eyes open, probably having heard what I’d said. “Probably fantasized about her and looked at her when his friend wasn’t watching. I’ll bet he really wants both hands on her tits now.”

And then I looked down at him, asking, “Don’t you?”

He nodded, his mouth on the girl’s. He dropped his other hand from her hair and placed it on her hip, getting ready for when he got permission.

“And her boyfriend,” I told Rika. “It’s driving him insane. He wants to be angry, but—”

“He wants the money,” she finished.

“Or it turns him on maybe, and he doesn’t want to admit it.”

She gave me a condescending look. “Yeah, sure.”

How naïve she still is. “Not every man has to be paid to watch his woman get fucked by another guy.”

“Why would he enjoy that?”

“I think you know,” I shot back, eyeing her with amusement. I knew all about her little romp in the steam room at Hunter-Bailey with Michael and Kai.

And as much as I thought I’d be turned on by the reality of what Rika had enjoyed in that room, it actually pissed me off. I wasn’t quite sure why, either. Maybe because I didn’t get my turn, and I felt left out of the fun?

Or maybe, even though I knew her enough to know she didn’t let anything happen to her that she didn’t want, a small part of me still felt like she’d been… I don’t know…