Kissing this woman was his new favorite thing.
Though he’d first met her dressed up as a fictitious character from a place that didn’t exist, he felt as though Kiera’s reactions were the most real of any woman he’d been with in a very long time. She gripped his biceps, went up on tiptoe, and arched into him as if she just needed to be closer to him.
There was something incredibly hot about that.
When he ran his tongue over her bottom lip, she sighed, and that sweet sound tightened his gut. The sigh was simple and heartfelt and, yes, real.
Zach moved his hand to the side of her face, tipping her head slightly and then urging her mouth open with his tongue. She moaned quietly, and he was suddenly curious about how her moans would sound when he put his tongue in all the other places he wanted it.
She was so sweet. And soft. Her previously gold skin was actually a light peach color and as soft as silk. And she smelled like his soap. As if he’d rubbed his body all over hers in the shower, mingling their soap bubbles…and lots of other things.
The thought was very sexy, and he slid his fingers into her hair, deepening the kiss.
Her next gasp was not one of pleasure, however. She jerked back as his hand ran over the goose egg at the back of her skull.
He pulled his hand away quickly, looking down at her with concern. “Dammit, Kiera, I’m sorry.”
What was he doing? She had a concussion, she was here so he could take care of her, and he was thinking about throwing her over his shoulder and heading upstairs? He took his hands off her and stepped back.
She winced and touched the back of her head gingerly. “It’s okay.”
But there were several inches of space between them now. That didn’t feel okay.
“How do I keep forgetting important things when you’re around?” he asked. He kept his tone light, but he was pissed at himself. He tucked his hands in his back pockets to keep from reaching for her again.
“It’s okay, Zach,” she said. “You got…caught up.” She shrugged. “I kind of like that.”
He didn’t. He didn’t get caught up. He was focused and on top of things. Always. “I definitely was caught up.”
She smiled, and he wanted to get caught up all over again.
Jesus. He needed to get his shit together.
He couldn’t get consumed with this woman.
She must have seen something in his face because she frowned slightly. “Are you okay?”
“Not really.”
“I’m okay, Zach. Honestly.”
“I’m glad. I just…need to not touch you anymore.”
She frowned as if confused. “But I want you to touch me.”
Zach felt the bolt of heat shoot through him, and he pulled his hands from his pockets, clenching them at his sides to keep them to himself. “You’re hurt.”
“I have a bump on my head. But there are lots of other places you can touch me.”
If he’d been attracted to the big brown eyes that made him think of melted chocolate bars, then her self-assurance and the way she owned her attraction to him made him absolutely positive that one night wouldn’t be enough. Some time with someone who didn’t need him, who was strong and sure on her own, would be very welcome. Kiera’s confidence made him want her even more than the silky skin and sinfully delicious lips and caressable curves.
Kiera took his hand and led him to the couch, then pushed him down onto one of the cushions. She followed, straddling his thighs.
“I’m going to kiss you now,” she told him. “And if you stop it, it better be because you want to stop, not because you think I should stop.”
She put her hands on his shoulders and leaned in.
Zach gripped her hips as her mouth touched his. With the curve of her ass under his fingertips, and her breasts—her braless breasts with the hard little centers—pressing into his chest, Zach let himself sink into the sensations.
Kiera opened her mouth, sweeping the tip of her tongue over his bottom lip, and Zach felt the jolt of electricity clear to his toes. He brought her hips forward, rocking her against his hardening cock and relishing her moan. He stroked his tongue into her mouth, tasting her fully and yet hungry for more at the same time. Her arms were wrapped around his neck, pressing their bodies together from lips to thighs, and it wasn’t nearly enough.
Zach ran a hand under the hem of the T-shirt to find warm, silken, bare skin. She sighed and slid her hands into his hair. His scalp tingled, and all he could think was that he wanted her hands on lots of other parts of him. She arched closer to him as he ran his hand up her back, his middle finger trailing over the bumps of her spine.
He had to touch more of her. He wanted to make her feel the waves of heat and want that were rippling through him. Zach rubbed up and down her back a few times, loving the goose bumps he felt in the wake of his touch, before stealing around to the front. He stroked over the curve of her waist and her ribs, feeling her stomach muscles tense. But she didn’t pull away. In fact, she pressed closer, grinding against his cock.
He ripped his mouth from hers, tightening his hold on her hip and stopping the motion. It had been a long three months since he’d last had a woman in his bed. And he wasn’t sure if any woman had felt as good against him as Kiera did. If he didn’t want to embarrass himself, he needed to get a grip. “Easy, Princess.”
Her pupils were dilated when she looked down at him, blinking in confusion. “Are you okay?”
“I’m so okay that I’m about to be too okay.”
She still looked confused.
“You feel too damned good,” he said. “You grind against me like that for another minute or so and it’s all over.”
Understanding dawned. Her lips curved into a smile, and she started to move forward on his lap. He clamped down on her hips. “Not until you’re too okay too,” he said.
“I’m so okay with being too okay too.” She leaned in to kiss him again.
The kiss was hotter somehow this time, and Zach felt his body begging him to let her grind away. He slid his hand up her side to her breast, his fingertips skimming the underside. Kiera gasped and arched closer.
He took the hint.
He cupped her breast in his hand. It fit perfectly against his palm, hot and soft, the nipple hard and tight. He ran the pad of his thumb over the tip, and she broke the kiss with a gasp.
Resting her forehead against his, she groaned softly. “Zach.”
He put one hand against her lower back and arched up, his cock pressing against the hot, sweet spot where he knew she needed him, but it wasn’t enough. He wanted more of those sounds, more of her skin, more of her hands on him.
He pivoted them both, laying her back on the couch and starting to move over her.
But the moment her head hit the throw pillow on the end of the couch, she winced and sucked in a quick breath.
The bump on the back of her head. Dammit. How did he keep forgetting that?
Zach froze with one knee on the cushion, his other foot on the floor, twisted toward her but holding himself away. “Son of a bitch,” he muttered. He grabbed her hand and leaned back, pulling her up to a sitting position. “I’m sorry. Fuck. What’s the matter with me?”
She held the back of her head with her hand and gave him a little smile. “Caught up.”
“Yeah.” Zach ran a hand over his face as he sat back. This had to be a sign that they should stop, or something.
Kiera swung her legs over the side of the couch to sit next to him. “Why do I get the feeling that you’re not going to agree to let me just get back in your lap?”
He groaned and tipped his head back. “Can’t do it, Princess.”
She settled back beside him. “Okay.”
He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. “Okay?” That was it? “Not going to try to talk me into it? Not even a little?”
She smiled. “You should probably tell your ego that it’s not you, it’s me. I don’t beg.”
He shook his head and closed his eyes. “Dammit.”
“You’re upset that I’m not trying to seduce you?”
“Upset that I can’t have the kind of sex I need to with you.” That sounded worse out loud than he’d expected. But it was true. He wasn’t looking for a relationship. He wasn’t looking for a girlfriend. At most he wanted a quickie one-night stand that meant nothing and that he wouldn’t think about again when it was over. Zach dug the heels of his hands into his eyes.
“So what kind of sex do you need to have?”
The curiosity and humor in her tone were what made him open his eyes. She had turned to face him and had one leg tucked up underneath her, her elbow on the back of the couch, her head in her hand.
And he wanted to make her breakfast in the morning.
Not a no-go-ahead-and-keep-it travel mug of coffee on her way out the front door. Real, made-from-scratch pancakes. In his kitchen. With his mom’s recipe. After they’d cuddled late into the morning in his bed.
Fuuuuck.
He sighed. “Up against the wall, hard and fast, and loud. And over in one night.” He made sure to add that at the end. Just in case she was feeling cuddling-with-pancakes too.
Kiera seemed fascinated by his answer. “And you can’t have that with me?”
He looked into those eyes, dropped his gaze to her mouth, and took a deep breath that was scented with the smell of his soap, which was somehow sweeter on her. “No, I don’t think I can.”
“Because of my head?”
He gave her a small smile. “You have no idea how much I’d love to use that excuse.” It wasn’t as if being pressed against the wall would be good for her head.
“But you can’t?”
She wasn’t being coy; she wasn’t flirting. She was truly curious, and Zach shook his head. “No.”
“Okay.”
He frowned at her easy acceptance. “Because I have a bunch of messy family stuff going on right now.” And because he liked her, a lot, and she deserved more than a quickie against the wall of his living room.
And because he wanted the against-the-wall stuff, but he also wanted to take about three hours to kiss her from head to toe before he did anything else.
And because he also wanted to wake up with her in the morning and start all over on the head-to-toe kissing.
He definitely liked her. Damn.
“Okay,” Kiera said again.
“I just can’t start anything major right now. My sister, Aimee, is living with me because she’s having a hard time, and I really need to focus on her.”
“Okay. I understand.”
Zach gritted his teeth. She could act a little disappointed.
“But I’m not asking to move in or have all your attention, Zach,” Kiera said. “Not for more than a half hour or so, anyway.”
He couldn’t help it. He laughed. “I think I’m offended.”
She grinned, as if pleased to have amused him. “Don’t be. I would really look forward to those thirty minutes.”
He knew, somehow, that those thirty minutes would turn his whole world upside down. “The thing is,” he finally said, “I just can’t make pancakes for anyone else right now.”
She tipped her head. “Are the pancakes metaphorical or actual?”
“A little bit of both.”
She smiled at him, and Zach rolled his eyes. When had he turned into such a sucker? And since when had brown eyes been so enchanting? And when had he started using words like enchanting?
“Well, I have good news for you,” she said.
He could use some, that was for sure. “Like what?”
“I’m not really a pancake kind of girl.”
He looked over at her. “No?”
“I’m more of a cold cereal girl.”
He smiled at that. “So I gathered.”
“Because it’s simple. No fuss. Pancakes are…messy. Lots of ingredients and bowls and griddles and stuff.”
Zach turned toward her. “Are these pancakes metaphorical or actual?”
“A little bit of both.”
He huffed out a short laugh. She wasn’t wrong. Pancakes, of all kinds, could be messy.
They sat, neither speaking, for several long moments. But Zach finally couldn’t take it any longer. He wasn’t a sit-in-silence kind of guy. “It’s okay if you have questions.”
He wasn’t used to spilling his guts. But only because he rarely had anything to spill. His life was good, even keel, no drama, no issues. Or so he’d thought.
But Zach liked to get personal. He liked involved. He liked talking things out and getting into the nitty-gritty stuff.
“Questions about what?” Kiera asked.
“My messy family stuff.”
“Oh. I don’t have any questions.”
He looked over at her. “Really?”
She lifted a shoulder. “It’s your messy family stuff.”
He was curious about her family, and she hadn’t even hinted at any messes. “You don’t like to talk about personal stuff?”
“No.”
No qualification. No apology. Just no. “Really?”
“Really.” She tucked her hair behind her ear. “But I am going to tell you some things about me that will help you.”
“Things like what?”
“I’m going to tell you all about the things I like and the way I spend my time.”
“And that’s going to help me?”
She nodded. “And you’ll tell me the things you like and how you spend your time too. And we’ll realize that we’re not actually interested in spending our time together, and this attraction will fade.”
She was damned cute. He couldn’t get over it. She had no makeup on, and she was wearing a borrowed T-shirt—and no bra, he couldn’t forget that—with gold paint streaked in her hair. She’d been whacked in the head after seeing a ceiling crash down on her best friends. Yet she was really cute. And he wondered if she liked chocolate chip or blueberry pancakes best.
“You want the attraction to fade?” he asked.
“Don’t you?”
He did. Or he should.
It was worth a shot.
He turned so he was leaning against the arm of the couch, his legs stretched out along the cushions. She followed his lead, taking the same position on the opposite end, facing him. She shifted to put one throw pillow behind her and hugged the other one to her stomach.
He crossed his arms and studied her. He loved being able to see her eyes clearly without all the makeup and glitter around them. “So you’re really into the dressing-up thing.”
“Cosplay. Yes,” she said. “And gaming.”
He frowned. Of course she was. He fucking hated video games. He’d never really gotten into them himself, but it wasn’t until his sister had disappeared into them that he’d developed a true loathing.
“You don’t like gaming,” Kiera guessed, clearly reading it in his expression.
“No.”
“Okay. What do you do for fun?” she asked.
“Run, bike, play basketball. Watch basketball. Watch more basketball.”
She grinned. “See, this is working.”
“Me liking basketball is making your attraction to me fade?” he asked. Because, dammit, her liking gaming should repel him, but it wasn’t working that way.
It took her a few seconds to respond, but finally she shook her head. “No.”
Zach dragged a big breath in. He shouldn’t be happy about that. That wasn’t good.
“Is it true that you spend fourteen hours a day working in your room in your Galactic Renegades pajamas and eating only cereal?” he asked.
She narrowed her eyes. “No. Of course not.”
He sighed. Okay, that was good. Maya had been exaggerating so the doctor would insist Kiera take care of herself.
“I have other pajamas than the GR ones. And I don’t eat only cereal. I eat bananas and ham sandwiches and cookies too.”
He sighed again. This time not with relief. “But you do spend an insane amount of time on the computer, holed up in your room and not going out of the house?”
She nodded. “I’m a graphic designer, and my bosses are…a little eccentric, and…I work when I’m inspired. As long as I can. I sleep when I’m tired. I eat when I’m hungry. That just doesn’t always happen on a schedule or at an ‘appropriate’ time according to the clock.”
“Sounds brutal.”
“It’s my dream job,” she said with a smile. “I get to do what I love, with people I like and respect. No commuting in Boston traffic, no meetings, no shoes.”
“Shoes?” he asked. “That’s a big deal to you?”
“Absolutely.”
He laughed. It was a little strange, but he couldn’t help it—he still liked her. And he hated that she was missing out on the real world going on right outside her door. But he shut that thought down quickly.
He was already trying to get his sister out of her virtual world—with no success. Kiera wasn’t someone he needed to worry about or fix. She was a grown-up. She was confident and intelligent and fairly well adjusted, and as long as her concussion symptoms didn’t worsen in the next twenty-four hours, he could say good-bye to her, knowing she was fine.
He needed to stop talking to her.
“Is Arrow on Netflix?” he finally asked.
She looked surprised for a moment but nodded. “Sure is.”
He reached for the remote. “I think I need to see what all the fuss is about.”
* * *
Kiera opened her eyes and tried to figure out where she was.
But the hard body pressed against her back and the heavy arm around her waist and the big hand on her breast reminded her quickly.
Zach.
How they’d ended up spooning on the couch, she wasn’t sure. She wasn’t really sure when she’d fallen asleep. She did know that she had been on the other end of the couch.
Not that she was complaining. This hard body was her new favorite thing to be up against. Even if he couldn’t give her orgasms or pancakes. Or wouldn’t, anyway.
Heck, she should lie here and enjoy being against him as long as she could, considering her time was limited.
But she could have sworn she’d awakened because she’d heard someone walk through the living room. She listened carefully and, sure enough, she heard a kitchen drawer rolling open, then a cupboard door shutting, and, most significantly, someone humming the theme song to World of Leokin.
It had to be Zach’s sister. Aimee.
Kiera didn’t have one-night stands, so she wasn’t sure of the etiquette around meeting the younger sister in the middle of the night, but now that she was awake, she had to go to the bathroom. And she was thirsty.
Yeah, that was it. It wasn’t curiosity over the “messy family stuff” that was keeping Zach out of other personal relationships. Because that didn’t matter to her at all. A personal relationship with Zach was a terrible idea.
Kiera shifted against him, wondering how she was going to get loose. That made him tighten his hold on her breast and press against her butt more firmly.
Dang he felt good.
She gave a little shiver, remembering how Zach had touched her, how he’d kissed her, how his body had felt against hers. It had been a long time for her, but she knew with absolute certainty that she’d never touched that much hard, hot muscle at one time.
She held her breath and slid his hand away from her breast. Her nipple missed the touch immediately, but Kiera tamped down her lusty thoughts. She moved his hand down her side to her hip until she could push it back gently. Zach gave a soft grunt and then rolled back slightly. Kiera slid off the edge of the couch to the floor, crouching for a moment on all fours. He didn’t wake, so she stretched to her feet.
Turning toward the kitchen, Kiera moved carefully through the living room. Knocking over a lamp or stubbing her toe wasn’t part of the plan here.
When she made it across the carpet without any incidents, she took a deep breath and held it as she pushed the swinging door to the kitchen open.
The light was on, and she blinked against the sudden brightness.
The girl standing in front of the fridge swung around in surprise, a jug of milk in her hand.
“Um, hi. I’m Kiera.”
The girl frowned. “Hey.”
“I’m, um…here with Zach.” That didn’t sound the way she’d wanted it to.
The girl nodded. “I figured.”
She’d figured. Okay, so maybe a strange woman in the kitchen wasn’t unusual around here. It was ridiculous that Kiera hated that idea. But she did.
Aimee turned back toward the counter and the bowl of cereal sitting there.
“You must be Aimee.”
“Yep.” Aimee poured milk into the bowl, then boosted herself up onto the countertop and grabbed a spoon.
Aimee was gorgeous. Because of course she was. She was related to Zach. She had straight blond hair and long legs, and she was built like a Barbie doll.
And then there was the most remarkable thing of all. She was wearing a World of Leokin tank top under her short robe.
Aimee stopped with her spoon partway to her mouth, looking at Kiera warily. “Why are you staring at me?”
Kiera shook her head. Do not gush about Leokin. Do. Not. “Sorry. Sleepy.”
“Sorry I woke you up.” Aimee took the bite of cereal.
“No, don’t be. It’s not your fault we fell asleep on the couch. Watching TV,” she felt compelled to add at the end. “I have a concussion.”
Aimee tipped her head. “I’m…sorry?”
Kiera gestured toward the living room. “That’s why I’m here. Zach agreed to keep an eye on me since my roommates are both in the hospital.”
“Your roommates are all in the hospital?”
“Yeah.”
“And let me guess,” Aimee said. “Zach did something incredible and saved all your lives, risking his own in the process. Then he carried you all to the hospital on his back, uphill, in the driving rain.”
Kiera looked at the girl with surprise. She thought she could actually see the sarcasm hanging in the air. “Um.”
Aimee sighed. “Sorry. That was bitchy. Zach’s just so…”
“Amazing?” Kiera supplied.
That got a smile. “I was going to say annoying.”
“Well, Zach did help us,” Kiera said.
Aimee rolled her eyes, and Kiera had to laugh. “Well, he did. My friends were hurt when the ceiling came down at the convention center earlier and—”
“Oh my God, you were there?” Aimee interrupted. She set her bowl down. “I saw that on Twitter. Holy crap.”
Kiera nodded. “Yeah. It was crazy. And scary. But your brother helped a lot of people. Including me. So…that’s why I’m here.” She wasn’t sure why she felt the need to sing Zach’s praises.
“You were at Comic Con?” Aimee asked.
“Um…” She’s wearing a Leokin shirt. She won’t think you’re weird. And you don’t care if she thinks you’re weird, remember?
She did remember that. Most of the time.
“Yes.” She’d been there because she loved Comic Con and because World of Leokin was represented in a bigger and bigger way every year and she loved to see that. “My friends and I cosplay.”
Aimee’s eyes went round. “Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
“Oh my God, what did you go as?”
“Kirenda, actually. From WOL.”
Aimee straightened. “Shut up.” Then she leaned closer, studying Kiera’s face. “Wait a second. You said your name is Kiera?”
Kiera nodded.
“Kiera Connolly?”
Shock rippled through Kiera. “You know who I am?”
“Oh my God,” Aimee gushed, jumping to the floor. “Yes. I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you right away. But what are the chances that you would be in my house? With my brother?”
“Well, I…”
“Holy crap.” Aimee came forward, still looking at Kiera in awe. “Does Zach know who you are?”
“You mean as Kirenda?” Princess Kirenda was one of the six members of the royal family. Maybe Aimee thought Zach would recognize her character. Heck, she was in the center on most of the posters, T-shirts, and other merchandise. “Yes. He met me while I was in costume. He knows I cosplay,” she said with a shrug.
Aimee grinned. “That’s…amazing.”
“It is?”
“That he’s hooking up with a gamer?” Aimee laughed. “Oh my God, yes.”
Kiera started to assure her that they hadn’t “hooked up,” but Aimee had seen them tangled up on the couch with Zach’s hand on Kiera’s breast. She wasn’t sure what the term for that was…so she decided to change the subject.
“He’s really not into all of it? Not at all?” She supposed she’d been hoping that he had a secret addiction to Call of Duty or even Mario Bros.
“Really not into it,” Aimee said. “Hates everything about it. Especially Leokin.”
Kiera had quickly figured out that Zach didn’t know much—or anything—about her gaming world. But she’d hoped that his dislike for it was more just a disinterest. Hate seemed strong.
It was, however, another very good reason for her to not care that he wasn’t interested in a relationship. She wasn’t either. She didn’t have the time for a guy in her life. Leokin was moving to the big leagues. They had investors now, who wanted a huge expansion in time for Christmas. A project that Kiera was eager to dive into. Pete and Dalton were finishing up the initial work and would be passing it off to Kiera for designing next month. She was preparing for at least two months of very long days during which she barely left her room.
Besides, she’d just gotten her life where she wanted it—dream job, feeling rewarded and as if she was doing something good, not answering to anyone, reveling in the things she loved unapologetically. She wasn’t going to push any of that aside for a relationship. Especially one with a guy who didn’t get any of it.
“But does Zach know that you’re one of the developers of World of Leokin?” Aimee asked.
Wow, Aimee really did know who she was. “No. It hasn’t really come up,” Kiera answered. “He just knows about the costume. He was the EMT that helped me and agreed to look after me for the next twenty-four hours because of my concussion.”
Aimee nodded. “That sounds like Zach. And don’t worry, I sure won’t tell him who you are.”
Kiera looked at her in surprise. “No? Why not?”
“Because then he might not keep hanging out with you.”
Kiera wasn’t sure what to say. For a split second, she felt the urge to agree that Zach should not know what she did for a living. But that was the old Kiera. The Kiera who had downplayed her own interests to make a man happy and then had gone so far as to start to neglect the things, and people, that were important to her to get involved with his interests and friends instead.
“Zach and I don’t have plans to see each other after this anyway,” she told Aimee. “This was just a favor he’s doing until my friends are better.”
Aimee looked thoughtful. “Uh-huh. Well, I saw how you were cuddled up on the couch together. And Zach has pretty much focused everything he has on me for the past six months. So something made him make an exception for you. Maybe I’ll get lucky and he’ll keep seeing you.”
So much information in that short explanation, Kiera thought. “Why has he been so focused on you for the past six months?” Kiera asked.
Aimee grabbed her bowl and headed for the wooden table that sat in the nook by the window. “You want some cereal?”
She did. They had Fruity O’s, her favorite. “Sure.”
“Help yourself.”
Aimee sat down at the table, and after Kiera had a bowl of cereal in hand, she took the chair across from Aimee.
“He thinks I spend too much time on the computer, in the game,” Aimee said when Kiera was settled. “He wants me to be out and doing stuff with ‘real’ people.” She included the air quotes. “He doesn’t get it.”
Well, she and Aimee had even more in common. Maya’s insistence that Kiera get off the computer and get out of the house wasn’t anything new. The concussion had just given her a great reason to push it hard.
“What do you love about WOL so much?” Kiera couldn’t help but ask.
It was market research. At least that’s what she told herself. She and Pete and Dalton and everyone involved in WOL were as stunned by the popularity explosion as anyone and were constantly trying to understand what it was about Leokin that attracted people.
“The people in my clan,” Aimee answered immediately.
Kiera nodded. That was something they’d heard over and over. Clans in Leokin truly became like family. It was beyond anything they’d purposefully designed into the game.
“But that’s what bugs Zach the most,” Aimee said. “He doesn’t understand how you can get to know someone and care about them when all you’ve done is talk online.”
A lot of people didn’t get that. “I’m sure he’s just being protective of you.” Zach exuded protectiveness the way he oozed testosterone—in great, obvious quantities.
“But you know he’s wrong,” Aimee said. “You know there’s nothing to be worried about.”
Kiera could see exactly where this was going. She’d been cuddled up with Zach. Which would seemingly indicate that Zach liked her. Zach didn’t like WOL. But if Zach liked Kiera and Kiera liked WOL, maybe she could convince him it was great.
She was not going there.
“Well, you have to be careful online no matter what,” she said. “Even in WOL.”
“My clan members want to get together in real life,” Aimee said, stirring her cereal around in her bowl. “They’ve been talking about meeting for a little while now.” She looked up. “Do you think that you can get close to someone and really trust them without ever meeting them face-to-face?”
Kiera nodded. “I do. Two of my closest friends live in California, and we only see each other twice a year. But we talk online every day. I’m as close to them as I am to anyone.”
Aimee smiled slowly. “Pete and Dalton, right?”
Aimee was really into Leokin. Kiera needed to remember that. Pete and Dalton were the public names and faces associated with WOL. They were the ones who gave the interviews and showed up at the Comic Cons, usually. If Aimee knew who Kiera was, she definitely knew who Pete and Dalton were.
“Yep.”
“I read the article that included your interview with Pete and Dalton in Geeks and Gaming. I know how you started WOL back in college and that you did the initial drawings of all of the main characters and creatures. And…” She paused as if she wasn’t sure she should continue.
“Go on,” Kiera said, amazed and impressed at the same time.
“I know that you originally made Kirenda blond with big boobs, but Pete said that he wanted you to model her after yourself and that you argued about it until you both agreed to put it up for a vote in a focus group.”
Kiera knew she was staring. She’d met Leokin fans before. But she wasn’t sure she’d ever met someone who knew that story. Pete had told it to a blogger on an obscure blog two years ago, before Leokin was the sensation it was now.
“I was shocked when the brown-haired, brown-eyed, shorter, less well-endowed princess won unanimously,” she told Aimee.
Kiera had adjusted to seeing her image in Kirenda on the small screen and didn’t think about looking like one of the most popular animated characters in the world most of the time, but she still wasn’t used to seeing the caricature of herself on posters and big screens at cons.
“I think she’s perfect,” Aimee said.
“I’m amazed,” Kiera told her honestly.
Aimee gave her a huge smile. “I love everything about Leokin.”
“Then you need to know some insider secrets, don’t you?” Kiera asked.
Aimee nodded eagerly. “Yes!”
“Well, Pete still does his initial brainstorming on napkins, just like we did in the beginning,” Kiera said with a grin. “And Dalton has recently discovered that dabbing peppermint oil behind his ears helps him focus.”
Pete and Dalton were brilliant, creative minds and had all the eccentricities that went along with that.
Aimee grinned. “Oh my gosh, that’s awesome. Dalton is so cute.”
Kiera laughed. She’d heard that a time or two as well. Dalton had been a child prodigy, completing college when he was only eighteen. He was the easy-going charmer in interviews and public appearances. Pete was the brooding genius. Yet in spite of their different personalities and the five-year age difference, Pete and Dalton were best buds. “How old are you?” Kiera asked Aimee.
“Eighteen next month.”
She and Dalton were only four years apart.
“Well, I can’t wait to tell them I met our biggest fan,” Kiera said.
Aimee gave a choked little squeal. “You’re going to tell them about me?”
“Of course. We all love hearing how passionate our fans are.”
“Oh my gosh!” Aimee was nearly bouncing on her chair. “I can’t believe it. My brother finally brings a girl home and she is the coolest girl I’ve ever met. I did not see that coming.”
Kiera really wanted to pursue that. What kind of girls did Zach usually bring home? What did finally mean?
“Can I hug you?”
“Uh…” Before Kiera had decided how she felt about it, Aimee was out of her chair and Kiera found herself enfolded in an enthusiastic embrace.
She didn’t know how to respond. She patted Aimee’s back, but it wasn’t until the girl straightened and focused on something behind Kiera that she realized they weren’t alone.
She turned toward the kitchen door.
Zach was looking at them with resignation. “I take it you discovered your shared love for the World of Leokin.” His grim tone made it clear how he felt.
“You saved a member of the royal family today,” Aimee said. “There is a great reward for you.”
Kiera heard the mild humor in Aimee’s voice, but she was still looking at Zach. He looked damned good rumpled and sort of sleepy. And then his expression went from puzzled to surprised as he watched his sister. Kiera glanced at Aimee. She was grinning at him.
“Like money or something?” Zach asked.
“Probably jewels,” Aimee said thoughtfully. She looked at Kiera. “Or gold? I’m sure Peter and Dalton would pay any price to the brave soul who ensured your safety.”
Kiera started to answer that they’d probably try to get by with an invitation to a huge feast or something, rather than doling out actual treasure. But Zach spoke first.
“Who the hell are Peter and Dalton?”
Kiera looked at him and found him scowling. Scowling? Really?
“Her friends who—”
“The king and prince of Leokin,” Kiera said quickly over the top of Aimee’s answer.
Why? Why don’t you want him to know that two of your best friends developed this amazing thing? Why don’t you want to claim your part in it?
Aimee nodded. “Exactly.”
“Characters in the game?” Zach asked.
Well, they were…technically…
“Yes,” Aimee said. “Her brothers. In the game.”
That was true. In the written Leokin history, King Peter was the firstborn of the brothers, and she’d become their adopted sister when they’d rescued her from the trolls. Pete and Dalton were like her brothers in real life too.
Zach’s focus rested on Kiera. “Can I talk to you?”
Why did she have a feeling she was in trouble for something? “Of course.”
“I’m going back upstairs,” Aimee said quickly. “It was great to meet you, Kiera.”
Kiera smiled at her. “You too. This was fun.”
Aimee and Zach passed one another as he came farther into the room and she headed for the doorway.
“Hey, Zach?” Aimee said.
“Yeah?”
“She’s awesome.”
“Yeah, I know,” he said, sounding exasperated.
“Coolest girl you’ve ever dated,” Aimee added.
Kiera waited for Zach to explain to his sister that they weren’t dating. And tried to put her twinge of disappointment aside.
Instead, though, he said, “Yeah?”
“Definitely,” Aimee answered. “So don’t screw it up, okay?”
There was a long pause before Zach said, “Go to bed.”
Kiera could hear Aimee’s sigh from across the room. “Whatever.”
As soon as Aimee was out the door, Zach turned his attention back to Kiera. “Go to my parents’ party with me.”
Kiera frowned. That hadn’t been anything near what she’d been expecting him to say. “What?”
“My parents are hosting a party. I’d love it if you’d come with me.”
Oh boy. “Like a date?”
He shrugged. “We can call it a favor. It’s a big night for my family, and Aimee has been fighting the idea for months. She doesn’t want to go. But I think if you were there, she’d come. Which would mean the world to my mother. Which would mean the world to me.”
She couldn’t have explained it for anything, but that made her want to say yes. Zach was all about other people. She’d known him for only a few hours and she knew that. Asking someone for something was a big deal for him.
But seeing him again…She wasn’t sure that was a great idea.
“Because Aimee thinks I’m cool and doesn’t want you to screw this up?” she asked, using Aimee’s words.
Zach pulled in a long breath, then nodded. “Yeah. Basically.”
“But there’s nothing to screw up.”
“I’ve been screwing everything up with her,” he said. “For months. She’s so unhappy. The smile she just gave me, the lighthearted joking just now? I haven’t had that from her in months. I want to get that girl back. And that girl showed up with you. She hugged you. She laughed with you. She hasn’t done that with anyone in what feels like forever. So please go to the party with me. Hell, go everywhere with me until she’s back to normal.”
Kiera felt her eyes widen. The intensity of emotion from Zach made her heart pound. “What?”
“If we’re dating, then you’ll be around. If you’re around, Aimee will be much more likely to emerge from her room. My family might just figure out how to be a family again.”
Kiera hesitated. She didn’t know what was going on with Zach and Aimee, but she did know she didn’t want to get involved.
“You told Maya you’d cut back on your work and get out more. Just spend some time with me and we’ll make everyone happy,” he said. “Let Maya know you’re taking her concerns into consideration. Let my sister believe that you think I’m awesome for a little while.”
Her heartbeat stuttered. She did think he was awesome. And his sadness and worry tugged at her emotions in a way that nothing had in a very long time. She’d thought she had the force field around her heart firmly in place. So how was Zach Ashley getting through?
“I don’t want pancakes,” she said. “I’m a cereal girl, remember?”
This all sounded beyond complicated and emotionally tangled.
Zach stepped closer. “Yes, I definitely remember. You don’t know how attractive that is.”
She smiled. She imagined that Zach might need and appreciate more simple in his life. In that case, she could be good for him.
“Why doesn’t Aimee want to go to the party?” she finally asked.
“It’s a long story. She and my mom have been having a hard time lately. This night is supposed to be about us as a family, but Aimee feels like we haven’t really been a family over the past few months, so she feels like it would be a lie.”
She should not do this. But she asked, “How much would we see each other between now and then?”
Zach looked surprised. “As much as you want, Princess.”
She wanted to see him all the time. That was a definite sign she should just walk away now. But this could work for her too. A plan was forming in her mind. Was it just a great excuse to see more of Zach and not worry about getting hurt? Maybe. But it really could make a lot of people happy.
Kiera stood and faced him squarely. “Fine. I’ll go,” she finally said.
Zach started to respond, but she cut him off.
“But we have to go out at least three times a week.” That would keep Maya happy and keep her from telling Pete to cut back on Kiera’s work. She wanted the work. She wanted to be part of the force behind World of Leokin’s success. It was the most rewarding thing she’d ever done.
“You got it,” Zach said without hesitation.
“And then we break up the night of the party.”
That he didn’t react to quite as quickly. “Why?”
“I have a huge project starting next month. I can’t do anything but work then for the next two months. I need Maya and Sophie to leave me alone about going out and being social during that time. So you and I make a show out of this—dating, spending time together—then we break up on the night of the party. I’ll need at least two months to recover from the broken heart,” she said with a smile. “Being holed up in my room, not wanting to go out, not wanting to see anyone will make perfect sense.”
Once she’d said it out loud, Kiera realized this was a brilliant plan.
“But you’ll actually be working,” he said, clearly not enthusiastic.
She nodded. “I’ll have to throw myself into work to keep my mind off of you.”
Zach seemed to consider that. “You’re willing to lie to your friends?”
“It’s not a lie. We’ll be going out. And we’ll stop going out that night. And I won’t want to leave my room for two months afterward.” Yes, this really was brilliant.
But Zach shook his head with a small smile. “I can’t break your heart, Princess.”
That made her melt a little, she had to admit. “You have to,” she said. “I have to retreat from the real world for two months. That means falling hard and having you rip my heart out.” She gave him a grin.
He shook his head, his smile growing too. “No way. I’m too nice a guy to do something like that.”
She laughed. “I’m guessing you’ve broken plenty of hearts, Zach.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever ripped one out, though.”
“Oh, well, this is going to be a crazy-mad love affair unlike either of us has ever had,” she told him flippantly.
But Zach paused. There was a moment of silence that felt far too real, their eyes locked on one another’s.
Finally Zach said, “Okay. There’s only one little problem.”
“What’s that?”
“Aimee will hate me if I break your heart.”
Kiera’s smile faded slightly. “Oh, right.”
“So she’ll have to think that you broke my heart.”
Kiera’s chest tightened. “Then she’ll hate me.”
“Guess we’ll just have to stay together then,” he quipped.
She knew he was trying to lighten the mood, but Kiera started shaking her head immediately. “No. We can’t do that.” She wasn’t in the market for a boyfriend. Especially one with messy family issues. And a sister that Kiera already liked. “I seriously have one month.”
“Okay, Cinderella, we’ll be sure you don’t turn into a pumpkin. I’ll just be grateful it’s not over at midnight tonight.”
She relaxed slightly and smiled. “Sorry. This work thing…it’s just everything right now.”
It really was. She’d promised her full commitment—her time, attention, and energy—to Pete when he’d been freaking out about the investors and their expectations. And she was looking forward to it.
The past eighteen months had been an amazing ride. The game was everywhere now and the growth showed no signs of stopping. Yes, it was a video game. But it was more than that. She was a part of something successful that stimulated her mind and her heart, something that was gloriously nerdy and influential at the same time. She was one of the five most important people to the World of Leokin franchise, and she couldn’t express how much that meant to her.
“I get it,” Zach said. “My family is everything to me right now.”
Kiera nodded. “Okay. Then we’re friends who are helping each other out. And after a month we’ll realize that we’re way too different to make it work long-term and we’ll stop seeing each other.”
Yeah. This would work. Because the people closest to them would already see clearly that they had nothing in common.
But it didn’t feel as if they had nothing in common.
“Great. Friends.” He paused. “So does that mean no more kissing?”
She frowned. “Why would that mean no more kissing?”
“You sure that’s a good idea?”
“It’s kind of a perk of this plan, isn’t it?” she asked.
“You think we should keep fooling around?”
She really wanted to. She understood that it could be dangerous. It was hard to keep emotions apart from the physical stuff sometimes. But they had outlined their plan clearly. “You need Aimee to go to that party. I need Maya and Sophie to stop nagging me and let me work. Do you expect either of those goals to change because we make out a little?”
“No.”
“And the party happens in one month. My work project takes off in one month. Nothing is going to change that timeline either, right?”
Zach grinned, and she was absolutely certain that she wanted to keep kissing him over the next month. As much as she possibly could.
“Right,” he agreed.
“So I think we’re good,” she told him.
“Then there’s only one more thing you should know,” he said.
“Okay.”
“If we go back to the kissing, there’s not going to be anything ‘little’ about the making out.”
He stepped close, with something in his eyes that made her heart rate quicken. He ran his hand up and down her arm, then slid both hands up to the back of her neck and tilted her head back. He kissed her softly at first, teasing her with his lips, brushing back and forth lightly. Then he pressed a little harder, drawing on her mouth. Then, finally, with a groan, he opened his mouth on hers and kissed her. Fully. Hungrily. Until she was gripping his forearms and was up onto her toes as far as she could physically get.
His tongue was demanding in a way he hadn’t been before. It felt as if he was seeking something, desperately. To feel better. To feel connected. To have something real happen. Whatever it was, she gave it back to him. She pressed close, wrapping her arms around his neck, moaning for more. Which seemed to fire him up even further. He turned them both and started to walk her back to the wall, but at the last minute stopped and pulled his mouth from hers.
He stared down at her, his breathing ragged.
“I remembered this time,” he said huskily.
She thought hard. What was he talking about? What had he remembered?
He gently ran a hand from her neck to the back of her head.
Oh yeah. Her head. She’d almost forgotten she had one. All of her attention had been focused a bit lower.
“Right,” she panted. “Right. Good job.”
He gave her a quick, small smile.
God, she wanted him to smile. To be happy. She wanted to make him happy.
And she hated that. She didn’t want to be emotionally tangled up with him. That never ended well for her.