Seduction Games: A #GeekLove Ménage Romance (Game for Cookies Book 1) Page 9

  “I know, but I can’t do this deal.” Indecision warred inside, and looking at the two people watching me, trying to decipher details based on half a conversation, didn’t help. What if Julie was right? Could we afford to pass up something like this? I met Kane’s gaze, and inspiration—insane, impulsive, and possibly stupid inspiration—flared inside me. “What about Chicago?”

  Kane leaned forward, lips twitching in an unformed smile.

  Julie’s laugh stretched on for several seconds. “Sorry. You’re serious. We’re not going to find rent this cheap back home, let alone someplace like Chicago.”

  “But what if we could?”

  “I’d go in a heartbeat. But just because your internet friends live there doesn’t mean we should set unrealistic goals.”

  We definitely needed to have a talk about that. “Hang on.” I pulled the receiver from my mouth enough I wouldn’t talk into her ear, but not so much she couldn’t hear me. I looked at Kane. “That property you can’t rent. What are the odds you could hold it for a month, if we put a deposit on it?”

  He broke into a grin. “I’ll make it happen.”

  I switched back to Julie. “Did you hear that?”

  “There’s no way he can match the Boston deal.” Despite Julie’s words, I’d known her long enough to recognize the hope in her voice. “Can he? Does this mean we’re finally pulling the trigger, instead of dancing around the financing excuse?”

  “It’s not an excuse, but we’ll find the money. And yeah, even with the rose-colored lenses off, this place is nicer than the one you found. Rent’s a teensy bit higher, but I understand the landlord is motivated.”

  “Yes.” Julie’s shout made my eardrum ring. “This is important, so don’t forget this time. Get me a final amount as soon as you have it, of how much you need from me, for the deposit.”

  “I will. I promise. Talk soon?”

  “Damn straight.”

  I hung up and dropped my phone back in my purse.

  “Are you kidding me?” Isaiah looked like he could barely sit still. “You’re going to move to Chicago?”

  “The place has an apartment upstairs.” I had to be smiling like an insane person. “I have to work the numbers, and in the long run, we still need a loan, but if all the money I’d spend on rent is going into the place, and I split that with Julie—”

  Kane stood, leaned across the table, and kissed me hard. “You’ll have a lease on Monday. Deposit to hold it for a month, so you can make sure. I’ll make it work for you.”

  An unshakable giddiness floated through me, as we paid for breakfast and made our way back toward the hotel casino, trying to decide what to do next, but continuously getting distracted by the very real possibility of me moving closer to them.

  I stalled, feet freezing in place and plans evaporating, when I saw Dante Larson walking toward the front exit, luggage in tow.

  “Dee?” Isaiah said.

  I held up my index finger and spoke before my brain could catch up and talk me out of it. “I’ll be right back.” I sprinted toward the exit. “Excuse me, Mister Larson.”

  His shoulders rose and fell in an exaggerated movement, before he turned to face me, scowl etched on his face. “I don’t have time for pictures or ramblings or stories about how much your grandmother loves me. I have a plane to catch.”

  The abrupt response grated on me, but it didn’t deter me. Up close, I realized he was actually as attractive as on TV, and probably no older than I was. How odd would that be, to have accomplished so much before thirty? And to still be an ass on top of it all?

  “I only need two minutes. Less time than it will take for you to talk me out of it. I have a business proposal for you.”

  “Auditions ended yesterday. You should have gone through proper channels.” He back toward the exit.

  “I know, but I—” I clipped off what was about to be a rambling apology when I realized he was almost out of hearing range. Fuck it. Now or never, right? “Hand-painted video-game characters bouquets on the best fucking cookies you’ve ever tasted.” Maybe I shouldn’t have sworn as part of my pitch, but he was walking away either way.

  He paused and turned. “Are the designs any good?”

  I hesitated. Talking up Julie’s baking was simple. Bragging about my own art was another matter entirely. Which might be part of what held me back. “They’re brilliant. Gorgeous.” It felt odd to talk about myself like that. But I had to sell it, right?

  He glanced at his watch. “I have to go.”

  “Wait.” I was ready to beg. “I have a full proposal. Business plan, profit and loss projections, a proven distribution model—all in writing.”

  He studied me for a moment and then took his wallet from his back pocket. He pulled out a business card and handed it to me. “Email me. Have it in my inbox by Monday morning. If it’s as good as you say, we’ll talk.”

  “Thank you.” I wanted to jump up and down but settled for taking his card.

  “No promises. I just said we’d talk.”

  “That’s all I ask.”

  He shook his head and turned away, picking up his pace as he headed for the cab line.

  Kane stepped up next to me and wrapped an arm around my waist. I leaned into him and tangled my fingers with Isaiah’s. My chest felt like it might burst from all the fantastic maybes. I was willing to pour everything I had into making this work. This relationship, this business—all of it.

  And I was looking forward to doing it all with the people I loved.

  Epilogue

  I dropped another box in the corner of my new bedroom. At least for now. In the month since getting back home from Vegas, the long-distance conversations with Kane and Isaiah as well as the couple of weekend visits made me think I might be living with them soon. I turned back toward the stairs leading down to what would be the bakery and our new retail storefront. The stairwell emptied out between the two and led directly to the alley, so we could either turn into work or head straight for our cars out back.

  Julie thought it would be odd having a roommate, but she’d been letting me crash in her spare room anyway, since it didn’t make sense for me to rent another place after I got all my stuff from James’s apartment. It took her some time to get used to my relationship with Kane and Isaiah. She said it wasn’t because of the threesome, but because she still struggled to believe I’d found not one, but two nice guys online.

  Instead of turning toward the cars when I got downstairs, I headed for the shop. Nervous, happy flutters spun in my gut. Giving my notice at work was only one of dozens of amazing occurrences the last few weeks. The place was ours. Dante Larson gave us enough money to pay our salaries and work within the business plan for the first year.

  Well, gave wasn’t the right word. And unlike a bank, this wasn’t a loan. He was an investor, who had a say in this. The thought made me anxious, but it turned out when he wasn’t grumpy and late for his plane, he wasn’t a total asshole. Julie disagreed, but for the most part I kept the two of them away from each other.

  Paper still lined the store windows. It would come down after we finished remodeling or got close enough to tease the outside world.

  Someone leaned against the doorframe next to me, and I didn’t have to look, to know it was Julie. Even if the faint jasmine perfume she always wore didn’t give her away, her happy sigh would have. “We did it.” Excitement filled her words.

  I couldn’t help my grin. “Not completely. But we’re getting closer.”

  “Are you pleased with yourselves?” Isaiah wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed the top of my head.

  “Absolutely.” Julie and I spoke in unison, glanced at each other, and laughed.

  I leaned back into Isaiah. This was so perfect. Not that we didn’t still have a ton to do, but this felt right.

  “Am I the only one still working?” Kane’s question didn’t shatter the mood so much, as added a new level to it.

  I turned to face him, and Isaiah kept o
ne hand on my hip. I trailed my gaze over Kane. Tall, lanky, still gorgeous even with sweat hugging his T-shirt to his torso. I stepped closer. “You look sexy, working so hard. Doesn’t that make it worth it?”

  “No.” He shook his head. “But seeing you smile does. Making you scream later doesn’t hurt either.”

  Julie pushed away from the wall and headed toward the door. “Do that back at your place. And I don’t want details,” she called over her shoulder.

  “That’s not what you told me on the drive into town,” I said, teasing in my voice.

  Never looking back, she held her hand up over her shoulder, middle finger extended. “Tell the world, why don’t you? You know I was kidding.”

  “I know.” My exaggerated sigh ended in a laugh, and she disappeared around the corner.

  “Good.” Isaiah embraced me again. “That’s between us.”

  Kane tilted my head up and kissed me. This was never getting old. We really had done it. Even though we weren’t open for business yet, we were on our way. And I had the two most amazing men in the universe, supporting me for the adventure. Life was about to get interesting in the best way possible.

  THE END

  ~*~

  If you’d like to get to know Julie and Dante better, and meet Christopher, check out Control Games (Game for Cookies Book 2). Keep reading for a free sneak preview of Chapter One

  ~*~

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  Control Games

  Chapter One

  Julie nestled her last mixing bowl in its spot in a kitchen cabinet, then scanned the room one final time. Spotless. Perfect. Everything tucked away where she wanted it. And all before five. Over the past few months, she’d discovered the biggest problem with living above the bakery she called work—the business she owned with her best friend Andi—was that at the end of the day it was harder to drag herself away and head home.

  There was always just one more thing to do to prep the place for its grand opening in two weeks, before she headed upstairs. Always one more thing to do to make sure no one knew exactly how much she was faking everything.

  “I've been thinking…” Dante interrupted her moment of quiet bliss.

  And then there was this guy. She got the eye-rolling out of her system before facing him, and squelched the desire to ask if the thinking hurt. She was trying to learn to play nice with him. Mostly because his financial investment and top ranked TV cooking show were the reasons she and Andi could expand like this. At least a little because Andi insisted Dante was a nice guy; Julie needed to give him a chance.

  She met his gaze. None of her decision to be kind tonight had anything to do with the fact his spiky blond hair and piercing blue eyes stole her breath and sent vivid fantasies racing through her thoughts. Besides, Dante hadn’t said anything wrong tonight… Yet. “Thinking what?” she asked.

  “Chocolate and vanilla aren’t enough. We need at least one more flavor.”

  Again, she held her tongue and tried to keep Andi’s advice in mind. If Julie wouldn’t snap at someone she liked for saying the things Dante did, he was probably being reasonable.

  “In time for initial filming,” he said before she could respond. “Unless three days isn’t enough time for you to bake a couple cookies.”

  And there it was. The hint of disdain. The implication she wasn’t capable of doing her job. A twitch throbbed behind her right eye. The start of her next headache. “Enough time to whip up three-thousand or so cookies? It’s plenty of time.” At least that many, in this amazing place. “To come up with a new recipe that meets my standards? Are you insane or just a sadist?”

  He made a noise that fell somewhere between a sigh and a growl. “They’re fucking cookies, and it’s not like they need artwork. Not yet. I’m only asking they be available as samples when the cameras roll. I’m thinking chocolate chip.”

  Her headache amped up another tick. “I know you’re a really busy guy. But if you’re going to take part in these conversations, and make these decisions, you need to listen when I tell you things like we can’t use drop cookies in our bouquets. Or maybe you didn’t hear me the first dozen times I said that.” She and Andi had found their niche—custom painted game and movie characters on cookie bouquets. And unless they were making Jabba the Hut cookies, or his non-copyright violating equivalent, Jebba the Gut, no blob-shaped cookie would fit the bill.

  “Then make rolled cookies with chocolate chips in them. Outside the box, doll. That’s your thing, right? I can’t do all the thinking for you.”

  She clenched her fist to keep from grabbing a nearby object and throwing it at him. “We’ve got less than two weeks.” Julie failed to keep the frustration from her voice. “Why are you just coming to me with this now?”

  “I was hoping with the right nudging, especially after the chocolate conversation, you’d come up with it on your own, Ms.-I’m-a-cordon-bleu-trained-baker, who doesn’t need input from anyone.”

  The snideness in his words pushed every last one of her buttons, and she gritted her teeth until her jaw ached. She forced out the words in a slow, even tone. “I don’t need you stomping around my kitchen as if it’s yours. This is the kind of thing you don’t hint at, or leave until the last minute.”

  “You don’t want help then?”

  “I’ve got it just fine, thank you very much.” She didn’t. She had no idea how she was going to pull this off. It wasn’t that a new cookie recipe was a difficult thing. But finding one that held up to the frosting Andi painted on, and tasted good, and didn’t crumble in transit… that was a different story. There was no reason to let him know that. The night already promised to be long, with this new information, she wasn’t going to let his attitude add an extra kick of irritation.

  So much for getting out of work on time.

  * * * *

  Dante didn’t intend to be rude to Julie. He was going to suggest the new flavor idea, apologize for not thinking of it sooner, and help her brainstorm a solution. He still could. Take his boyfriend, Christopher’s advice about trying to get along with Julie. Apologize to her and set this right.

  But God-fuck-it if she wasn’t infuriating sometimes. Most of the time. She stretched his every last nerve along a tightrope, and had the audacity to look incredible and unapologetic in the process. Like now. Pink flushed her cheeks and her lips were drawn into a thin line that made him want to kiss away her irritation until she was weak in the knees.

  He brushed the thoughts aside. “Great. Glad it’s under control.” The words came out laced with more sarcasm than he intended. Her cringe was subtle. Served her right. He didn’t feel the venom he needed to believe the thought. “I’m out of here for the night. We’ll pick it up in the morning.”

  She crossed her arms and stepped back. “We won’t do anything. I’ve got this.”

  “Of course you do. Good night.”

  She probably flipped off his back as he walked out of the kitchen. He didn’t care. He was focused on calming breaths. Inhale deep, hold it, and exhale. As a business idea, this entire setup was brilliant. Julie and Andi had the perfect combination of gimmicky and quality with their product. As a business partner? Julie sent his blood pressure through the roof. Over and over and over. Stubborn, unyielding, and always having to have things her way

  Dante climbed into his car and pointed toward the house he and Christopher had rented for the duration of their stay. Dante didn’t know what was worse about Julie—her refusal to ask for help, even when she was struggling, or how gorgeous she looked, even angry. It wasn’t that her rage made her more attractive. With deep brown eyes, dark hair, and the kind of gorgeous, full curves years of baking honed, she was striking enough her fury didn’t detract from it.

  She was also more stubborn than his ex-wife, and the last thing he needed
was another temper to match his own. Another reason he loved Christopher was that he was Dante’s pillar of sanity and reason amid the chaos.

  He navigated the traffic on auto-pilot. They’d been staying in Chicago for the last couple of months, plenty of time to familiarize himself with the layout. Besides, Christopher grew up here, and given Dante a fantastic tour from a local’s point of view. It was one reason they had picked a place outside the metro area—in Schaumburg instead of downtown Chicago. Christopher insisted it was far enough away to keep them sane when they wanted quiet, but close enough to still reasonably commute.

  Dante hoped that thoughts of his boyfriend, tall, dark haired, and entirely better built than an IT guy had the right to be, would take his mind off the irritation of Julie.

  Instead, the two individuals came together in a single image. Some couples let jealousy drive them apart. Rachel had. However, while there was always a healthy whisper of doubt in the back of Dante’s mind when he and Christopher brought a third person into their relationship for playtime, for the most part Dante loved it. Watching Christopher with someone else. Seeing the man he loved take control in the bedroom. Experiencing new kinks and desires with each person they temporarily invited into their lives.

  As frustrating as Julie was, Dante very much appreciated the idea of Christopher stripping her down, pinning her to the wall, and sliding inside her. Her cries of pleasure as Christopher drove his thick cock deeper with each thrust. Her smooth, pale skin glistening with exertion.

  Dante’s dick hardened instantly, straining against his jeans, demanding attention. He bit the inside of his cheek to drag himself from the visuals, and back to his commute. He couldn’t completely rid his mind of the notion, and while he wished it starred someone other than her, that didn’t stop the idea from sliding over every inch of his senses. By the time he pulled into the driveway lot, his fingers itched to slide down his zipper, and jerk off right there.