Playing with Fire Page 13

  16

  I walked into the bathroom the next morning and closed the door, my heart pounding, thinking about the day ahead. I wasn’t really sure what was going on. Were Tyler and Grant playing me? Was this some sort of test? I was about to take my clothes off and go into the shower when I heard a knock on the door.

  “Who is it?” I called out, hoping not to hear Grant’s voice. There was no vocal response, just another knock on the door. “Who is it?” I said again and there was another light knock. I tried the handle and someone had unlocked it because it opened slowly. I saw Eugenie standing in front of me.

  “Come.” She looked around frantically and grabbed my hand and yanked my arm. I followed behind her and she looked into the corridor carefully before running with me to a room down the hallway and pushing open the door.

  “Hurry, come with me. We’ll be safe here,” she whispered as she locked the doors. “No one can get in.”

  “I don’t know if this is a good idea.” I put my hand on the doorknob.

  “There are things you need to know before you decide to move forward.”

  “Move forward with what?” I looked at Eugenie again. Her face looked different today. It wasn’t as pale and white as it had been the day before. She had on a full face of makeup, and she didn’t look as scared. In fact, she looked positively radiant. It didn’t make sense to me, how she could look so scared and ethereal one day and radiate confidence and beauty the next.

  “Tick tock goes the clock,” she said again, and I wondered if she was crazy. Either she was crazy or I was. At this point in time, I wasn’t sure which one was the most true.

  “What did you mean when you told me one is good and one is bad?” I questioned her, not bothering to ask her about her tick tock goes the clock comment.

  “One sibling is good and one is bad.” She spoke slowly, looking around anxiously.

  “They’re brothers?” My jaw dropped. “No way, they can’t be brothers.” They did both have blue eyes, but they looked nothing alike. Grant was dark and mysterious, like some unknown Greek God, where Tyler was blond and Viking-like. Both men were strong and handsome, but both were unique and independent. I refused to believe they were brothers. It would make everything so much sicker.

  “I’ve said too much already.”

  “Eugenie, please.”

  “Cain and Abel. Evil and good.”

  “So they are brothers? Is that what you’re saying? They’re brothers?” I frowned. “And who is Cain and who is Abel? Tell me!”

  “No.” She bit down on her lower lip. “I can’t say anything else.”

  “You’re confusing me.” I grabbed her shoulders. “I need to know what you’re talking about. I have a test tonight. They say they’re taking me somewhere. To some club. Where are they taking me? What are they expecting me to do? Tyler says I’m to give him a lap dance while Grant watches, but what does it mean? Does it mean they want to see if I’m willing to have a threesome? Is that what they really want?”

  “Tick tock, tick tock.” She giggled. “Tick tock goes the clock.”

  I stifled a sigh as I stood next to her. Eugenie acted like a child, and I didn’t understand why. There were many things I didn’t understand, and I was starting to think I was going crazy. Or maybe the drugs had friend her brain.

  “What are you going to write?” She suddenly turned to me, with an angelic smile and serious eyes.

  “What?” I wasn’t able to stop myself from showing my irritation.

  “What are you going to write?” She asked innocently.

  “Write where?”

  “In your journal.”

  “What journal?”

  “The one he’s going to make you write.”

  “What are you talking about?” I gazed at her. “Who is going to make me write a journal?”

  “You read my journal, right?”

  “No, I read your letters, remember? I didn’t see a journal.”

  “I didn’t write the journal because I wanted to.” She continued on as if I hadn’t said anything. “Or the letters.”

  “Huh?” My heart started beating faster.

  “I wrote them all because I had to.”

  “You had to?”

  “I didn’t mind at first.” She shook her head. “Not until he tied me up.”

  “Tied you up?”

  “He likes to use chains and rope.” She looked at me with wide eyes. “He has whips and…” Her voice trailed off. “I shouldn’t say anything else.”

  “Did he hurt you?” I asked her softly.

  “Tick tock, tick tock. Tick tock goes the clock,” she said again, and I stood up and put my fingers in my ears to ignore the sound.

  “Open the door, Eugenie. I want to leave.” I mouthed the words to her slowly, and she finally opened the door for me.

  “Don’t tell them you saw me. He’ll be angry.”

  “Who’ll be angry?”

  “Cain.”

  “Which one of them is Cain?” I was angry, and I grabbed her shoulders. “Speak English to me, Eugenie. I need some real answers here.”

  “It might be different with you.” Her eyes widened. “You’re different.”

  “What do you mean? How am I different?”

  “He, he might like you.” She chewed on her lower lip. “You could be different.”

  “Why are you still here?” I stared into her eyes. “I can help you leave if you want. We can work together and leave. You’ll be safe.”

  “No.” She shook her head. “That’s not the game. That’s not how it goes.”

  “Then how does it go?” I asked softly. “How does it go?”

  “It’s the journal, the journal is the sign.” Her eyes glazed over. “He reads them. He wants to know everything. He needs to know everything.”

  “Who?”

  “You like one more than the other, don’t you?” Suddenly she appeared to be lucid again. “I’ve never seen that before. You like Tyler. Normally they like Grant. He’s the most charismatic one. But that’s because they don’t know. They just don’t know.” She nodded and appeared pleased. “You’re not dumb, are you? You like Tyler and he likes you.”

  “I don’t like Tyler.” I shook my head.

  “He never slept with any of the others.” She mouthed to me. “Not even me.”

  “What do you mean?” My heart started racing. “I thought this was something they both did together.”

  “Grant’s the cruel one. He gets off on it all.” She held my hands. “He’s sadistic, he likes the pain and the pleasure. They’ll take you to a club.”

  “What club? The club I’m going to tonight? Is that what you’re talking about?” My brain was working furiously. “So Tyler is the good one?”

  “I think you’ll be my salvation.” She said suddenly, her eyes blazing as she stared at me.

  “So Grant is the bad one?” I asked her desperately.

  “Go now. They’ll wonder where you are.” She looked upset all of a sudden. “Tick tock goes the clock.”

  “What does that mean?” I frowned.

  “You know you’re caught in the game when you hear the tick tock.” She whispered softly. “Tick Tock goes the clock.” She pushed me towards the door. “Now leave.”

  I left the room, feeling disoriented and shaky. How had Eugenie known I liked Tyler more than Grant? And what had she meant by saying I was to be her salvation? Was she counting on me to help her get away? If so, who was keeping her here? And why? If Grant was Cain and Tyler was Abel, did that mean Grant was the evil one and he was doing things behind Tyler’s back? How could they both believe Eugenie was dead? Obviously one of them knew the truth, but then why lie? Why pretend she was dead? It didn’t make any sense to me. And even more importantly, I wanted to know what was going to happen at the club. What was the test and what had I gotten myself into?

  “There you are.” Tyler’s voice boomed from behind me and made me jump.

  “Hey.” I turned around
and smiled weakly, scared my face would give away my secret. “I was just going to shower.” I looked away from him, my mind still on what Eugenie had said.

  “Is that an invitation?” He grinned as his arms slid around my waist.

  “Not really.” I shook my head.

  “Let me show you something.”

  “What?”

  “The best way to get clean.” He grinned and grabbed my hand. “I’m going to show you the best way to shower.”

  “But you just showered.” I touched the top of his head. “Your hair is still wet.”

  “That’s not the only thing I want to be wet.”

  “You want your legs to be wet as well?” I joked, and he laughed.

  “Yeah, I want my legs to be wet with your cum.”

  “Tyler!”

  “What? You asked.” He grinned and opened the door to a room I hadn’t been in before. “This is my room.”

  “Wow.” I looked around the room in surprise. It looked nothing like the rest of the house. There was a giant king sized bed in the middle of the room with a white duvet. The windows had large bamboo drapes, and there was a huge vase of flowers on a large vanity. “I like your room.”

  “It’s not all black and grey.” He nodded and closed the door behind him. “That surprises you, doesn’t it?”

  “Well, I was thinking it would be navy blue.” I laughed. “Or deep purple.”

  “I don’t do purple.” He laughed and I watched his face transform into a boyish look. “My sister loved purple though. Purple and pink were her colors. I remember when I had to paint her room half pink and half purple. It looked awful, but she loved it.”

  “It’s great you did that for her.”

  “I’d do anything for her.” The smile left his face. “Come, let’s shower.”

  “You were being serious?” I followed him into his all-white bathroom.

  “I never joke about showers.” He lifted his t-shirt off and leaned into the shower stall and turned it on.

  “I’m glad you take cleanliness so seriously.”

  “Cleanliness is next to Godliness.” He pulled his boxers off and winked at me.

  “I don’t think God approves of you having threesomes with strange women.”

  “Then say some Hail Mary’s for me.” He grinned. “Please.”

  “Well, now you said please.” I laughed, and my breath caught as he stepped forward and pulled my top off.

  “I missed you last night.”

  “You’re the one who left me.”

  “I wanted to give you time to think.”

  “Think about what?” I held my breath as he pulled my panties down.

  “How bad you want me inside you.”

  “You’re full of yourself.”

  “I’d rather you be full of me.” He pulled me towards him and crushed my breasts against his chest.

  “What do you have planned for tonight at the club?”

  “A lap dance.” He kissed me softly as his hands squeezed my ass.

  “That’s it?”

  “Is that ever it?” He grinned.

  “What else?”

  “I want what Grant never got.” He bit down on my lower lip, and I cried out as he lifted me into the shower with him.

  “What’s that?”

  “I want a full lap dance.”

  “A full lap dance?” I asked him in confusion as the water scalded down on my skin.

  “Think back to the night you met Grant.”

  “Yeah, so?” I thought back and it hit me. “Oh.” I’d stopped the lap dance when Grant had taken his cock out and asked me to rub up and down on him naked.

  “Oh, indeed.” He grabbed a bar of soap and rubbed it across my breasts. “I want him to see what he missed.”

  “Why?” I whispered.

  “So he knows you’re mine.” He pushed me back against the wall. “So he knows there’s no chance for him. You give me what you deny him.”

  “Tyler,” I groaned as he lifted me up.

  “Wrap your legs around my waist,” he said roughly, and I felt him guiding his cock inside me.

  “Oh!” I screamed as his cock entered me hard and fast. I held onto his shoulders tightly, my body slipping down the wall. “Tyler!” I screamed again, as he lifted me up slightly and adjusted my body again. “Oh, oh, oh,” I cried out as the water ran down our bodies. My breasts were bouncing against his chest as he entered me fast, his cock sliding in and out easily as I felt my pussy trembling. “Oh!” I screamed again as I bit down into his shoulder, my body convulsing on him as I came, hard and fast.

  “Oh, Evie.” He groaned and stilled as he came inside me. We stood there for a few seconds before he placed me back on the floor and we continued washing off silently.

  “It’s never been like this before,” he said softly as he got out of the shower and opened a towel for me.

  “I’m sure that’s what you say all the time,” I said awkwardly, but then remembered what Eugenie had said. She’d said he hadn’t slept with any of the other girls before. How had they had threesomes if he hadn’t slept with them?

  “You were stupid to come here you know,” he sighed as he wrapped me in the towel.

  “Why?”

  “You didn’t know what would happen.”

  “I still don’t know,” I said honestly. “But you’ll protect me from Grant, won’t you?”

  “Of course I will.” He kissed the top of my head and held me close to him, but a voice entered my head and shouted at me. Who will protect you from Tyler, Evie? Who will protect you from Tyler?

  “I want to know more about you, Evie. What did you go to school for? What do you want to do? What are your goals?” He asked as we walked down the hallway to the study, freshly showered and clothed.

  “I studied journalism and business in school.” I shrugged. “I wanted to be an investigative reporter, but all I have is the debt, not the job.” I sighed.

  “You took out loans for school?”

  “Yeah, about ten.” I sighed and looked away from him. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “There are three things I can do to you.” He grabbed my wrist and pulled me towards him. “And there are three things you can do for me.”

  “What do you want me to do?” I took a deep breath, my eyes never leaving his.

  “The question is what do you want to do?” He smirked, his fingers digging into my skin.

  “It’s not really up to me though, is it?” I swallowed hard as his lips pressed down on my neck and he kissed me softly. Then I felt his teeth grazing my skin and biting down and sucking hard. It wasn’t the shock of his bite that made my legs crumple though, it was the sudden thrust of manhood that pressed into my ass as he held me. “What’s going on?” I whispered as I looked into his eyes. He was standing in front of me, and that meant there was someone else behind me. Someone else was touching me.

  “What do you want to be going on?” He stepped back and let go of my hand. I spun around to face Grant, but there was no one there. “Looking for someone, Evie?” Tyler said softly. “Or should I say hoping to see someone?”

  “No.” I shook my head, my face red. Was I finally losing it? He grabbed my shoulders and pulled me towards him and whispered in my ear.

  “You have to be very careful, Evie. The games have just begun, and whatever you think you know is all wrong.” He paused and then whispered again. “I know I’m not the only one with secrets here. I know your secrets, too.”

  “What are you talking about? What games? What secrets? And who was just touching me?”

  “No one was touching you, Evie. No one but me.” He stared at me, and I stared back at him, my mind racing. I could have sworn I felt someone touching me, just like I could have sworn I heard a noise the day before. What was going on? “Did you wish someone else was touching you?”

  “No, of course not.” I shook my head.

  “Good.” He smiled and kissed my nose. “Let’s grab something to eat.”


  “I’m just going to go to the restroom, okay?” I stopped and turned around. “I’ll be right back.” I ran to the room I’d been staying in and walked into the bathroom, closed the door, and splashed water on my face. I sat on the toilet for a few seconds and then stood back up and looked in the mirror and studied my face. I looked the same as I remembered. I held fingers up and counted them. I was pretty sure I was counting them correctly. I took a deep breath and opened the door.

  “Argh!” I jumped as I came face to face with Tyler. “What are you doing?”

  “I just wanted to make sure you were okay,” he said innocently while studying my face. “You hurried off rather quickly then. I just wanted to make sure you weren’t being sick.”

  “I’m fine.” I nodded and walked ahead of him out of the room. I saw Grant standing at the end of the hallway with two long chains. He grinned at me and moved the chains along his chest before disappearing as Tyler came out behind me.

  “I’m going to cook something for you.” Tyler grabbed my hand. “Do you like omelets?”

  “Sure.” I nodded at him as we walked back down the corridor. Then I heard the door close behind us. I turned around quickly, but there was no one there. Tyler didn’t seem to notice, but I couldn’t stop the wild beating of my heart or the voice in my head telling me to go back into the room. “Hold on one second, I forgot to flush the toilet,” I said softly and ran back to the room and looked around. I heard the water running from the toilet bowl and ran into the bathroom quickly. There was no one there, and I looked around frantically to see if I’d missed anything. It was then I saw the photo taped to the back of the door. I pulled it off the back of the door and gasped as I stared at an image of Hailey and I sitting at a coffee shop. It had to have been taken at least a couple of weeks before.

  Who had put the photo in the room? And who had taken it? It seemed to me there was a lot more going on here. Maybe Eugenie wasn’t crazy after all. Maybe Grant really had been focused on me before he met me that night. And maybe Tyler really did know secrets about me? What could he know? He couldn’t know everything, could he? I felt my face heating up as I walked back through the bedroom. This changed everything. There was only one secret I wanted to keep hidden. There was only one thing I’d ever done in my life that was bad. They couldn’t possibly know what I’d done though? Could they? I walked out of the room with bells ringing in my ears.