Dangerous Games

Chapter 1

The sun slantingacross Allison’s face woke her much earlier than she was used to and reminded her, she wanted to hang curtains today.Although Todd had hired movers, Allison insisted she wanted just the two of them to set up the house. She wanted the full experience of moving in with him—the discussions, and occasional arguments, about where everything was supposed to go.

Just yesterday, they’d argued over the placement of the couch until he’d bent her over the arm of it and spanked her until she agreed with him about its location.Of course, that had turned them on, so he’d also ended up fucking her as she was draped over the arm of the couch, his hands squeezing her reddened buttocks, igniting that wonderful mix of pleasure and pain she enjoyed so much, until she came screaming as he rutted into her from behind.Then he’d made her finish the rest of their discussions without putting her pants back on as cum dripped down the insides of legs.

Which is why they’d never gotten around to hanging the curtains.

Turning away from the window, Allison came face to face with her boyfriend.Boyfriend was such a tame word for the feelings she had for Todd—love, adoration, occasional extreme frustration, and a deeply intense craving to touch and be touched by him. Sometimes, she thought she’d never get enough of it, and it didn’t seem to matter whether he was holding her in his arms or beating her ass, she wanted it.

This wasn’t the kind of relationship she’d pictured.Two years ago, she had been willing to live the life her parents chose for her—marrying a man just like her father and living in a big house, throwing big parties and being the perfect little housewife, whose life was dedicated to her husband and furthering themselves in ‘society.’In all honesty, it had been like something out of a Victorian romance novel, except she hadn’t been truly happy, and it hadn’t been at all romantic.She’d hated the constrictions on her life, hated feeling like she was only valued as an asset to the family, hated that other people her age were able to have crazy wild adventures, but she was stuck going to parties and schmoozing clients for her father at his parties.

Then she’d met Todd—a man who had both intrigued and repulsed her. Staring at his face, with its strong features, firm jawline, and brushing of dark stubble, she remembered how she’d initially thought she was too good for him, he was beneath her, but even then, she’d been intrigued. Then she’d drunkenly admitted some of her deepest, darkest fantasies—about losing control and being blackmailed into doing the crazy things she’d always wanted to do—and for some reason, most of them seemed to be sexual. Only later had she realized. Freeing that part of her, allowed her to free herself in other ways, too.

Todd had left her to work overseas, and she had been unable to continue life as it had been before him. Instead, she got a job, moved out of her parents’ house and in with her friend. Diana was of the same social set, but her parents were much less pressed over social standing and ‘moving up in the world.’ Eventually, Allison broken up with the boyfriend her parents had chosen for her. Poor Roger. He’d become a good friend by the end of their time together, but he had never lit her up from the inside the way Todd did.By the time Todd came back home, Allison had been ready for him—ready to try having a real relationship with a man she’d chosen—and she could only thank her lucky stars, he had felt the same way.

Unfortunately, telling her parents about her new relationship had caused a scene—more than a scene. Her parents had basically kicked her out of their lives until she ‘came to her senses’ and did what they wanted—which meant breaking up with Todd.Sometimes, she wondered if they would have stopped paying for her schooling if it hadn’t already been paid for her last semester in college. Thankfully, she’d started working the past summer, and now she was working and attending classes. If she had still been under her parents’ roof and beholden to their money, defying them would have been a lot more difficult.

Allison didn’t regret her decision, although every time she thought about her parents, it still hurt. She’d thought she meant more to them.She wasn’t sure if it was her uncharacteristic defiance that had enraged her father, or if he truly cared more for his job and business contacts than he did about her.With both sides holding out for an apology, it didn’t seem like there would be peace any time soon.Strangely, the member of her family she was closest to now her was her step-cousin, Chad, whom she’d disliked for most of her life up until the past year. She had Todd to thank for that. Although his methods were perhaps not what she would have chosen, they’d become friends, and she appreciated that now.

These were maudlin thoughts for a morning she wanted to spend with her boyfriend. They had a lot to get done today. They’d both taken a couple days off of work to help with the move-in process, but tomorrow was their last day off. She had been hoping to finish early, so they could spend tomorrow evening relaxing in their new home.Although Todd had paid for the house, he’d made it clear he considered it theirs, and she’d ended up contributing to the furnishings and insisted on paying for the entire first grocery bill—which had been substantial.While Todd was making a lot more money, she wanted to be a financial part of putting their home together. Otherwise, it just felt like everything was his, and she was a guest. Being able to pay for some of it really made it theirs.

She reached out and put her hand on his chest, sliding the covers down to bare his skin.Todd was a heavy sleeper.The alarm clock he used was incredibly loud, and she still ended up waking him up more often than not because the alarm woke her first, then she kicked him until he woke up and turned it off.While it might be a little creepy, she liked to watch him sleep.His face was so serene in slumber, and with the sun shining into the room, he looked like a dark angel—or maybe a fallen one—with his dark hair, tanned skin, and handsome features. Just looking at him sent a surge of lust through her. She was going to live with him, waking up to this every morning.

Smiling, she pushed the covers down to his thighs, unsurprised to find he had some serious morning wood.Carefully, she got to her hands and knees, sliding down the bed until her head was hovering above his groin.Glancing up at his prone body, she smiled as she saw he was still asleep. This was going to be fun.

Starting at the very base, she gave his cock one long, slow lick all the way to the tip as it jumped and jerked. Todd made a mumbling sound as she sucked the tip into her mouth, then began to take him into her mouth.She managed three good bobs of her head up and down his long shaft before she felt his body tense beneath her palms. A hand came down on the back of her head, grabbing her hair and wrapping it around his fist several times until he had her on a short leash, her every movement now controlled by him.

The established dominance had an immediate effect on her libido—her nipples hardened, and her pussy creamed even more. Mouth full of cock, she raised her eyes to meet Todd’s, enjoying the lust in his expression and the threatening glitter in his eyes.

“Naughty, naughty, trying to get yourself an early morning treat without permission.”His hand held her steady, so she couldn’t lift her mouth off of him to reply.Instead, she just batted her eyes, and he laughed—she probably looked ridiculous doing that. She giggled, which had the effect of vibrating his cock in her mouth. He groaned as he lifted her head up, then down again, forcing her to take more and more of his meat into her throat.Her own body throbbed for attention, but both of Todd’s hands were on her head. Allison whimpered, shuffling on the bed to turn her lower body toward him, wiggling her hips to try to entice him. Todd released one hand from her head and slapped her ass. Allison moaned and wiggled her hips again, asking for more.

“Little slut.” He chuckled, which just turned her on even more. From Todd, it always sounded like a compliment, not an insult. He pulled her up by her hair, yanking her toward him with enough brute force, it hurt just enough to feel good before he took her mouth in a punishing kiss. His free hand went unerringly to her breast, pinching her nipple so hard, she yelped and writhed, her open mouth allowing his tongue to plunge in deeply.The sharp pinch on her nipple was like a tight clamp, and her breast ached as his unrelenting grip tugged and pulled the tender bud.

He pushed her, and Allison found herself on her back with Todd hovering over her. He had the best throw down. It always happened so fast, she never knew when it was coming, but it always took her breath away.Gripping her wrists, Todd held them above her head and attached them to the cuffs he had dangling. They’d been installed yesterday, bolted to the wall just above the bed, easily hidden by pillows when company came over and easily accessible at any time Todd felt like chaining her up.

She moaned as he secured her, the helpless vulnerability of her situation causing her pussy to flood even more.Todd stretched out over her, his lower body pinning hers to the bed, and she could feel the velvety head of his cock pressing against her pussy lips, but he didn’t thrust forward. Instead, he cupped her breasts and massaged them gently, her one abused nipple feeling more swollen and sensitive than the other.

“Is this what you were hoping for, you bad girl?” His breath was hot on her neck as he kissed and nipped at the sensitive skin there.

“Close enough,” Allison said, panting. “Fuck me... please, Todd, fuck me.” She lifted her hips as much as she could, as if she could take him into her wetness without his cooperation.

“It would serve you right if I just took your mouth and left you wanting all day,” he murmured, half under his breath, and Allison moaned, hoping he wouldn’t do that. She’d go insane.

“Please, please, please,” she begged, her back arching as he moved down her body and sucked her unabused nipple into his mouth, biting down on it hard enough to make her gasp.The attention to her breasts only made her even more aware of her empty, needy pussy.“I’ll never wake you up with a blow job again.”

“I didn’t say that, Princess.”Todd laughed, then bit down on her nipple again as he tweaked the other between his fingers, and Allison’s body jerked. “In fact, I may insist on it every so often. The point is, you were trying to be sneaky, and you forgot I like to be in charge.”

“Or I was counting on it,” she retorted.Both of them knew he wasn’t actually mad, and she had been trying to get into something just like this position, but half the fun of the game was pretending otherwise.

“Brat,” he said fondly as his fingertips slid down her sides, and Allison writhed, trying not to giggle.

“No tickling!”

“Oh, I’m sorry, did I forget who’s in charge here?” he purred as he walked his fingertips back up her sensitive sides, making Allison breathless with laughter.

At the same time, she couldn’t have been more aware of the solid man holding down her lower body or the fact her legs were spread around his torso or the way he was moving back up her body until his cock was nudging her pussy again.His fingers found a particularly sensitive spot, and she gasped with laughter as her body contorted, and she kicked, unable to control her reactions, trying to buck him off. Allison hated being tickled.

“Hmm, I think we’ve found an effective punishment.”

“Noooo!”

To her relief, Todd sat back, leaving her panting for breath, her body feeling sensitive from his devilish fingers. Allison glared at him, then tried to kick him again as he grabbed one of her ankles and spread it wide before attaching it to a cuff at the bottom of the bed.They’d chosen a four-poster bed for exactly that reason, and Todd had set up the cuffs on all four posters last night.

“You’re going to regret that,” he said, grabbing her other kicking leg. Allison growled, and he laughed, admiring the sight she made so early in the morning—her arms restrained high above her head, her legs splayed wide open, so he could see her glistening pussy lips, and her breasts thrust toward the ceiling.It was a sight he’d seen before, but now they were in their own home, their bed, it seemed to have gained new significance. Now that both of her legs were restrained, he tickled the bottom of her foot, and she gasped and writhed, but she couldn’t get her foot away.

“TODD!”

“Mmmm, I love to hear my name on your lips.”

Her face contorted, and he could tell she was trying not to say something to him that would get her into real trouble. Truthfully, he didn’t want that either. He’d much rather have a playful, enjoyable session of morning sex with her, but he had also really been enjoying the way she’d writhed under him while he tickled her right up until she’d started kicking. So, he got back in position over his glaring girlfriend, admiring her pretty hazel eyes, which were shooting daggers at him, and her parted lips just begging for a kiss… or a cock.

Kneeling between her thighs, he pressed his dick to her pussy lips as he ran his fingers up her sides again, enjoying her soft skin and the way she convulsed at his touch.Her pussy rubbed against the sensitive head of his dick as her breasts bobbled, and she tried to glare at him through her panting giggles. Once he reached her armpits, he quickly moved his hands away and pinched her nipples hard, knowing exactly how much she enjoyed having forceful stimulation applied to those sensitive buds.

Allison cried out, her body arching as her breasts thrust farther upward in an attempt to relieve the pressure, but he could practically feel her pussy gushing fluid to coat the head of his dick. With a low groan, he pushed partway into her, enjoying the snug, hot fit. Releasing her nipples, he let his fingers tease her sides again.Gasping and giggling, Allison writhed and struggled as he slowly sank his cock into her while continuing to torment her with tickling.He found it both extremely erotic and amusing, although she certainly wasn’t the least bit amused, even if she was obviously aroused. Her pussy clamped and convulsed along with her body as he titillated her sides.

“Todd... please... stop!”

He could tell she was starting to truly gasp for breath, so he relented, wanting her to find the experience mostly enjoyable.Having a naked, helpless girlfriend, writhing on his cock was exactly how he wanted to start his day, and he didn’t want to ruin that by pushing her too far—although he was definitely serious about using tickling as a punishment in the future if she required it.

Leaning over to capture one erect nipple in his mouth, he began fucking her in earnest.Allison wasn’t sure if she loved or hated the tickling torture he’d just put her through, but she definitely hadn’t expected it to be erotic. There had been something hot about writhing uncontrollably while bound, unable to stop him from literally doing anything he wanted with her body, even having him ignore her pleas had aroused her.When he’d started fucking while tickling her, it had taken her breath away, feeling him moving inside of her, so controlled and determined while she’d been completely out of control and at his mercy...

Now, she was writhing beneath him for an entirely different reason, still helpless and bound, spread wide open for his pleasure and hers.

Todd rode her hard, his groin slamming against her clit with every thrust, the little bud swelling larger as he rubbed against it.Arching beneath him, Allison reveled in her bondage, moving with him as much as possible as he slammed into her.As she gasped and began to undulate beneath him, her inner muscles clamping down on him as her legs pulled and twisted, Todd moved harder, faster. Feeling her cumming beneath him was driving him wild.Allison cried out with ecstasy as his thick cock forced its way into her spasming body, her pussy trying to clamp down on him, and her rapture only increasing as the rough friction continued.

He called out her name as he hunched his shoulders, using the leverage to split her open, moving relentlessly throughout his own orgasm to spur them both higher.With every thrust, he sent another spurt of cream deep into her body, both of them moaning with satisfaction as he filled her cunt.

Finally, he fell on top of her, his heavy body covering hers.Although it made it harder for her to breathe, she loved the feeling of his weight pressing down on her.His large body was warm, comforting, and having him pressed against her after an incredible morning orgasm seemed the perfect way to start the day.

“I think I’m going to like living with you,” he said into her ear.

“You think?” Allison laughed. “Considering I’m all moved in, I think you’d better!”

Chuckling, Todd undid her restraints, which unfortunately meant removing his warmth from atop of her body. They wouldn’t be able to wake up every morning like this once they were back to real life with work and school, but Allison comforted herself with the thought that some days, they’d be able to do this or something like it.

“I’m just making a projection into the future,” he said, giving her a little slap on the butt as she started to roll out of bed. “But I don’t think there will be a problem.”

She tried to punch his shoulder, but he just laughed and swung around behind her again, giving her butt another love tap to start herding her toward the shower. Yeah, she could definitely get used to living like this.

* * *

“Whew,”said Allison as she collapsed on the couch. “We’re done!”

With a loud, overdramatic groan, Todd fell down on the couch, too—directly on top of her.

“Oof!” she pushed at him. “Get off me, you big lump!”

“Can”t... too... tired... dying...”

Her fit of giggles didn’t help with her efforts to dislodge him from her lap, neither did the fact he outweighed her by a good forty pounds of mostly muscle. Finally, she just accepted he was going to lie across her and fell back against the couch, laughing and enjoying his general silliness. While Todd could be so serious, so dominating sometimes, there were times when he was like a little kid, and she loved to see the boyish laughter in his face.He had so many conflicting sides to him, and she was enjoying uncovering them all.

One of the best parts about living together was uncovering each other’s secrets, all the little things a person did when they were at home, comfortable, and felt like no one was looking. Although now, there was someone looking, Allison felt comfortable enough to let him see her do things like clip her toenails or tweeze her eyebrows. Some things she didn’t do around him yet, but she knew eventually, they’d come. Every day she became a little more comfortable letting him see all the little things she’d be afraid to reveal to anyone else.

Like the mask she sometimes put on her face to help open up her pores. Or the fact she was terrified of touching raw meat—she picked it up out of the packaging with a fork to put it on the cutting board, sprinkled the spices on, then used that same fork to pop it into the pan. She knew it was weird but couldn’t help herself. So far, he hadn’t caught her doing that, but she knew eventually, he would, and while he would probably tease her, she felt pretty sure he would also love her for it.

Todd wriggled around on her lap until he was lying face-up, his head nestled on her legs, so she could stroke his dark hair.She loved to run it through her fingers, never tiring of the little intimacy that so clearly said he belonged to her.

“So... now we have furniture and basically a house... do we have a housewarming party?” he asked.

“Do you want one?”

“I just kind of assumed that’s what people do. You know,” he said teasingly, “your kind of people. Have people over, show off their stuff, accept gifts...”

Allison laughed. “You just want presents.”

“And admiration. Lots of fawning compliments. Maybe a bit of jealousy.”

“Silly man,” she murmured, focusing her attention on smoothing her fingers through his hair. So thick and soft, she loved to play with it and try to mess it up, although all he had to do was run his hand through it, and it would fall back into place.“I don’t know about a housewarming party, but I’d love to have Diana over, maybe Chad.Any of your friends you’d like to invite.”

Todd raised his eyebrows. “Are Diana and Chad the only friends you have?”

“The only close ones I’ve had in a while,” she said indifferently.She rarely found herself missing any of her old friends. Occasionally, Chrissy, but whenever they talked on the phone, it became more and more apparent, she and Chrissy weren’t as close as they had once been. “I have some friends at work and some acquaintances through classes, but...” She shrugged. “I stopped talking to a lot of my old friends. We don’t have much in common anymore. I don’t really have time for more friends right now, anyway.”

“I have a couple friends I wouldn’t mind inviting. We’ll keep it small. Four friends and they can each bring a date.”

“Will I need to cook something?”

“A few things.” He grinned up at her, tapping his finger on her nose. While Allison had slowly been learning to cook over the past year, she wasn’t sure she was up to doing anything she’d be proud to serve at a party. “We’re keeping it small and casual, remember? Nothing too fancy. And I’ll grill. You can just do sides and dessert.”

“Mmm, carrot sticks and instant mashed potatoes… yum!” They both laughed, and Todd pulled her face down for a kiss.

Allison couldn’t remember the last time she’d been so happy.

* * *

Allison smiledas she looked around the rather successful party. It truly was casual, nothing like the parties her parents threw where she had played hostess.There was a distinct lack of judgment for one, and her new home was nothing like theirs, butshe thought it had come out rather nicely.While she and Todd had resumed their usual schedules of work for him and work and school for her, they’d had time in the evenings to put a few final touches in place before the weekend, like the print of a painting on the wall in front of her.She’d stopped to study it on the way to the backyard, thinking how marvelous it was to have a print of a painting. Her parents would be apoplectic at the idea of not having the actual painting, but she rather liked it.

Especially because it wasn’t an expensive print; she’d picked it up at BBB, already framed, for thirty bucks.Another thing her parents would have had a fit over. She liked the man and woman dancing in the rain, the entire thing in black, white, and grey, except for the red dress the woman was wearing.When she looked at the painting, it made her think about love, but it also seemed like a comfortable, comforting piece. It reminded her it was the little things in life, like dancing in the rain, which were important.

Smiling happily, she turned her attention back to the party outside.Todd had invited a couple of friends, surprisingly, only one from his frat. The rest were from work.Brad and Chris, friends from work, had brought their wives, Wendy and Tina, and his frat buddy, Jake, had come alone. He and Chad were having a grand time, joking about forming a bachelor’s club and arguing about whether Todd would qualify.

The big surprise guest of the day was Roger.When Diana had first called to ask Allison if she could bring him, she had at first hesitated bringing it up to Todd. After all, that was kind of awkward, wasn’t it? Diana had insisted it wasn’t necessary, she just wanted to ask, but Allison realized if Roger and Diana continued to date and she wanted to spend time with Diana, it would be best to set the tone now.Make sure Todd realized there was nothing romantic between them anymore, and that she didn’t feel that hanging out with Roger was a big deal.

When she’d asked him about it, she thought that she’d seen a flicker of something in his eyes, but he’d readily agreed Diana could bring her boyfriend—even though he was Allison’s ex.He knew Allison had never been in love with Roger, she’d reassured him of that, although she didn’t bring it up again when asking if it was okay if Roger came to the party. Extra reassurance on top of what she’d already given him just seemed like making it a bigger issue than it needed to be, and he hadn’t really seemed to need it.

So far, it hadn’t been awkward, except Todd and Roger seemed to have disappeared. She’d gone inside to see if they were in the kitchen, but she couldn’t find them anywhere. Returning outside, she scanned the yard.It wasn’t like it was that big a yard. Pursing her lips, she wondered where they’d gone.

“I have to say, as great as this house is, I miss living with you.”Coming up beside her, sipping on one of the fruity mixed drinks with colorful swirly straws Allison had provided, Diana managed to look simultaneously happy and pathetic, widening her eyes to increase the latter.

Allison grinned. “I miss living with you too. I’m glad you could make it today. Any idea where your man has wandered off to?”

“Somewhere with yours,” Diana said, making a face. There was something in her expression that made Allison feel like her friend was hesitant to say more, which, for Diana, was extremely unusual. She was one of the most outspoken people Allison knew. It was one of the things that had attracted her to Diana as a friend.

“Do you know what they’re talking about?”

“Unfortunately, yes.”Stirring her swirly straw, Diana stared at her drink. The petite Asian was a pretty, confident, confrontational person, so Allison was surprised to see her looking so uncomfortable, which made her nervous as well. Before her own nerves could get the better of her, Diana sighed.“Your dad told Roger he should try to get back together with you.”

“What?!”

“Yeah, I know,” Diana said, rolling her eyes. There was both frustration and anger in her voice, probably as much on Allison’s behalf as on her own. “Roger told him he had a new girlfriend, then your dad asked if Roger had a friend, he could set you up with.”

“Unbelievable.” Allison was fuming, though she wasn’t really shocked or even all that surprised, just frustrated and annoyed. It was just like her parents to try to insert themselves into her life through someone else, now she wasn’t talking to them, and who cares what she wanted. Then something else Diana had said caught her attention.

“Wait, so you guys are official now?”

Diana giggled and finally met Allison’s eyes again. “Well, we weren’t when he said that, but I guess now we are. I don’t mind.”

“And ah... is he everything you hoped he’d be?” Allison asked, teasingly referring to the talk she and Diana had had when Diana had first admitted she was interested in Roger.After watching Allison’s relationship with Todd, Diana had finally realized she wanted a man who was more dominant in the bedroom, but for some reason, most of the guys she ended up with weren’t.She would put up a challenge for dominance, and they would end up rolling over for her.

Dating Allison had definitely changed Roger, and while he wasn’t who she wanted to be with, she hadn’t been upset Diana was interested in him and wasn’t that surprised he was willing to meet Diana’s challenge.At least, she assumed he had since he was still around, and she knew that was what Diana wanted. After she’d broken it off with Roger, she’d seen him start to relax a little more from his usual gentlemanly demeanor, allowing some of the alpha male she’d always sensed in him to come to the fore. She suspected, deep down, he wanted it just as rough and dirty as she did, but she wasn’t the person to show that to him because she didn’t want it from him, she wanted it from Todd.

“Most of the time,” said Diana. “He’s not... you know, super arrogant like Todd, but he definitely doesn’t let me take charge all the time. And if I try to push him toward something, he’s not that interested in, I can’t budge him, like most guys.”

“Yeah, he’s definitely not a pushover,” Although the times when he’d resisted being pushed around by her had been when she was trying to push him away from his perceptions on how a gentleman and a lady behaved. Somehow, she didn’t think that was quite the same as what Diana meant.

“I’m definitely expanding his horizons.” Diana snickered, a rather wicked look on her face.Allison felt too awkward to ask for further details, but she could definitely guess. Diana was not shy about asking for what she wanted, and unlike when Allison had been dating Roger, she had no qualms about asking for things Roger might not consider ‘proper.’When Allison had been with him, she’d been doing everything she could to be the perfect girlfriend, the perfect woman, and Roger had been all that was tender and gentlemanly. They’d both changed since then. She’d admitted what she really wanted, and she had a feeling Roger was starting to realize he had another side as well.There was no way Diana would make excuses for some of the requests she made as Allison had, when she’d realized how shocked Roger was at something as simple as wanting rough sex.

“Good.”It was a little weird, her best friend was dating her ex, but she was happy Roger had found someone who suited him better, and Allison knew she was happier with Todd. “I just hope he told my dad he could go to hell.”

“Uh... not in so many words.” Diana laughed.“They do have to work together.”

“Yeah, I know,” Allison muttered. She wished someone would tell her Dad to go to hell. It would probably be good for him. Oh right, she’d already basically done that. It didn’t seem to have made much of an impression.

Todd and Roger appeared in the backdoor, heading out to the porch. They were chatting amiably, but Allison could see tension in Todd’s shoulders that hadn’t been there before. Damnit, Roger must have told Todd what her father had said, not that it was going to change anything between her and Todd. She’d made her choice and was going to stick by it. Her parents were being ridiculous, cutting her out of their lives unless she lived her life the way they demanded—not going to happen.

Just looking at Todd and Roger, she could see the differences, and it was like confirming her decision all over again. Roger was definitely handsome, with his golden good looks and fit body, but he had a pampered air that can only come from an upbringing with money. He moved with an easy gracefulness, befitting a guy who had learned to fence when he was a teenager.In contrast, Todd was like a dark panther, his eyes holding a wariness of the world that came from having to fight for everything he’d achieved, and he moved like he was ready for another fight at any given moment.

When he looked over at her, she couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face.Just looking at him made her feel warm and tingly, even if she was feeling anxious.Todd smiled back at her, but she could tell it was an effort. The crinkling around his eyes and on his forehead said he was angry, and considering whata damn gentleman Roger was, she had a feeling he told Todd everything.

Shooting Roger a glare, she trotted over to where Todd was held up by Brad to chat and slipped her arm around his waist. Todd’s arm curved around her shoulders, pulling her in close, so she could smell his slightly spicy, masculine scent and snuggle her head into the nook of his shoulder. Brad’s wife, Wendy, gave Allison a little smile and snuggled closer to her own husband, sharing a look only women thoroughly content in their relationships could.

However much she might want to talk to Todd about whatever Roger had said to him, now was obviously not the time. Patience might not be one of her virtues, but it was occasionally necessary.