A
coming-of-age tale of loss, love, and redemption.
The
Prince and the Pawn, the epic finale of When Rivals Play from
bestselling author B.B. Reid is LIVE!
They
were wrong for each other from the start.
The
jock and the nerd, what a clichรฉ they made.
He
was the town prince, and she was a nobody.
Tyra
Bradley was invisible.
That
is until she told him he needed some manners, and so began their game
of cat and mouse.
She
ran, he chased.
It
was perfect.
Except
Vaughn Rees has a deep, dark secret. Promised to the NFL, but fated
for something sinister, Vaughn knows she’s forbidden fruit. To want
more is to tempt death. He’s already in too deep.
When
a betrayal unravels their fragile ties, the good girl runs as fast as
she can. What Tyra doesn’t know? They’re a siren’s song. She
can run, but they’ll always be bound.
They’re
two souls torn apart and mended by fate. And now…Vaughn isn’t the
only one with a secret.
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your copy now or read FREE in Kindle Unlimited!
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Are
the When Rivals Play books standalone?
Each
novel depicts a different and completely unique romance. However, the
stories and their plots are connected. It’s recommended that you
read them in order for the full reading experience beginning with The
Peer and the Puppet then The Moth and The Flame.
Content
suitable for ages 18+.
Read
The Peer and the Puppet today!
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Read
The Moth and The Flame today!
Available
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Univ → mybook.to/TheMothtotheFlame
Read
Evermore: A When Rivals Play novella
Available
FREE to read with Kindle Unlimited.
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Oh my goodness! Where do I even begin with this one?
I have been waiting for Vaughn's story for what seems like forever! I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. And although it is a standalone, it is best to read these books in series order.
From the beginning, Vaughn and Tyra were wrong for each other. He was a jock and playboy. She was a nerd, and inexperienced. He was the town prince, and she was invisible. Them being together was a cliche, but when they began their game of cat and mouse, she ran, and he chased. It was perfect. Except for the dark secret that loomed over Vaughn. He was fated for something far more sinister. But Tyra was like a forbidden fruit. To want more with her was like tempting death. When a betrayal unravels their fragile ties together, Tyra flees. But no matter how fast or far the good girl runs, they will always be bound together, two souls broken and mended through fate... And now Vaughn isn't the only one with a secret.
Vaughn was the town prince. Rich, good looking, and could get away with murder. No one dared say no to Vaughn Rees. He got anything he wanted. So when he laid his eyes on Tyra, she became his next conquest, beginning their game of Cat and Mouse. Tyra was the good girl, the nerd, and innocent. So what did Vaughn, a notorious playboy want with her? She was good through and through. Until Vaughn chased her away, he finds out just how bad he corrupted her. When he lays his eyes on her again, can they reconcile for their past mistakes, or was the betrayal, and the built up secrets and lies become too much to move past?
if you like your guys with assholishness, that are rich, playboys, jocks, and have dark secrets. Good nerdy girls, who can hold her own and challenge the guys, then you need to get your hands on this book. You will love Vaughn and Tyra's story. It was dark, twisted, and full of secrets, lies, and betrayal. The perfect ending to the When Rivals Play series. 5 fated ⭐'s out of 5⭐.
Prologue
THE
PAWN
The
cool breeze from the ocean slammed into my aching chest the moment I
burst through the door. The wind carried with it the salt and water
from the sea, blending in with my tears.
How
could he?
There
were murmurs and whispers and a few laughs as my former classmates
looked on, and I could only guess what they were all thinking.
Did
she actually
believe
him when he said he loved her?
Yes.
I had.
I
foolishly believed every word that passed through his lips from the
moment he first pressed them against mine. How could someone who
kissed so beautifully tell such ugly lies? I looked to the sky as if
it had the answers. All I found was the full moon and its callous
glow shining down on me like a spotlight. Here
she is,
it seemed to say, the fool who thought Vaughn Rees had a heart and
wouldn’t break hers.
“Tyra!”
Hearing
my name shouted over the music, I rushed down the wooden stairs. I
never realized before now how many there were. The stilts the blue
beach house sat on were fourteen feet high to protect from flooding.
Somehow, despite my blurry vision, I managed not to fall. A broken
neck was all I needed to match my broken heart. The moment my
sandaled feet touched the sand, I looked around in desperation. The
parking lot would be the first place my friends would check.
Not
ready to face my devastation, I slipped into the shadows underneath
the house. I couldn’t outrun them, so I’d hide until they gave
up—if
they gave up. I held my breath while my tears flowed freely. A moment
later, the obscure figures of my friends darted past.
They’d
witnessed everything.
Vaughn’s
betrayal.
My
humiliation.
And
the smug look on the bitch’s face who’d stolen everything from
me.
My
cheeks heated in shame as I recalled how I’d turned and ran in
defeat. I should have stayed and killed them both. Hindsight really
was twenty-twenty.
Swallowing
the sob that threatened to spill, I leaned into one of the stilts,
wrapping my arms around the beam. With my forehead resting against
the cold, damp wood, I closed my eyes. It was the only thing keeping
my knees from buckling.
Vaughn
had warned me. A year ago and almost every day since, he told me that
we could never be, but my arrogance hadn’t allowed me to believe
him. That and the way his eyes defied the words his lips had spouted.
I’d
chosen to listen to the teachings that a person’s actions spoke
louder than words. So, naรฏvely, I clung to hope. And tonight, Vaughn
had shown me the truth.
Seeing
him with her, touching her, giving her what only should have belonged
to me was more proof than anyone could deny. And the look in his eyes
when he finally noticed me witnessing it all…I hugged the sturdy
wood tighter when I felt pieces of my heart tumble into the rage
building in my gut. As much as it burned, it was still just an ember.
Only time would tell when the fire would finally roar. My stomach was
twisted in a knot so tight I feared that any moment now, I’d break
in half. It was inevitable, wasn’t it?
I
was in the midst of inhaling the salted air when behind me, I heard
the soft crunch of sand. I froze, humiliated once again that he’d
caught me like this—pathetically weeping and irreparably shattered.
I didn’t have to turn to know it was him. I hadn’t made a sound.
The darkness underneath the house cloaked me entirely. Yet it still
didn’t matter.
From
the moment our gazes first connected, Vaughn and I became a siren’s
song. We’d always be drawn.
“I’m
sorry you had to see that.”
With
my eyes still closed, I pictured him with his hands tucked inside his
jeans, his cold gaze assessing and calculating. Like everyone else,
I’d mistaken that look for boredom, but Vaughn was never as
disinterested as he was careful. Months of allowing me to hold him
close, and I had yet to find out why. I realized then that as much as
Vaughn had let me in, I’d only ever had one foot in the door.
“But
you’re not—” I squeezed my closed eyes tighter, hating the way
my voice broke and how it barely carried over the sound of the waves
crashing in the ocean or the music playing from the beach house above
us. I still couldn’t find the courage to turn around. “You’re
not sorry you did it?”
“No.”
“And
when you said you loved me…are you sorry for that, too?”
It
took a long time for him to answer, long enough for hope to creep its
way back in and long enough for Vaughn to crush it with a single
word. “Yes.”
“Why
should I believe you?” I asked, anyway. It was weird, wasn’t it?
Weird that I could argue his point after catching him with his pants
down and his dick inside—I dug my fingers into the wood, ignoring
the pain. It was more than weird. It was pathetic.
Vaughn
sighed, and my guess was because I wouldn’t take the hint he was
waving around on a sign the size of a billboard with flashing lights
so bright they blinded. Maybe I was still too head over heels to see
it. He might not have meant it when he said he loved me, but I had.
Love didn’t just fade the moment the other pushed the big red
“abort” button. Instead, you’re left standing alone in the
place that had once been your Eden and was now your own personal
hell.
“I’m
bored, Tyra. I don’t know how else to put it.”
“So,
you put it inside of that bitch instead?” My voice had become
granite, and if I weren’t clinging to this fucking beam as if it
was a life raft, I would have patted myself on the back. I felt him
closing in—felt his warmth, the strength of his muscles, and even
the rhythm of his heart as if he’d taken me in his arms and made it
all better.
If
only he would.
My
fists balled against the wood.
“Look
at me,” he demanded as if he had the right.
I
shook my head, denying him. I was afraid that if I did, I’d see
that his heart was no longer mine. A moment later, I felt his hands
on my shoulders, gently turning me to face him.
“I
made a mistake,” he said once he’d captured my gaze.
I
knew he wasn’t talking about tonight. Just as my heart, on its last
desperate stitch, begin to splinter, I felt the telling tap of his
finger on my shoulder. It was subtle, like a phantom touch, only it
was very much real. Immediately, I started to melt into the comfort
of his strong arms. The demand to know why he was doing this
was
poised
on my lips when I felt the bite of his fingers keeping me at bay.
His
rejection rippled through me, and I no longer cared about his
reasons. I closed my eyes, hating him, and wondering how many times
I’d have to disgrace myself. How many before I accepted that this
was real?
Vaughn
and I were over.
But
then…how could something that never truly started end?
While
Vaughn had been sure to remind me that we weren’t exclusive, he’d
often forgotten that fact himself. Once he’d sunk his teeth into
me, it became a full-time job scaring off the guys at our school, and
when he wasn’t savagely defending his territory, he was attending
to my every need. There’d been no time or desire for anyone else.
Until
now.
Pushing
him away, I forced my spine to straighten. “It took you a year
to figure that out?”
Callously,
he shrugged, and I realized the glow that usually shone from his
green eyes was gone. The wind ruffled his light-brown hair, and the
ache to run my fingers through it as I had so many times before was
almost greater than the one in my chest.
“I
was looking for something different, and until now, you provided
that.”
“You
mean up until I let you—” I choked on the words caught in my
throat. God, why had I given him so much? I’d waited a year, and
still, it wasn’t enough. Swallowing past the lump, I tried again.
“Until I let you fuck me.”
His
eyes quickly narrowed. “Let’s not forget,” he said slowly and
with a touch of cruelty, “you begged me not to stop.”
“I
thought maybe—” I stopped, wondering if it was wise to admit just
how stupid I’d been. Vaughn’s eyebrow perked, daring me to
continue. “I thought maybe you’d change your mind.” Summer’s
end had been rapidly approaching, and I’d never been more
desperate. I believed in the idea of soulmates, and from the moment
Vaughn first kissed me, I knew he was mine. That kiss was the reason
I stopped fighting his pursuit at the start of my senior year.
Vaughn
obviously didn’t feel the same, judging by the way his body
stiffened, and his nostrils flared at my confession. “You mean you
thought you could manipulate my feelings with sex?” If possible,
his tone became even colder than before. “While you were a
phenomenal fuck, Bradley, no pussy is that good.”
I
looked away, unable to meet his gaze, my tone despondent when I
spoke. “I guess it doesn’t matter now.”
“Finally,
something we can agree on,” he immediately spat. “No, it doesn’t
matter now.”
I
never realized before how much power Vaughn had over me. For a
moment, we listened to the waves crash. For a moment, I wanted to
walk into the night sea and let them drown me.
“Just
tell me one thing,” I urged as a lone tear slipped down my cheek. I
vowed that it would be the last I shed over him. Vaughn said nothing
while he waited. “Of all the girls you could have screwed, why did
it have to be her?”
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About
B.B. Reid:
B.B. Reid is a bestselling author of new adult romance. She grew up the only daughter and middle child in a small town in North Carolina. After graduating with a Bachelors in Finance, she started her career at an investment research firm while continuing to serve in the National Guard. She currently resides in Charlotte with her moody cat and enjoys collecting Chuck Taylors and binge-eating chocolate.
Please visit her website for more information: www.bbreid.com
B.B. Reid is a bestselling author of new adult romance. She grew up the only daughter and middle child in a small town in North Carolina. After graduating with a Bachelors in Finance, she started her career at an investment research firm while continuing to serve in the National Guard. She currently resides in Charlotte with her moody cat and enjoys collecting Chuck Taylors and binge-eating chocolate.
Please visit her website for more information: www.bbreid.com
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