The Endgame by Cleary James Read Free Book Online Page B

himself rather than her, but she didn’t understand why.
    She took a sip of her tea. ‘What makes you think that?’ she asked.
    He looked at her carefully. ‘You haven’t done anything like this before, have you?’
    ‘No,’ she admitted, feeling very gauche. ‘Did Mark tell you that?’
    ‘No,’ he said, his tone scathing, a contemptuous curl to his lip. ‘He didn’t.’
    She blushed. He clearly found her lack of experience distasteful. Was that why he’d stopped – because he was disappointed? He’d obviously expected someone much more experienced and sassy – someone like Isabel. ‘I’m sorry.’
    He frowned. ‘Christ, don’t apologise! It was too much for your first time. It’s perfectly understandable.’ He shrugged. ‘But why didn’t you say something if you were uncomfortable?’
    She shrugged. ‘I didn’t want to ... spoil it for everyone.’ She couldn’t tell him the real reason – that she was afraid of Mark.
    ‘Jesus!’ He rolled his eyes. ‘So you’d have let me –‘ He broke off, raking a hand through his hair in a gesture of frustration, his expression pained. ‘I told you we’d stop anytime you wanted to. Didn’t you believe me?’
    ‘Yes, of course. But I thought I could ... go through with it.’
    He sighed. ‘If Isabel hadn’t come in when she did–‘
    ‘She said something to you.’ Lisa frowned, still curious about their silent conversation. ‘What was it?’
    ‘Red.’
    ‘Red? Just that?’
    ‘It’s a safe word she uses sometimes when we’re, um, playing ... certain games. It’s a signal that she’s not enjoying what we’re doing and she wants to stop.’
    ‘That’s why you suddenly changed your mind,’ she said. ‘About having sex with me.’
    ‘Yes. She saw that you were ... overwhelmed. I’m sorry I didn’t see it myself. I should have been paying more attention.’
    ‘It’s not your fault.’ Lisa took a sip of her tea.
    ‘You haven’t touched your cake,’ Grayson said, nodding to it.
    She pulled the plate to her and picked up the fork on its side. Maybe she could eat it, just this once. She wasn’t going to pile on the pounds after one slice of chocolate cake. And if Mark should find out, she could say that Grayson had insisted she eat it. Mark could hardly argue with that – not when he’d made her promise to go along with whatever happened tonight. If that included eating cake, then so be it.
    She took a tentative bite of the cake, savouring the feel of the thick, glossy icing in her mouth. It was delicious – dense, moist and rich.
    ‘I’m sorry if I’ve spoiled your fun. ‘I mean I’m sure this wasn’t how you expected the evening to pan out,’ she said wryly. ‘Drinking tea with me in the kitchen.’
    ‘Don’t be ridiculous. It’s only fun when everyone’s enjoying themselves. Anyway, Isabel is more into this sort of thing than I am, to be honest. I just go along with it for her sake – to make up the numbers, as it were,’ he said with a crooked smile. ‘I mean, it’s no hardship, obviously. But it’s not something I particularly crave.’
    At least Grayson didn’t appear angry that she had upset his plans for the evening. In fact, he seemed almost as embarrassed as she was. But she couldn’t let it end like this. What if Mark discovered they hadn’t had sex? He’d be so mad if she didn’t keep her promise.
    ‘It’s not that I wasn’t enjoying myself,’ she said. ‘It was just a bit of a shock when I realised what tonight was about, and it knocked me off balance. I felt a bit out of my depth because you all knew what was going on and I didn’t. If I’d been prepared–‘
    Grayson went very still. ‘What do you mean?’ he asked, his voice laden with dread. ‘What did you think was going to happen tonight?’
    ‘I ... I just thought we were going to have dinner.’ She blushed at how stupid that sounded now. She felt such an idiot, realising she had been the only one out of the loop.
    ‘Oh,