Free The Endgame by Cleary James Page A

long sigh. ‘It was ... interesting.’ He raised an eyebrow wryly.
    ‘Yeah,’ Isabel laughed softly. ‘Not exactly what I’d promised you.’
    Grayson sat down on the sofa.
    ‘Drink?’ Isabel asked him, going to the cabinet.
    ‘Yes, please.’ He was tired and he’d already had more than enough to drink, but he needed time to get his head around everything that had happened tonight, and he wanted to discuss it with Isabel.
    She handed him a large glass of brandy, then flopped down beside him, laying her head on his shoulder sleepily.
    ‘So how did it go?’ she asked him. ‘What did you do with Lisa? I take it you didn’t ...’
    ‘No.’ Grayson turned to her. ‘We played chess,’ he said with a wry smile.
    ‘Oh, God. Sorry.’
    He shook his head. ‘It’s okay. I enjoyed it.’
    ‘Still ... it’s not how you were expecting tonight to pan out.’ Her fingers stroked his leg lazily. ‘Let me make it up to you.’
    ‘No, I’m fine,’ he said, putting a hand over hers to still it.
    ‘I feel responsible. And it would be no trouble.’ She smiled, but her eyes were already drooping. He could see she was exhausted.
    ‘Really, Issy, I’m fine. I had a good time. Anyway, you look worn out.’ He stroked her hair affectionately as she laid her head back on his shoulder.
    ‘I am pretty pooped.’
    ‘Was it okay with Mark?’ he asked, his fingers massaging her scalp lightly.
    ‘Yeah, it was good. I mean he’s pretty full-on. He’s a takes-no-prisoners kind of guy, you know? He fucks hard and fast. But nothing I couldn’t handle. I enjoyed it.’
    Grayson thought of Lisa. She wasn’t as strong and ballsy as Isabel. He wondered if she could handle it. She was so fragile and timid. He hated the thought of Mark being rough with her.
    ‘Was he ... aggressive?’ He frowned.
    ‘He didn’t hurt me or anything. He was pretty rough, but you know I like that. He didn’t scare me, and I wouldn’t have let him push me further than I wanted. But Lisa ...’ She trailed off and a worried frown creased her brow.
    ‘Yeah,’ Grayson sighed. ‘I think she’s a bit afraid of him.’
    Isabel nodded. ‘Me too. That’s why I didn’t let him know I was calling a halt. I got the feeling she’d have gone through with the whole thing, just to please him.’
    ‘She as good as told me she would have. Thanks for the heads-up that she wasn’t into it. Christ, if you hadn’t stopped me–‘ He broke off, horrified at the thought of what he might have done to Lisa, not knowing that she didn’t want it. He shuddered.
    ‘Thank goodness for safe words,’ Isabel said, stroking his leg soothingly. ‘Lisa should have had one tonight, though I suspect she wouldn’t have used it even if she had. But Mark should have seen that it was too much for her. It was her first time playing with another couple – he should have looked after her, made sure she was okay.’
    ‘It wasn’t just her first time,’ Grayson said. ‘She didn’t even know.’
    ‘What?’ Isabel frowned. ‘What do you mean?’
    ‘He hadn’t told her anything about what would be happening. She thought it was just a normal dinner party.’
    ‘Jesus!’ Isabel gasped. ‘That’s not cool.’
    ‘That’s putting it mildly,’ he said crossly. ‘He got her to promise that she’d go along with whatever happened. And then he brought her here for me to fuck.’
    ‘Oh, my God! That is seriously fucked up. What a manipulative asshole! I knew he was controlling and domineering, but that–‘ Isabel broke off with an indignant sigh.
    ‘God, when I think of the way I mauled her at the table.’ Grayson leaned forward on his knees and buried his face in his hands. He thought of the way Lisa had jumped when he’d touched her, filled with remorse as he realised now how shocked and frightened she must have been.
    ‘You weren’t to know,’ Isabel said, rubbing his back soothingly. ‘She wanted us to think she was into it. It’s not your fault her