Fair Game (The Rules #1) (7 page)

Refuse. Refuse. Refuse.

“We’d been headed in that direction for a while.” God, I’m trying my best for nonchalant but it’s difficult. I lift my chin. “Not that it would matter to you. You were making a play for me, believing I was involved with someone else.”

“Give me a break. You were willing. Don’t make me out to be the scumbag.” He jerks a thumb at his chest. His very broad, very nice chest.

True. Not that I’d ever admit it. And why can’t he back away a little bit or better yet, leave the room? He smells delicious. That same earthy, woodsy scent with the hint of citrus, and he looks damn good in those jeans.

“I expect you to pay up. I won that hand. I won
you,
” he says, his voice low, his gaze intense. And directed right at me. “If Joel the loser can’t come through then you need to.”

I gape at him. This entire situation is surreal. Why is Shepard Prescott so determined to—have me? I don’t get it. So I guess I should ask him. “Wh-what do you want from me?” I sound like a stuttering fool and I hate it. He unnerves me completely. I swear he was going to kiss me not even five minutes ago.

And I would’ve let him.

“Your time.”

I squint up at him. Man, he’s tall. “What?”

“Your time. I won a girlfriend so I expect…a girlfriend.” He shrugs. “You’ll do all those girlfriend things girls do. Hang out with me. Wash my clothes. Feed me. Rub my back. Go out to dinner with me. Watch TV together.”

“Wash your clothes? Feed you? You make me sound like a maid.”

“Isn’t that what good girlfriends do?”

This guy doesn’t have a clue. “So that’s what you want from me?” I ask incredulously. “I thought you didn’t have girlfriends. That you don’t want a girlfriend.”

Jeez. Should I have just said that to him? It’s a well-known fact that Shep has never dated anyone seriously for the last three years he’s been on this campus. He has a revolving door of women and that’s it. I don’t want to be one of the many.

I don’t want to be with him, period.

Liar.

“I definitely don’t want one. A real girlfriend would always want something from me. But you wouldn’t be a
real
girlfriend. You’re temporary. A girl I won in a bet.” His face lights up, as if he’s figuring out what a great deal this is. Which it is.

For him.

“And what do I get out of this?”

“Me.” He grins and spreads his arms out wide, like he’s a prize or something.

I want to sock him right in his smug as hell face. “No way.”

His smile falters and he drops his hands to his sides. “No?”

“Absolutely not.” I shake my head. “You’ll need to find Joel if you want him to repay this debt. I owe you nothing.”

I start to leave but he grabs hold of my arm, stopping me. His grip is gentle. I could pull out of his hold easily but I don’t. There’s something about the press of his fingers into my skin, his nearness, the way he speaks, low and steady close to my ear, that makes everything inside of me come instantly, achingly alive.

“You owe me everything. All that you have. And don’t deny that you want to give it to me because I know you do,” he murmurs, his breath stirring my hair.

God, his words…they
do
something to me. Has any guy spoken to me like this before?

No. Not ever.

We stare at each other, the air charged with unspoken tension. He sweeps his hand down my arm in a gentle caress, causing gooseflesh to rise on my skin and I want to step away. I tell myself to step away. Instead I’m tilting my head back, he’s moving his head down and oh my God, he’s going to kiss me. Fucking sexy Shep Prescott who knows just what to say to make me light up inside is going to put those perfect lips on mine in three…two…

“Hey.” The door swings open and there stands a guy I recognize from last night, his arm looped around the neck of a really short, really pretty dark haired girl who’s giggling uncontrollably. “Oh. Shep. What are you doing in here?”

“What does it look like I’m doing in here?” Shep asks tightly as I move away from him. Far, far away, so I can breathe again.

I take in a shaky breath, refusing to look at him. Because he knows. I know he knows I would’ve given in and I can’t give him that power.

The guy grins and holds his hand out toward me as he enters the room. “Gabriel Walker. A friend of Shep’s. I saw you last night. You have a most excellent backhand.”

Oh God, how embarrassing. “Jade Frost.” I shake his hand, momentarily dazzled by Gabriel’s good looks. Was there some sort of unspoken law that attractive men must hang out together? “Nice to meet you.”

“Pleasure’s all mine,” he drawls, earning a deathly glare from Shep.

“Quit flirting with her, Gabe,” Shep snaps. “You brought your own date.”

“I’m Meadow,” the brunette chirps. I shake her offered hand as well. Shep doesn’t even bother.

Asshole.

“Didn’t mean to interrupt,” Gabe says, grabbing hold of Meadow’s hand and the two of them start backing toward the door. “We’ll find another room.”

“No need. I have to go find my friend,” I say, walking toward them, ready to move past them and make my much-needed escape. “She’s probably worried about me.” Kelli was probably outside dancing and didn’t even realize I’d left her but they don’t need to know that.

“You came with a friend?” Shep asks.

“Well, yeah. I wouldn’t come to some crazy frat party all alone.” How dumb does he think I am? I flash a smile at Gabe and Meadow. “Nice meeting you two.”

“Great meeting you,” Gabe says, watching me carefully as I sidestep out of the room.

“This isn’t over,” Shep calls but I don’t look back at him. He’ll find me. I know he will. We’ll run into each other again and he’ll demand I owe him something and ask for his payment in the form of sexual favors, which should totally piss me off yet somehow…doesn’t.

I get what he wants from me. And for the teeniest, most fleeting moment, I wanted it too.

But as I walk away and head back outside in search of Kelli, I know I can’t give in. I can’t repay him on this stupid bet. The minute I allow myself to fall under Shep’s spell, I’m done for. He sure talks a confident game but could he really make me forget myself and fall into the moment? All that talk about making me come and me denying my feelings for him…

Fine. His words left me hot and bothered. More than once. Big deal. He’s all talk and no action. Lots of effort but zero return.

Just like all the rest.

“Y
ou need to buy your mother a gift.”

I make a face even though Dad can’t see me. I’m driving through town, bored. When all else fails I hop in my car and think. I absently answered my phone via the Bluetooth link in my car, regretting it the moment I heard my dad’s voice fill the interior. It’s like he’s the omnipresent great and powerful Oz. Sucks. “What do I get a woman who has everything?” And what she doesn’t have but wants, she runs out and buys. Immediately. Mom waits for no one.

“It’s her birthday.” Pierce Prescott is one of the richest men in the country. He came by his money the old fashioned way—an inheritance. Me? I’m the same way, since I benefit from the same inheritance and my parents are the old-fashioned types. They encourage my sisters to get married to equally wealthy men so they can leave me all of their wealth, which just bites my sisters’ asses. I will never have to work a day in my life if I don’t want to. My children probably won’t have to either.

The idea of that, of never having to work a day in my life, doesn’t always sit well, especially lately. No wonder I caused so much trouble during my younger years. I was bored out of my freaking mind.

“I’ll send her flowers,” I suggest. All women love flowers.

“That’ll be nice.” I can tell he thinks that’s a terrible idea. “But you need to do more, son. Send her something special. Thoughtful. Straight from the heart.”

Mom and I have a special relationship. As in, I’m her only son and she loves spoiling me. I’m her greatest heartache and her greatest joy. She said that to me once in the middle of a massive sobbing fest. Probably right after I got kicked out of school for that coke snorting incident in chem lab.

“I’m not sending her a Hermes bag. Isn’t there some special waiting list I need to get on before I can even buy one?” That I even know what a Hermes bag is probably takes the validity of my man card down a couple of notches. But when you’re a little kid surrounded by three older sisters and a shopaholic mother, you learn about Hermes bags. Chanel. Prada. Vuitton.

“She already bought herself a new Hermes bag for her birthday. Powder blue.” The irritated sigh Dad lets forth tells me what he thinks about that purchase. “She has way too many already.”

“Look, I’ll go to one of those quirky little stores downtown and buy her some coastal knickknack. Something you can’t find anywhere else but here,” I suggest. “How does that sound?”

Dad heaves out another, even more irritated sigh. I can’t win with this situation and he knows it. Hell, I can never win with him. The guy barely tolerates me most of the time. “Don’t forget to send her a card too.”

I end the call and head downtown, determined to get this chore done pronto. Hopefully wherever I end up finding Mom’s gift, they can ship it directly to her. Or if it’s not common store policy, I can convince the employee to do it for me. With enough charm and cash, you can convince just about anyone to do just about anything.

The weather’s nice, bright and sunny and in the mid-seventies, making me think I have the wrong idea and I need to be on a beach somewhere. Drinking a beer and catching some rays, scanning all the hot girls in string bikinis behind my shades as they walk by. I bet Gabe’s there. And maybe Tristan is with them. If they’re not, we should hang out by my pool later and invite every girl we know.

Which is a lot of girls.

There’s only one girl on my mind though.

Fuck.

I somehow got my sorry ass out of bed by ten, a miracle but I’d actually gone to bed early after the epic fail of last night. I’d hoped to find a sexy little redhead to get that other bitchy little redhead out of my mind and instead I found the real deal.

The real deal who left me in the dust. Again. Jade Bitch Face isn’t interested in me whatsoever. Despite how close I came to kissing her. I would’ve. I would’ve kissed the fuck out of her if that asshole Gabe hadn’t interrupted us. Some friend. His timing is for shit.

And then Jade bailed. Left me standing there like a loser with my limp dick in my hand. Not literally but man, it felt like it. I thought Gabe was gonna bust a gut laughing at me. His date for the night told him he was mean. I agreed with her.

Didn’t stop my best friend from laughing at my expense though.

I went home, jerked off—again—and fell asleep before midnight. Like I was Cinderella and my skin had an orange tinge, I rushed home, disappointed in the party. Once Jade left, I had no interest in staying.

What does that mean? I won’t be satisfied until I have her naked beneath me at least once? I hope that’ll solve this problem and I hope it happens fast because this case of blue balls I have going on sucks.

Once I find a parking space, I start toward the row of shops, surprised at how crowded it is, though I guess I shouldn’t be considering it’s a Sunday. Somewhere among all the homegrown shit they sell downtown I should be able to find something for Mom. It might be kitschy and useless, but Mom likes that sort of stuff. Sometimes.