Try and Play Me, Boy (The Playgirls #2) (3 page)

Chapter 5:

She hadn’t even bothered answering to his last texts, and the phone call went straight to voicemail; Colt hadn’t seen her since she’d kicked him out three weeks ago.

He got the message loud and clear.

“Slow down, it’s not even ten, buddy.”

Why did he persist in going out with such annoyingly whinny guys? Oh, yeah. Because his brothers had stopped indulging him, and those idiots were supposed to be his friends.

Brett and Jack had answered his call last week, and they’d accompanied him every night since, but they’d only properly joined on Saturday; now, they whined about his alcohol intake instead of sharing his tray full of shots.

Oh, well, more for him.

The girl who batted her lashes at him since he’d made it in hadn’t hardened his cock at first, but now he’d had a second look – or a twelfth shot – she wasn’t that bad. And her hair was cut short. Short hair was the best.

He took her home – well, technically, Brett took her home because he wouldn’t let him drive his own car himself, apparently.

Colt didn’t remember much of the encounter – there had been a high pitched voice moaning a lot, which explained some of his headache, and he'd had to close his eyes to be able to come. Then he turned her on her tummy and imagined Alice, although the stranger’s body wasn't nearly as appealing. He'd come again – and so had the girl. All around, a good distraction, but when he woke the next day, the woman was still there.

He groaned in his pillow, because of his hangover as much as the fact that he'd taken another troll to his bed.

Well, not really, the kid was no troll; but she wasn't Alice either.

A glance left did reveal two condoms on the floor – thank fuck, even drunk, he wasn’t that stupid.

He wasn’t ever that stupid, unless Alice’s tight pussy was involved.

Colt shook that thought; he wasn’t going there today. Not before coffee.

He woke the brunette, got her out of his bed and his home; perhaps a little bit abruptly, given the fact that she was cursing a lot of “assholes” on her way out.

The cursing didn’t help his acute headache.

He took a long, boiling hot shower, trying to scrape the nasty smell of booze and sex off his skin, and returned to his bedroom semi-human.

That’s only then that he looked at is phone.

The message was short and not-so-sweet.

We’re done; don’t call, don’t text – ever again.

His world collapsed with those simple words.

He wasn’t sure why it hurt that bad, given the fact that he’d assumed as much; but seeing that message in black and white under Alice’s name was worse than any kind of pain he’d ever felt. Now it really was finished.

Colt read it again, and again; by the time his hangover recessed, the venom transpiring in her words was puzzling him.

When she’d thought he might have been cheating, she’d been cold, sarcastic, but that was another level altogether. He could imagine her sister saying that; it was a bitch’s statement, and Alice was no bitch.

Colt froze quite suddenly, and grabbed his phone, ringing through to the concierge downstairs.

“Alain, I’m calling from the 12A. Did you have an authorized visitor logged in last night for me? After twelve?”

He couldn’t imagine why she would have come to his home, given the fact that she’d ignored him for close to a fortnight, but the timing was one coincidence he wasn’t overlooking.

“No sir,” the guy answered, and Colt breathed out in relief, but then, he added, “She didn’t log in, she stayed down in the lobby, until you made it home with… company. The lady left afterwards.”

His blood ran cold. Shit. Shit. Triple shit.

But at the same time, that’s what she’d wanted. Colt couldn’t understand her. She’d pushed him away, dammit!

“Are you sure?”

“Certain, sir. My shift started at eleven and finishes in ten minutes; I spoke to her myself.”

•

He tried the flat, first, and Emma seemed friendly enough, so he had to assume Alice hadn’t told her what happened; the gorgeous, confident redhead was not the kind of woman who held back; she would have at least threatened his balls if she’d known.

Colt might have felt better if she had.

“She packed last night,” Emma said, and it sounded almost like an apology. “She didn’t say where she was going; it could be a work trip… but she took two cases, so she might be on holidays. Not sure.”

“Don’t girls share everything?” he tried to seem charming, but his usually easy smile was forced as fuck.

Emma shrugged.

“Alice has friends all over the place, and she loves going away from time to time. Last year, she spent three months in New York, and every week, she sent something like
I might be back tomorrow
.”

Colt frowned.

It did sound like her, the ever-active, ever-upbeat woman he’d met. Yet another thing he might have ended up loving about her; spontaneity.

However, how the fuck could she afford a three months break in the most expensive city in the United States like that? Shared or not, that place probably cost a chunk of cash and while her MINI wasn’t all that flashy, it seemed brand new, which meant monthly payments.

Didn’t it? He didn’t know. It was entirely possible that she might have more disposable cash than he’d anticipated and that fact disturbed him, because it meant he needed to cast a much larger net that the one he’d previously planned on; he’d reasoned that she either was at home, or at her parents in San Francisco. Now, he also had to consider the rest of the universe.

“Will you let me know when she gives you a location?” he tried, knowing it was a long shot.

Emma sighed and shook her head.

“Probably not,” she admitted. “If she doesn’t want you to know, I won’t break her confidence. But I’ll give you a shout when she’s back.”

Colt was surprised at having the woman in his corner, before he recalled she probably hadn’t been told about the fact that he’d fucked around last night.

Although fucking around was hardly accurate, considering that Alice pointblank refused to be his.

Not that it would make a difference, to women; they had a tendency for ganging up against anything with a dick, given half a chance.

Why wasn’t he into men? He wished a thick cock could turn him on. Come on, he even liked Alice’s fingers in his ass, and he spent a lot of time doing his hair – he’d be a great gay guy, but for some reason, the idea of kissing Brett made him want to gag and punch someone. Too bad; men were so much simpler.

“Thanks, I’ll owe you one. Seriously, anything.”

Emma cracked a smile, which proposed her straight from exquisite to the realm of cute as hell. Bloody hell, that came as a surprise. She should smile more often.

“Might take you up on that. Laxative in your brother’s coffee would work.”

Oh, yeah – she worked for Kane.

Colt’s smile was much more genuine this time.

“You’re on.”

Because while Kane had had the very best intentions for being a betraying ass, Colt still owed him one.

“Colt…” Emma asked, a certain edge to her voice “Did she talk to you?”

He shook his head; whatever she’d come to say she hadn’t gotten the chance.

•
 

By the time she realized she was acting like a betrayed girlfriend, Alice had already sent the dramatic text and there was no taking it back.

Dammit. Letting him see how his action affected her was so not part of the plan.

She also felt a little stupid. She'd said she preferred a casual thing and he'd respected her wishes.

Then, Alice recalled Colt’s sweet whispered words.
Someday, you’ll trust me again. Then, you’ll be mine.

And just like that, she was ready to castrate him again.

Why did he have to go and make her love him like this? It was unfair.

There it was, the admission she hadn't ever acknowledged, her main issue against Colt, the reason why she should have gone to Kellan or Kane when she'd considered taking a Colburn for a sex toy.

But she hadn't ever considered it, it had been Colt or lying through her teeth throughout the whole article, because she wasn't interested in anyone else.

Alice had been the kind of girl who only had sex with boyfriends, at first, but by twenty-three, on her fourth failed relationship, she realized most guys just wanted easy sex; and that's what steady girlfriends – or even wives – were for.

So, she let loose, and fucked her brains out; it had been a ball, but she grew bored of it within a year.

Then, she’d met Giovanni, a swoon-worthy stallion who was completely open about his wants and needs – she’d loved the simplicity, the hot sex, and the sincerity.

But Van left to take care of a family emergency in Italy last year. He’d come back in November, but by then, she’d already met Colt.

She’d found excuses, but there was no denying why she’d stalled everytime Van had suggested meeting up.

The tanned, thick, delicious flesh didn’t appeal to her nearly as much as the cold, dismissive guy she thought of when ramming dildos inside her. She’d pretended it had been the Colburns as a whole, but her imagination always went back to one in particular.

And then, she’d had him, and for a little while, she forgot everything she knew.

God, she needed to get her head examined, it was in worse shape than her womb. Why had she done that to herself?

Before she knew what she was doing, two cases were in the trunk of her dusty car, and she was driving up towards her only sanctuary.

Yeah, her family was a major pain in her ass, and they would be unbelievably annoying about the problem she was going to throw their way, but Lucy had been right.

Alice had to start thinking about the baby she carried.

Peanut needed support, unconditional love, and so did she.

•

Every stalker needed a Rhett in his corner. Within hours, Colt had a location; Alice was at her parents, which was a blessing and a hindrance.

A blessing because she was relatively close by – still in the country, on the same coast – but a pain, because he couldn’t very well turn up at the doorstep, there.

So, he did the next best thing.

Chapter 6:

Alice had expected the entire Vaughan Clan to join the We Hate Colt party, but apparently, none of them had RSVPed.

None.

Instead, they’d all decided to join the We Are Disappointed in Alice convention.

Well, she’d seen that one coming, but she hadn’t quite expected it to be the only tune her family was singing.

So Alice did one thing she’d never, ever done around the Vaughan dinner table. She opened her mouth and revealed everything.

Not quite everything, she didn’t get into the naughty nitty-gritty in visual details, but she explained the nature of her relationship with Colt, and finished the tale by shamefully admitting that he’d gone for a ridiculously pretty young Hollywood wannabe less than ten days after promising her the world.

“So, let me get that straight. You’ve held him at arm’s length from day one. Then, you assumed he cheated because some girl was hanging all over him in a public setting, and you completely shut him down. Consequently, after days of complete silence from you, he moved on. Yeah, what an asshole.”

It would have been bad coming from her sister, who couldn’t stand her, but from her brother, it was like a harsh slap on the face.

Because put that way, it made her actions seem ridiculous.

Shit.

If Shane was right, if all she’d worked on was assumptions, and Colt hadn’t even welcomed that girl’s attention at the party, she’d singlehandedly destroyed the best thing that had happened to her.

If Shane was wrong, though? Well, she was still to blame, for part two.

She should have answered those texts, a little “I need some time” might have gone a long way. But she hadn’t, she’d dealt with her shit and assumed that Colt would wait for her to be ready.

“Look, what’s happened up until now is completely irrelevant,” Mara said, shooting Shane a glare. “There’s no need to bash Alice, she has a lot to think about.”

Then, she turned towards her daughter and added: “But now, you’re going to have to stop running, and give him a phone call, to tell him that you’re carrying his child.”

Her phone beeped, signaling an incoming message, and while she would normally have ignored it, now seemed to be a great time to seek an escape route, so she took it out of her pocket and read it right away.

From: Colton Henry Colburn

To: Alice A. Vaughan

Subject: Loophole.

It’s completely your fault. While your order prevents me from texting or calling you, you didn’t say a thing about emailing.

How are you?

Answer this, or I’m coming for you.

C. Colburn,

Colburn Global, CEO

Ok, it should have sounded creepy and made her file her third restraining order to date; it didn’t.

It made her hot, like every damn thing Colt Colburn did.

She considered response.
Pregnant, and you?
while accurate, didn’t seem to be quite the form.

From: Alice A. Vaughan

To: Colton Henry Colburn

Subject: re: Loophole.

I’m good and we need to talk. When Can I call?

                           
Sent from my iPhone.

She’d just put the cell down when it started ringing, Colt’s name flashing bright on the dark screen.

Shit. Now, really?

Alice swallowed and straightened her spine, although he wasn’t here to see her. She swiped to take the call, while retreating upstairs; every Vaughan had converged towards the meter square she’d claimed, like the nosey bastards they all were.

“Hey?” she hazarded, somehow hoping that caller id had made an error, but it was definitely Colt on the other end of the phone.

He proved it by breathing a suave and effortless “morning, princess” which turned her legs into jelly.

Alice wondered at that endearment; was it what he called everyone, or just her?

“I know what you have to say,” Colt announced, and she almost snorted. Little chance of that. “I respect you for doing this directly over the phone, Alice. But first, let me get something out.”

He paused for a long stretch of time.

“I’m confused,” he said. “And lost, and on edge. I’m used to certain things in my life, like control – and without you? It’s vanished. I got drunk after you left me. Let’s not pretend otherwise.
You left me.
The alcohol numbed my brain and I liked that, so I did it again, and again. Each time, I fucked a girl, because that’s what single, drunk guys do.”

She grimaced at that unabashed admission, but he was right. She'd left him; his dick was his to do as he pleased.

Alice was hurt and a little bit embarrassed by how quickly he'd moved on, but she had to let it go – they had to act like adults now.

Well, she had to. He wasn’t the one who had issues on that score.

“In the morning, I was rather annoyed because I was using those women, and that's not me. But, Alice, there's only one thing I regret – one thing I'm ashamed of.”

There it was; he was about to admit what had happened at the Christmas Gala. She braced herself, knowing that however much what he said would hurt her, she needed to keep her cool.

“I’m sorry I gave you any reason to believe that while in a relationship with you, anyone else mattered. They didn’t, which is why I didn’t see a problem in helping a drunken girl to a car. I didn’t want her, and in my mind, you were certain of that. Obviously, I failed you – us – and I apologize for that.”

Shit. So not what she was expecting.

Given the fact that he'd been forthcoming up until then, she knew better than to doubt what he told her now. He really hadn't led that woman on, or encouraged her. He hadn't cheated; it had all been in her stupid paranoid, mistrusting mind.

Fuck.

“So what now?” She asked in one breath, hoping against all hopes…

He sighed on the other end.

“Well princess, I said it on day one, didn't I? We're not suited, despite the chemistry. We’ve tried it, and now we know for sure, so I guess we should stay friendly. I know how much Tamsin likes you. She's missed you, you know. We all do.”

There they were, the tears; they fell silently, thank fuck, but she couldn’t stop them, because that goodbye hurt more than anything in the world, now she understood what she’d thrown away.

Dammit. She was not a crier, not even a little bit. At least, she managed to keep her meltdown silent.

“There, that’s me done. Your turn.”

She opened and closed her mouth a few times, trying and failing to express different angles. After a while, she managed.

•

His assistant popped his head around the corner to see if everything was alright right after the crash; Colt, on the floor, quite possibly suffered of a concussion but he answered “I’m fine,” and hurriedly pressed his Do Not Disturbed button under his desk, remotely shutting the door and automatically holding his phone line.

Colt had had a plan; a perfect plan, sanctioned by Tamsin, Xander, Emma and Kane. Kellan and Brett were betting against him, but the assholes could go screw themselves.

He knew the major reasons why everything had gone to hell over a little incident were firstly, Alice’s past, and then, their short acquaintance.

The idea had killed him, but he'd planned to lure her into a false sense of security, sneakily become her friend, while hiring a sniper to take care of every male intending to snatch her away. Then, when she was ready, when she trusted him, he would have pounced.

Yes, that long, painful process would have sucked, but he could wait, he was in for the long haul. He'd tried to fuck his way to her heart and failed; instead, he'd get through by the back door. So to speak.

But she was pregnant. Right now.

There was a child growing inside her.

“Sorry, brain’s shut down,” he said to his phone, “You’re still there?”

Please, let her still be there.

“Yeah. What was that?”

“You quite literally putting me on my ass. We’re pregnant?”

“Well,” Alice replied. “I am, technically.”

“I’m pretty sure I had something to do with that.”

Well, shit. He was going to be a dad.

Then, he cursed himself, because it was a hell of an assumption.

Was she pregnant with his baby?

He knew she hadn’t seen anyone else during their acquaintance, he’d listened to enough of her conversations with Tamsin to be quite certain that she had been single, even before they’d started seeing each other, but single women had one night stands – or friends with benefits.

“Ok, then, I suppose we’re pregnant,” she replied.

That was really happening; there was no doubt in his mind that if she’d had a reason to believe it might have been someone else’s kid, she would have said it.

“We can do a paternity test,” she offered. “I’ve read they don’t harm the baby.”

“Alice, I screwed you without condom. I came deep inside your pussy; you don't need to prove to me that I got you pregnant. I was there. Believe me, I remember.”

His dick, twitching in his slacks, remembered, too.

“No. You're a rich guy, I'd like to alleviate some of the rumors before they arise, if you don't mind.”

He sighed, conceding her point; or rather, conceding because as far as he was concerned, Alice could have whatever she wished for. On a silver platter. Sprinkled with fairy dust. 

“OK. Everything is alright with you? What has the doctor said?”

“I haven't seen anyone yet; I've made an appointment next week, I'll let you know.”

He took a moment to calm down, biting back the aggressive, possessive
you’ll let me know??
he had been about to shout. His voice was quite composed when he replied: “No need, princess. I'll be there. Just give me a place, time and date.”

It was her turn to pause.

“It might not be…”

“Alice? I’ll be there.”

“I’m in San Francisco,” she admitted, revealing something he'd known for days – but no need to disclose the extent of his stalking tendencies. “I'm seeing a doctor here.”

The idea that distance could stop him from reaching her – or their child – almost made him smile.

“I'll be there,” he repeated.

Well, if he was still alive.

Because his monumental mess had just become a family affair, which meant that there was no hiding it; he was going to have to include the entire clan. Worse yet, he'd need to tell the entire story, to ensure that no one blamed Alice for running to another state.

Yep, the chances the Dragon would burn him to a crisp approached ninety percent.

“Colt?”

He wasn't sure she'd still be over the line, as neither of them had spoken for a while.

“Send me your mother’s phone number, I'll tell her.”

As per usual, Alice might as well have read his mind.

“Why?”

“Because she'll take it better coming from me.”

That wasn't an answer; sure, Alice could spin anything and Gia would buy it while giggling, but that didn't explain why she wanted to save his skin.

Colt smiled, completely blown away.

Alice sounded skittish and frail, ready to bolt, but everything she said suggested something he hadn't anticipated when he'd taken that phone call.

He'd believed she wanted closure – an exchange of explanations, the occasional insult, and that was that.

Instead, she was freely giving him what he craved like his next breath.

A second chance.