Players (Lessons by Loki) Read online

  “Katie, not Kat.” Josiah might be able to get away with a nickname, but Loki had bigger questions to answer. “How the hell did you trigger the leak? There is no way you’re going to convince me that was a coincidence.”

  He took so long to answer that she thought he hadn’t heard her. She was about to repeat the question when he asked, “Do you really want to know?”

  “I came straight home after our conversation. When were you able to set up the gag?” He had to have been in her house without her knowledge, likely before they met. “Was your ankle injury even real?” Her chest tensed and her stomach fluttered. The sensations were uncomfortable rather than exciting. Swelling and discoloration couldn’t be faked, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t intentionally caused the sprain. “How did you get inside my house?”

  Clutching the phone so hard her knuckles ached, she paced the front room. Maybe Loki was in on the bet. The three of them could have worked out this elaborate—

  “Katie.”

  She spun toward the sound of her name in time to see Loki flash into view. The phone slipped from her numb fingers and her jaw dropped. What the fuck?

  In a blur of motion, he sailed across the room and rescued the phone before it hit the floor. A slight smile bowed his lips and amusement made his blue eyes gleam. “You sensed me the first time I entered this house.” He handed her the phone as he continued. “You were upstairs watching TV and you thought I was a ghost.”

  She pressed her free hand over her thudding heart, scrambling for a logical explanation for his instantaneous appearance. And how had she heard his voice before he was physically present in the room? And her phone. No one could move that fast. Her mind filled with white noise and no possibilities came.

  “W-what are you?” The whispered question sounded so absurd it made her giggle and she hadn’t giggled since she was a child. She remembered the night he meant clearly and yet she still couldn’t bring herself to believe this was real. “What name did I call when I opened my bedroom door?”

  He grinned, all shaggy blond hair and swagger. “You thought I was your grandmother. Does her spirit haunt this house?”

  She backed up, hand extended to ward him off. “That’s close enough.” Not trusting her shaky hands, she slipped her phone into her pocket. Somehow she didn’t think 9-1-1 had a response for this.

  “I’m not going to hurt you.” He shrugged and plopped down on the sofa, calm and confident. Nothing about him seemed threatening—except for the fact that he’d flashed into view like some special effect from a comic book movie. “Human existence is so limiting. I find the pretense tiresome.”

  “‘Pretense’? As in pretending…to be human?” Her voice sounded thin and unusually high, so she took a deep breath. Unless she was hallucinating, which seemed unlikely, there had to be a reasonable explanation for what she’d just seen. If he’d snuck in through the back door, then how had he thrown his voice or known about the other night? And nothing explained the speed with which he could move. “Are you a ghost?”

  He smirked, the expression both irritating and charming. “Can you x-ray a ghost?”

  He had a point. She’d touched him at the hospital, positioned his leg and helped him onto and off of the table.

  “How often do you see your grandmother?”

  His wording left no room for denials, so she didn’t bother lying. “Every couple of months or whenever I’m upset. She should be floating down here any minute now.”

  “Does she speak to you or just appear?”

  His inference was obvious. Communicating with the dead wasn’t any more fantastic than believing in whatever he was. However, accepting his existence and trusting him were two entirely different things. “Usually I’ll see Gran or sense her and then she’ll be in my dreams. She was my best friend as well as my grandmother. Old habits are hard to break.”

  He nodded, his smile softer now. Suddenly, she understood his strategy. He’d distracted her with something familiar and nonthreatening as he waited for her to adjust to his presence in her living room.

  “If you’re only pretending to be human, what are you?”

  “What do you think I am?”

  Another evasion. Fine. She’d move on, for now. “What do you want with me?”

  “I want to help you best your obnoxious neighbors. I thought I’d made that clear.”

  Her legs were still shaky, so she sank onto the recliner. “They couldn’t have seduced your sister, so why do you care?”

  “Why do you presume I don’t have a sister?” He placed his ankle on his opposite knee and stretched his arm out along the top of the cushions.

  “Do you?” She was growing tired of his evasiveness.

  “I don’t have a sister, but what made you so sure?”

  She stilled as an obvious possibility solidified in her mind. His desire to meddle in the lives of others and his apparent abilities could both be explained if she took his name literally. “It’s not a nickname, is it? You really are—Loki.”

  He smiled, looking entirely too comfortable in her living room. “Loki is one of many names I’ve used down through the centuries.”

  A fresh wave of disbelief inundated her mind. The Nordic gods didn’t exist. They were just stories, primitive people trying to explain things they didn’t understand.

  And most people didn’t believe in ghosts, but she knew for a fact that at least one existed.

  “You’re…a god?”

  He laughed. “Do you believe in gods and goddesses? Should I demand a sacrifice?”

  Suddenly the only rational reaction became crystal clear. She didn’t care if he was Loki or some technologically advanced alien. He’d lied to her and entered her home without her permission. The last thing she needed was more chaos in her life. “I’m no longer interested in this game. You need to leave.”

  His gaze narrowed and something dangerous flashed in the depths of his eyes. “You’re going to let them get away with this because you’re afraid?”

  She responded better to challenges than criticisms. Somehow his question managed to be both. “Of course I’m afraid, but that’s not the issue. You lied to me. How am I supposed to trust anything you say?”

  That brought him up off the couch though he kept the coffee table between them. “The only reason I told you the truth is because I want you to trust me. It would have been much easier to remain the avenging brother. Even now I could reach into your mind and erase this conversation.” He paused as if waiting for the significance to sink in. “But I won’t. I want no secrets between us.”

  He was right. She didn’t understand the extent of his abilities, but his power was undeniable. He could likely force his will upon her, and yet he’d asked for her willing participation instead. Shouldn’t that buy him the benefit of a doubt; at least a try at earning back her trust?

  She stared at him, waiting for her shock-addled mind to choose her next step. First and foremost, she had to know that her participation was voluntary. “I need to think about this. I’ll call you once I’ve decided what to do.”

  “As you wish.” He didn’t sound pleased by the postponement. “But keep this in mind. The game has already begun. They will ruthlessly pursue you until one or the other wins. Do you really want to go head-to-head with those two without the insights I can provide?”

  Loki flashed out of the room before she could reply and Katie allowed herself to smile. Being “ruthlessly pursued” had never sounded so tantalizing.

  * * * * *

  “Are you sure all you did was kiss her?” Chase grumbled. He’d arrived home a few minutes ago, after another exhausting day of physical and emotional therapy. Dealing with injured athletes took as much mental fortitude as it did recuperative techniques. “You’ve been sporting wood since I got home.”

  “Why are you looking at my crotch?” Josiah laughed and handed Chase a beer. “Should I be concerned or flattered?” He opened a cupboard and grabbed two plates then retrieved flatware from one o
f the drawers.

  Chase ignored the semi-playful come-on and set down the bag of Chinese takeout he’d picked up on his way home. The day Josiah stopped flirting with him he’d be worried. Both of them could cook. They just generally chose not to utilize their skills.

  “The first move was supposed to be mine.” Chase pulled open a drawer and grabbed a bottle opener. He pried off the cap then tossed it onto the counter.

  Josiah snatched up the cap and casually dropped it into the trash can in the corner. Anal retentive to the core. Chase had always found the contrast amusing. He wasn’t exactly a slob, but what he found acceptable was worlds away from Josiah’s obsessive neatness. Not wanting to start a fight, he tossed the bottle opener back into the drawer and picked up the bag of takeout food.

  “She came over here.” Josiah took the plates to the small wooden table. The formal dining room was largely ornamental. They almost always ate in the sunny kitchen nook. “What was I supposed to do, slam the door in her face?”

  After setting the bag on the table, Chase joined Josiah at the table. “The pipe burst, soaking you both, but all you did was kiss her?” He took a swig of beer before adding, “Why don’t I believe you?”

  Josiah took one of the plates and handed the other to Chase. “All right, I might have gotten her out of those horrid scrubs she always wears, but that’s as far as it went.”

  “You saw her naked?” Chase paused in the process of unloading the takeout bag. “Details, my friend. I need details.”

  “Not naked. Just the top. She even stopped me before I could unhook her bra. I’m not sure why she tries so hard to conceal her curves. I certainly saw nothing worth hiding.”

  “Are we talking Marilyn Monroe or—”

  “Hollywood would put her on a diet, but I like females with a little flesh on their bones.”

  Chase laughed. “When you like females.”

  Josiah glared at him and snapped apart his chopsticks. “I’ve had as many female lovers as male, maybe more. You just feel less threatened to think of me as gay.”

  It was pointless to argue with facts, so he opened one of the cartons and looked inside. Shrimp lo mein. He made a face and passed the box to Josiah. “How’d she respond to the kiss?”

  “Like she wanted a whole lot more than kissing.” A secretive smile quirked his lips as he dumped a pile of lo mein onto his plate. “I wasn’t surprised when she shut me down. Still, it was obvious she was fighting herself every step of the way. I picked up another interesting tidbit, but I’m not sure I’m going to share.”

  “Then why bring it up?” Chase grumbled.

  “I think our lovely Katie is a submissive.”

  It was all Chase could do not to roll his eyes. “More like wishful thinking. She resisted your slick approach, so you can’t wait to spank her nicely rounded ass.”

  “I’ll admit the thought appeals, but it actually explains a lot.”

  “I’m listening.” He happily devoured half his food as he waited for Josiah to elaborate.

  “She could have been visiting her Dom all these years or meeting him at a club somewhere. That’s why we never see her with anyone.”

  Setting down his fork, Chase thought about it for a second then shook his head. “I don’t buy it. You’ve watched her come and go too often. She’s never gone. Someone burned her bad and she hasn’t recovered.” A pang of guilt accompanied the thought. If she was nursing a broken heart, the last thing she needed was to be the focus of one of their games.

  “Probably her Dom,” Josiah persisted. “All I know is what I saw. Sweet little Katie responded without question to every command I gave her.”

  “You try it your way; I’ll try it mine.” He paused for a humorless chuckle. “As soon as I figure out what the hell my way is. You’ve screwed up everything. All the ideas I came up with today were excuses to drop in on someone I didn’t know well and hadn’t seen in ages. If she’s already started a flirtation with you, I’m going to have to be a lot more creative.”

  After munching several mouthfuls of food, Josiah smiled. “I’d offer suggestions, but I’m the enemy.”

  “Even more so now that you fucked up my plans.”

  “Inadvertently.”

  Chase shrugged. “I suppose. It still doesn’t change the fact that I’ve got my work cut out for me now.”

  “You always did. No we always did. Katie might be the most difficult challenge we’ve ever set for ourselves, which of course makes her even more interesting.”

  They lapsed into silence as they ate. Chase contemplated one scenario after another, but each had a similar flaw. Katie was smart enough to see through the ploy. “I can’t pretend you didn’t tell me what happened today,” he mused. “She won’t believe my interest is coincidental.”

  “So use it to your advantage.” Josiah gathered the dishes and set them in the sink.

  Chase stuffed the empty cartons back into the paper bag then paused as a fresh variation of one of his ideas took shape within his mind.

  Josiah laughed. “I know that look. What did you figure out?”

  “Lies always work best when they’re grounded in truth. What time is it?” He glanced at the clock above stove and answered his own question. 8:37.

  “It’s pretty late for an unannounced visit.” Josiah’s conclusion mirrored his.

  “But the party’s tomorrow night. I don’t really have a choice.”

  “You’re going to rub Katie in Vanessa’s face? That’s a really bad idea.”

  Rather than explain, he just grinned and left the kitchen. As Josiah had said, he was the enemy. The less Chase told the competition, the better. He looked out the front window and made sure some sort of light was still on in Katie’s house. Seeing her in her nightgown or pajamas might be fun, but it would be counterproductive to the casual conversation he had in mind.

  He stepped out onto the front porch and closed the door behind him. The tree-lined street fostered a nostalgic calm, even at night. He crossed the street and silently practiced what he was about to say. He wanted a hint of hesitation to temper his confidence. Women often responded to a touch of vulnerability. It stirred their maternal instincts and made them more trusting.

  Not wanting to seem like a solicitor, he knocked rather than ringing the bell. The curtains obscuring the front window moved so he turned and waved. Another moment passed and then Katie opened the door.

  “Hi.” He flashed his most charming smile. “I hope I’m not interrupting.”

  She let the door swing inward, but blocked his way. “What’s going on?” Dressed in shorts and a tank top, she looked less dowdy than usual. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail and her face had been scrubbed clean of makeup, not that she ever wore a lot of makeup. Chase tried not to stare, but he’d never seen her figure so clearly displayed. She wasn’t just curvy, as Josiah had said, her breasts were abundant and her hips flared dramatically from a narrow waist. It seemed like the less she wore the better she looked.

  His hands itched to cup those breasts and feel her nipples harden against his palms. He shook away the impulse. He wasn’t here to seduce her, just pave the way for further exploration. He cleared his throat and focused on her face. “Josiah helped you out today, so I was hoping I could convince you to help me out tomorrow. A play it forward sort of thing.”

  “Did you lose something down the drain?” The amusement in her tone didn’t quite reach her eyes. He’d have to try harder if he hoped to earn her trust.

  “Not exactly.” He moved closer, putting one hand on the door frame near her head. “I need you to pretend to be my date tomorrow night.”

  Her brows scrunched together, drawing his attention to her nose. Had she always had such a cute little nose? It was well-shaped with just a few freckles, utterly adorable. “Why do you need someone to ‘pretend’ to be your date? Just ask someone from your harem to go with you.”

  “My harem?” He laughed and pushed off the door frame, not wanting to crowd her. “I’m
not sure what you mean.”

  “Yeah, right. I don’t have time for this.”

  She started to close the door, but he stuck his foot in the way. “Give me five minutes to explain and if you still want me to leave, I will.”

  After a silent pause, she sighed. “Five minutes.” She finally stepped aside and Chase moved into the front room. She closed the door then leaned against it, one hand still on the handle. “What’s this about?”

  “As you probably know, I was involved with a woman named Vanessa for most of the past year.” Just the sound of her name made him clench his teeth. Eleven months. He’d spent eleven months of his life saddled with her expectations. Their relationship had begun its downward spiral long before she ended the affair. He certainly didn’t want her back. Still, being rejected stung like a bitch.

  “You said ‘I was involved’. Does that mean you’re no longer involved with Vanessa?” Katie’s eyes gleamed, but the brightness faded before he could determine which emotion had caused the reaction.

  “She dumped me three weeks ago then told our friends I’m so torn up over the breakup that I can’t even look at another woman.”

  “Are you?” The shimmer in her eyes this time was definitely humor. Talk about pouring salt on an open wound.

  “I’m not, but you’re obviously amused by the possibility.” He didn’t have to fake a hurt expression. Her reaction annoyed and upset him. “Apparently, I’ve come to the wrong neighbor for help.”

  He took a step forward and she pushed him back, chuckling under her breath. “Don’t get all pouty on me. I’ve watched a continual stream of beautiful women flow in and out of your house for years. It’s hard to believe you can’t find a date.”

  “All the women I know are also friends with Vanessa. I don’t want to make any of them choose sides. This is between me and her.”

  “Why not just skip the party?”

  “A good friend is turning thirty. The party’s for him. In fact it was Michael, the birthday boy, who introduced me to Vanessa. Besides, staying home will only add fuel to the fire. Vanessa wants everyone to think she’s devastated me and I’m determined to prove she’s full of shit.”