Time to Play

  Evernight Publishing

  www.evernightpublishing.com

  Copyright© 2013 Sam Crescent

  ISBN: 978-1-77130-272-2

  Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs

  Editor: Karyn White

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  DEDICATION

  It is very rare for a story to grip me as much as Cole, Callum and Simone's story. From the first moment they entered my head, I had no choice, I needed to write their story.

  I would like to thank Evernight for being a wonderful publisher and taking a chance on me. Also, to my wonderful editor for constantly being patient with me.

  And of course, my readers. Without your continued support, I wouldn't be able to write these stories. Thank you so much and I hope you enjoy the story you're about to read.

  TIME TO PLAY

  The Allusifa Siblings, 1

  Sam Crescent

  Copyright © 2013

  Prologue

  Simone listened to her mother yell at her father. She held her teddy close as their argument rose in pitch. At five years old she knew her parents were not perfect. She heard her mother calling her father a ‘cheating scumbag’ all the time. Daniel came into the room. At fifteen, he was much older than she.

  “You all right?” he asked.

  She nodded her head.

  “Why can’t you leave the women alone? You’re the one who wanted me, not the other way around,” her mother screamed.

  “It’s getting bad,” she said.

  “They argue all the time.” Daniel joined her on the bed. He opened his arms, and she crawled into his warm embrace. She loved her brother when she got to see him. Their father made him go to boarding school, and she didn’t get much time with him.

  Her father rarely had any time for her. Being wealthy and adored meant everything to the man she barely knew. Malcolm Allusifa was a man to be reckoned with. He hated seeing her.

  “Maybe I’d come home if you looked decent enough. Since you had that girl you’ve let yourself go.”

  “Don’t you dare bring Simone into this! She’s precious and your daughter.”

  Simone tensed when the argument turned to her. Everything was her fault. Mother and Daniel always said otherwise, but she knew it was why her father was bad.

  “Don’t listen to him, Simone. You’re perfect, and never let anyone else tell you otherwise.”

  He rocked her in her arms as their father continued to fight with her mother.

  Did he even know it was her birthday? She was five today.

  ****

  One year later

  Simone stared at her birthday cake. Daniel hadn’t been allowed to come to her party. There had been exams at his school. She stared at the cake wishing someone from her family had been present. Her friends sat around munching on cake as her mother kept phoning her father.

  He was supposed to have been to this one. Her mother had said he’d come. She folded her arms over her chest and looked at other mummies and daddies. Why couldn’t hers be like that? She loved her mother and wished they were as caring as the other parents.

  When the party was over, her mother took her to daddy’s office. She recognised the building from the picture he kept in his study of it. She’d stared at the building wondering why it was so important to him that he wouldn’t come home.

  Her mother held her hand as they climbed into the elevator. She stared at her pigtails on either side, proud of how pretty she looked in her pink dress. Her father would be happy with how she looked. She knew neatness meant a great deal to him, even at a young age.

  The moment they entered his office, Simone knew her mother had made a huge mistake. He wasn’t happy. In fact he was angrier than anything she could have imagined.

  “Why did you bring that blasted kid with you?” he said, coming around the desk.

  Simone hid behind her mother.

  “I thought you’d like to see your six year old daughter, or is there another bitch hanging off your every word? You can’t keep it in your pants, can you?”

  She didn’t know what her daddy had in his pants. Whatever it was, it kept getting him into trouble.

  “You’re going to keep throwing it in my face? If I kept it in my pants you wouldn’t be where you are now,” he said.

  Her mother gasped. “How dare you! I wanted you, Malcolm, because I loved you.”

  “Yeah, you’ve given me a son, but what good is a girl to me? Waste of space, and you’ve let yourself go.”

  Simone pressed her fingers into her ears not wanting to hear any more. When they left she stayed in the living room. The next thing she heard was the sound of suitcases crashing into the hallway. Simone got up from her seat to see her mother throwing her father’s things out onto the drive.

  Daddy didn’t come home that night. Or the next. When the cameras began to flash outside of the window, her mother told her they were going on vacation.

  ****

  Everything changed after that day. After spending a great deal of time travelling through Europe they finally came home. They no longer lived in daddy’s house. Her mother had a new house with new memories to make.

  Simone never saw her father unless she had to. Daniel stayed with them a few weeks a year. At the age of eight, Simone promised herself she’d find a good, kind man, and they’d get married, and he’d never do anything wrong with the thing in his pants.

  She told Daniel her plan. Her brother laughed, ruffling her curls. The years passed, and Simone grew accustomed to her life. She loved the new world her mother had created. There were no more servants shouting at her to be good or keep her noise down.

  Her mother played dolls with her, and her friends were allowed to come over all the time. However, there were times she saw her mother crying over a newspaper. When her mother was still in bed, Simone would look at what had caused her parent so much heartache. Pictures of her father, splashed across the news with another woman always made her mother cry.

  By the time she was sixteen, Simone knew more about the world. She knew more about men. Marriage was no longer for her. She rarely saw her brother and never heard anything from her father. When she turned eighteen, Simone knew she’d never let a man cheat on her. She didn’t need a man to be happy.

  Watching the despair inside her mother as she grew up had taught Simone a valuable lesson.

  Love is too damn painful to get caught up in.

  Chapter One

  Seven years later

  Simone Allusifa stared at the door in front of her. She wanted to surprise her boyfriend for Valentine’s Day. Their sex life had been going off the boil just of late, and she didn’t like it. Going back to her vibrator held no appeal what-so-ever. She’s always loved sex and made no excuses for the fact she did. Who would? And why should she feel guilty about wanting sex, good sex, hot sex?

  Running her fingers through her long black locks of hair, she took a deep breath and unlocked the door. They both had a key to each other’s apartment. John liked it that way. He always hated answering doors, or at least that was what he told her. Simone turned the key in, and the catch gave. Her heart was pounding inside her chest. She was never usually nervous. Sex was sex.

  She shut the door, locking it behind her. When she was about to remove her coat she stopped as she heard some noises. Frowning, she checked her wat
ch. He should be watching his football, at least that was what he’d said.

  Moving through his apartment she recognised the noise for the groaning that John did during sex.

  “Fuck me, baby. Ride my dick.” Those words came from John. Simone recognised the impatient growl to his voice. John never lingered over sex. He liked it fast. She didn’t mind his speed, but there were times she had to fake her orgasm.

  “Yeah.”A woman’s voice now.

  Shaking her own head, Simone gave up all patience and slammed the bedroom door open. There was her boyfriend, naked and fucking his secretary, the woman he worked with. John and Simone worked together in the same building but underneath different departments.

  “Fuck!” John shouted.

  “Yeah, fuck. So all this time you’ve been fucking your little secretary? Wow, such a porno move to do. Do you at least give her orgasms?”

  The secretary, Joan, she thought her name was, suddenly squealed trying to cover her body. Not that there was much of a body to look at. The girl was all skin and bones. Yeah, Simone got it. She was too big of a woman for this asshole.

  Simone was a full woman all over, large breasts and hips with a small waist. She would never make a super-model and didn’t want to.

  “Simone, what are you doing here?” John asked.

  “Sheesh, I thought I’d surprise my boyfriend on Valentine’s Day, but you know what, looking at your limp dick, I think I’ll find a new one.” Simone turned on her heel and began walking out of the apartment. Shit, she’d wasted several months on him.

  “Simone, wait.” She was tired of waiting. When would she learn that not all men appreciated her curves or her sexual appetite? It was unfair.

  “Screw you,” she said over her shoulder. Once she made it to the elevator, she clicked the button to be taken down. There was no way she was going to attempt the stairs in her high heeled shoes. These shoes cost a great deal of cash and were comfortable. The expense and luxury of the fit meant she was keeping them in the best possible condition.

  John came out of his apartment with his sheet wrapped around him. “Simone, wait. This is not what it looks like.”

  “No, then I take it Joan is merely a figment of my imagination.” Folding her arms underneath her breasts did nothing to calm the anger building up inside her. She was furious with him.

  Why do I care? I never loved him. He was a bit of fun while it lasted.

  Because the rumours are going to start doing the circuit at work.

  She groaned. There was nothing worse than office gossip. Some of the women hated her because she refused to diet and talk about her weight. Was it a crime to actually like the way you looked? No, she would never be stick thin. She loved her food and had learned at an early age to love her body.

  When she was eighteen years old, an older man had showed her how beautiful her body was. They’d met in a bookstore, and one thing had led to another. He’d been an imaginative lover and friend at the time. After a few months, he’d found a woman his own age, and they’d parted on good terms. He’d been a wonderful person.

  John was not the one. His voice grated on her nerves, and he had this ability to make everything around him that went wrong, other people’s fault. In fact she really didn’t like him. The few occasions she’d orgasmed it had been because she’d been fingering her clit. Yep, she was more pissed off about him cheating. Out of everything he could have done, cheating was the big fat no-no. She hated cheaters. Her father had been a cheater. She still remembered the pain her mother had been in whenever he came back stinking of other women’s perfume. No, she’d never abide cheating in a relationship. They had been exclusive, and John fucked it up.

  “You always make it sound so seedy,” John said.

  There, the blame was being pushed back on her, and Simone had had enough.

  “Seedy? Your dick was inside her cunt, John. How else am I supposed to look at it?” The elevator pinged open. She stepped inside and pushed John back when he made a move to follow. “I’ll bring your crap into work tomorrow.”

  “What? Why? This was a mistake.”

  “Fuck you.”

  The elevator doors closed. She leaned against the back carriage, closed her eyes to take some even breaths. Her hands were shaking. This was what she hated the most, the confrontation between people. It terrified her.

  She could hold her own in a fight and even argue until she was blue in the face, but afterwards she’d be a nervous wreck.

  When the elevator hit the bottom floor, she waved at the doorman and made her way onto the main street. She glanced up the street then down. There was no sign of a taxi to help her.

  “Great, alone on Valentine’s Day.” Simone walked a few more feet. A flashing sign in the distance caught her eyes. “Thank God for small mercies.”

  Taking her time, she crossed the street thanking the cabs that had let her pass then made her way over to the upscale hotel and restaurant. She’d been to this place a few times with clients from work.

  Her boss liked her to be part of every single contract. He said her looks and allure were what drove their clients to stick with them. Simone had no idea what he was talking about and decided to ignore any of his compliments.

  She worked hard for the clients she got. There was no sex involved.

  The doorman smiled at her as he let her inside. She recognised him and paid him a tip. Once again she was thankful for taking her purse.

  A stiff drink and a room was what she needed. She’d start on the stiff drink, and then when she had too many, she’d rent one of their rooms. Simone made her way across the foyer into the hotel’s exclusive bar. It was dark with a live band playing off in the distance. The room was crowded. She made her way toward the bar, grabbed a stool and raised her hand.

  The barman appeared instantly.

  “I’d like the strongest drink you’ve got,” she said.

  “Coming right up.”

  She stood, removed her coat revealing the small black dress she’d bought. The neck plunged at the front showing off her cleavage to the best advantage. The bra she wore pushed her little beauties up giving her shape a whole new look. The fabric moulded to her curves in all the right places. It was the kind of dress women would pay thousands of dollars for to look good in. At least, she’d paid a good thousand for it. After the Christmas bonus she’d earned, Simone figured she’d treat herself.

  No panties were worn though. She couldn’t stand the constraints they gave her body. Most of the time she wore no panties. The feel of being bare down below gave her such a rush. There were times at work where she got so horny she’d have to leave on lunch break to make it home to finish herself off.

  The barman came back with a glass of dark liquid. “This is the good stuff,” he said.

  “Keep them coming.”

  “It’s Valentine’s Day, miss. Why are you alone?” he asked.

  “If you keep the questions to yourself, I’ll give you a nice tip at the end of it.” She gazed at the man before her waiting for him to agree. He nodded his head then left.

  “Well, lucky me. I find a lady all alone on Valentine’s Day,” a guy said sitting next to her.

  She rolled her eyes hating his attention. “Fuck off.” At work she kept her attitude under control. However, she wasn’t at work, and this guy was pissing her off.

  “Excuse me?”

  Sighing out loud, Simone turned to her male company. “I don’t give a shit what you want, buddy. I’m not here for company. Fuck off and leave me alone, or I’ll make your balls wish they’d stayed in their pants.”

  Turning back to her drink, she took a sip. The dark amber liquid burned her throat on the way down. Perfect.

  She raised the glass to the barman and acknowledged he’d made a good choice.

  The guy at her side left but was soon replaced by another man. She wanted alone time, not to find a guy. None of these men were worth the time she wanted to be taken.

  That’s what you need, Simo
ne, a proper man who takes what he wants regardless of what you say.

  Her pussy melted at the thought of a man coming up beside her and making her take notice. There was no man in the world like that. She would have to stick with her fantasies and dreams.

  ****

  Callum Gallagher watched the raven haired woman at the bar shoot down another man as he tried it on. He’d noticed her the moment she walked into the bar. Most males had turned their attention toward her. She oozed raw sexuality and femininity all in one package.

  He wondered what colour her eyes would be. Sparkling blue he imagined, with the edge of fire within their depths.

  “I see another woman has taken your fancy,” Cole Turner, his long-time friend and business partner said.

  Turning back to the table, he glanced at his friend before speaking. “I saw the way you looked at her as well, Cole.”

  “The shocking black-haired beauty who is currently threatening another man does have a way about her. Yes, I’ve seen her. She really is something, but we need to get back to business.”

  “Why? Everything will be taken care of on Monday. I’ve got the weekend to go over it. It’s Valentine’s Day, Cole. Let’s enjoy it.”

  “You want to go over to that woman and risk losing your balls.”

  “She looks in need of some company, my friend.”

  “You always liked a challenge,” Cole said.

  Callum picked up his beer and took a healthy swallow. “Are you concerned about our account?”

  “I don’t trust the company. I don’t like them, and we’ve lost money. A lot of it.”

  Callum knew what had been happening at the marketing firm that had been handling their company’s advertising. Thousands, even millions, of dollars had been missing from their account for lousy work.