Play With Me(30)

Chapter Ten




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Murphy knew the second she would lose it. What had triggered the outburst, he had no idea. He carried her to the couch and sat down. With her cradled against his chest, he waited out the tears. Chase gave him a questioning look, and he shrugged. What could he say? It was possible she hadn’t fully recovered from the scene and seeing the pictures had brought a flood of emotion crashing down on her.

Eve shuddered violently in his arms with full-blown racking sobs. Whatever she’d held pent up inside had desperately needed to come out. Now they just needed to find out what it was.

He brushed his hand across the top of her head and placed a kiss at her ear. “Let it all out, Eve. I’ve got you.”

And the sudden realization that he didn’t want to let her go hit him like a sucker punch to the solar plexus. But did he know her well enough to keep her?

He’d been so certain before, and look how great that had turned out. Eve wasn’t like her though. She wasn’t sophisticated and manipulative. In fact, he’d never met a more down-to-earth woman in his life. Everything about her screamed practical, except for the damned shoes. She had been torturing him for months with her goddamned f*ck-me shoes. Dozens of them. He wondered if she even realized that four-inch heels put her at the perfect height to be bent over a desk and f*cked from behind.

He did. And he’d had the hard-ons to prove it.

Of course now he also knew she had more secrets than why she wore sexy heels and incredible lingerie. They’d touched on something deeper, and now he had to know what.

Several long minutes later her sobs had decreased to sniffles, and he pointed to the box of tissues on the cabinet behind Chase. His friend grabbed it and came around the desk. When Chase settled on the couch next to him and placed a hand at the small of her back, Murphy had to bite back a satisfied smile.

The bastard wasn’t as cold as he wanted everyone to believe. The destruction left behind in the wake of their previous relationship had affected him, and everything leading to tonight had colored his behavior. Murphy’s inclination was to push Chase. To force him to see what Eve could be to them, but deep down he knew he’d have to wait him out. Forcing Chase to do anything was out of the question.

Murphy passed a tissue to Eve and waited for her to pull herself together. She needed to be calm before they questioned her. Instinct told him she’d try to run—an option neither he nor Chase would allow.

Long moments passed where the only sound came from the last of Eve’s sniffles and the hum of Chase’s computer. For Murphy, fatigue had begun to set in. With his head resting against the back of the leather sofa, it would be easy enough to fall asleep where he sat. Eve had quit squirming, and her breathing had settled into a steady rhythm. He suspected she’d fully recovered and was now afraid or embarrassed to make a move.

When her stomach rumbled, he lifted her from his chest and stared into her red-rimmed eyes. “You’re hungry.”

She nodded.

The seat cushion shifted, and Chase moved toward the bags of food. He removed container after container along with the plates and silverware Murphy had requested from the restaurant. He’d wanted Eve to know he had more style than to make her eat out of containers.

Ideally he would have bundled her into his car and taken her to their condo. That image made him smile. She was far too skittish at the moment to be dragged off for more kinky adventures. He’d at least give her a minute or two.

“What’s so funny?”

“I was thinking about what I wanted to do with you.”

Her face perked up. “Do I even want to know?”

“Probably not yet. Turn around and get some food. We have time for that later.”

She stared back at him for a few more minutes. Probably trying to figure out what he was up to. Eventually she scooted from his lap and took a spot between Chase and him on the couch.

“What kind of Chinese do you like? I pretty much got a little of everything.”


“Any orange chicken?”

“Ahh, a woman after my own heart.” Chase spoke up and handed her the extra-large container he’d been holding.

“It’s his favorite.”

“Oohh, mine too. This and a little fried rice and I’m in heaven.” She scooped food onto her plate and settled back in her seat. Murphy glanced at Chase over her head and nodded his assent.

“Eve, why do you live in that building?”

Eve froze, fork halfway to her mouth.

Curious, Murphy watched her body language carefully. One of the first things he’d learned when he entered the scene was the importance of body language. All the hype given about safe words and shit was exactly that. Hype. Often a submissive became too far gone in a scene to utter the safe word, or too damned stubborn.

He’d met many a bratty and willful sub more determined to impress him with how far she’d be willing to go, rather than actually taking the time to really get to know him so they’d both benefit. It depressed him how many women couldn’t wrap their heads around the fact that their pleasure was his pleasure, and it was his duty and right to give it when he deemed it appropriate.

It had been that guiding principle that had led Chase and him not only into the scene, but in the search for a submissive to share.

Eve stared into her food. She’d stopped eating, and based on the way she fidgeted with the fork, he’d guess she was lost in some sort of memory. Longing to touch her, he reached out and stroked her hair. The soft strands caressed his fingers. His cock tightened and strained against his pants. It seemed no matter what they did, she aroused him.