Dangerous Games Read online

  “Who’s that?”

  Not him, Reese silently prayed. Leave it to Hank to find the guy least likely to succumb to Reese’s supposed charms.

  He couldn’t let Hank know of his reservations, however, as that would seal the deal in Hank’s sadistic mind. “Luca somebody,” he said with studied casualness.

  Though Reese had spoken under his breath, Luca looked up suddenly, his eyes meeting Reese’s for a second before he ducked his head once more over his keyboard, his unruly brown hair falling over his eyes.

  “Luca who?” Hank persisted as Reese steered him firmly away.

  Fuck. He was going to do it. He was going to pick Luca.

  “Hartman. Luca Hartman.”

  Luca Hartman was a total geek, as far as Reese could tell. He’d never said a word in Reese’s hearing, except to stammer painfully when asked some technical question by another developer. Reese had caught him staring at him a time or two with a puppy dog expression, but Reese hadn’t encouraged him in any way. Luca was one of those painfully shy, socially awkward guys who could barely put two words together, but could write the code to program a robot to do anything from building a car from the ground up to designing a telescope for use on a space shuttle. He was the kid in middle school whose lunch money you stole, the nerd in high school who went to Science Olympiad and played on the chess team.

  They headed around the rest of the building, moving slowly toward the front door. As they walked, Hank asked questions about a few of the other men, and Reese answered them as best he could, aware he was going to have to work for that damn ten thousand dollars.

  He could still say no.

  Neither spoke as they climbed back into Hank’s car and Hank directed Carson to Reese’s apartment building. As they eased into traffic, Hank said, “I choose the nervous-looking dweeb in the corner with the horrible haircut. You have two weeks. That should be plenty of time to get even the shyest social misfit into the sack, even a straight one. Though something tells me that boy is one of our own.”

  Reese smiled grimly. Luca was actually a very good-looking guy, if somewhat scruffy. He always seemed to be in need of a haircut and his clothing was usually rumpled, like he’d rolled out of bed and pulled on whatever he’d tossed on the floor the night before. He dressed in T-shirts with obscure geek logos that were incomprehensible to anyone who wasn’t a computer programmer, and holey blue jeans he’d probably had since college. But underneath all that, Luca had potential.

  They were quiet the rest of the brief drive to Reese’s place. As Carson pulled up in front of the building, Hank said, “Do we have a deal?”

  He shouldn’t do it. It was childish. It was mean. It was unfair to Luca. But as he opened his mouth to refuse, he found himself shrugging. Ten thousand beautiful dollars dangled before him. Luca was a grown man. It wasn’t like he was going to rape him. It would be consensual, even if they were playing by different rules.

  “Yeah. What the hell,” he muttered, refusing to meet Hank’s eye, aware of the triumph that blazed there.

  As Reese placed his hand on the door handle, Hank said, “Wait. Before you go, let’s be sure we both understand the terms. You have two weeks to seduce that computer nerd hiding in the corner, that Luca whatever his name is. You will record the action and present me with the proof. Once you do that, I’ll hand over the cash. Ten thousand big ones. But if you fuck up and can’t seal the deal, then you agree to be my sex slave for one solid week. Got it?”

  Reese should refuse. It was a potentially dangerous bet because he and the guy worked in the same office. But he really needed the cash. Asking Hank for a loan was out of the question. He was already deep enough in the guy’s debt from a lifetime of gifts and handouts.

  He’d actually gone to his bank to ask for a loan, but he had no collateral to offer, and working on a commission basis now, he had no steady paycheck to produce to prove his ability to repay. It was a catch-22—he needed the money to cover the gap, but he could only have it if he didn’t really need it in the first place.

  He knew in his heart this bet was a dumb idea. He’d been working so hard to distance himself from the guy he’d always been with Hank—a guy who treated anyone not in their little bubble of two as less than, as not worthy of real consideration. If only it weren’t so damn hard to break away. The habits of a lifetime were tough to change, even if he were determined. Not to mention, that kind of money would give him the leeway he needed to make the final break. One last task—one last game to play for Hank’s amusement—would be enough to get him through until he succeeded on his own.

  He opened the car door and climbed out. Turning to face Hank, he replied tersely, “Got it.”

  As he was closing the door, Hank called out, “Oh, and Reese?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Don’t fall in love.”

  Reese snorted. “No chance of that. I don’t even know what the word means.”

  The sad thing was, he really didn’t.

  Chapter 2

  “Damn it. Why does this thing keep crashing? Is there a memory leak?”

  “Pardon me?”

  Luca jerked his head up in surprise, unaware anyone had been nearby. He stared for a moment as his heart did a sudden, painful loop-the-loop in his chest. None other than the gorgeous fodder of his recent sexual fantasies stood there staring down at him. Reese Armstrong was tall, tan and model perfect, his white teeth flashing in a wide, sunny smile. Just yesterday, the guy had come by his area with someone Luca had assumed was a potential client. Luca’s heart had leaped into his mouth, heat flooding his cheeks as he tried to prepare himself for direct contact with the gorgeous man. But Reese had just moved away without saying a word.

  Now he was back, and he’d overheard Luca mumbling to himself. Luca swallowed hard and willed himself to speak. “I-I-I was j-j-just…”

  Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

  He pressed his lips together, closing his eyes for a second as he practiced his relaxation techniques.

  Reese had never spoken to him before. Until that moment, Luca had just assumed he wasn’t even on Reese’s radar. He’d noticed Reese, that was for damn sure. How could he miss him, with that thick honey-blond hair, those dark blue eyes, broad shoulders and the dimple in his square chin?

  Reese was one of those guys who radiated confidence. There was a constant air of risk and bravado about him, as if he were always on the edge of something exciting. He was way, way out of Luca’s league. And now here he was, standing right in front of Luca’s desk for the second time in two days. Luca needed to pull himself together, and fast.

  Slide through the words. Slow, measured speech.

  He opened his eyes. “S-sorry. This one piece of c-code’s been k-kicking my ass.”

  Better.

  Reese shrugged and flashed another of those perfect smiles. “You’ll figure it out. You’re the resident whiz kid, right? The one the other programmers come to when they’re stumped.”

  Luca ducked his head, pleased in spite of himself. “Now and again,” he admitted, relieved he’d made it through the sentence without a stutter.

  Reese stepped around the divider screen that partially shielded Luca’s desk from the rest of the office. He shook back his hair with a confident toss of his head. “I was thinking, Luca. As a sales rep, I should have a better understanding of how the product is developed from the ground up. You know, how you get from the specs we bring you guys to the final product that does what the customer needs. I guess I’m saying I’d like to understand the creative process better.”

  Luca stared at Reese. Was the guy serious? In Luca’s experience, the sales reps didn’t give a damn how much work it took to create the applications they needed, or how it was done. They just wanted what they wanted, when they wanted it.

  “Uh, yeah, sure,” he finally managed.

  “How about over lunch? My treat, of course. What do you say, Luca?”

  The way Reese said his name sent a ripple of erotic tension throu
gh Luca’s body. It was as if he held the word in his mouth like a kiss, stroking the syllables like a caress. Luca could barely hear himself over his racing heart. Get a grip. It’s not like he’s asking you out. It’s just work. “Yeah, okay. I g-guess that w-would be okay.”

  Reese smiled warmly. “Great. I have a quick client call to make off premises, but how about we meet at Tony’s Bistro just down the block? Let’s say, what, one o’clock?”

  Luca nodded. He usually worked through lunch, grabbing a slice of pizza or a sandwich from the snack area, but for Reese Armstrong, he’d definitely make an exception. He watched Reese’s broad back as the guy strode confidently away. Turning back to his computer, he stared at the lines of code, but all he saw was Reese’s warm smile.

  ~*~

  “If you like seafood, the grilled swordfish with coriander lime butter is really good here.” Years under Hank’s tutelage had taught Reese well about haute cuisine. As he spoke, he reached across the small table, purposely grazing Luca’s hand as he pointed toward the item on Luca’s menu. He let his touch linger.

  A straight guy would have jerked his hand away. Luca remained still.

  “Or, if you just want to go with a burger, they do a good job here.” Reese watched his face. Luca was looking down at the menu, a flush creeping over his cheeks. Reese bet if he could see Luca’s crotch, there would be a bulge there. But he didn’t need such concrete proof. Luca was definitely interested. This bet should be a piece of cake to win. And it would be the last one, he promised himself.

  The waiter appeared at the table, and Reese sat back, opening his own menu. Pad in hand, the waiter recited a litany of specials. “Do you need more time or…?”

  “I’ll have the swordfish,” Reese said, “and a glass of sauvignon blanc.” He looked toward Luca, who was still staring hard at his menu. “Luca?”

  Luca looked up and Reese noticed for the first time that his eyes were gray—a clear luminous gray, fringed with dark lashes. “I’ll have a hamburger. M-m-medium-rare. And a C-c-coke.” As he stuttered out the words, Luca blushed, his eyes flitting toward Reese and away again.

  After the waiter disappeared, Reese fixed Luca with a friendly, open gaze. “I appreciate your taking the time to have lunch with me, Luca. I’ve been meaning to invite you since I first joined Strata, but you always look so busy at your computer. I hated to interrupt you.”

  “Really? Me?” Luca sounded so genuinely surprised that, in spite of himself, Reese laughed, charmed by Luca’s unaffected manner.

  “Absolutely. I’m fascinated by what you do. Not to mention,” he dropped his voice, adding a seductive note, “you’re a very good-looking man.”

  The guy was so easy to read that Reese felt almost guilty at his manipulation. Flattered, then confused, then hopeful, then excited, all within the space of seconds. Perfect. He had him right where he wanted him.

  But then, all at once, the open emotion playing over Luca’s face fell away, replaced by an impassive, stony expression. When he spoke, his voice was neutral, even guarded, and the nervous stutter had returned. “You wanted to t-t-talk about programming. About the development end of the software? Wh-what would you like to know?”

  Shit. What had just happened? Maybe he’d overplayed his hand. He would need to adjust his strategy. Leaning just close enough to show he was interested, but not so close as to threaten, he asked a series of questions designed to put Luca back into his comfort zone.

  The food arrived, and as they ate, Luca expounded on his topic, his enthusiasm actually kind of infectious. His eyes brightened, his body language changing to someone comfortable in his own skin. His stutter, Reese noticed with interest, had vanished.

  In spite of himself, Reese was genuinely interested in what the guy was saying. Imagine taking a series of commands and feeding them into a computer, creating a program that caused an inanimate piece of machinery to come to life and execute the most complex and delicate of maneuvers. For a moment, he was actually envious of the geek’s passion for computer code.

  Then he recalled the wager. Time to lay more groundwork.

  As the waiter set down their check, Reese placed his hand over it. Fixing Luca with an earnest gaze, he asked casually, “So, if it’s not too personal, are you, uh, seeing anyone?”

  Luca stared back at him, color again pinking his cheeks. “M-m-me? Uh, no.”

  Reese nodded sadly. “Me neither. It’s been four months now since Aidan left me.”

  “I’m s-s-sorry? Aidan?” Luca furrowed his brow.

  “You wouldn’t know him,” Reese said. “It was before I came to Strata.”

  Reese allowed a touch of sorrow to turn down the corners of his mouth and pain to flicker in his eyes before he looked down at the table, recalling the fictional Aidan’s cruel treatment.

  He glanced up at Luca long enough to see the compassion in those intelligent gray eyes. “We were together for over a year. I thought he was the real thing. You know, a life partner. The one.”

  “What happened?” Luca asked softly.

  Reese drew a hand over his forehead, pushing his hair back and letting it flop forward again. He felt almost guilty as he reeled in this sweet, gullible innocent. But ten thousand dollars were on the line. It wasn’t just that the money would keep him from getting evicted. It was about so much more. Hank had made it pretty clear he expected Reese to fail, and Reese was determined to prove him wrong. For the first time in his life, he was working toward something he wanted, something he’d chosen to do, rather than just falling into it. This opportunity was no handout from the Seeley family. He was doing this all on his own. He didn’t just want to succeed. He needed to.

  One last subterfuge—one last conquest—and then he’d be done playing Hank’s games. Forcing himself into the mindset of a lover who had been wronged, he sighed softly. “I don’t exactly know. I mean, one day he was in love with me. The next he was sorry, but he’d met someone. Someone new. I never really understood the concept of a broken heart until that happened.”

  He put his hand to his chest and moved in for the kill. “Life goes on. Next time I’m gonna be more careful. Aidan was a player. This time I want to meet someone real. Someone honest and kind. Someone like…you.”

  Reese caressed Luca’s face with his eyes for a few seconds, all the while assessing his target. Then he looked down, pretending to be suddenly shy. He waited, listening for the small, sharp intake of breath. He’d left his hand on the table, and his skin actually tingled with anticipation of Luca’s touch as he swallowed the bait.

  Instead, he heard Luca’s chair scrape back.

  Reese looked up in surprise. Luca gripped the back of the chair, his mouth compressed into a thin line. What was going on in that head of his? Maybe everything was still on track, and Luca was just girding up his courage to suggest they meet later. But when he finally spoke, all he said was, “Thanks for the m-m-meal.”

  Reese watched in stunned surprise as Luca Hartman walked away.

  ~*~

  Luca lay in bed as the moonlight shone through the window, his cock fisted in his left hand. He closed his eyes, letting Reese’s image slide into his mind. As he watched, Reese did a slow, sexy striptease, pulling off his shirt and sliding out of his finely tailored trousers. Though it was hard to say for sure beneath his snowy white shirts and silk ties, Reese looked like a guy who had worked hard, or at least worked out hard. His body was lean and well-muscled. Was his chest hairy or smooth?

  Had Reese been coming on to him at lunch that afternoon?

  At first, it had been like a dream, or one of his many sexual fantasies about the guy. Reese had seemed genuinely interested in Luca’s work and, more importantly, interested in him. When their hands had touched as Reese pointed to something on the menu, Luca had felt an actual electrical jolt of raw desire course through his body. Though he knew it was lust, pure and simple, that hadn’t stopped him from wanting to press his lips against Reese’s throat. He had wanted to run his fingers ove
r Reese’s skin, to feel the beat of his heart, that heart Reese claimed had been broken.

  Who in their right mind would walk away from Reese?

  Luca Hartman, that was who.

  He’d almost been fooled by the guy’s oh-so-sincere come-on. But at the last second, he’d seen the cold, reptilian look in the guy’s eyes. A shudder of warning had iced its way down Luca’s spine and, thank goodness, he’d come to his senses.

  For whatever reason, Reese Armstrong was after something. Until Luca figured out what it was, he wasn’t about to let himself be blindsided by the guy’s charm and charisma. Since Reese had joined the fast-growing company, Luca had watched him from the sidelines. He’d seen the easy smiles, the jaunty walk, the sleek, sexual confidence the man oozed like sap from a maple tree.

  “I want someone sincere. Someone honest and kind. Someone like…you.”

  A part of Luca wanted to believe him, ached to believe him. Maybe it didn’t matter if he wanted something. Maybe all that mattered was that he seemed to want to hook up. What the hell? Why not seize the moment and go for it? Imagine having Reese Armstrong in his bed, in his arms… He pumped himself faster and groaned, shuddering as he spurted over his hand.

  He fell back against the bed, his heart beating hard as he caught his breath. His phone, propped in its wireless charger beside the bed, told him it was 2:42 AM. With a sigh, he reached for the hand towel and wiped his cock and sticky fingers. Dropping the cloth to the floor, he rolled over and closed his eyes.

  ~*~

  “How’s the seduction going?”

  “Hello to you, too,” Reese said into his cell phone.

  “I bought a new toy, just for you,” Hank continued. “It’s a butt plug with a horse tail attached. It’ll be fun to shove it up your ass and make you prance around the house on all fours, once I win that bet.”

  Reese snorted. “When I win, I’ll take the cash in crisp hundred dollar bills.”