PleasureGames: A Games Novella Read Online Free PDF Page A

heavy for his perfect, aristocratic features but somehow managed to look devilish instead of ghoulish. His mouth was a full, sarcastic bow that curved into a smile as he gazed at me, tugging up on one side in the most heartbreaking way.
    I remembered that smile. I wanted to punch it off his face.
    "What are you doing here?" I asked, my words small and wounded. Seeing him still hurt after all these years.
    He quirked an eyebrow at me and took my hand in his, raising it to his lips. "I'm meeting my bachelorettes."
    I pulled my hand free from his before he could kiss it. "I don't want you to be the bachelor."
    "I don't recall asking if you had a choice." He shrugged, and I watched his shoulders move perfectly in his tuxedo jacket. He was always so graceful, like a dancer. Eight years hadn't changed that. "You signed up for the show not knowing who would be the bachelor in question. And since it's been a while, I believe this is a good opportunity for us to get to know each other again."
    "Like hell it is," I blurted. I gathered my skirts and started to head for the door.
    "So you're just going to forfeit?" he called back, his voice ever so cool. Heathcliff had only lost his temper the one time ever - when we'd broken up.
    Me, on the other hand, I lost my temper all the damn time, and I was close to losing it now. I turned on him. "Forfeit?" I hissed.
    "Forfeit," he repeated. "If you leave before the Decision Ceremony, you won't get your contestant compensation package."
    I hesitated. Part of me wanted to throw it in his face and tell him where he could shove his contestant compensation package. I didn't need him, and I didn't need his smug, laughing expression that seemed to anger me down to my very soul.
    But the small, practical part of me couldn't stop thinking about the fifty grand and how much it'd help. It'd let me catch up on my bills. It'd let me buy a new furnace and set up a new shop at a festival that was actually making money. It'd let me revamp my website, and maybe get a car that wasn't falling apart.
    Fifty grand would make such a difference in my life. It was the difference between living in a cardboard box and improving my life all around.
    All I had to do was put up with a jerk of an ex.
    So I swallowed my pride, pulled my skirts out of my fists, and turned and gave him my sweetest smile.
    "Shall we try this again?" Heathcliff asked in that silky voice of his. He held his hand out to take mine. "Hello. I'm Heathcliff Forester, and I'm the billionaire bachelor for this season's Pleasures of Eden. It's lovely to meet you."
    Gritting my teeth, I forced myself to put my hand in his. "Hi. I'm Juno Ashmore." Eat shit and die.
    "That's a lovely name," he murmured, lifting my hand to his mouth and kissing the back of it with a press of those fabulous lips. I ignored how my nipples tightened in response, because nipples were assholes and didn't care how I felt about him.
    "Isn't it a great name?" I tried to pull my hand out of his, only to find he had it clasped firmly. Damn him.
    "You're very beautiful, Juno," he told me. His gaze moved over my face, almost caressing in its tenderness, which just infuriated me more. It was like he was eating me up with his gaze. And my body was reacting even though my brain was getting pretty damn pissed off. Eventually, his gaze went to my hair, the wealth of braids so carefully arranged by Leona. "That's an unusual choice for a hair style."
    "Yeah, well, it was either this or a beehive, so I went with door number two and had a friend fix it after your stylists destroyed it."
    That arrogant brow arched. "I'm humbled you worked so hard to look good for me."
    Ugh, that wasn't the impression I wanted to give at all. "You just go on thinking that."
    He didn't rise to the bait. "So what is it you do, Juno?"
    I sighed. "Are we really going to do this shit, Heathcliff? Seriously?"
    He shrugged and glanced at the door behind him. "You're welcome to leave at any time."
    Damn him. I forced a