Lovegame

A Novel

About the Book

Lovegame is a true masterpiece, with thrilling suspense, crazy hot sex, and writing so truly beautiful that it stays with you long after you put the book down. It’s my favorite read of the year by far.”—Sawyer Bennett, New York Times bestselling author of Sugar Daddy
 
In this darkly addictive novel of seduction and psychological obsession, a movie star with a shattered past meets a man who can either break her or make her whole.
 
True Crime novelist Ian Sharpe has spent his career writing about serial killers for very personal reasons. For his latest exposé, he is taking on the sadistic madman known as the Red Ribbon Strangler, and when his research leads him to Hollywood’s most private and provocative actress, he will break every rule to uncover her truth.
 
The daughter of one of Hollywood’s golden couples, chased by paparazzi and treated as a commodity her entire life, Veronica Romero wields her sex appeal like a weapon. She expects Ian to be as easy to control as every other man she’s ever known. But from the beginning, he refuses to fall into line. Mysterious and cool, challenging and just a little bit dangerous, Ian somehow makes her feel safe—even as he digs into the deepest secrets of her life and pushes her to the breaking point.
 
As raw ecstasy gives way to agonized truths, their dark obsession exposes secrets that have been buried for far too long. Ian wants to tear down her walls and heal the sensual woman underneath. But if Veronica’s learned anything, it’s that the line between pleasure and pain is a narrow one—and when caught between them the only thing that matters is how you play the game.

Look for all of Tracy Wolff’s seductive reads:

The Ethan Frost series: RUINED | ADDICTED | EXPOSED | FLAWED
The Sebastian Caine series: PLAY ME WILD | PLAY ME HOT | PLAY ME HARD | PLAY ME REAL | PLAY ME RIGHT | PLAY ME: THE COMPLETE STORY
The Hotwired series: ACCELERATE
The Lightning series: DOWN & DIRTY | HOT & HEAVY | ROUGH & READY
The His Royal Hotness series: ROYAL PAIN | ROYAL TREATMENT
And her standalone novels: LOVEGAME | FULL EXPOSURE | TIE ME DOWN
 
Praise for Lovegame
 
“Tracy Wolff is at the top of my auto-buy list, and Lovegame is the perfect example why. From the very first page, Wolff sucked me in with a story that crackles with sensual energy and characters that are scarred, sexy, and wonderfully compelling. Go one-click Tracy Wolff’s Lovegame right now—you can thank me later.”—J. Kenner, New York Times bestselling author of Dirtiest Secret

“I loved Lovegame! It’s a hot, sexy thriller of a book, with so many twists and turns I never saw coming!”—M. O’Keefe, author of Everything I Left Unsaid

Lovegame had me breathless, sticking with me for days after I read it.”—Sarah Robinson, author of the Kavanagh Legends series

“Provocative and explosive . . . Tracy Wolff’s Lovegame is a story of mystery and suspense, a psychological thriller that looks at the destructive nature of a serial killer’s action, and the repercussions on the victims left behind.”—The Reading Café
 
Lovegame is a well-written, fast-paced, intriguing story filled with suspense. The characters and the story drew me in from the first page and never let me go.”—Cocktails and Books

Lovegame is intended for mature audiences. This ebook includes an excerpt from another Loveswept title.
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Praise for Lovegame

Praise for Lovegame

“Tracy Wolff is at the top of my auto-buy list, and Lovegame is the perfect example why. From the very first page, Wolff sucked me in with a story that crackles with sensual energy and characters that are scarred, sexy, and wonderfully compelling. Go one-click Tracy Wolff’s Lovegame right now—you can thank me later.”—J. Kenner, New York Times bestselling author of Dirtiest Secret

Lovegame is a true masterpiece, with thrilling suspense, crazy hot sex, and writing so truly beautiful that it stays with you long after you put the book down. It’s my favorite read of the year by far.”—Sawyer Bennett, New York Times bestselling author of Sugar Daddy

“I loved Lovegame! It’s a hot, sexy thriller of a book, with so many twists and turns I never saw coming!”—M. O’Keefe, author of Everything I Left Unsaid

Lovegame had me breathless, sticking with me for days after I read it.”—Sarah Robinson, author of the Kavanagh Legends series

“Provocative and explosive . . . Tracy Wolff’s Lovegame is a story of mystery and suspense, a psychological thriller that looks at the destructive nature of a serial killer’s action, and the repercussions on the victims left behind.”—The Reading Café
 
Lovegame is a well-written, fast-paced, intriguing story filled with suspense. The characters and the story drew me in from the first page and never let me go.”—Cocktails and Books
 
“An amazing read . . . Lovegame is intense, suspenseful, full of . . . passion.”—Books & Boys Book Blog
 
“Wolff delivers a scorching and at times bone-chilling read that leaves you fantasizing about what goes on behind the scenes in Hollywood. . . . I highly recommend Lovegame.”—Rochelle’s Reviews
 
“[A] captivating story, [Lovegame] held me . . . till the very end.”—Boundless Book Reviews
  
“I was utterly enthralled. . . . To say that [this book] is gripping is an understatement.”—Lightning City Book Reviews
 
“Extremely well written . . . Lovegame will draw you into a world of seduction, suspense, and mystery.”—Majorly Delicious

Praise for the novels of Tracy Wolff
 
“Tracy Wolff knows how to steam up the pages.”New York Times bestselling author J. Kenner
 
“Fall in love under the spell of a master. Tracy Wolff knows how to keep you panting for more and utterly satisfied all at once.”New York Times bestselling author Beth Kery, on Ruined
 
“Tracy Wolff had me turning pages way past my bedtime. The suspense kept me on the edge of my seat, and the steamy love scenes had my pulse racing.”New York Times bestselling author Cassia Leo, on Exposed
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Excerpt

Lovegame

Chapter 1

It’s a sunny Wednesday afternoon in L.A.—just one more perfect day if you don’t count the heavy blanket of smog hanging over the city like acid-tinged perfume. In the distance, the Hollywood sign that is ubiquitous to this small section of Southern California is nearly obscured by the cloying, smothering stuff, but no one on the patio where I sit, waiting, even seems to notice, any more than they notice the goddess—no, strike that—the legend,—no, not that either—the siren—yes, that works—any more than they notice the famed siren who weaves her way between the cramped and crowded tables.

The lunch rush is over, but the small sidewalk café several blocks off the main see-and-be-seen drag that makes up so much of Los Angeles’s entertainment-based culture continues to do a brisk business as Veronica Romero slides into the seat across from mine.

She’s all bright eyes and smiles, all shiny blond hair and tight jeans and colorful gemstones glittering on every finger. Her blouse is white—her signature color—and oversized. Her shoes are high heeled, and the telltale soles of Christian Louboutin are the same shade of crimson as her lips. And yet there’s a casualness about her, an openness, that I don’t think anyone expects when they think of Hollywood’s most powerful—and highest paid—actress. As she introduces herself, I even catch a glimpse of the elusive dimple that many speak of but few ever get the chance to see.

It’s charming, and so is she.

“I’m so sorry I’m late,” she tells me in the throaty rasp that has sent shivers down the spine of many a red-blooded male through the years, myself included.

“You’re not.” A quick glance at my watch speaks to the veracity of my answer. “I’m always early.”

“I like that in a man.”

It’s a canned response, one that I can’t help thinking is beneath her. At least until I see the dimple flash again and realize she’s poking fun—at herself as much as at me and the artificiality of this situation.

“So, how do you like L.A.?” she asks after ordering a sparkling water from the hovering waiter. The patrons might not have noticed she’s here yet, but the waitstaff certainly has and they circle like buzzards around a freshly killed carcass.

“It’s . . .” I pause, try to think of a description that isn’t a lie but that also won’t offend this Beverly Hills–born- and –bred icon.

She just laughs, though. “Yeah. That’s what I figured. Thanks for doing this”—she gestures between the two of us—“out here. I just couldn’t fit in a trip to New York this week.”

“I’m pretty sure it’s my job to come to you. You’re the star, after all.”

“And you’re the Pulitzer Prize–winning, New York Times bestselling author who’s slumming by doing this piece.”

I crook a brow. “Writing the cover article for Vanity Fair is never slumming. Doesn’t matter who you are.”

“Funny. That’s exactly how it feels to be on this side of the story, too.”

She grins at me—and it’s not the exotic—sexy—man-slaying—grin that graces so many movie screens. It’s softer, more human. The goddess with feet of clay.

“What does it feel like?” I ask after the waiter has delivered her water and taken our order—a grilled salmon salad for her and a burger for me. “To be on that side of the story?”

She reaches up, toys with one perfect, golden lock of hair, and for a moment—just a moment—a shadow falls over her face. It’s gone almost before I can register it and then she’s tossing her hair, stretching languorously, yawning delicately, one pale, fine-boned hand pressed to her mouth.

“Are we there already?”

“Where is ‘there’ exactly?”

“The boring interview questions.”

“And here I was trying so hard to be interesting . . .”

“Oh, you don’t have to try.” Her smile is impish now, inviting me to share the joke. “I’ve spent the last few days trying to cull down the million or so questions I want to ask you.”

Now both my brows are up. “I’m pretty sure that’s not how these interviews are supposed to work.” This one in particular, considering I have a limited amount of time with her and so many, many things to figure out. Only a few of which are also part of Vanity Fair’s agenda.

“Interview-shminterview. Let’s just have a conversation. You ask me a question and I’ll answer it. Then I’ll ask you one and you answer it.”

About the Author

Tracy Wolff
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Tracy Wolff wrote her first short story—something with a rainbow and a prince—in second grade, around the same time she forayed into the wonderful world of girls lit with her first Judy Blume novel. By ten she’d read everything in the young adult and classics sections of her local bookstore, so in desperation her mom started her on romance novels. And from the first page of the first book, Tracy knew she’d found her life-long love. A one-time English professor with over fifty novels to her name, she now devotes most of her time to writing romance and dreaming up heroes. She lives in Austin, Texas, with her family. More by Tracy Wolff
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