Playing with fire

ARIA POV

My hands shook as I stared at the glowing screen in my dark bedroom. The clock on my nightstand read 1:15 AM.

After my huge fight with Jaxon at the breakfast table this morning, I had spent the entire day feeling angry and small. But now, tucked safely under my warm duvet, the heavy weight in my chest was fading away when my phone beeped with a notification.

[phone]: I never lie to you, Secret Girl. In fact... I think about you more than you know. Tell me what you're wearing right now.

A nervous thrill shot straight to my stomach. My heart hammered against my ribs like a wild drum.

[Secret Girl]: Why tell you when I can just show you?

I bit my lip, my face burning with heat as my own bold reply appeared in a blue bubble. I threw off my heavy blanket and stood up beside my bed.

I was wearing a dark, sheer lace nightgown that clung tightly to every single curve of my body. The dark fabric was completely see-through around my waist and boobs, revealing the shape of my body in the dim light. In the real world, I always hid under baggy, oversized sweaters so nobody could make fun of my size. But right here in the shadows, I wanted to feel powerful. I wanted the boy I had liked for months to see me as a real woman.

I stepped over to the full-length mirror near my closet. I unbuttoned the very top of the sheer lace gown, letting it drop low over my shoulders to reveal the curve of my neck, boobs, and collarbones. I angled the phone so it captured my body from my chest down to my thighs, leaving my face completely out of the frame. The dim light highlighted every detail of my full, soft shape.

Click.

My thumb hovered over the screen for two terrifying seconds before I hit send.

[Secret Girl]: Is this bold enough for you, Captain? Or are you too scared to handle a real woman?

I squeezed my eyes shut and held the phone tightly in my palm. The silence in my room felt suffocating. Five seconds passed. Then ten.

My phone vibrated violently, making me jump.

[phone]: You are playing with pure fire, Secret Girl. You have no idea what that picture is doing to me right now.

A dizzy wave of pride and excitement rushed through my veins. A slow, victorious smile spread across my face.

[Secret Girl]: Are you just saying that to be nice?

[phone]: I don't say things I don't mean. You look breathtaking. That sheer lace... those full, round boobs, and the gorgeous curves... you're driving me completely insane.

Before I could type a response, another picture notification popped up on my screen.

My breath caught in my throat as I opened the file.

The image was taken in a dark room illuminated only by the pale light of the moon coming through a balcony window. It showed a low view from his broad chest all the way down his hard, flat stomach. His dark silk pajama pants were pulled down dangerous and low, exposing his sharp V-line hips and the heavy, solid ridge beneath the thin fabric of his black boxer briefs. His skin looked bronze, warm, and tightly sculpted.

It was bold, intense, and shockingly explicit without showing everything.

I stared at the image, my pulse racing so fast I could hear it ringing in my ears. My cheeks flushed bright red as I stared at the dark, powerful outline on the screen.

[Secret Girl]: Wow. I see I really got your attention, Captain. I guess all that hockey training makes you react pretty fast.

[phone]: You did more than get my attention. Looking at your body is making it impossible to lie here and do nothing. Send me another picture. Show me more of that sheer lace.

His message was demanding, dark, and possessive, so different from the quiet golden boy I watched on the ice, but it sent a hot spike of desire straight down my spine.

I stepped closer to the mirror, pulling the sheer lace gown slightly higher up my thigh, exposing the soft curve of my leg while pushing my chest forward into the dim light.

Click.

I sent it instantly, completely addicted to the thrill of this secret game.

[Secret Girl]: Just a little tease for tonight. You're going to have to work much harder if you want the rest.

Across the estate, somewhere in the dark, I imagined Blake sitting in his room, staring at his phone just like I was.

[phone]: You're pushing your luck, Secret Girl. If I find out who you are on campus tomorrow, I won't just talk to you. I'm going to take you somewhere private and make you pay for teasing me like this.

I let out a soft, breathless laugh, hugging my pillow to my chest as I typed my reply.

[Secret Girl]: Then you'd better look closely at every girl you pass in the hallways tomorrow, Captain. You never know how close I might be.

[phone]: Trust me. I'm looking. And when I find you, you won't be hiding behind this phone anymore.

I lay back against my pillows, holding the phone over my chest as the screen finally went dark. My heart was still pounding, but for the first time since moving into this giant, lonely house, the cold emptiness inside me was completely gone.

Jaxon could call me names during the day. He could mock my weight, my clothes, and my mother all he wanted. But at night, under the cover of darkness, his handsome, popular best friend was lying in the dark, losing his mind over my body.