Fool Me Once: A Bad Girl Romance

by Samantha Westlake

  Wiping off my fingers on the elegant sofa cushions, I grabbed that folder of checks and flipped it open, looking through the slips of paper. Together, they totaled several million dollars in all; I hadn't wanted to put everything in one check, in case there'd been some alarm that went off when a withdrawal exceeded some hypothetical amount.

  What was I going to do with them? All I had to do was cash them, and all of my money problems would be gone. But so would any chance of returning back to Dane.

  Actually, that opportunity was probably gone already – but if I took the money, I knew that I'd never stand a chance of winning him back.

  Unable to think of an answer, I instead crawled into bed, barely mustering up the energy to kick off my shoes. I fell asleep in all of my clothes, lost in the sea of sheets on the gigantic bed, surrounded by the dozen pillows that hotels seemed to always insist on piling up everywhere.

  The next morning, I emerged from the bed, sniffed myself, and grimaced. Definitely needed to make use of that huge bathtub. I called down to the front desk, placed an order for some breakfast from room service (man, I was really racking up the bills for this hotel stay, wasn't I?), and then climbed into the tub in the bathroom to try and scrub myself clean of all these distracting thoughts that still haunted me.

  It didn't work. I ate my eggs and waffles and drank my coffee without tasting a single thing, sitting in front of the television. It had, apparently, been playing all night, and now displayed some news program. The current story seemed to be discussing some charity program, and how they were at risk of running out of money, even though they helped thousands of women each year. Really heartbreaking stuff, as if I didn't already feel bad enough about myself.

  And then, just as I finished off the last of the coffee, an idea hit me.

  I stopped, frozen, on the couch as I considered this new idea that had just leapt in my head. It was crazy, definitely. It seemed like the kind of activity that came as a disruptive thought, like steering into oncoming traffic while driving on a highway. I'd be giving up the money, and possibly not even seeing any reward for myself in return. It didn't make any logical sense, and all my hustling instincts cried out to toss it out.

  I didn't let myself obey my instincts. Instead, fueled by a sudden rush of energy that had nothing to do with the pot of coffee I'd just downed, I seized a pad of paper and a pen and began jotting things down, thinking it through.

  I'd need to go to the bank first, of course, and I'd have to do a bit of magic with the money to make sure that they couldn't trace it back to me. I'd need to make sure that it got some press attention, but not too much, not enough for them to need to verify things before it went live. And, of course, I need to make sure that Dane somehow found out about it.

  After a few minutes, I lowered the pad, reading over what I'd put down. It still sounded crazy, but when I looked at it, I felt a surge of a new emotion, one that I hadn't felt before.

  Hope.

  Maybe, just maybe, it would work.

  I could give up the money, but have one last shot at winning Dane back.

  Was it worth it?

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  DANE

  *

  She had to be here, in the city, somewhere. I looked around at the buildings, as if I'd somehow spot Ruby up in one of the windows, or she'd have a flag hanging out of the seventeenth floor to signal me or something.

  Where would she be? Surely, she'd have wanted me to see that program – she probably told Kelsey to pass the message on to Marcus, to pass it on to me. She'd know that I would come looking for her. Where would she wait for me?

  And then, standing there on the sidewalk in the late afternoon as the sun dropped down towards the horizon, lighting up the glass sides of the skyscrapers around me in tones of red and gold and yellow, I knew where I'd find her.

  The same place we met. The place where she first nearly ruined my life, and where I ended up saving her.

  DeMarco's club.

  I somehow managed to hail a taxi, despite probably looking like a crazy person as I flapped my hand desperately in the air. "DeMarco's," I told the driver, sliding into the backseat. "And step on it!"

  Ten minutes later, I tumbled out of the cab, barely remembering to collect my credit card back from the cabbie before he sped away. Looking up at the looming visage of DeMarco's in front of me, I hesitated for a second, remembering how well my last visit to the club worked out.

  But if Ruby was inside...

  As I rushed forward and opened the door, I wondered distantly what had gotten into me. Why was I chasing after Ruby? She'd made me mope around for the last week, had already made it clear that, despite how I felt towards her, she would rather choose money over me-

  But that had been before she donated all that money to charity, I reminded myself. Was it all just an act to try and win me back, or had she really changed? Did she actually love me back, but felt the need to show it with some grand gesture?

  Inside, I looked around, blinking as my eyes adjusted to the dimmer interior after the brightness of the setting sun. It was still too early for the club to have more than a handful of drinkers, mostly younger folks enjoying a drink after finishing up their workday. I scanned the faces, moving around the bar, but didn't see Ruby.

  She had to be here, didn't she? I kept on looking – and then froze as my eyes fell on the bouncer standing in front of the doorway that led to the back room.

  She wouldn't be... but she would, of course. It was the perfect place to find her. I made my way towards that bartender, trying to figure out what I'd say or do to get past him.

  He looked down at me as I approached, frowning – and then suddenly, his eyes widened in recognition. "Well, look who it is," he grunted, uncrossing his arms and flexing hands that were each approximately the same size as my face. He could probably squeeze my head with one of those big hands and pop my skull like an egg.

  "Yeah, hi," I said, my brain drawing a blank for clever retorts. "Look, is that girl back there? The one from a few weeks ago? I know it's a long shot, but I thought that-"

  But before I could even finish this sentence, the man sighed – and then stepped aside so I could slip past! "I don't get it, what she sees in you," he grunted down at me as I looked blankly back at him, my mouth hanging open in incomprehension. "'Cause you sure look like an ass to me."

  That meant that she had to be here. My heart, already thumping quickly, sped up until it felt like it was trying to tap-dance its way right out of my chest. I advanced slowly, past the bouncer, into the back room where the poker table stood.

  And there she was, looking just like the very first day that I laid eyes on her.

  She sat on the far side of the table, facing me but with her eyes on the other men sitting around her. She'd managed to find another one of those far too tight, incredibly sexy little dresses, of the type where she threatened to spill out of it every time she leaned forward to touch her poker chips. She already had a considerable stack of those chips in front of her, piled almost high enough to reach her dipping cleavage. One of the men said something, and she laughed, throwing her head back and sending a cascade of blonde waves through her hair as it spilled down her back.

  A fresh surge of love, overwhelming and warm, washed through me. I almost lost my footing, staggering for a step as I advanced towards her.

  As I drew closer, her eyes rose up and lingered on me for a moment, and her smile grew wider, softer, more intimate. "Sorry, boys, but it looks like my game is coming to an end," she said to the other men at the table. "I think my man just arrived."

  The other men turned and looked up at me, their expressions doubtfully considering. "Really? Him?" one of them asked, narrowing his slanty little eyes at me. "What's he got that's so special?"

  In answer, Ruby rose up from her seat, sashaying around to me, her eyes locked on mine. "He's a good man," she said softly, and I suddenly sensed weakness, uncertainty, lingering in her pupils as they watched me. Despite
her outward show of confidence, I realized, Ruby was very uncertain about how this would play out. "And that's harder to find than you'd expect."

  No, more than just uncertain, I amended my own thought as I gazed down into her eyes. Ruby was terrified, quaking inside her high heels, although she didn't let a trace of that show outside of her eyes.

  And she was so terrified, my mind continued to put together, because she didn't know how I'd react. She had set all of this up, given away all that money, just on the chance that it might win me back. She wasn't sure, however, if I was here to take her back – or to turn her in to the authorities.

  Next to me, the man with the narrow, crooked looking eyes sighed. "Yeah, that's about how it goes," he complained. "All those girls talk about how they want a bad boy, but they end up falling for the good ones in the end. What am I supposed to do, be nice or mean?"

  "Neither approach works," his companion next to him at the table commiserated. "Women, huh? Can't ever understand them."

  "It's true," Ruby whispered up to me, standing so close that she almost touched me – but holding back before crossing that last inch of space between us, as if she feared how I'd react. "We do some crazy things, sometimes. Sometimes, it takes us a couple of days to come to our senses."

  "And what sort of thing snaps you out of that craziness?" I asked her, trembling a little despite myself. I wanted her so badly, needed to feel her in my arms – but I didn't yet let myself give in and take her back. I couldn't just forgive her without knowing if she'd leave me again, the next time a score presented itself.

  "Having something more important," she answered me. "Or someone. Someone who's the real thing, who tells me the truth and never tries to con me."

  At that, I had to let out a theatrical sigh. "Afraid I'm not your man, then," I pretended to confess. "See, I'll probably be trying to con you all the time."

  "Oh really? And what are you going to con me into doing?"

  "All sorts of things, I'm sure. Cleaning up the apartment, working for an honest income instead of pulling shady get-rich-quick schemes." I let my arms finally slip around her, pulling that soft warmth against me. "All sorts of horribly twisted sexual acts, things that you hate to do because they upset your Puritanical upbringing."

  She smiled, even as she nestled in against me. "Anything else?" she whispered.

  "Yes – at some point, I'll probably also con you into saying yes to accepting a diamond ring from me and agreeing to love me forever," I added impulsively, the words popping out of me before I could think about them.

  But Ruby didn't pull away. She just tilted her head back, looking up at me. "There's a problem with that, though," she said.

  "And what might that be?"

  And there it was. That perfect, private little smile, the one that I knew as mine and mine alone. The one that she'd only given me before when we were curled up together on some cozy evening, when I couldn't imagine a single way for us to be more comfortable, when I knew that I truly loved her.

  "You're too late," she told me, smiling for me and me alone. "I already love you forever. Looks like I beat you to it."

  I sighed, closing my eyes. "So unfortunate. I guess that puts the kibosh on my proposing to you, then-"

  I couldn't say anything more, couldn't finish the sentence. Ruby leaned in, and her lips pressed against me, warm and soft and deliciously yielding, full of exuberant life and giving me a thrill that I knew I'd never be able to find anywhere else. I instantly stopped talking, kissing her back, tightening my arms around her and pulling her up against me. I reveled in how she pressed against me, all of her curves, all of her warmth, all of it for me – and me alone – to have and hold.

  Forever.

  And then, reaching up on her tiptoes, she whispered into my ear: "No."

  Somehow, I'd been expecting this. "Oh, I don't expect to just get it from you directly," I said, reluctant to release her but forcing my hands to do so. "In fact, I'm pretty sure that I'll have to win it off of you."

  As I let go of her, Ruby moved back to her side of the poker table, resuming her seat in front of her tall stacks of chips. "Don't think that you can get away with any of those cheating ways, now," she warned me.

  I held up my hands, turning them back and forth, pushing up my sleeves to show that I had nothing hidden inside. "Wouldn't dream of it," I said sweetly.

  I tossed a hundred dollars to the dealer, received my chips in exchange, and then grinned at Ruby as I sat down across from her, getting ready to play.

  The other two men at the table exchanged glances. "Ya know, I think this seems like a thing that's just between you two," one of them remarked, nodding to me. "Ey, Jimmy, why don't we grab a drink and watch from the sides?"

  Jimmy, the man with the narrow, crooked eyes, gave Ruby one last wishful look before pulling himself up and out of his chair. "'s a shame, though," he groaned. "Amazing girl like her, with a guy like him, total straight job."

  "Yeah, 'cuz you've got so much to offer," his companion sighed. "Come on, I've got the first round."

  Ruby winked at me. "Just the two of us, then."

  I matched her smile, gesturing to the dealer. "Let's get into it."

  Twenty minutes later, I stacked my most recent haul of chips in front of me, adding another tower to the castle of chips I'd constructed. Ruby glared daggers at me from behind the little remnant of her once-huge pile.

  "But how?" she demanded, huffing as she watched my fingers move. "I've been watching, and you haven't done any cheating at all this time!"

  I just smiled. "You know, there's skill involved in poker, too," I observed lightly. "It's not just about cheating. It's about strategy."

  "So you're saying that I've got no strategy, is that it?" Her eyes glinted dangerously at me.

  "I'm saying that maybe you're a bit distracted," I countered, choosing my words carefully. "Now, do you have anything else that you'd like to bet, or is this game about over?"

  "How about me moving in with you?"

  "I'll see that," I answered, overriding the dealer's protest. "That's what I'll win?"

  She shook her head. "Nope. That's what I'll win." She winked at me again, a little of her true ebullience showing through beneath the veneer of dismay at losing her chips.

  "So what if I win?"

  "Then I'll move in... and clean your place for you."

  "Doesn't seem quite worth it," I mused.

  Her eyebrows waggled. "Oh, but you haven't seen the outfit I wear when cleaning," she purred, letting one finger drop down to her cleavage on display. "Trust me, it's quite the show for everyone."

  I heard a choking sound from the direction of the bar as Jimmy and his companion, clearly still eavesdropping, caught this last innuendo from Ruby. Still, I kept my face cool and calm. I reached down and selected a stack of chips, trying not to let my fingers tremble with excitement.

  "Okay," I said. "Call."

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  RUBY

  *

  "So," Dane remarked, his eyes glittering in the near-darkness at me, "tell me about this cleaning outfit that you wear. Are we talking French maid, American housewife apron, or totally in the buff?"

  I stuck out my lip at him – although my rude expression was somewhat ruined by how much I enjoyed his hands running over me, pulling me in against his body. "I can't believe you won that hand, too," I complained. "I had pocket jacks! How did you get so lucky with the cards that were dealt?"

  He shrugged. "I guess I just happen to have very good luck," he said, his long, strong fingers wrapping around my wrists and tugging me in against him. "After all, it dealt you out to me, and I'm not going to fold that hand!"

  He kissed me, and my next smart remark died on my tongue as a wave of love instead washed over me. God, this man was going to be trouble, I knew. And even worse was that I was pretty certain that he, as well, knew how much hold he had on me.

  After all, I had given up several million dollars, just to win him back. That k
ind of thing tended to betray one's inner feelings.

  But then Dane's arms tightened around me, his strong body pulled me close, and I somehow didn't care about who held the advantage between us any longer. Instead, I just cared about stumbling further into the darkness of his apartment, where we'd retreated, and maybe making our way towards the nearest available horizontal surface.

  The bed was rather far, especially considering how his hand, running down my bare shoulder blades, made me feel. Maybe we could just head to the couch.

  Or hell, the floor was right here, and he had a pretty thick carpet down. That would do in a pinch.

  "Patience," Dane murmured to me, as he bit down on my collarbone, his hands sliding down my sides – and tugging my dress along with them. "We've got all night, you know. There's no need to rush."

  Easy for him to say, I thought inside my head, failing to hold back the moan that pushed at my lips. He wasn't the one being driven wild by kisses, by touches and all sorts of wonderful things that he did to turn me on!

  Although, now that I considered that imbalance between us...

  I turned around, applying my attentions to Dane's body in turn. He tried to resist at first, focusing on pushing me to the point of mindlessness before I could do the same to him. I gave as good as I got, however, and we eventually collapsed together, both of us panting, on the dim outline of the couch.

  "Maybe you ought to turn on a light," I suggested, but Dane quickly vetoed that suggestion.

  "No time," he panted back at me, reaching out and pulling me into his lap. I'd already managed to undo his belt buckle and shove his pants down to mid-thigh, and I felt his hardness push wonderfully up against me as my bottom, bare except for the thin liner of my lacy panties, land on him. I wiggled back and forth, and selfishly wished for a moment that the lights were on so that I could see his eyes roll back in his head.

  Still, even the darkness couldn't hide his heavy breathing, the way he reached for me and held me, eager but holding himself back. Unlike some of the men that had joined me in bed, Dane always took his time, as if marveling over the experience and savoring every second of it, committing each touch to memory. I loved that about him, loved that he took his time and made sure, always, that I finished along with him.