Bedroom Games by Jill Myles Page A

acutely
aware of my body’s response and not sure how I felt about it. Part
of me was irritated, and part of me was…I don’t know. Flustered. He
seemed to be affected, too. You came into
this game to flirt, Kandis. Flirt, dammit. I forced myself to sit there and ignore the awkwardness of the
moment. “So what did you want to talk about?”
    “I was talking to Katy and Liam,” he
whispered. “They’re afraid of rocking the boat because they know
they have targets on their backs. So when the reward challenge for
this week comes up, they’re going to nominate whoever comes in
last.”
    The reward challenges
happened on a weekly basis in previous seasons of House Guests . We’d have to
do some sort of goofy competition for an equally goofy prize. Okay,
sometimes the prizes were pretty good, like cash, but a lot of the
time they were for food or house privileges. Sometimes the losers
had to wear stupid costumes for a day. “So…their strategy is no
strategy?”
    “Pretty much. They want to
go with a World Races strategy. You know, whoever comes in last gets the boot. What
do you think?”
    I blew a breath out, wiggling my bare toes
and thinking. The angle I was sitting in was uncomfortable, but I
knew that squirming again would just make me more aware of Brodie’s
body, and I couldn’t afford to be more distracted. “I’m trying to
decide if it’s a smart plan or incredibly stupid.”
    “I think it’s stupid,” Brodie said bluntly.
“I tried warning them, but Liam didn’t want to hear of it. I told
him he needed to nominate his biggest enemy in the house.”
    “And who’s the biggest enemy?” I asked.
    “Marla. That’s why I didn’t want her to see
us talking.”
    I said nothing, thinking. Marla was friends
with Jendan, and I had Jendan’s back. It worked for me if they
weren’t nominated. “But if Marla and Jendan get last, they’ll still
go up for nomination, right?”
    “Yeah, but they need to ensure it. They’re
not thinking strategy. This isn’t the Race.” He sounded frustrated.
“They need to use their brains and not their hearts.”
    “Gee, it’s almost like we shouldn’t have
allied with them, don’t you think?” I said sarcastically.
    His fingers twitched on my
sides again, threatening another tickle. “Come on. You really think
anyone would buy me not allying with them? Katy’s my sister.”
    “Yes, I saw how well that
worked for her on The World
Races .”
    He grinned. “Sisters are very forgiving
creatures.”
    I’ll bet. I shifted off his lap and pushed at
his hands, indicating he should free me. He let me go, and I stood
up, straightening my clothing. “Well, thanks for the intel. So
that’s our team’s goal for this next reward challenge? Just don’t
be last?”
    Brodie nodded.
    “So…what happens if
we are last?”
    He grinned. “Then I talk Liam and Katy into
putting Marla and Jendan up for eviction.”
    I crossed my arms, thinking. “I see.”
    “I know you’re buddy-buddy with Jendan, but
don’t go running off to tell him about this, okay? It stays between
you and me.”
    I made a ‘cross my heart’ sign over my
chest.
    Brodie got up and adjusted his jeans. “Now, I
think I’m going to go take a cold shower.”
    I laughed and picked up the box of cookies
he’d discarded and pulled another out. “Have fun.”
    “Yeah, cause that’s what you do in a cold
shower,” he said sarcastically and left the room.
    As soon as he disappeared, I set the cookies
down and raced to the backyard. I had to warn Jendan about what
Katy and Liam were planning. I didn’t care if Marla stayed or left,
but it suited my plans for Jendan to stay.
    He wasn’t in the backyard, so I shielded my
eyes and pretended I needed sunglasses, then headed back in. A
quick search of the house revealed that he was in the workout room,
hitting a punching bag.
    I moved past him and picked up a pair of
small dumbbells, waiting to see if anyone had followed me in. When
all was clear, I