The Game. Vanessa Fewings

painter who’d been hailed as America’s most talented abstract impressionist.

      My stare roamed over his striking mixture of color with its vibrant tones reminiscent of his earlier days, not his later work that reflected Rothko’s painstaking soul-searching. The kind so many artists endure when their star rises and stirs the complexity of art in its purist form versus the financial freedom it promised. A brilliant man whose tragic suicide sent shock waves throughout the community. More than this, Rothko left behind his somber paintings from when he’d been at his lowest and on the day he died, they’d arrived at the Tate Gallery in London as though he’d waited for them to find a safe home first.

      To honor Mark’s wishes, I stood eighteen inches away from the canvas just as he’d instructed us, close enough to experience his brilliance and not impose meaning but welcome its effect on an emotional level. An inner light emanated from the colors that were miraculously merging; my heart and mind drinking in the beauty.

      Soul merging and slipping through its center...

      This, this was proof art was more than a canvas and paint, but a living, breathing entity, enticing us to see more.

      Be more.

      I lost track of time.

      My gaze rose to the ceiling to look for surveillance cameras. The drone was at eye level and seemed to be watching me. Hurrying up a large staircase, I admired Tobias’s decor. There were touches of the Far East, like the exquisitely carved wooden sculpture of the Hindu god Shiva and the Asian chest flush against the wall that gave the place an earthy feel.

      Moving from room to room I listened out for him.

      I paused inside a room that looked lived in from the half-made bed in the center with a carved headboard. I went in farther and brushed my hand along the soft duvet, imagining him spending time in here. Inside the walk-in wardrobe was an assortment of sharp-looking suits, pristine shirts and more casual wear, and all of them hung neatly. Sitting on an island was a row of polished business shoes and on the shelf below were his expensive-looking sports shoes. I explored his necktie collection which appeared handcrafted and, pulling another drawer open, I saw a selection of expensive watches.

      After dropping my towel to the floor, I reached up for one of his white shirts and tugged it off its hanger. I pulled it on and buttoned it up. I found a pair of his boxer shorts, they were baggy on me but they’d do.

      Across the other side of the room was a glass window leading to an expansive balcony and from here I could see how far his property went. There was a tennis court to the left, and to the right was a helicopter parked on a flight pad, and straight ahead was a sandy pathway down to the beach. This place seemed so dreamy.

      Inside his bathroom, I found a comb and pulled it through my damp hair, glancing around for any evidence a woman might have left her stuff here. I was relieved not to see any. All the products were for men and all organized perfectly. His shower and bathtub were both enormous. Tobias seemed to love neatness.

      On my way out of his bedroom I noticed a portrait-sized package leaning against the wall and it was wrapped in brown paper and tied in twine. I knelt beside it and held a corner ready to rip it a little to take a peek.

      There came a sound from the hallway. I went to explore the noise—

      Turning the corner, I jolted to a stop when I saw a white kitten wobbling unsteadily on the carpet. It was crying for its mother.

      “Hello, little thing.” I approached slowly. “What are you doing?”

      Bright blue eyes blinked at me and I giggled at its cuteness and went to pick it up.

      The kitten morphed larger—

      A scream tore from me.

      An enormous lion was where the kitten had been and its vivid black eyes were large and wild. His teeth were bared in anger as he shook his thick mane, back muscles flexing and he ran my way.

      He lunged at me.

      Falling backward onto my bum, my arms up and bracing for the attack, I squeezed my eyes shut to ready for the agony.

      Quiet.

      Daring to peek, I exhaled a long desperate breath when I saw it was gone.

      I am going to bloody well kill him.

      “Tobias!” I screeched and scrambled to my feet in a haze of panic-drenched breaths, using the wall to steady myself as I made my way along, realizing he’d used a hologram on me.

      The drone hovered at the end of the hallway.

      “Jade, take me to Tobias.” My voice wavered with fury.

      Jade led me down the stairs and through the house and I wondered if Tobias had returned my access to her. She was certainly responding as though he had or maybe this was a safety mechanism in Jade’s software to protect him.

      My heart was still pounding. I’d been naive to believe this was going to be easy. Halfway down a long corridor I heard a clanging chain and what sounded like thumping.

      I pointed a finger at Jade. “If this is a trick I’ll rip your arms off.”

      It hovered, waiting.

      Nudging the door open I peered in and my breath caught at the primal beauty of a bare-chested Tobias wearing shorts and boxing gloves. His legs were slightly parted and his gaze was fixed on a large red punching bag that he was pounding with left and right hooks; his chiseled torso rippling as he circled it, perspiration glistening off his body. My jaw tensed at the erotic splendor of the way he controlled each punch.

      He stopped suddenly and caught the bag to still it. His green eyes narrowed on me.

      I stepped in farther. “Love the house.”

      “Looks like someone had a run-in with an African lion?” He smiled broadly. “Is that my shirt?”

      “Might be.”

      “We have a thief in our midst.”

      My glare shifted to the bag and I wondered if he’d chosen this sport to burn off his sexual tension. Right now, I was close to attacking the thing myself. Why did he have to look so damn gorgeous from every angle? So ripped and primed for pleasure.

      “Why did you bring me here?” I snapped.

      Confusion marred his face. “To spend time with you.”

      “What made you change your mind?”

      “I didn’t.”

      “What you did to me in the Jacuzzi...” I shook my head to say the rest.

      He turned and looked across the room as confliction swept over his face.

      “Tobias, back at The Broad you begged me to tell you I want you.”

      “You didn’t say it.”

      “So is this my punishment?”

      “Why must you be so captivating?”

      “Why must you be so infuriating?”

      “I’m not.”

      “Yes, you are.”

      Tobias gave another heart-stopping smile as though flaunting his power. He was all well-defined alpha and seductive pose but something told me he wasn’t even trying; this was his natural state, fixed in an unwitting stance of seduction.

      “Follow me.” I gestured to his gloves. “Keep those on.”

      His arms fell to his sides and his brows rose with curiosity.

      I led him over to the seating area where there were two red lounge chairs.

      “Sit,” I ordered.

      He tilted his head in intrigue.

      “Now, please.” I pointed.

      Amused, Tobias sat in an armchair and rested his gloved hands