The Big Gamble Read online

  “What?” She cocks a confused eyebrow up at me.

  “What part of get out don’t you understand?” I bark callously.

  “Please, Brian let me stay. I can make you feel better.” She reaches for me again, but I push her away. I can’t deal with her right now.

  “No, just get your shit and get out.” I storm into my bedroom and pick up Red’s clothes, tossing them at her. “I’m going to take a shower and when I get out you better not be here.” I slam the bathroom door shut, hearing a muffled, “You’re an asshole,” come through the door.

  Tell me something I don’t know, sweetheart.

  I drop the sheet around my waist and step into the shower, turning on the water, the cold water washing over me. I lean against the shower wall, resting my head on the cold tiles. Closing my eyes, her face appears again. Those damn big blue eyes and those tits. God, I just want to live between them. And her lips, full and luscious. Next thing I know I’m rock hard. No woman has had that type of effect on me in a long time, but why does it have to be her? My hand grips my cock, stroking slowly as I picture her on her knees in front of me, fucking me with that big mouth of hers. Looking up at me with those soul piercing eyes as I ram my dick down her throat. That will teach her to make demands of me, you crazy bitch.

  “Oh fuck,” I cry out slamming my hand against the tile wall as I come in my other hand. My breathing stills and her image fades away. As my mind starts to clear, I realize she was the first woman not to fall for my usual charm. She pushed me away and as much as I want to hate her it only makes me want her more.

  “Fuck you sun,” I groan, peeling my eyes open. The bright morning sun hitting me straight in the retinas.

  Note to self—

  Buy curtains for the wall of windows I now hate.

  I pull back the blankets and sit up from the couch. My muscles sore from sleeping on the stiff cushions. After I stormed off after my run in with the asshole, I crashed on my couch to avoid listening to him and his skank bang against my bedroom wall. I couldn’t take another night of it.

  I stretch my arms above my head, flashes of the night’s argument causing me to cringe. God, why did I have to go over there? I’ve never been one to think before I leap when I’m in full rage mode. A lack of sleep and stress about being behind on my new book definitely didn’t help. A part of me felt awful for how I’d acted and maybe the slap to his face was a bit dramatic, but a bigger part of me thought the cocky prick had it coming. That was the third night in a row that he and the skank train had almost come crashing through my bedroom wall, and I was tired of it. And the nerve of him, telling me I was jealous that it wasn’t me he was fucking. So what that I haven’t had sex in over two years, and that hearing his moans through my wall drenches my panties. Doesn’t mean I want to fuck that asshole.

  Well, maybe it does.

  I get up from the couch and head to the bathroom and that’s when I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror. My dark brown hair is a tangled mess, dark circles under my eyes and, oh my God! In my rage, I’d managed to put on pants, but neglected to put a shirt on. I look down at my sheer pink bra, my nipples on full display. That explains why he couldn’t stop staring at my tits. Could this get any fucking worse?

  I splash my face with some cold water and as I do an image of his lean muscular chest taunts me. The sweat glistening off his tanned muscles and that V, that fucking V. God help me, I wanted to run my tongue along every delicious inch of him and see what was hiding under that sheet. I feel a familiar ache between my thighs. One I haven’t felt in over two years. I look down between my legs.

  “Really? You couldn’t do this for the sweet, cute cop, Ryder from the coffee shop? No. You have to come alive for that asshat next door. You’re such little bitch.” You’re losing it, Brooke. You’re a grown ass woman yelling at your vagina. I splash more cold water on my face, trying to calm my now overheated body.

  I slip out of my clothes and step into the shower. Turning on the water the cold hits me like an icy wave making me squeal while my hands fumble with the knobs finally finding the hot water. I stand under the spray, letting the warmth wash over me. Closing my eyes and he’s back, pressing me against the wall, pinning my hands above my head in one of his strong hands while the other teases between my legs. Lips tasting my neck. I quickly turn off the hot water, letting the cold water shock me back into reality. Get it together Brooke.

  I emerge from my apartment an hour later, feeling somewhat human. I managed to hide the dark circles under my eyes with a few coats of concealer and tamed my wild locks into a sleek ponytail. I’m dressed in my favorite pink pencil dress and black heels, ready for my meeting with my publisher. I peer over at the asshole’s door, the night’s events bringing back a mixture of rage and embarrassment and I stomp off before running into him again.

  Stepping out of my building, the streets are already bustling with morning commuters. The air is cool and smells like the forest after a spring rain. The morning sun is now hiding behind gray clouds and I’m feeling complete bliss. All my friends in New York thought I was crazy for moving to Seattle.

  “All it does is rain there.” I can still hear them in my head.

  But I don’t care, I love the rain and I love this city. I have since I was nine, when on one of the few family vacations my father took my brother Hunter and I on was here to visit my Aunt Rita. He took us fishing down by the pier and to eat crab legs at the Crab Pot, where a seagull attacked my brother for his crab legs. It was one of the happiest times I can remember after my mom died.

  I loved living in New York, don’t get me wrong, but without Jake it didn’t feel like home anymore. The moment I stepped off the plane here in Seattle I was home. There’s a small town feel about it here. The people are warm and welcoming and it’s just what I needed. New York is one of the best cities in the world, but it’s hard and unforgiving and can eat alive if you aren’t careful. I needed to escape before it devoured me.

  I round the corner, smiling when I spot my favorite little coffee shop, Lucy’s. I quicken my pace, needing a massive dose of caffeine in the form of a vanilla latte. I open the door, the strand of bells hanging above the door announces my arrival. Stepping inside, the scent of fresh coffee and blueberry scones fills my senses, making me hum in delight. The morning rush has past and there’s just a couple people on laptops sitting by the windows. As I make my way to the counter the bright eyed and perky owner Lucy, pops up from the pastry case, greeting me with her warm smile.

  “Good morning, sweetness. Your usual?” she asks.

  “Yes please, and this time make it a triple.”

  I discovered Lucy’s coffee shop one afternoon while out sightseeing in the Capital Hill neighborhood. I’d gotten turned around and found myself completely lost with the rain beginning to fall. I ducked into her quaint little shop to wait out the rain and figure out where the hell I was. It was warm and tranquil. The walls were covered with artwork and photographs from local artists, and along one wall there were bookcases lined with books and funky little knick-knacks for sale. A bay of windows filled the front of the shop, and if you looked hard enough, you could see the top of the Space Needle. In the middle of the shop stood the coffee bar with pastry cases replete with handmade cupcakes, scones, cookies and macaroons in every color of the rainbow. I instantly fell in love with the place.

  “Rough night I take it?” She hands me my latte and plate with two blueberry scones then joins me at my table.

  Over the past six months, Lucy and I have become good friends. She’s a petite, goofy brunette with these big brown eyes and a sweet smile that has all the men drooling over themselves who came into her coffee shop. She recognized me immediately on that first day, having read all my books. After her initial fangirl moment, and having me autograph her entire collection of my books, we started chatting and discovered we had quite a lot in common—both having lost the great loves of our lives. She lost her husband four years ago in Iraq during his final tour
of duty. She moved back to Seattle wanting to raise her six-year-old daughter, Bailey near her hometown where her family still lives. She’s become a shoulder for me to lean on now that I was away from my brother Hunter.

  “You could say that. Remember the neighbor I was telling you about, Brian.”

  “Oh yeah, the manwhore.”

  “So we finally met last night.” I can’t even hide my disdain as the words come out of my mouth.

  “Oh no, what happened?” She flashes me a concerned look.

  I start rehashing the story of my run-in with Brian, starting with him answering the door in nothing but a sheet, the argument, him telling me I was jealous that he wasn’t fucking me. As soon as I get to the part about me showing up at his door half naked, Lucy bursts into a full hardy laugh.

  “Thanks for the support, friend. My nipples were out for the whole damn world to see and all you can do is laugh.” I huff before taking a sip of my coffee.

  “What? It’s damn funny. And will make for a great story to tell your children about how you met their father.” She chuckles, stealing a piece of my scone.

  “Screw you and stop stealing my food.” I pull my plate of scones away from her greedy hands. “What the hell makes you think I remotely like this asshole?”

  “Well, because this is the most fired up I’ve seen you since meeting you. Your mouth might be telling me you hate him, but considering how flushed you are just talking about this guy tells me otherwise,” she says in a condescending tone.

  “This is rage. N…not I need his d…dick in me,” I stumble over my words, finding it hard to form a coherent sentence. I can feel my body growing hotter making it more difficult to plead my case of how much this guy irritates me. “He’s an asshole, and I don’t want him anywhere near me or my panties.”

  Liar. You big fat liar Brooke.

  “I was just messing with you, but damn he really did get under your skin. And you so want him to rip you out of those pretty little panties of yours,” she teases. “I like this flustered side of you. It’s rather entertaining.”

  “Oh my God, can we please just change the subject? I can’t go to my meeting with my publisher acting like an irate crazy person. I did enough of that last night.”

  “Oh shit, I forgot you had that meeting today. Have you been able to get anything down on paper?”

  “Not a fucking word and I’m freaking out.”

  My publisher has been calling and emailing me for the past three weeks, trying to get a status on my next book which was a year behind schedule. After Jake’s death, they were patient with me, giving me time to grieve. But now their patience is wearing thin. Bennett Publishing is one of the top publishing houses in the country and five years ago they took a chance on me and my dark erotic novels. We had the ideal partnership, I wrote them gold and they left me alone to do my job, but now that my dirty mind’s coming up dry they’re not so warm and fuzzy anymore.

  I foolishly thought that with this move, not only would I find myself, but I’d also find my muse again. Boy was I wrong if anything my writer’s block has only gotten worse. Most nights I stay up staring at my blank computer screen drinking wine until I pass out on my keyboard.

  My muse came to me when I met Jake, maybe she’s also died with him?

  Lucy slides her hand over mine and gives me a sincere smile. “I know you’ve been through a lot since losing Jake. I for one know what it’s like to have to pick up the pieces of your life after losing the love of your life. In the short time I’ve gotten to know you, I can tell you’re a badass lady, who’ll come out of this ten times stronger. You will find your muse again, I know you will. You got this, babe.”

  “Thank you, Lucy. I hope you’re right.” I return her smile, letting her words sink in. Lucy my sweet, ball busting, optimistic new friend. She’s definitely going to be good for my ego.

  “I know I’m right. How about you come blow off some steam with Lucky and me tonight? Ryder will be there too.” She playfully wiggles her eyebrows at me. “I’m sure he’d be happy to help take your mind off last night and your meeting.”

  I roll my eyes at her statement. Ryder is a sweet, gorgeous as hell cop with the Seattle PD that I met a few weeks ago in Lucy’s shop. He has big blue puppy dog eyes, and from what I can tell in his uniform he’s built like a fucking God. But sadly he did nothing in the downstairs department for me because apparently little Brooke only has a thing for assholes now.

  “I don’t know how much fun I will be.”

  “Come on Brooke, just one drink, please?” She batted her big brown eyes at me.

  “How can I say no to that? Okay fine, one drink.”

  Lucy squeals in delight, throwing her arms around my neck squeezing me tight. Damn she has a strong grip for such a tiny little thing. “I promise you’ll have a great time.”

  “You’re reckless and a danger to this entire department,” the Captain snarls, pointing an angry finger in my direction.

  I sit back in my chair, arms folded in front of my chest and a relaxed smirk on my face. I have this speech completely memorized. I’ve heard it at least once a week since I transferred to the second precinct four years ago. Oh wait, here comes my favorite part.

  “There are rules and procedures, Gamble. If you can’t follow them, I won’t hesitate to fire your ass.”

  He’s been saying that for years and I’m still fucking here. I’m the best damn cop the Seattle PD has. They will never fire me. I’ve wanted to be a cop since birth. My grandfather was a cop, all my aunts are cops and my dad before he was gunned down, was a cop. It’s in my blood, it’s what I was always meant to do and God damn I’m fucking good at it.

  “Come on Cap, you and I both know if you were in my shoes and had seen what that animal did to his wife and daughter, you would’ve knocked him on his ass too.” To be honest, that piece of human waste deserved more than just getting knocked out after what he did to his wife and eight-year-old daughter. He’s fucking lucky my partner pulled me off of him when he did or he’d be in a body bag right now. I’ve been a cop for six years and I’ve seen some pretty fucked up shit, but when it comes to someone abusing women, and especially kids, that’s where I draw the fucking line.

  “Any officer in here would’ve wanted to do what you did if they’d come onto the scene that you and Callahan had. But they would’ve had the restraint not to knock the guy out while he was still in cuffs. Gamble you’re a great cop, one of our best. But you have to start using your head because one of these days I’m not going to be able to save your ass. For now you’re suspended for three days.”

  “Are you fucking kidding me, Cap? This is fucking bullshit,” I hiss standing up from my chair, knocking it to the ground. The anger is surging through my body. How dare he tell me how to do my fucking job? I eat, sleep and breathe law enforcement, so I bend the rules every once in a while. But at least I get the job done, unlike this fucking paper pusher who hasn’t seen action since he sold out to be a desk jockey.

  “You brought this one yourself, Gamble. You’re lucky it’s just a suspension. Now go home and cool off,” he barks back at me.

  I flash him a nasty glare before turning to leave. Slamming the door behind me, I storm off to the locker room.

  “This is fucking bullshit,” I growl pulling open my locker. Grabbing my gym bag out and throwing it across the empty room, I watch as it slides to the feet of my partner Ryder.

  “I see your meeting with the Captain went well?” He chuckles, picking up my bag and setting it on the wooden bench in front of the lockers.

  “I got fucking suspended for three days because I’m the only cop around this fucking precinct with the balls do what needs to be done!”

  “I don’t know why you’re getting your panties in a bunch about getting suspended. It’s not exactly a new thing for you. You’ve been getting your ass handed to you since we were kids.”

  Ryder and I have been best friends since kindergarten when I asked if he wanted to go lay u
nder the monkey bars on the playground and look up the girls’ dresses. That was the first day we got sent to the principal’s office. From that day forward we were known as double trouble. Teachers would beg the principle to put us in separate classes. He’s become like a brother to me and there’s no one I’d trust more to have my back than Ryder. But he can also be a giant pain in the ass.

  “Fuck you, man,” I growl.

  “Hey, don’t get pissed at me. You know I’m behind you on this.”

  “I’m sorry man.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I know it’s been a rough couple of days for you. First you get slapped by your neighbor then you get suspended.” His laugh echoes through the locker room.

  “I told you not to bring that crazy bitch up again.” I made the mistake of telling Ryder about my run-in with my neighbor and he hasn’t been able to drop it.

  “What? It’s fucking hilarious. Finally a woman who didn’t fall for the Gamble charm. If I ever meet this woman, I’m going to ask for her autograph.”

  I roll my eyes in annoyance. “If I were you, I’d stay as far away from her as possible. She’s fucking crazy.”

  “Why are you getting so bent out of shape about this chick? I’ve literally seen a woman knee you in the balls and you just laughed it off.” His eyes light up like a light bulb has just gone off in his head. “Oh, I get it now. She said no and that bugs you. No one has ever said no to the great Gamble. Which of course, pisses you off to no end and I’m sure it only makes you want her more.”

  “Plenty of women have said no to me before, so your logic is off base,” I scoff.