Betting On Love

by Danielle Dickson

  He moves back to his starting position and starts unbuttoning his jeans. I bite my lip and it earns me another smirk before they slide down his legs. He’s left standing in a pair of bright white Calvin Kleins, and Jesus Christ he could kill someone with the bulge in there. How have I not noticed that before?

  “Eyes up here, Billie,” he murmurs seductively, then motions for me to join him where he is.

  I cross my arms and smirk at him. “Oh, no you don’t. You saw a lot more of me than that.”

  He growls and has my legs wrapped around his hips in point two seconds. “You’re gonna get a lot more than just seeing it.”

  He lifts me into the air and I don’t have time to protest before I can feel the scruff of his beard scraping roughly against my chin as his lips kiss me with a passion I’ve never felt before. I kiss him back with the same ferocity, eliciting a low growl in the back of his throat as he carries me through my apartment.

  We reach our destination and I’m flung through the air, my back hitting my soft mattress. I giggle until I feel myself lift back up, bouncing back and flying onto the floor with a bang.

  “Jesus, are you okay, B?” he asks, running over to me.

  I laugh and he joins me. “Did you seriously just throw me across the room?”

  He pulls me up off the floor. “Sorry, I thought it was passionate. I didn’t realize you’d use your bed as a trampoline.” I hit him on his hard abs and he grins at me and grabs the back of my neck. “Shall we try that again?”

  She hesitates as she looks into my eyes, I can see she’s scared, and I am too. She said no kissing, no sex, and nothing in between, but she doesn’t seem to be stopping me. “Billie? I said shall we try that again?”

  Her eyes flit between mine before they shut and she brings her lips to mine again, this time it’s soft, but soon changes pace as her tongue pushes its way into my mouth, caressing my tongue with her own.

  Grabbing her t-shirt from the bottom, I pull it up and over her head and groan as my eyes roam over the lacey white bra underneath and her toned, fair-skinned stomach.

  “See something you like?” she asks, using my own words from when we first met against me.

  “Well that depends, are you ready to admit you’ve lost the bet?” I whisper in her ear, picking her up and moving her onto the bed.

  She shakes her head. “Never.”

  God, I want her more than I want to win this stupid bet. We’ve hung out and gone on dates, I even introduced her to my parents for fuck’s sake, but I’m not ready for this to end. If I end it then I won’t have a reason to come around anymore, to see her and coax her into coming on little adventures with me. “You’ll be ready to admit it after this.”

  She smirks. “Oh, will I?”

  “Mhmm,” I hum as I trail kisses down her neck and onto her breasts. I pull down the cup of her bra and pull a bud into my mouth, sucking and licking at it before moving onto the other one.

  She moans and I look up at her. “Mac?”

  “Mhmm?”

  “What are we doing?”

  I lean up on my arms above her and take in her flushed but serious face. “I don’t know about you, B, but I’m about to ruin you for any other man.”

  Her breath hitches and I claim her mouth with mine before she can take another breath. I feel her hand snake around my neck as our lips clash in a bruising kiss and I push my arm under her back and lift her up slightly, unhooking her bra and pulling it off her completely. Her breasts are bared to me and I release a low growl in the back of my throat, she’s so sexy, it’s hard to imagine why anyone would ever cheat on someone so perfect.

  Her hand wanders down to my chest as she looks up at me with lust-filled eyes. She lifts her hips up off the bed and pushes herself against the bulge in my boxers. Fuck. I’m so hard for her I can barely stand it. It feels like all I’d need is one brush of her hand and I’d blow my load right here like a teenager.

  I hook my fingers in her shorts and panties and pull them off, trailing my fingers back up her thighs, watching her watching me. I want to make her feel things she’s never felt before, I want to know what makes her hot, what turns her on.

  I capture her mouth again before lifting away and removing my boxers and watching her eyes go wide. I’ve always known I was blessed down below, but watching her lick her lips in anticipation has me twitching.

  My fingers drift over the smooth skin on her neck, gliding across the soft curve of her breasts and over her flat stomach before landing at my area of expertise. I want to taste her, but I restrain myself as my fingers slide through her and I concentrate on her breaths getting shallower.

  “Mac,” she breathes out; it sounds like a plea.

  I smirk and kiss her on her thigh. “Soon, B.”

  I find her sensitive bud and tease it in small circles before lifting her legs up and placing them on either side of my head as I use my tongue, tasting her for the first time.

  “Oh God,” she moans.

  “Nope, just me, B,” I reply seductively as I palm one of her breasts firmly.

  She sucks in deep breaths as I get into a rhythm and slip a finger inside her, making her grind her hips against my face and hand as I take my time, bringing her to her first release.

  I feel her muscles start to tighten and her breaths getting heavier as she threads her fingers through my hair.

  “Yes! More!” she cries out and I revel in the fact that I’m driving her fucking crazy with just my tongue and fingers. “Holy shit! I’m—”

  Her sentence is cut off as her loud moans fill the room and I feel her shudder beneath me. Seeing her face contort like that is something I’ll never forget and it has me wanting to see her fall apart when I’m inside of her.

  I kiss up her body until we’re face to face, a small smile playing on her lips. I’m pulled toward her in a passionate kiss that has me reeling, but it starts to slow down and my body reacts differently.

  Instead of the twitching feeling of lust I normally feel, my heart flutters and I draw in a breath as she kisses down my neck and pushes me onto my back, taking me by surprise.

  She straddles me and pulls out her hair, the long strands falling out of the knot and framing her face. The sexy smile that’s there when I look up makes me groan. She’s even more beautiful when she lets herself go. This is the Billie I’ve been waiting to see.

  I’ve never had a woman take control before, I watch her reach into her nightstand and pull out a condom, rolling it on for me. Then just before she slides herself onto me, she looks directly into my eyes and I know this is it, once we do this, there’s no going back.

  I’ve never taken control in the bedroom before, but something about this feels right. I roll my hips seductively and he grabs my hand and pulls it to his lips, kissing my palm as my speed picks up.

  “Fuck, Billie!” he moans out, grasping my hips between his strong fingers and lifting me slightly so he can flip us over.

  He grins and kisses me as he pushes all the way down to the hilt and my head falls back, breaking the contact of our lips. He feels so good.

  He captures my hands and pins them above my head with one hand, my eyes drifting shut as he says my name gruffly.

  “Don’t close your eyes, I want to see them.”

  My eyes flutter open and I’m rewarded with a sexy as sin smile before his tongue sweeps gently against mine. I don’t try to hide my moan.

  He pulls out and thrusts back in, hard and fast, making me cry out in pleasure and my arms wrap around his neck. Raw passion blazes through me and I feel alive.

  I hold his gaze as my desire builds and the heat of my release starts to rage between my legs. We both pant as he rocks into me, it feels like a spring is being coiled tightly inside and is just waiting for release. He thrusts a few more times, tipping me over the edge and he follows with a low groan of his own as my body contracts around him.

  He stills as he looks down at me, kissing me on the lips so sweetly that it’s hard to imagine ho
w we started out. I know I’ve just broken my own rules, but right now I couldn’t care less.

  “I err... need to go and clean up quickly, I’ll be right back,” he whispers, placing his lips against my forehead and pulling away to get off the bed. I watch as he walks out of the door and I break out into a grin. I just had sex with Mac!

  He walks back in two minutes later and crawls back into bed with me, motioning for me to lie on his chest. “That was… amazing.”

  “Mhmm,” I mumble, feeling sated.

  I feel his jaw tick against my head and his muscles tense slightly.

  “Are you okay?” I ask tentatively.

  He sighs and it has me second guessing myself. “Sure, I’m just not used to this.”

  “Having sex?” I scoff.

  He chuckles and kisses me on the top of my head. “No, B, this. Cuddling afterward, I hardly know what to do. I’m way out of my element.”

  I lift up onto my elbow and trace his pecs with my fingers. “It’s new for me too, so let’s just figure this out together.”

  He grins and motions to my hands. “You keep going any lower and we’ll have to figure it out later instead.”

  “Is that so?” I say seductively, trailing my fingers down his abs.

  We spent the rest of the weekend in bed and I can’t get the stupid grin off my face while I’m working. He left early this morning with a lingering kiss and the promise that he’d see me soon. Soon? There’s something about that word that left me with a sour taste in my mouth, but I can’t let my jaded past leak into the here and now.

  As much as I’ve fought against my feelings for Mac, this weekend has changed us, we crossed an invisible boundary that I don’t want to go back on.

  As the day goes on, I check my mobile again, frowning because I’ve had no messages all day. Maybe I should just text him instead of waiting for him to make the first move?

  No, he’s just busy at work, Billie, don’t be that clingy girl.

  I sigh as I pocket my mobile and open the bottle of wine sat in front of me. I pour a glass and my iPad chimes that someone is trying to get ahold of me on FaceTime. I flip open my case and my mum’s cheery face fills the screen.

  “Billie!”

  I chuckle at the fact she actually got it right this time. “Are you drunk again? Isn’t it like, midnight there?”

  She checks her watch. “Ooh so it is, so it is. Anyway, my darling, tell me what you’ve been up to.”

  I can’t stop the grin from spreading across my face but I try to stifle it. “Not much, just pottering about here and there.”

  She jumps about excitedly. “Wilhemina Elizabeth James! You’ve had sex!”

  I turn as red as a beetroot. “What? Don’t be daft, I don’t—”

  “You so have, I can tell a sex face from a mile away! Was it with Tarzan? Oh, please tell me it was with him! How was he?”

  “Mum! This is so not a mother-daughter conversation topic.”

  “Pfft, tell me everything!”

  I sigh and blush. “Fine, it happened… a few times and—”

  She squeals and gasps. “You like him. Oh, darling, this is wonderful news, I’ve been so worried about you being over there on your own.”

  I chuckle. “I’m fine and I’ve been fine, I just needed to get away.”

  “And find yourself a towering wall of muscle to relieve your tension with,” she says, waggling her eyebrows at me.

  I roll my eyes. “Yes, I had sex with him, get over it.”

  She stops squealing. “Why do I sense that you’re not one-hundred-percent happy? Was there something wrong with him?”

  “No, he was incredible, more than incredible in fact, but I’ve not heard from him since,” I breathe out.

  Her face turns serious and professional, great, my sex life is about to be analysed by my own mum. “There’s no point in looking too much into it, darling, but when was the last time you saw him?”

  “This morning.”

  She exhales a big breath. “Then what are you fretting over? It’s not even been twelve hours yet, give him time, guys have a funny way of sorting out their own feelings.”

  “I guess so, I just thought he’d at least have text me, but you’re right, I’m being stupid,” I say, feeling a tad relieved now that I’ve said it out loud.

  She chuckles. “Ah, here’s your dad.”

  “Hi, Bilbo. I thought I’d find her in her office, she seems to think that the iPad can’t come out of this room.” I giggle. “I’ve just got back from picking her up from your aunt Clare’s and as you can see, she’s a little worse for wear.”

  “Hey, Dad. How are you doing?”

  “I’m just dandy, darling. How is everything over there?”

  I blush but remind myself that my dad isn’t perceptive like my mum. “Yeah, everything’s perfect.”

  Mum clears her throat and I cross my fingers that she won’t say anything in front of him. “Sorry to cut our time short again, but I need to get this one into bed.”

  “Okay, say hi to everyone for me. Night, Mum, night, Dad.”

  “Night, sweetheart,” Mum slurs.

  Dad chuckles and looks back at the screen. “Night, Bilbo. Take care of yourself, and if you need anything; anything at all, you know we’re always here.”

  I smile and say goodbye, resisting the urge to pick up my mobile and call Mac.

  I’m positive that was the best weekend of my life. So why now that I’m away from her am I freaking the fuck out?

  Billie is incredible and everything I could ever want, but I can’t help feeling all out of sorts at the thought that I’m letting someone into my life. I’m not used to waking up and thinking about other people or wondering what she’s doing every single day. Before her, things weren’t complicated, there were no blurred lines and dare I say it… feelings.

  The day I walked into that coffee shop offering her a bet I thought was a sure way to get her into bed had turned out—at this moment in time—to not be one of my brightest ideas. I mean, it worked… eventually, but not before she wormed her way into my unsuspecting heart.

  I need to distance myself from her a bit. I need to stop hanging on her every word, studying her every facial expression when she goes through each emotion. And I know the perfect way to keep myself busy.

  I wink at the brunette who’s been eye-fucking me for the past twenty minutes and she slides off her stool and saunters over to me.

  “Hey, handsome. Haven’t seen you around here before.”

  I wink at the guys before downing the rest of my beer. “It’s my first time, you’ll have to take good care of me.”

  I’ve had my fair share of alcohol and she is hot, so why not? I stand up and wrap my arm around her shoulders, grimacing as the smell of alcohol and cigarette smoke waft from her.

  “See you at work tomorrow,” I say, winking at the guys.

  They wolf whistle and howl and I roll my eyes. Are they always so obnoxious?

  I wave down a cab and she leans her head on my shoulder. “We’ll have to go back to yours, my parents won’t be happy if I bring you back.”

  I shrug her head off and look at her. Parents? “How old are you?” She looks not far off my age, but I wait on baited breath for her answer.

  She chuckles. “Relax, I’m old enough.”

  I brush her hand off as it lands on my arm. “No, seriously, how old are you?”

  She tuts and crosses her arms in front of her. “I’m twenty-four, I’ve just had to move back in with—”

  I release the tense breath I was holding and don’t listen to her as she continues talking about getting evicted from her apartment. I don’t want to talk. A cab pulls up and we jump in, the driver asks for my address but I hesitate to give him it. I don’t want to risk being spotted by Billie, but I’m determined to get my mind off the blond that has invaded my entire life, so I reel off my address and sit back as he drives us there.

  We pull up outside and I throw money at the driver as I p
ull the girl out of the car and into the building. She latches onto me in the elevator, kissing my neck and making weird moaning sounds when I’m not even touching her to elicit them. I pull her out of the elevator by her hand and hesitate outside my door, reiterating the words I told myself the first time I had sex with Billie. Once you do this, there’s no going back.

  I shake off the words and open the door, watching her face for a reaction to the interior, but unlike Billie, she takes no notice and jumps straight for me; only after one thing. I freeze, this must be what all the women I’ve slept with have felt like, like I didn’t really want anything other than sex, which is right, but damn is it shit being on the receiving end.

  Her mouth clashes painfully with mine and she clumsily tries to undo the buttons of my shirt. I’m so far from turned on it’s unreal, in fact, if I was any less turned on, my dick would probably shrivel up and crawl back inside my body.

  I’ve still yet to make a move to touch her apart from keeping her upright because by the smell of her breath, she’s had a lot of alcohol tonight, but I can’t bring myself to kiss her back as she sticks her hand down my jeans and pulls on my flaccid dick like it’s a stress ball.

  I pull her hand out and hold her at arm’s length. “Listen…” And shit, I didn’t even get her name, that’s how much of an asshole I am.

  “Harley,” she slurs out and I cringe because I didn’t realize how intoxicated she was back at the bar.

  “Harley, would you like some coffee?” I ask her.

  Her eyes narrow and she moves to kiss me but I steady her again. “Look, I’m sorry for bringing you here under false pretenses, but this isn’t gonna happen.” I point between us both and her face screws up as she starts crying dramatically.

  “It’s because I’m ugly isn’t it! I knew this dress made me look fat!”

  I guide her to my sofa. “No, that’s not it at all, you’re a beautiful woman with a rocking body to match. All this is on me.”