Veils of Rivalry Chapter 24

Blaise's POV

Is there anything cheesier than board games? I think not.

Cole’s mom came prepared on this trip, and now we’re seated around the dining table, playing Monopoly while it’s snowing outside.

I’m bored out of my mind, slouched in my chair, arm stretched out on the back of Mia’s chair. I twist a curl of her hair around my finger while making no secret of watching Cole. He hasn’t looked at me once.

Fuck him.

He tries so hard to play the perfect boyfriend, but I see through him. Unlike me, who has perfected my social game to fit in, he can’t hide his disinterest in his girlfriend. Every time she leans into him, he shifts away, even if it’s only slight. When she plays with the curls at his nape, he stiffens. His smiles are forced and don’t reach his ears. But he tries. He tries so fucking hard to keep his eyes off me while giving her flirtatious looks, engaging in a far more intriguing game than the one spread out before us.

The only time Cole feels safe is when he’s hiding.

It’s what he’s good at—hiding behind masks, walls, and harsh words.

With that thought in mind, I discreetly unlock my phone beneath the table and send him a mirror selfie I took earlier of me naked and wet from a recent shower.

Me: I fantasize about you chasing me again.

After placing the phone on my thigh, I reach for my Coke bottle, watching him closely while taking a swig. He must have his burner phone on him. I bet my girlfriend’s non-existent virginity on it. He’s too fucking curious about me to leave it with his things back in the room.

“It’s your turn,” Dad says, dragging me from my musings.

I pick up the dice and toss them on the board. Two threes. I move my wheelbarrow.

“Go straight to jail,” Mia sniggers, leaning into me and scratching her nails over my thigh beneath the table.

Curling my fingers around her wrist, I’m about to shove her off.

What the hell am I doing? I didn’t even think as I gripped her. It was instinct. I didn’t want her to touch me because of the asshole across the table.

Fuck him and the effect he has on me.

I loosen my grip, stroking my thumb over her wrist. My lips curve when Cole digs something out of his hoodie’s front pocket. His hair falls over his brow as he looks down.

Gotcha.

He stiffens, ignoring Allie’s excited squeal beside him when she throws two sixes. I hide my smile behind the rim of my Coke while he works his jaw before typing out a response.

The phone vibrates on my thigh.

Cole looks up at me, straightening in his seat and flicking his hair out of his eyes.

My dick likes that he looks annoyed. Maybe even angry. Whatever the emotion is behind the hardening of his eyes, I like it.

I’ve crawled beneath his skin, and I have every intention of burrowing deeper.

His hand trembles as he swipes up the dice, rolling them in his closed palm before tossing them back down. Two fives. He moves his piece past mine and picks up a card.

Dad drinks the last of his red wine, then refills it to the top. Cole follows the movement, watching him place it back down. He pays the bank and settles back with his arm stretched out on the back of Allie’s chair.

I finally have his eyes on me, and I pretend I don’t notice as I unlock my phone beneath the table.

Cole: You want to choke on cock that badly, huh?

I almost chuckle out loud. Now that I know it’s Cole behind the messages, I get one heck of a kick from riling him up.

Me: Not just any cock. Yours.

I look up through my lashes, smirking.

Allie throws her head back and laughs at one of Mia’s stories while Cole stares at his phone beneath the table. Then he types, and I wait.

My dick likes seeing him visibly rattled like he is now. He tries to hide it, but I track every subtle stiff shift of his muscles.

When Allie beams at him, he drags his eyes away from his phone, but his attention is elsewhere. A bead of sweat trails down his temple as his eyes flicker my way, then back down.

My phone vibrates.

“Isn’t this nice?” Cole’s mom asks, leaning into Dad. “Us here, together as a family.”

He makes an affirmative noise, his eyes narrowing on Cole as he picks up his glass of wine. I watch the movement while grinding my teeth. What is his fucking problem now? I never realized what a fucking ass he is to my stepbrother, and it doesn’t sit right with me.

I reach for the phone to distract myself, typing in the passcode one-handed. Mia trails her nails over my back, picking up a card. Imaginary spiders crawl down my spine as her nails scratch me through my hoodie. It’s a physical struggle not to shake her off.

Fuck...

I don’t want her to touch me.

Cole: I’m blackmailing you, yet you still want to suck my dick. Are you that desperate?

Chuckling, I wet my lips.

He’s so damn serious, frowning across the table. It’s simple—I want to make him jealous. Now that I know it’s Cole behind the mask, I can’t stop replaying how he chased me down and showed me a rare glimpse of the true him.

He has urges no one knows about, and I like that knowledge a little too much.

Me: Your threats have me in a chokehold.

Cole looks down at his phone beneath the table.

Shifting in my seat, I type out another message.

Me: I like it when you steal my breath.

My fingers fly over the screen, and I glance up at him as I hit send.

Me: You have me by my balls, so I might as well enjoy it. Besides, I can’t stop thinking about how you stroked my dick.

What intrigues me about Cole is that he looks conflicted for reasons other than the mere question of his sexuality. He almost looks…jealous. His jaw is tight, and his eyes are hard.

He shoves his phone into his pocket and swipes his Coke bottle. Allie startles at the sudden movement and asks him if he’s okay.

Ignoring her, he swigs his drink, his eyes burning into my face. I whisper in Mia’s ear, and she giggles.

This is the difference between me and Cole. I’ve mastered this game, whereas he’s struggling to read the rulebook. I can play the doting, loved-up boyfriend and make it look real.

Mia’s eyes glitter with happiness, and I know that I should feel bad for using her as a pawn on this playing board. But everyone plays a part in the grand scheme of things.

The only person I care about, and who stirs the numbness inside me, is the boy across the table.

He looks at me, and I tilt my head.

What are you thinking about, Cole?

“It’s your turn to roll the dice, son,” Cole’s mom says to him, reaching for her wine glass.

Seconds pass while we watch each other, caught in our own world. Flames flicker in the fireplace, and snow flurries sail through the air outside, but he’s all I see.

He looks away first, picking up the dice and shaking them in his palm. With a flick of his wrist, they fly across the board, knocking over my wheelbarrow in the process.

Two sixes.

I raise a brow, and he smirks.

Well played, Cole.