Play by Play Nadia Aidan Book 1 in the Red Velvet Rope series. Katherine Higgins is the no-nonsense owner of trendy Las Vegas casino Taboo, and she has a secret. Every night her fantasies are filled with visions of her bodyguard dominating her. Seth Kyoto is Katherine’s no-nonsense bodyguard, and he too has a secret—every night his fantasies are filled with visions of his boss submitting to him. From the moment Katherine hired Seth, their strong personalities clashed. Underneath their mutual animosity is a simmering attraction neither wants to acknowledge, but they can no longer ignore. And when someone threatens Katherine’s life, Seth is forced to stay close to her, closer than either is comfortable with. While they’re stuck together, two secrets will be revealed and every one of their fantasies fulfilled. But they each hold one last secret that, if it comes to light, could ultimately tear them apart. Ellora’s Cave Publishing www.ellorascave.com Play by Play ISBN 9781419931581 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Play by Play Copyright © 2011 Nadia Aidan Edited by Jillian Bell Cover art by Syneca Electronic book publication February 2011 The terms Romantica® and Quickies® are registered trademarks of Ellora’s Cave Publishing. With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.® 1056 Home Avenue, Akron OH 44310-3502. Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the publisher’s permission. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/). Please purchase only authorized electronic or print editions and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted material. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated. This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously. P P LAY BY LAY Nadia Aidan Trademarks Acknowledgement The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction: Armani: GA Modefine S.A. Corporation Cheshire Cat: Disney Enterprises, Inc. Coke: The Coca-Cola Company Corporation Jacuzzi: Jacuzzi Inc. UNLV: University of Nevada, Las Vegas Versace: Gianni Versace S.p.A. Nadia Aidan Prologue Katherine took her private elevator down three floors to Joshua’s office, where the hotel security department was located. She figured Seth would be on the ground level, talking to the security personnel before he headed home for the day. Seth was nothing if not predictable, which was good for her. They’d gotten into a bit of an argument earlier. He wanted her to stop using her private elevator—said it wasn’t secure enough because if anyone got hold of her keycard they would automatically have access. She’d reminded him that she’d never lost her keycard, and since it was pinned to her at all times, there was little chance that she ever would. Typical Seth. He’d been stubborn on this particular point. And typical Katherine, she’d told him to relax, then for good measure, she’d gotten on the very elevator he didn’t want her to use, bringing a quick end to their conversation. The metal doors slid open and she swiped her card to open the door to the staff hallway. She heard the sound of muffled voices as she neared Joshua’s office so she slowed her steps. The door was slightly ajar and she would have knocked softly on the doorjamb, announcing her presence, but instead, she stilled when she recognized Seth’s voice. Great. Just great. She didn’t want to deal with him right now. She turned to leave but the words she heard next stopped her in her tracks. “I’ll meet you at the Velvet Rope in an hour,” Seth said. Katherine’s eyes widened. The Velvet Rope. As in the Red Velvet Rope. The heavy thud of footsteps drawing closer quickly reminded her of where she was and she raced back down the hallway, hurriedly swiping her keycard again as she pushed inside the small room to get back on her elevator. Her heart thumped wildly and she leaned against the metal walls to steady herself. 6 Play by Play What were Seth—and apparently Joshua—doing at the Red Velvet Rope? No, take that back. She got why Joshua would go, but Seth? Mr. Rigid-Unshakeable-Seemingly- Asexual Seth? She smiled. Maybe he wasn’t as asexual as she’d thought. And an hour later she was on her way to find out. She wore a form-fitting red dress with a matching red mask, high heels and an auburn wig. Sexy seductress was so not her style, but she figured she needed to play the role if she wanted to fit in at the notorious club. Though she knew this wasn’t real for her, that nothing would happen while she was there, she was nervous. She clutched a glass of whisky and Coke in her hand, her second one, the rich liquor slowly easing her anxious jitters. The Red Velvet Rope was an upscale and very exclusive BDSM club in Las Vegas, which Katherine had learned about when she met one of the owners a couple of years back at a convention for entrepreneurial women. She’d been intrigued when the female owner told her about the club’s policy and Katherine had promised she’d visit, though she never had. Women and couples were allowed in if they could afford the five thousand cover. Men always had to be invited by a woman unless they were members—and the fee for members, male or female, was not cheap. Seth hadn’t mentioned meeting any women there, which meant only one thing. Her number one and two in security were Doms, or possibly subs, though she immediately decided it was the former. She didn’t know much about the BDSM lifestyle, but she knew the basics, and she just couldn’t imagine Joshua, and certainly not Seth, taking orders from anyone. The place was a maze of hallways and darkened corridors, with a faint crimson haze of light filling the shadowy spaces. The décor was subtle, simple, and as she weaved her way through the club’s many corridors, she fell under the spell of the forbidden place, her body tingling with a thrill of anticipation. There were at least a dozen rooms per hallway, all filled with beds and other contraptions that she’d only seen at sex toy shops. Several of the rooms were empty, but 7 Nadia Aidan some were not, and what she saw in them—men and women dressed in leather, bound in chains—made her heart race. Sex was everywhere—the smell, the breathy sounds— and her entire body pulsed with lust. Her breath quickened and she took a sip of her drink, trying to ease the flurry of butterflies in her stomach. What was wrong with her? She acted as if she’d never seen people having sex before. But this was different—totally beyond anything she’d ever known. For the life of her, she wasn’t even sure what she was doing there. If Seth or Joshua caught her, how would she explain? Hell—what if she caught them? What would she do then? She thought about it for a second. She should leave—right now. But then she turned the corner and the choice was taken out of her hands. She saw him. Dressed in a gray suit, his shoulder-length hair pulled back into a ponytail. Seth never wore suits to work—never. But the way he wore that suit, she decided she would have to make them mandatory. God, he was handsome, and different. An air of authority clung to him that was somehow different from his commanding presence at work. At work, he was composed but more subdued. But here, he walked around as if he owned the place, the very personification of raw, masculine power. She followed him, turning down a hall when he turned down a hall, being sure to stay close to the walls, hidden within the shadows. She quickened her steps when he turned another corner, but drew up short when she saw nothing and no one down the hall. Damn it. She’d lost him. She wandered around the club searching for him, and was just about to give up and leave a half hour later when she found him. Like all the rest, the entire door was made of glass so she could see everything inside the bedroom, and what she saw made her nipples harden to almost painful buds and her pussy slick with wet heat. 8 Play by Play Joshua was stretched out on the floor, his chiseled body on display as a beautiful, voluptuous brunette rode his cock. Her arms were bound behind her back, her eyes shielded by a dark blindfold. Above her stood Seth. Even though Katherine couldn’t see his face, the tapestry of tattoos across his naked body revealed his identity. He held the woman’s head between his hands as he pumped his hips back and forth, working his cock in and out of her mouth. Katherine gasped, a combination of shock and need surging through her. She ached to touch herself as the woman pleasured the two men, and in turn they pleasured her. Katherine couldn’t stop herself. She leaned closer to the glass as she slipped her hand beneath her dress to push past her thong and stroke her clit. The woman moaned around Seth’s pulsing shaft as Joshua bounced her up and down on his rod, her heavy breasts jiggling with each powerful thrust. Skin slapped against sweaty skin, their moans and groans of pleasure causing a fresh gush of wetness to seep from Katherine’s slit. She stroked her clit harder, faster, in rhythm with the thrusting cocks of the men she thought she knew, but clearly didn’t know so well. Joshua pushed up inside the woman one final time, his fingers digging into the supple flesh at her hips. Katherine watched him, his face twisted in pleasurable agony, a harsh grunt tumbling past his lips as he came. She fingered her clit faster. She was almost there—almost to that place of bliss. Seth surged forward to shove his cock down the woman’s throat one last time, the muscles in his ass clenched tight. In the distance she heard his ragged groan and imagined his eyes were shut tight, his lips parted slightly as he spilled his seed into the woman’s warm, waiting mouth. It was probably a beautiful sight, and heat roiled through her belly at the image. She gasped in pleasure, a throaty, breathy sound as a pulsing, throbbing warmth started at her core and a wave of pleasure crashed upon her, taking her, tossing her until she was shuddering, the juices of her climax trickling from her body. 9 Nadia Aidan As the pleasurable waves of her orgasm receded, she slowly came back to the present. She hadn’t realized she’d closed her eyes until she opened them and her gaze clashed with his. “Did you enjoy yourself?” Seth grinned down at her. She gasped and backed away, startled that she hadn’t heard him open the door and that she’d been caught. “Wait, where are you going? I was going to ask you to join us.” She shook her head as she continued to step away and he frowned as he watched her retreat. “If you didn’t want to join us, then why did you follow me?” His eyes narrowed and a dark sensual emotion swirled in their depths that made her shiver. “Am I mistaken? I was certain you were a sub.” Her eyes widened. She didn’t know what she was more shocked by—that he’d known she was following him the entire time, or that he thought she was a submissive. “I-I have to go,” she mumbled under her breath so he wouldn’t recognize her voice, or at least, hoping he wouldn’t. She turned to run. He called for her to wait, but she didn’t stop. In seconds she was tearing out of the club’s private garage in her car, breathing a sigh of relief at how close she’d come, but thankful she hadn’t been caught. 10