Pursuit: A Bad Boy Romance Read online

  So, I shifted my attention to her friend and there was some real potential. A drop-dead blonde with a gorgeous face and a killer body. Despite the fact she looked upset about something, her features were still delicate and soft, giving her an almost angelic appearance. Her lips were full, and at the moment, a little bit pouty. I liked that. Her hair was a tad messy, but she somehow managed to pull it off. I could only imagine how wild she’d look after a night with me.

  I grinned to myself as my thoughts started to wander into lustful territory. Deep down, I knew I had already made up my mind. If I didn’t go home with her, I would be going home with no one at all.

  Finally, I managed to look away, not wanting to get caught staring at her. I played with the rim of my glass, watching as the golden liquid shimmered with the reverberations of the blaring music.

  Every chance I got, I glanced over at the blonde, each time noticing something different about her. Be it the slight crookedness of her nose, or her enticing collarbone, or even the way her golden locks fell over her shoulders, resting just above her bosom.

  She was beautiful, there was no denying it. Hell, she might even be one of the best-looking women I had seen in a long time. Too long.

  I had to have her.

  I adjusted myself in my seat, my erection growing at the thought of all the fun I would have with her. Again, my thoughts wandered, causing the blood from my brain to rush between my legs. It was starting to become uncomfortable, especially in the tightness of my skinny jeans.

  I took a swig of my drink, trying to calm myself down. I needed to keep a level head if I was going to get her to trust me like all the others.

  Just then, I heard footsteps approaching me. They sounded hesitant as if whoever was coming my way didn’t want to do so. I turned slowly, making eye contact with the blonde for the first time. She had a beautiful pair of chocolate brown eyes that perfectly complimented her overall innocent demeanor.

  “Is this seat taken?” She asked, her voice confident despite the obvious uncertainty dancing behind her irises.

  “No. It’s all yours.” I held out my hand, helping her onto the stool. “You know, I never understood why bars insist on such unpractical seating. It must be difficult getting on these things when you’re wearing high heels.”

  “Tell me about it. One wrong move and I risk breaking my neck.”

  “Well, as long as I’m around, you won’t have to worry. I won’t let you fall for anything other than myself.”

  She chuckled. “You’re quite the charmer, aren’t you?”

  Before I could answer, the bartender approached her, a slight frown on her face when she saw me with another woman. “Can I get you anything, Miss?” She asked in a deflated voice.

  “I’ll have a martini.”

  The young girl nodded, working on the drink.

  “So, my friend tells me that you’ve been checking me out all night, is that true?”

  I was surprised by her directness. Most women beat around the bush, waiting for me to make the first move, but not this one. She already seemed different and that only motivated me further. “Your friend has quite the eye.”

  “Sure, sure. But she’s always trying to hook me up with someone. Thinks I can’t be happy by myself.”

  “Well, are you?” I asked, getting a little closer, resting my hand on the back of her chair, my fingers close enough to her bare skin that I could almost feel its softness. I stopped myself from moving too quickly, however, not wanting to risk scaring her away.

  She bit her lip. “I don’t really want to talk about my love life, right now.”

  To her benefit, the bartender arrived with her drink, placing it in front of her. She took the opportunity to take a rather long sip, her cheeks becoming a shade darker at the introduction of alcohol into her system.

  “Fair enough. I’m not one to pry.” I glanced her over quickly, trying to find some small detail I could use to spark a conversation. One thing I learned after years of picking up women was that they loved to talk and if you figured out just the right thing to ask, then that was your golden ticket to going home with them.

  Silence settled between us, and for a moment, I thought I would lose her, but then, I noticed a charm bracelet on her wrist. One of the charms was a sailboat. “Do you sail often?” I asked.

  “Huh?” She looked at me, tilting her head to the side, her hair falling into her eyes.

  Carefully, I reached forward, pinning it behind her ear, letting my fingers caress her cheek. I smiled at her, our eyes locking. I leaned in a little closer, gauging her reaction, but she moved away.

  She was guarded. Maybe suffered a bad breakup in the past. Maybe even recently. She was trying to hide it, but I could tell she was hurt inside. The damaged ones were always the easiest.

  Grinning, I leaned back, giving her some space so she would feel comfortable around me. “The charm on your bracelet.” I pointed.

  She seemed to have forgotten that she even had it on before she lifted her arm to look at it, the little charms tinkling together. “Oh… yeah… when I was in college, I used to do it for fun. Not for sport or anything, but there was a group on campus that would go out and sail.” She told me this with a nostalgic air as if she missed those moments.

  “Haven’t gone in awhile?”

  “No, not for a long time.”

  “You know, I actually used to sail myself. My parents had a summer home on Cape Cod. Catching the wind, riding those waves, listening to the seagulls soaring overhead. There’s nothing quite like it, you know?” I lied smoothly, but lying was second nature to me. I had lost count of all the different hobbies I had told women I enjoyed, just to get their attention.

  “Really?” She asked, turning in my direction.

  The corners of my lips twitched. She was facing me, a key sign that I was getting through to her, that I was slowly piquing her interest.

  “Oh, definitely, when the weather was good, you couldn’t keep me away. It’s addicting in a way. The adrenaline that pumps through your veins is like none other.”

  She nodded, a smile emerging on her face, making her look even more beautiful. Her eyes, which had looked lackluster, were now sparkling at the thought of sail boating. “When the wind is just right, you almost feel like you’re flying. It’s so liberating.”

  “Why don’t we ditch this place and go right now?” I said, leaning in close, lowering my voice to a seductive tone.

  “What? Right now? Are you crazy? It’s the middle of the night.”

  “Have you never gone sailing at night?” I asked, a mischievous grin on my face. “It’s a full moon, you know. It’s beautiful. The moon’s glimmer shining off the waves, the serenity of a deserted beach, the sight of you in a bathing suit…” I trailed off, my eyes wandering over her body, lingering on her chest for a moment.

  “Tell the truth, you just want to see me in a bikini.”

  I held up my hands. “Guilty as charged. But, can you blame me? You’re absolutely gorgeous…”

  Her cheeks reddened at my comment, but she didn’t shy away like the bartender. Instead, she narrowed her eyes in my direction as if studying me. “You’re quite the smooth talker, you know that? If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were trying to go home with me.”

  “Maybe I am.” I motioned to the rest of the club. “I know you won’t believe me, but you’re honestly the most beautiful woman in here.” I ventured to rest my hand on her knee, half-expecting her to stop me, but she didn’t even flinch.

  “You act as if I haven’t heard that line before.” She said, leaning on her elbow. “This isn’t my first time at the rodeo. I know what guys like you are up to.”

  “And what’s that?” I challenged, my expression unchanging as I held her gaze.

  “You just want to take a girl home, have your fun, and then ditch her for the next. You never stay with one for too long. Each girl is like a conquest, another notch in your belt. I’m not about to be a part of your little game.�
�� Without saying another word, she downed the rest of her drink, slamming the martini glass onto the counter, so hard that I thought it would shatter in her hand. “But, thanks for the free drink.” She winked before walking back to her friend.

  I watched her hips sway back and forth, almost like she was teasing me with what I couldn’t have. She was smart, and I liked that, but maybe she was too smart to fall for a charming con artist like me.

  Chapter 3

  Amanda

  “What are you doing coming back here? I thought for sure you were going to go home with that guy.” Wendy was still sitting on the couch, enjoying another mojito. “You two were so close, I thought you were going to start making out right there on the counter.”

  I shot my friend a dirty glare. “You know I’m not like that.”

  “You should really learn to loosen up. You’re never going to move on if you’re so bitter all the time.”

  “I’m not bitter.”

  “Then tell me why you didn’t give this guy a chance.”

  “He was nothing more than a sweet talker.” I glanced over at him where he was already talking to another woman.

  He looked over his shoulder, making eye contact with me, his lips twitching ever so slightly like he was glad he had caught me looking at him.

  I ground my teeth together, knowing that he was just trying to make me jealous. He was obviously hoping I would succumb and go home with him after all, but, if he thought that tactic would work on me, he had another thing coming. I looked away. “Look, he’s already with another girl.”

  “He’s a hot guy, what did you expect? He probably gets flocked by them all the time, but, I’m telling you, he has his eyes set on you.”

  I scoffed.

  “Seriously.”

  This time, I looked at him out of the corner of my eye. There was no denying that he was unbelievably sexy with his muscular body, broad shoulders, and handsome face. There was even a level of exoticism to him, due to his differently colored eyes. While one was bright blue, the other was light green.

  Wendy waved her hand in front of my face. “Admit it, you like him.”

  “No.”

  “Why else would you stare at him like that? You obviously think he’s attractive.”

  “Sure, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to let him go home with me.”

  “Why not?” She asked. “I’m sorry to say this, but you really need some action. That vibrator you got hiding under your mattress won’t be able to satisfy you forever.”

  My cheeks reddened at her comment. “I’m not having this conversation with you.”

  “Fine. Then I guess we can just go home if you’re not going to be any fun.”

  ***

  I was glad to be home, even if it meant being all alone. At least here, no one bothered me or judged me for the way I was handling my recent divorce. Shuffling into the mudroom, I took off my heels, placing them neatly in their place. Doing so, I noticed Roxie’s favorite toy hiding in the corner. I grabbed it, squeezing it, half-expecting her to come bounding around the corner, ready to play fetch.

  Of course, that didn’t happen. With a heavy heart, I placed the toy in the junk drawer so I wouldn’t have to look at it very often. I didn’t have it in me to throw it out, even though I knew it would never be used again.

  Feeling even lonelier than usual, I walked upstairs, my hand running along the railing which needed to be varnished. There were so many things I needed to do myself now that David was gone. Each day, the list seemed to get longer and longer, threatening to overwhelm me.

  I tried my best to ignore my anxiety as I stepped into the bathroom, taking off my charm bracelet and placing it on the counter. I stared at it for a moment, replaying the conversation I had with the sweet talker. I hadn’t even gotten his name and yet, for a while there, he had me completely under his spell, nearly falling for his tricks. If I had to guess, however, he hadn’t sailed a day in his life. He was just saying all that to impress me.

  I shook my head. All men were the same. Always trying to play games. I was sick and tired of it.

  With all my jewelry off, I reached behind to grab the clasp of my dress zipper, pulling it down until I could shrug it off my shoulders. It fell into a heap on the ground. Nearly naked, I walked over to the shower and turned it on, making sure the water temperature was just right.

  As I waited, goosebumps decorated my skin, making me shiver. I hugged myself, wishing for a moment that my arms were someone else’s, that someone would hug me tight and never let me go.

  The thought just made me sadder than I already was and I quickly climbed into the shower, letting the water ease away the chill I felt deep inside my bones. I turned up the heat, nearly scalding myself, but still, it wasn’t enough to melt away the icebox that had replaced my heart.

  I always thought I was stronger than this, that I would be able to handle anything that life threw my way, but what David did was so unexpected that it completely derailed me. I guess, in a way, I was still in a state of shock, trying to figure out what had really happened.

  Did I do something wrong? Was I the reason he had gone for another woman? Was there something I could have done that would have prevented him from cheating on me?

  Every day, these questions haunted me, making it hard for me to function. It wasn’t as bad as the first couple of days, but it was still crippling.

  I had to get over this.

  But, it was hard. So, so, hard.

  I closed my eyes, trying to push away the dark thoughts that threatened to overwhelm me. Leaning against the shower wall, I took a deep breath, trying to calm down.

  Finally, after quite a while, I opened my eyes. The hot water had vanished and I was now standing under a frigid stream. My goosebumps intensified as my nipples became so hard they could be used to cut diamonds.

  Quickly, I shut it off, my fingers shaking. I snatched a towel and wrapped it around my body, heading into the bedroom. Luckily, I found my flannel pajamas and put them on. A little bit warmer, I jumped under the covers, my hair still damp from my failed shower.

  I thought about drying it, but I really couldn’t be bothered. Instead, I settled into the bed, bringing the blankets up to my chin, trying to ward off the chill that still lingered in my body.

  Eventually, I fell asleep, my exhaustion finally catching up to me.

  ***

  It took a while, but at some point, the dream world consumed me, bringing me back to the night club.

  Only, this time I was all alone.

  There was a single light coming from the dancefloor, illuminating a rose. I walked toward it, picking it up once I was close enough. Its stem was devoid of any thorns so I ran my finger along the smooth surface, but somehow, I still got cut, a drop of my blood falling to the ground, splashing onto the wooden floor like a plump raindrop.

  Before I could tend to my wound, I heard a dog barking. I turned around, seeing Roxie sitting on the bar, her tail wagging. “Roxie! Girl! What are you doing up there?” I ran toward her, but she bolted, knocking over wine glasses with her large bushy tail.

  I threw the rose onto the floor as if it was the reason I was running so slowly. The petals exploded, shooting into the air before they dove in front of me, drawing out a never-ending path. Hearing Roxie’s bark coming from that direction, I followed the rose petals. “Roxie!” I called after her, but her barks kept getting further and further away.

  And then, they stopped altogether.

  The room began to spin, the rose petals swirling around me like a wild vortex. I tried to see through the wall of red, but it was impossible. Slowly, they were closing in on me, leaving me with no place to go.

  Suddenly, someone stuck out their hand. It was eerie seeing a hand without a body, but I knew it was the only way I was going to get out of this mess. Despite my fear, I grabbed it.

  It pulled me out of the prison of petals and into the arms of a muscular individual. He smothered me in his embrace, his hands resting on
my lower back, teasing me with the possibilities. My hormones surged, my body yearning for the intimacy I hadn’t felt in so long. I leaned into him, my instincts taking over even as my brain told me to stop.

  “I knew it wouldn’t be long before you fell for me.” A husky voice broke the silence, wrapping around my mind, making it impossible for me to think clearly.

  Slowly, I lifted my head, looking at the man that held me in his arms.