For The Win (Gamer Girls, #6) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,25

them. He had this way of being completely relaxed and honest while still oozing masculinity as if he'd been drenched in it. The way he'd so gently lifted her chin? That feel of his lips on hers? How his hands had closed on her wrists, holding her beneath him?

And that was just a kiss!

The most amazing man she'd ever met in her life wanted her. Her! That he wasn't shy about saying it was even more amazing. Maybe it didn't stop her from second guessing every single moment they had together, trying to find the catch, but there wasn't one. Not that she could find. Something about her appealed to him, and while she couldn't understand why, she also wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

At some point during the day, Rhaven realized something else. All those times she'd watched adorable couples being all couple-y together? Now it was finally her turn. Maybe he wasn't her boyfriend. It was entirely likely that they'd never get that far, but it didn't matter. Kate was right. There was nothing wrong with enjoying the moment and doing what she wanted to. And right now, she wanted to be just a normal woman desired by a sexy man.

So when she got off work, she headed home with a new determination. She was going to see Braden again, and she'd take it from there. No expectations. No big plans. She was just going to wing it a little and enjoy this amazing and wonderful moment.

"Tyler?" she yelled when she walked in the door. "I need the car again!"

Her brother came out of his room in his boxers. "Not gonna happen," he told her.

And her heart stopped. "What? Why not?"

"Because Josh is having a party tonight. Alyssa is going to be there, so of course I'm planning to go too." He crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame. "Why? You want to come?"

"No," she groaned, feeling all of her big plans crash and burn before her eyes.

Well, she'd been waiting for the catch. Here it was. Letting out a heavy sigh, she walked past him toward her own room, but Tyler caught her arm, stopping her.

"What's going on, Ethan?"

"Nothing," she insisted.

"Is it that guy from the games?"

Busted, but the fact that her brother honestly looked like he cared convinced her to answer. "Yeah. I make these things called mods, right? Overlays for computer games that change the display. You know, like the crosshairs or whatever. He sounded really interested, and I was hoping I might get a side gig out of it. Probably not going to happen, but still."

"The guy flew all the way to Montana to talk to you, and you think he's not serious?" Tyler asked. "Please. He's either trying to get in your pants, or his company wants something from you. I promise that they don't just ship employees around on a whim." Then he paused. "Did his company send him?"

"Yes," she groaned. "Jesus, Tyler, stop trying to make this weird. He was in Billings to set up a call center. We've hung out at a few of the conventions, and - "

He broke in. "So, this guy's a friend?"

"Yeah."

Tyler chuckled. "The kind that buys you drinks?"

She punched him in the arm. "No. The kind who runs the game. He is in charge of all the Eternal Combat demos. He tracks the stuff in the tournaments and can disqualify someone for cheating. Things like that."

"And how do you know him again?" Tyler asked.

She groaned. "Some people in my outfit are pro gamers. That means they rub shoulders. By default, I do too, and this girl named Riley has these parties. Wild ones, where the alcohol never runs out and her sponsors are paying. He comes to a few. No, he's not my only friend there. I also know the guy who owns the hotels, ok? And you know those people on the splash screen for EC? QQ, Void, and Murder? Yeah, well they're QQ's parties, she's fucking Void, and Murder's my outfit leader. Well, one of them."

Tyler's mouth was hanging open. "Damn. How'd you meet the cool kids?"

"They're as dorky as I am. So's Braden. Well, Tank's his developer name."

And her brother scoffed. "Like, the same 'Dev Tank' who runs Flawed?"

"Same," she told him. "Eternal Combat's his baby, though. I mean, all of Deviant loves Flawed, but Braden wrote most of the code for EC. It's complicated. Thing is, he knows I want to be a game designer.