Gambler's Longshot: Devil's Knights Series

by Winter Travers

*’*’*’*’*’*’*’*’*’*’*’*’*’*

  Chapter 3

  Gambler

  One hour.

  It took her one fucking hour until she walked out of her bedroom and when she did my jaw hit the floor.

  She walked out of her room looking like a nineteen fifties pin-up model. She had a low-cut black dress that her tits were about to fall out of and swayed around her perfectly toned legs. Her hair was curled and pinned up to her head and her makeup was perfectly applied. Don’t even get me started on her shoes. I never knew a pair of shoes could scream ‘fuck me’ like her’s did. She looked like she was ready to go out, not go to the clubhouse and go to sleep.

  “I’m ready,” she murmured, smoothing her skirt down.

  “The question is what exactly are you ready for?”

  She puffed her chest out and my eyes stayed glued to her chest, hopeful to get a glimpse at her tits if they popped out. “You’re a dick.”

  “I’ve been called worse. Now tell me where the hell you think you are going looking like that?”

  “To the clubhouse.”

  I shook my head and couldn’t believe this woman. I knew she had done this just to spite me because I told her to change, but my reason for her changing was a damn good one. “This isn’t a game, Gwen. I didn’t tell you to change just to piss you off.”

  She rolled her eyes at me and walked back into her room. She walked back out with a coat thrown over her shoulders and two suitcases trailing behind her. “What the fuck did you pack? We’re going to the clubhouse, not the damn jungle. You’ve probably got enough packed for a month.”

  “Doubtful. The small one is just shoes.”

  One of her suitcases was just shoes? Who the hell has that many shoes, let alone insists packing them. “How many pairs of shoes did you bring?”

  “5 pairs of heels, 3 pairs of boots, 3 pairs of tennis shoes, and 6 pairs of flats. Oh, and three pairs of house shoes.”

  Gwen had just packed twenty pairs of shoes. Motherfucking twenty. “What the hell are house shoes?”

  She rolled her eyes at me again, and I was ready to lay her over my knee and let her know what I thought of her attitude. “Slippers, Gambler.”

  “Then say fucking slippers.” I grabbed the suitcases out of her hands and made my way down the hall. “You’re gonna have to drive your car. I’ll follow behind you. Just take it easy and everything should be fine.”

  “This is utterly ridiculous, Gambler. I don’t even know why I’m being included in this lockdown business. No one is after me,” she sassed, walking back into her room.

  “Gwen, for fucks sake, can we get the hell out of here? I’m god damn tired!” I hollered, opening the door.

  “Don’t get your panties in a bunch, I just had to grab Mr.T and my purse.” She tossed her bag at my chest, knocking the wind out of me with how heavy the fucking thing was.

  “You got fucking rocks in here?” I picked her purse up off the floor and weighed it in my hand. The damn thing had to at least weigh ten pounds.

  “No, dick. I have makeup and other important things in there.”

  “Like what?”

  “None of your damn business, is what.” She crammed Mr. T into the carrier and picked it up, the damn cat meowing in protest. “I got Mr. T, you grab the rest.”

  “Leave the cat and I’ll grab him after I put this stuff in your car.”

  “I can carry something,” she insisted.

  “I never said you couldn’t. Drop the cat and get your ass in the car.” I was losing all patience.

  “Do you think I’m some helpless girl who can’t carry anything?” She popped her hip out and rested her hand on it. Pure fucking attitude.

  “No, Gwen, I’m pretty sure you are anything but helpless, I was just trying to be god damn nice.”

  “I didn’t ask you to be nice to me!” Why the fuck was she yelling at me? I was trying to be a gentleman and this is what it got me?

  I wasn’t going to take her fucking attitude anymore. “Get your ass in that car right now. You have five seconds before I throw you over my shoulder and we leave with what’s only on your back. No clothes, shoes, or fucking cat. You got me?”

  Gwen took a step back, her face paling. I didn’t mean to yell at her, but fuck me. No matter what I did, she fought me. “Four seconds,” I warned, taking a step towards her.

  She squeaked as I took another step and set the cat down. She side stepped around me and dashed out the door.

  I ran my fingers through my hair, wondering how the hell I was going to make it through sharing a room with this woman.

  I heard her car door slam and knew she was waiting for me. I turned off all the lights and grabbed the cat carrier. I swung the door shut behind me, flipping the lock up before it shut.

  I tucked the carrier under my arm and pulled the two suitcases behind me. “Pop the trunk,” I hollered when I got to the front of her car. She drove a little Beetle that matched her to a T. It was pitch black, with blacked out wheels and tint. It wasn’t a Beetle you saw every day. Just like everything else in Gwen’s life, there was a definite edge to it.

  She swung out of the car, walked around to the front and opened the trunk for me. “So you’ll let me open the trunk for you, I see.” She propped her hands on her hips and watched me toss the suitcases into the car.

  “You want the cat in the front or back seat?” I asked, slamming the lid shut.

  “I’m surprised you didn’t try to shove him into the trunk.”

  “Front or back, doll?”

  “Front,” she huffed out as she slid back into the driver’s seat and slammed the door shut.

  I opened the passenger side door and set the cat down who had been meowing protests the whole time. Thank god I didn’t have to be in the same car as the little shit. I probably would have thrown it out the window halfway to town.

  “All right, take it slow and drive straight to the clubhouse. I’ll be right behind you the whole time.” Gwen stared straight ahead and didn’t look at me. “You hear me?”

  “Loud and clear, Gambler.”

  I slammed her door shut and shook my head. She started up her car and peeled out of the driveway, kicking up dust and gravel. Her taillights disappeared down the road as I jogged over to my bike and swung a leg over it. I cranked it up, thankful I had packed up my bag and put it in my saddlebags before.

  I gunned it out of her driveway and drove like a bat out of hell trying to catch up with her. I caught up with her, the glow of her red taillights ten car lengths ahead of me. I honestly had no idea what the hell I was going to do with her. I knew I wanted to know what her heavenly body felt like underneath mine, but I didn’t know if I would live through all the sass and attitude she threw at me all the time. I wasn’t lying when I said I wanted to put her over my knee and spank the sass right out of her.

  She rolled through the stop sign at the end of the road and squealed her tires, heading into town. Never mind me telling her to take it slow and make sure I’m behind her. I pulled through the stop sign, too, making sure no one was coming and rocketed after Gwen.

  Gwen had just made up my mind what I was going to do with her. I had never met a woman before who could resist me. Be it a friend or lover, I could always win them over. After the kiss we had shared, I knew there was more to Gwen than what she showed. She came off as kick ass and tough, but I knew underneath all the rockabilly attitude, there was a woman I wanted to get to know.

  And whether Gwen liked it or not, I was going to see what she was trying too hard to keep away from me.

  *’*’*’*’*’*’*’*’*’*’*’*’*’*

  Chapter 4

  Gwen

  I was tired. Like, drained.

  When we had finally made it to the clubhouse, only King, Troy, and Rigid were awake. Gambler had dropped my bags by the door and had told me he would be right back. That was forty-five minutes ago and my eyelids were heavy and my eyes scratchy. I was edging past tried, falling into ex
haustion.

  I was sprawled out on the couch with the T.V. muted, a late night infomercial playing. My whole plan of getting all dressed up and strutting into the clubhouse had been foiled by the fact the only guys who had seen my entrance were all in a relationship and had eyes only for their women.

  “Let’s go, doll. I’m dead on my feet.”

  I looked over the back of the couch and saw Gambler standing at the edge of the living room. “It’s about time.”

  “Save the sass for the morning, doll. I don’t have it in me to deal with it right now. I’ve been going since five o’clock yesterday morning.”

  “Ew, what an ungodly time to wake up,” I groaned, standing up and pulling my two suitcases behind me.

  Gambler grabbed one out of my hand and headed down the hall. “I had a bunch of shit to deal with over at the body shop.”

  We came to the end of the hall and took a left, passing three doors before he pulled his keys out of his pocket and opened the fourth door.

  “It ain’t much but it’s mine,” Gambler mumbled, pushing the door open.

  I walked in, as he reached in and flicked the light switch on. He wasn’t kidding when he said it wasn’t much. There was a bed directly in front of me with a huge T.V. hanging on the wall to the left of the door. There was a dresser and a desk to the right and a closed door next to the bed. “Simplistic.”

  “Is that the nice way of saying boring?” Gambler laughed, pulling my suitcases in and setting Mr. T’s cage on the bed. I pushed the door shut and walked over to Mr. T, who was meowing like crazy. He had dozed in his cage while I waited for Gambler, but he was wide awake now.

  “It’s not boring, just simple.” I pulled Mr. T out of his cage and set him on the bed. He cautiously walked around the bed, his eyes round and big, wondering where the hell we were.

  “Call it whatever you want, doll. I’m gonna hit the head, I’m ready for bed.”

  I looked around wondering where the hell Gambler was going to sleep. “Um, where exactly are you sleeping?” I asked as he opened the bathroom door.

  He turned around and looked at me, a grin spreading across his lips. “Right there, doll.” He pointed to the bed and my stomach dropped. Shit.

  “OK, so where am I going to sleep?”

  “Well,” he grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it over his head and tossed it on the floor. “Right now your only options are the bed or the floor.”

  “This place is huge, there has to be another bed that I can sleep in.”

  “They’re all full, doll. That is unless you want to share a bed with Hammer. I’m sure he won’t mind you sneaking into his bed with him.”

  “I don’t want to sleep with anyone, especially not Hammer. Can’t you sleep on the floor, I thought you were a gentleman.” I crossed my arms over my chest, unwilling to sleep with anyone. “Or, you can go and sleep with Hammer.”

  “Dream on, doll. My ass is going to be in that bed in less than two minutes. So you need to decide where the hell your head is going to lay tonight.” He turned around, walked into the bathroom and swung the door shut behind him.

  Shit. Fuck. Shit. I didn’t want to sleep with Gambler tonight. Gah, why were the Gods against me tonight? First I couldn’t control myself when Gambler kissed me, and now I was being forced to sleep with him. Not at all how I had planned my night going. I heard the toilet flush and the water turn on. I only had probably thirty seconds before Gambler walked in shirtless and possibly with no pants on.

  I grabbed the empty pet carrier and set it next to the desk. I pulled my suitcase onto the bed and rummaged through it, trying to find my pajamas. I was going to have to sleep with Gambler. There was really no way around it. As much as I wanted to make him sleep on the floor, I knew I couldn’t do that to him.

  With my pajamas and makeup bag in hand, I waited at the bathroom door waiting for him to come out. I bent over, tucking my clothes under my arm and slid my heels off. Just as I got the second one off, Gambler walked out of the bathroom, my head level with his crotch. Just lovely.

  “That’s one way to greet someone when they walk out of the bathroom,” he chuckled.

  I stood up, almost smashing my head into his leg, and stood face to face with him. Well, it wasn’t exactly face to face. It was more face to chest. Without my heels on I was much shorter than Gambler. “I was taking my shoes off.”

  “Sure,” Gambler said, walking around me, “keep telling yourself that, doll.”

  I stormed into the bathroom and slammed the door shut behind. Fuck he was an infuriating man. I dropped my makeup bag on the side of the sink and looked in the mirror. My hair was still perfectly pinned and my makeup perfect, but I felt like I had been run over by a Mac truck. I grabbed a makeup wipe out of my bag and started erasing my hour worth of hard work.

  After all my makeup was off, I unpinned my hair, dropping the discarded bobby pins into my makeup, a couple missing their target when I threw them, but I didn’t pick up. Hopefully Gambler steps on them and wonders where the hell they came from.

  I brushed out my hair, feeling the sleek smoothness under my fingers and grabbed my clothes off the back of the toilet.

  I didn’t really have conventional pajamas. Most of the time it was an old vintage tee and booty shorts. When Gambler had unexpectedly come over tonight, I was already dressed for bed and he got a glimpse of my shortest booty shorts. Hell, he saw me in them the whole time. His eyes flared when his gaze ran up and down my body. I knew what I was working with and how to flaunt it. I had a nice rack, thick thighs, and a nice ass. I had to say I think Gambler agreed. I had just recently dyed my hair a deep midnight blue that every time the sun or light hit it just right the dark blue shined.

  I stepped out of my dress and hung it over the shower rod, deciding I would hang it up in the morning. As I slipped on my tee and shorts, my long day really hit me, and I felt like I was ready to fall over. After tossing my hair up in a messy knot on the top of my head, I turned off the light and opened the door to pitch dark.

  “About time,” I heard grumbled from the darkness.

  “I was in there for ten minutes.” If Gambler was grumbling about ten minutes, he was going to shit a brick when he saw how long it took me to get ready in the morning. “Why did you turn off the lights? I can’t even see my hand in front of my face.”

  “Jesus,” he mumbled. I heard him reach around and then his phone lit up the room. “Get your ass in bed, doll.”

  “Where’s Mr. T?” I asked, looking around the floor for him.

  “His fluffy ass is under the covers, purring like there’s no tomorrow.”

  “You let him under the covers?” I was utterly shocked. From what I had seen of Gambler and Mr. T together, they weren’t fans of each other

  “He didn’t really give me much choice. As soon as I pulled the covers back he sprang up on the bed and burrowed to the bottom of the bed.”

  I walked to the bed and pulled the covers back, Mr. T staring back at me. “Hey pretty man,” I cooed.

  “Jesus Christ, you did not just call the cat pretty man.”

  My eyes snapped to Gambler, “He’s my cat, I’ll call him whatever I want.”

  “You know what, I think we just need to stop talking to each other altogether. Although I’m sure you’d get pissed at me for breathing too loud then.”

  He was probably right. “You do breathe too loud.”

  Gambler rolled his eyes and shut the light off on his phone. “Sleep, now,” he ordered.

  I slipped under the warm comforter, laying on my side and Mr. T crawled to my bent knees and cuddled into me. I was facing Gambler but couldn’t see him. “Why is it so dark in here?”

  “Because it’s night time, doll. That’s what happens.”

  “I know that, dick. I meant why don’t you have a night light on?”

  “Do I look like a fucking five-year-old who needs a night light, doll?”

  “No, it’s just that I typically need some kind of light o
n to sleep.” I always left a light on in my living room, plus I had a night light in the hallway and my bedroom. I may come off as a badass, but I still had stupid, irrational fears. Darkness was one of them.

  “I know, whenever I slept at your house after you feel asleep I had to turn off all the god damn lights just to get some rest.”

  “Hey! You can’t turn off my lights.”

  “Gwen.”

  “What?”

  “Can we finish this argument in the morning? When I said I was exhausted, I meant it.” I could hear how tired he was and I felt bad that I was keeping him awake.

  “Yeah, I’m sorry,” I whispered.

  “Nothing to be sorry for, doll. I just need some sleep. I’m sure you do, too.”

  I opened my mouth to argue with him that I wasn’t tired, but I stopped and realized I was tired too. What the hell was wrong with me? He was right, every time he said something to me I had to disagree with him, even if I was wrong. “Night, Gambler,” I whispered.

  “Night, doll.” He rolled over, his back to me and his breathing even out within minutes, and I knew he was asleep.

  Mr. T was purring contently cuddled up to me and I closed my eyes. Maybe I was ridiculous with Gambler. He never really did anything to me to warrant the attitude I threw at him all the time. He just drove me crazy. He was always telling me what to do. I think what really drove me crazy was he only told me what to do because he was trying to be nice.

  I never had anyone who told me what to do who had my best interest at heart. I sighed, wondering what the hell was wrong with me. I finally had a guy who tried to be nice and treat me right and what did I do? Call him a dick all the time.

  “Do I have to turn on the goddamn bathroom light so you will stop huffing and puffing over there?” Gambler growled.

  “I thought you were sleeping?” I whispered. I didn’t mean to wake him up.

  “I’m not.” Jeez, he sounded annoyed. “You want the light on or not?”

  Um, I totally wanted the light on but I didn’t want Gambler to go out of his way to make me happy. I decided not to say anything and prayed he would go back to sleep and I would try to get a handle on my sighing.