Betting on Love

by Alexis Abbott

“If this is our idea of playing hard,” she replies between breaths, “then I’ll work hard with you as long as we can go.”

  Hadley

  One Year Later

  Even the smooth glass of the hotel penthouse suite window is warm against my skin as Dominick pins me against it, thrusting his cock between my legs with a forceful pulse that I can feel to my core.

  I’m still pulsing from the orgasm he gave me with his tongue on the bed. I thought it couldn’t get any better than that—sitting on a bed with my man’s face between my legs while I look out the window at the gorgeous view of Hawaiian waters just a few yards from the hotel. The skies were endless blue, and the waters were so deep and pristine that I could get lost in them by just watching.

  But Dominick has a way of making me feel loved like nothing else in the world can. His mouth is on my neck, peppering me with fierce kisses. His hands are holding me up by the hips, groping my ass while his cock impales me between my legs, so deep and fulfilling that I want to burst. Everything about him is fast and fierce.

  And everything has been, since we took over the casino in Vegas.

  The aftermath of the deaths of Jerry and Carl was swift and brutal. Dominick handled the political side of things. He personally took care of anyone who stood in our way and tried to bring in outside mafia leadership. We were not going to let anyone else step in and trample what we’d built, and the enforcers were sick of taking care of petty personal grudges, standing firm behind Dominick.

  Once we had Jerry’s casino, the rest was just a game to me. I took the other girls who were still nearby and spread out to the other casinos in the area, cleaning house and buying them out one by one.

  Before we left for Hawaii, we had a total of three under our control, and more are just waiting to be plucked from the hands of the old mafia. With Dominick and I in charge and getting the respect we’ve fought for with our rivals, we’re making waves in the city. Human trafficking has already plummeted, and I’m going to see it uprooted piece by bloody piece. Violence is down, thanks to Dominick’s methods. His men are loyal, because they’re being treated well, and not being asked to risk their lives for bullshit reasons.

  All we have now is to sit back and rake in the staggering amounts of money flowing into our accounts, all legitimate.

  It’s a sweet feeling, owning what I’ve worked for. It’s not something I ever thought I would feel, but it’s so much more delicious than I ever imagined.

  And I can say the same about the man thrusting between my legs right now.

  My body is naked and glistening, and whenever Dominick’s eyes are drinking me in, I feel more loved than I ever thought possible. I feel his thick cock sliding in and out of me, and every inch that he gives me feels like pure bliss.

  I swear, he wants to fuck me on every place open to us on this island, and a lot that aren’t. Since getting here, we’ve fucked in every place imaginable. He’s taken me to a private beach and fucked me on a towel on the sand. He’s had his fingers in me openly in some of the ritziest nightclubs the state has to offer. And every time we take a limo to our next destination, he either has me on his cock or his tongue between my legs.

  He lifts me up until I feel his cock slide out of me, and he turns me around and presses my front to the glass. I’m exposed for the whole island to see, and the only thing keeping me from appearing on the news is the fact that we’re so high up I’d be surprised if anyone could actually see me. That doesn’t change the fact that I’m being pushed against glass at hundreds of feet above the ground, feeling Dominick hold my ass before he impales me again with his cock.

  I let out a moan that fogs up the window as he does. My body is a mess of nerves and desire, all burning for Dominick.

  I have never liked feeling controlled by anyone. Every second working for Carl was a nightmare, the more I looked back on it. Dominick knows how to dominate me in the ways I want, though, and the power games we play with each other make me feel more alive and in control than ever before.

  He isn’t holding anything back, but even so, I feel every inch that moves in me as if I have all the time in the world to revel in it. His crown is bulging and swollen with need to release in me, and knowing that I can instill that kind of need gives me no end of pleasure. I feel whole with him inside me, and I can love like never before.

  His hands are firm and strong around me, holding me safe even as he makes me feel so very exposed and naked before the world. Each time he thrusts up into me, warmth rolls through my body. My muscles are shaking, but I don’t want him to stop for anything. Even if someone walked in on us, I wouldn’t stop.

  And in our time, we’ve had some very close calls. The thought of them sends shivers up my spine.

  I lose myself against the glass, closing my eyes and thinking about every look Dominick has given me just today. The way he watches me move, the way he appreciates all the effort I put into my stride and my looks, it all makes this effort worth it. He’s the only man I’ve ever met who can keep up with me, and being able to admit that is a rush that makes me dizzy.

  Just as I feel my body getting closer to the brink of another release, I squirm, and I curse myself for it—Dominick can feel that, and he loves teasing me. He pulls me back as soon as he realizes I’m close to release, and he picks me up again.

  “Damn you,” I breathe with a lazy smile on my face.

  He only chuckles in response, then carries me to the bed and tosses me down on it. I only have a moment to scramble to grab hold of the sheets and get on my knees before he seizes my hips, rough and bestial. The rush of Dominick coming for me when I’m so naked and vulnerable is like no other. He feels inescapable in all the best ways, and I always want him to take what he wants from me. He’s fire, and I want him to consume me.

  And he loves doing so.

  He grabs me by the ass and drags me closer to him before he thrusts his cock deep inside me. I let out a groan of pleasure before my face hits the sheets, and I clutch the soft folds as he starts rutting into me with a fast, hard rhythm. I can hear his hips slapping against me each time, punctuated by his hot, heavy panting. He makes me feel so desired, so needed, and he expresses it with such vigor that I couldn’t resist even if I wanted to.

  I feel his strong hand grasp my hair and pull my head back gently, never hurting me but just firmly enough to tell me what he wants. I arch my back for him, and I can’t hold back a whimper as his cock thrusts against my g-spot. He knows my body so well that he focuses on it with expert precision. One of his arms wraps around my hips to let his hand start fingering my clit while he bucks into me.

  My eyes roll up and my eyelids shut as the overwhelming feelings pour in from all directions. It’s almost a sensory overload, and it’s everything I’ve ever wanted from him.

  I don’t realize how close I am to orgasm until he pulls me closer to him, and I feel a strong pulse roll through his cock and snap me out of my hypnotic trance into the fiery reality inside me. I whimper, biting down on the sheets and bracing myself, and this time, Dominick is ready to meet me halfway.

  Just as I feel tension well up in my lower abdomen, I feel his cock thicken and stiffen one last time before we both release at the same time. His deep groan is music to my ears as I come and feel his white, thick reward empty into my depths. My heart beats fast as I push my hips back and tease every bit of it out of him that I can. I smile triumphantly as I feel his breath seize up when I clench, and he squeezes me back, rewarding me for my efforts.

  It feels like it lasts forever, but I know in my heart it’s probably not even the last time we’re going to fuck today. It’s just barely past noon.

  When it’s finally over, I fall to the side as he slides out of me, and we pant on the bed for a while before making eye contact again, lovingly.

  “You won’t be satisfied until you’re just fucking me on a public beach, will you?” I tease, winking at him.

  “Your words, not mine,” he chuckles.

  “I’m going
to get cleaned up,” I say, pushing myself up and swinging my legs over the edge of the bed. “The girls should be ready to meet soon. We’ll have to save the lazing around in bed and staring into each other’s eyes until after dinner.”

  “We’ll see about that,” he says, giving my ass a pinch from the bed. I giggle and hop away, heading to the shower with a warm blush on my cheeks.

  When I step out of the shower a few minutes later with a towel wrapped around me, Dominick is already pulling a pair of jeans over his tight ass, and the way the sun makes his whole body seem to glow makes my heart warm. He turns to look at me, and the smile he shoots me is so strong I can feel it in my chest.

  “Your phone lit up while you were washing off,” he says. “Vanessa and the girls are downstairs, whenever we’re ready.”

  “Oh god,” I laugh, “I hope we didn’t keep them waiting.”

  “No, I have a feeling they’re having a good time at the bar in the meantime,” he says as I hurry over to the drawer to pull on a breezy, flowy dress.

  We’re not in Hawaii just for a vacation on a whim. In fact, we have a couple reasons for being here, besides basking in the gorgeous sunlight and breathing in the salty, fruity breeze as long as we care to.

  The first reason is the girls waiting downstairs. With Dominick’s help, I’ve been slowly getting everyone from Carl’s network together and getting them tickets to meet up here. It turns out that my hunch was right—Vanessa is not the first person Carl abused, both physically and mentally. And I’m not the only one he tried to trade to other connections in the mafia.

  I tracked down girls who’d gone missing over the years, some who came and went through Carl’s operation long before I even got started. Some had gone through so much abuse that when they finally got out of it, they were reluctant to come forward and dig up old trauma. But telling them that Carl was dead got some attention.

  Now, I had a large group gathered here at this hotel in Hawaii, all expenses paid by me without putting so much as a dent in my bank account.

  That last part is thanks to the efforts of Dominick and me in Vegas.

  We wasted no time in carrying out our plans. When Jerry went down, it started unraveling the whole network of skeezy mob casino owners throughout the city. It turned out that a lot of them were like Jerry: aging, well past their prime, and all coasting on the fear they could inspire when they were younger. They’d gone soft and lost their caution.

  With me cleaning house and Dominick carrying out a hit job here and there, we soon had our own little empire forming right there in Vegas, practically overnight. Things changed fast in Vegas, and even faster when the mafia was involved. But now, we’re slaves to nobody, and we work for ourselves. And with each new casino we buy out, our clout grows.

  Having a dramatic, theatrical story like ours helps, too. We’re not nobodies. We’re the enforcer and the world-class gambler who took down Jerry acting alone, and we made the right friends at the right times. The other girls make up a big portion of those friends.

  Once we’re dressed, we head downstairs to the lobby, where the girls are indeed gathered at the bar together, most of them holding huge, colorful drinks and chatting with each other with smiles on their faces. Vanessa is the first to catch sight of me, and she beams broadly before waving and hurrying over to meet us at the edge of the group. Some of the other girls wave and call to us too, but nobody crowds us.

  “Oh my god, I can’t believe you’re all actually here!” I gush, throwing my arms around Vanessa as she meets me.

  “Me either,” she breathes, brushing some of her hair out of her eyes. I haven’t seen her this happy in a long time. “I haven’t even met some of the people here. Thank you so much for getting this together.”

  “I’ve been waiting for this for a long time, trust me, it’s my pleasure,” I say with an equally bright grin.

  “Okay, but first things first, let’s see it,” Vanessa says, not missing a beat.

  There it is—the second reason Dominick and I are in Hawaii. I roll my eyes, but even as I do, I can’t hold back the smile that immediately grows on my face whenever I get asked what Vanessa is asking me.

  I hold up my hand to display the massive engagement ring Dominick put on me.

  Vanessa squeals in delight and takes my hand to fawn over the ring a little while I steal a smug smile at Dominick, who is currently pretending not to be paying attention to something he’s actually very proud of. I have a man who’s got good taste in jewelry.

  Hawaii hadn’t been my first choice for a wedding—when he proposed, I thought it was appropriate that we just say ‘fuck it’ and get the tackiest, cheesiest Vegas wedding we could possibly find. I had a vision of something like an impersonator of an Elvis impersonator doing a drive-thru wedding from our personal armored limousine.

  Dominick promised he had a better idea, and I’m glad I heard it out. We’re getting married next week right here on Oahu, and I couldn’t be more excited.

  “I have a million questions,” Vanessa says, but I hold up a hand, grinning.

  “I’m sure, but so does everyone else, and I don’t want to keep them waiting.”

  “Right, right.”

  “Alright, everyone,” I say as I clap my hands, getting the attention of everyone in our group and stepping further into the mass of the finest card players the world has ever seen, myself included. I wait until I have everyone’s attention, Dominick standing behind me like a statue, and the same daring spark in my eyes that got me involved in this lifestyle from the very beginning. “Let’s take this to a conference room. I want to talk to you all about a job offer.”

  Next from Alexis Abbott

  Description

  Even when the ransom is paid, I won’t let her go.

  She’s innocent, shielded from the dirty games her father plays. Until now.

  I’ve been watching her for weeks, and I’ve seen how every smile, every toss of her hair, every flick of her hips drives men wild. A sensual beauty who is completely oblivious to the power she wields.

  I’m not immune to her beauty.

  And I sure as hell know my gang isn’t immune to it after we kidnap her. That’s why I watch her, day and night. Keeping her safe, even if she blames me for all the pain and anguish in her life. But with every passing moment, my desire to possess her grows.

  Before this is over, she will give herself to me.

  Completely.

  Buy Stealing Her

  Teaser…

  “Get your grimy hands off of me!” I scream.

  Dust kicks up under my feet as I spin around, yanking my oversized messenger bag down from my shoulder. I turn to face one of my attackers, an almost beastly snarl on my face as I glare at him. It frustrates me to no end that he’s wearing a ski mask— they all are for some reason— because I want to see his face. I want to know exactly what this man looks like so I can have a before and after in my mind once I beat his face in with my bag. I have never been so grateful for the overly ambitious load of classes in my university schedule as I am right now, because my messenger bag is stuffed full of heavy textbooks, notebooks packed with intricate notes, and a bulging case of pens and pencils. The bag must weigh at least fifteen pounds, more than my little dog, Henry.

  As soon as his precious, sweet little face pops into my mind, I’m filled with a renewed sense of vengeance. These fuckers think they are going to capture me and take me away from Henry. They think they can just show up in my busy, tightly-wound microcosm of a world and shake it all up so easily, like I’m made of papier-mache. Like I’m some wimpy little waif just waiting to be scooped up and stowed away in a castle.

  I’m no princess. I’m no damsel. Nobody is going to Rapunzel me.

  There are three of them and one of me, but all of my attackers are regarding me more like a wild animal with rabies than a slender, petite co-ed. That’s good. I want them to fear me. I want to keep them on their toes.

  “Go on! Do your worst!” I hurl at them
, spitting on the ground with rage. “Just try and take me, you filthy cowards! You have no idea who you’re messing with.”

  “Calm down,” one of them hisses, glancing around furtively.

  It’s still dark here on campus, the sun just starting to crown over the horizon. The sky is still that anemic shade of pale gray, the light barely illuminating the fluffy clouds above. Every tree and bush is shrouded in darkness, a hulking, mysterious shadow in the low light. The thought occurs to me that time is on my side. If I can just keep these guys at a safe enough distance for long enough, people will start showing up on campus. Students will start rolling in, half-asleep and bleary-eyed, for their early morning math classes. Professors will march across the grassy paths to their offices to prepare for a long day of teaching. The custodial staff will turn up to keep things clean and gleaming. After all, this is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This is an important place, filled with important, brilliant people. Overachievers like me who show up before the sun rises and don’t leave until after the sun disappears back over the horizon. Surely, sometime soon, backup will get here and I’ll be saved.

  In the meantime, though, I have to fight.

  All three of my masked assailants have their hands up, their tall, muscular frames carefully circling me as I wield my heavy messenger bag like a flail. I feel strangely powerful. Adrenaline pumps through my veins, but my heart is beating calmly and evenly. I never miss a beat. I never falter for even a moment. I am in total control here.

  Finally, one of the masked men takes a dive toward me, but I’m prepared for him. With a throaty growl, I swing my bag at him and hit him hard in the shoulder. He cries out in agony, stumbling clumsily to the ground. His cohorts are so stunned by my attack that they hesitate— and their failure is my victory. I can clearly see the window of opportunity, and I take it.

  I drop my bag and bolt in the opposite direction, the keys to my BMW roadster jangling reassuringly in my pocket. I’m running as fast as I can, breathing hard, never daring to look back. There is no need. I smile to myself, knowing that safety is just a few bounds away. I press the unlock button on my key fob over and over again as I run up to the driver’s side door. I fling it open and slide behind the wheel, my hands trembling slightly as I jab the key into the ignition and give it a violent turn. But to my horror, I turn it too hard— and the key snaps in half.