All In: Betting on a Full House (Gambling With Love) Read online

  My eyes roamed back over her small form in front of me. Curled up, sleeping naked in a ball, she looked younger and even fragile. She was petite, leaner and a few inches shorter than Lauren, with a golden brown tan, and long, dark brown wavy hair, whereas Lauren's was light blonde and stick straight. God, I needed to stop comparing Jess to Lauren and just get the fuck over her already.

  Lauren wanted Caleb, and it was obvious that we'd been drifting apart ever since Caleb came home from basic training for the Army Reserves. Hell, how she felt about him had even been at the back of my mind the entire time he’d been gone, when we first started having an affair behind his back.

  I needed to get over Lauren and let her go, but it wasn’t that easy. Whenever I closed my eyes I saw her perfect face and beautiful smile, then I heard her say she loved me, the “but not as much as him” hanging unsaid and unnecessary. I hadn’t been enough for her no matter how hard I tried, or how much I loved her. She hadn’t felt the same, and it was a shitty fucking feeling. I'd been rejected and quickly discarded from the first woman I'd ever loved. The only woman I’d ever loved.

  Now that it was morning I sort of regretted how I’d used Jess and her apartment as a way to try and ease the pain. But she knew the score since she was Lauren's best friend, and Jess didn’t seem to have any problem with being just a rebound hook up.

  I had no idea the woman was raising her younger brother. Guess that explained why she worked where she did, dancing naked. For some reason it bothered me, sort of like how I’d always hated how shitty Lauren’s childhood had been growing up. Neither of them deserved what life had apparently thrown at them at such a young age. I was once again thankful for my parents and a normal, happy childhood.

  I pulled my arm away from Jess's waist, since I was now awake and it was daylight. Regardless of how good she felt in my arms, there was no more pretending she was someone else, or that she wanted anything more than orgasms from me. I stretched my arms over my head then stood up from the bed to start dressing.

  Today was Lauren’s birthday and we’d all be meeting up at Shooter’s tonight to celebrate with her. I wasn’t sure which was worse, seeing her or not seeing her. Seeing her with Caleb was excruciating, but being without her entirely was still unthinkable.

  Finding my shirt and pants, then putting on my shoes and socks, I was ready to head out the door. Jess was still asleep even though it was almost noon, and she looked too beautiful and peaceful to wake. Since I didn’t see any paper or pens lying around I pulled out my phone and sent her a text, “Leaving your place and didn’t want to wake you. See you tonight at Shooter’s for Lauren's birthday? Thanks for last night.”

  I hesitated over the last part, wondering if it would just piss her off, but sent it anyway.

  I was so preoccupied with my thoughts on the phone in my hand that I almost collided with the teenage boy in the narrow hallway.

  “Shit, sorry,” I told him, taking a step back out of his way. The kid was almost as tall as me, but lanky in his jeans and band tee, still apparently in that awkward stage of development. His dark hair and golden eyes were similar to Jess’s, and like I had noticed in her eyes, his too held an almost haunted, anxious look.

  “Sorry, I, ah, didn’t know Jess had company last night,” he said, then gave me an assessing look. I got the feeling he wasn’t thrilled to see me leaving his sister’s bedroom. Not that I could blame him.

  “Does she have a lot of overnight company?” After the question slipped from my lips I wondered why I even gave a shit, and wanted to take the words back.

  “No. She’s not a whore just because she works in a strip club,” he snapped, crossing his arms over his chest. The gesture reminded me of when Jess had done the same thing, trying to look pissed off last night.

  “Whoa! I didn’t say she was.”

  “That’s what you were implying. But just so you know, you're the only guy she's ever let stay over. She doesn’t even date.”

  Damn, that was really surprising. The woman was gorgeous, and could bring home any man she wanted. So why the hell had she picked me? Because I was a pity fuck? Goddamn it.

  “Why doesn't she date? It can't be for a lack of interest.”

  He shrugged and sighed. “I don’t know, but I sort of figure it’s because of me.”

  I guess I could see why she wouldn't want to expose a teenage boy to a random parade of hookups. I wondered what else she's sacrificed other than her social life to do right by him.

  “Well, that’s good to know. It’s Jonathan, right?”

  “Yeah. So who the hell are you?” he asked, and I smiled at his attempt to be a protective brother.

  “Tyler Evans.” I held out my hand to him and he shook it. “I’m a police officer with GPD.”

  “Oh. Are you the one that got shot?”

  “Ah, yeah, I am actually.” I'd pulled a speeder over a few weeks ago and had been shot in the shoulder and thigh for my trouble. The asshole had tried to get away from being taken in on some outstanding warrants. His trial was coming up in a few weeks, and since I’d shot him too, the outcome could really help make or break my fledgling career as a police officer. The media had been hounding me for weeks, and I knew the publicity would only get worse the closer we got to the trial.

  “Yeah, Lauren told us about what happened. And weren’t you like screwing her and your best friend at the same time just a few days ago?” he asked.

  I barked out a laugh at his audacity. “You’re a bold son a bitch, but that’s really none of your business.” The truth was we had participated in a few threesomes, but Caleb and I had only fucked Lauren at the same time, and never even thought about touching each other.

  “It’s my business if you’re now screwing my sister. Unless you’re going to tell me you just slept in the same bed last night with pillows separating your side from hers?”

  “Okay, I’m going to head on out and let your sister deal with your interrogation. Hell, you should consider joining the force when you turn twenty-one.”

  “Nah, I'm planning to go to law school.”

  “Damn, that’s an ambitious goal…but you seem like a smart enough kid to pull it off.”

  “Thanks,” he said, sounding somewhat embarrassed.

  “Sure. See ya,” I told him and quickly completed the walk of shame to my car.

  On the drive home my mind was going through everything that had happened over the past seventy-two hours. After a few nights of threesomes with Lauren and Caleb I’d gone to the strip club with Caleb to help Lauren out with her school tuition by renting out the expensive champagne room for the night.

  Lauren screwed Caleb on the couch in the same room where things escalated quickly between me and Jess. Jess eventually asked Lauren's permission to go down on me, then I ended up fucking Jess. Later that night Jess came home with me and we went at it for hours, having mind-blowing sex until we couldn’t move. Then the next night Lauren came home from work, got drunk, and fucked me because she didn’t want to deal with how she felt about Caleb and her commitment issues. So, Caleb gave her an ultimatum. He pointed out that he loved her more than me because I'd fucked someone else, and that she didn't really love me since she hadn’t cared that I’d fucked someone else. Lauren didn’t have to even consider who she wanted, and although I knew Caleb had been right in his logic, I'd never admit that shit to him.

  So, yesterday I found an apartment and told Lauren and Caleb I'd be moving out at the end of the week. I couldn't wait to get out of that fucking house. Seeing her all happy with him, and having to listen to them fuck was like getting shot all over again. Only this time it was in my chest, and there was no way a doctor could sew up and heal this sort of wound.

  Lauren and Caleb’s cars were both in the driveway when I pulled up. Shit. I groaned before making myself go inside. I loved them both, but didn’t want to see either of them for the next few weeks. Or months. Hell it might take years. I’d lost my girlfriend and best friend in one swoop, and wheneve
r I was around them now I felt like the biggest fucking loser in the world.

  Nevertheless, I still lived here, so I unlocked the door and went inside.

  Lauren was standing in the kitchen cooking … something. The woman might be sexy, sweet and smart, but cooking was definitely not here forte.

  “Hey, Tyler,” she said when she looked up and saw me. Her expression was part sad and part pitying. Damn it.

  “Hey, happy birthday.”

  “Thanks,” she said with a smile, looking like she should be on the big screen instead of in our small kitchen trying not to burn something. She was wearing the sunflower necklace I'd given to her yesterday morning. It was an early birthday present, and sort of a parting gift after she told me she wanted Caleb instead of me.

  Speak of the devil. Caleb, my best friend for more than twelve years, came wandering into the living room about that time and nodded at me in greeting. “Hey, Ty.”

  “Hey.”

  I knew by the look on his face that he couldn’t wait to have me gone. I didn’t take it personally. He just wanted a real chance with Lauren, without me around as a possible temptation. I should be flattered by his concern, and that he thought I was still a threat. Right. It just reminded me of how close I’d been to having her.

  The months Lauren and I lived alone together as a couple while Caleb was gone had been amazing. Being there for each other every day, fucking each other’s brains out every night, unable to get enough of each other. Rinse and repeat when the sun came up. Right up until the day Caleb came home and found her in my bed. We’d beaten the shit out of each other, then later that night I’d gotten shot. Twice. My life was one shit storm after another.

  Fuck. I realized I was staring at Lauren as all those previous images flooded my brain and my cock.

  “So, Caleb, when do you have to report?” I asked, needing a distraction and using the one thing I knew scared the fuck out of Lauren – Caleb leaving her. He'd signed up for the Army Reserves before they met, which meant he was going to be gone one weekend a month for the next several years.

  Caleb cursed before he answered through clenched teeth. “Next weekend.”

  “Oh, and I’ll already be moved out by then, so Lauren will be here alone.”

  She looked up wide eyed from the stove, and then I felt bad playing on her fear of abandonment.

  “Don’t worry, Lauren. Just give me a call if you get lonely and I can be here in ten minutes.”

  “She’ll be fine for a weekend,” Caleb growled.

  “Hope so,” I said, wishing for the opposite…like her getting so lonely she invited me over, then begged me to fuck her. Shit, I was delusional. I hauled myself to my room before I caused any more trouble.

  Chapter Three

  Jess

  I walked into Shooter’s with mixed emotions. I wanted to hang out with Lauren, and I really wanted to see Tyler. The problem was I didn’t want to see them together, or see him making sad, puppy dog eyes at her.

  Looking around I spotted the happy couple, Lauren and Caleb, shooting pool at a back table. Two other guys were apparently playing with them, waiting their turns on stools, but I didn’t see Tyler. Noticing the eyes of the two men on me, I automatically put an extra sway in my hips as I walked over.

  Lauren smiled when she looked up and saw me. “Hey Jess! Thanks for coming,” she said, heading over to give me a hug.

  “Happy birthday, girl,” I told her, handing her the card in my hand. “It’s a gift certificate for a mani/pedi, but the catch is I get to go with you and you have to spill all your naughty stories.”

  “Deal,” she said with a smile. “Thank you. Now come over and meet Dylan and Will. Guys, this is my best friend, Jess. She’s also an exotic dancer.”

  The first man I noticed had the whole preppy hotness thing going on. Every single inch of his mile high basketball player size, from his big feet to his thick, sandy blonde hair was mighty nice.

  My gaze finally went to the other guy, who was also really damn cute, and probably only a few inches taller than me. His dark hair was wavy, and he had intelligent green eyes behind sexy black-rimmed glasses, Clark Kent style. Both men dropped their attractive jaws while they looked me up and down, nicely upping my confidence level.

  Caleb laughed at his boys' reactions. “Sorry guys, but I think her and Tyler are seeing each other or … something.”

  “Or something,” I clarified. “We’ve just fucked a few times, it’s not like we’re dating.”

  I hoped I sounded more nonchalant about it than I actually was. I’d been pissed when I woke up and saw he’d left without saying goodbye this morning. He’d texted me, but he’d still jumped up and ran out the door, thanking me for the sex like I was a whore performing a service for him.

  Lauren gave me a concerned look, but I ignored her and saddled up to Will and Dylan. “So which of you is Will and which is Dylan?”

  “I’m Will,” said the cute, dark haired one with a big sexy smile, holding out his hand for me to shake. I took it then turned to the big blonde one, Dylan. His hand was so large I couldn’t shake it properly, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he had something else I wouldn’t be able to wrap my hand around.

  “Nice to meet you both. So, what’s a girl gotta do to get a drink around here?”

  I laughed when they both jumped up from their stools so fast the two vacated pieces of furniture almost hit the ground.

  “What would you like?” Will asked.

  “How about you both surprise me with a shot of your choice?”

  “Done,” Dylan said and then they were off to the races.

  Lauren and Caleb were both staring at me with a raised eyebrow as I giggled. It was freaky how in sync they were.

  “What?” I asked as I hopped up onto one of the abandoned stools. “Your boy Tyler made it clear we were just screwing, so don’t look at me like that.”

  “Fine. We just don’t want to see him get hurt,” Lauren said, causing a laugh to burst from my lips.

  “Ha. You’re so fucking funny. I think you two have hurt him more than anyone else ever could.”

  “Hey guys, how’s it going?” Tyler of course chose that moment to walk up. He looked back and forth between us and we all dodged his gaze.

  “Hey, Ty.”

  “Hey, Tyler.”

  Caleb and Lauren greeted him like they hadn’t just torn his heart out and stomped on it a day before.

  “Hey, Jess,” he said, eying my short black dress and black knee high boots, before climbing up in Will’s vacant seat beside me.

  “That's Will's seat,” I told him, snippier than I intended.

  “He can find another one,” he replied coolly.

  “Well, I’ll feel bad since he got up to go get me a shot.”

  “Why’s he buying you a shot?”

  “Why do you care?”

  “Oh for fuck’s sake,” he said, rubbing his hand over his face, in annoyance or frustration.

  Dylan and Will made their way back from the bar about that time, said hello to their buddy Tyler, and each handed me a shot.

  I took Dylan’s first and threw it back, scalding my throat.

  “Jesus," I coughed. “What the hell was that?”

  “Fireball,” the tall man said with a blush spreading across his cheeks.

  “That’s some strong shit.”

  I took a yellow shot from Will and threw it back, then licked my lips.

  “Um. That was awesome, Will. Lemon drop?” I asked.

  “Damn right. I tried to talk him out of the Fireball,” he said with his big dimpled smile.

  “Thanks. Keep those coming and I’ll be dancing on one of these tables before the night is over, and begging you to take me home.”

  “What the fuck?” Tyler yelled, standing up from his chair. Will took the opportunity to steal it back from him, hopping up on it quickly. I couldn't help my laugh, which only pissed Tyler off even more.

  “What’s wrong, Tyler?” I asked
sweetly.

  “Why are you acting like a bitch?”

  I gasped at his insult, and slammed my shot glass down on the high-top table. “Did you just call me a bitch?”

  “I didn’t call you a bitch, I asked why you were acting like one.”

  “So drinking shots from your friends makes me a bitch?”

  “No, leading them on does.”

  “I’m not leading them on. I’m a single girl, and I can date and fuck whoever I want, including one or both of your really cute friends, if they’re interested.”

  "Oh, we're definitely interested," Dylan said, and Tyler looked like he wanted to hit the tall man.

  "Not a chance in hell,” Tyler snapped at his friend.

  “What? Are you jealous, Tyler? I thought you said we were just 'screwing around', so why do you care if I screw someone else?”

  “You’re brother said that you don’t screw around.”

  “What? When did you talk to my brother?” I asked, caught off-guard by the mention of Jonathan.

  “This morning, when I was leaving your bed,” he said loud enough for everyone around to hear.

  “Oh.”

  “Yeah, I ran into him in the hallway and he said I'm the only guy you've ever brought home.”

  “Maybe I just like to fuck guys at their places.”

  “No, you don’t,” he said, shaking his head with a cocky grin, and taking a step closer toward my chair.

  “How would you know?”

  “Because you were tight as fuck our first time. You hadn’t been with anyone in a long, long time. Are you sure I didn't actually pop your cherry?”

  My jaw came unhinged that he'd say that in public, especially since it was the truth. Before him the other night, I hadn't fucked anyone in probably a year or more. After dealing with perverts all weekend, and getting paid to blow men to keep a roof over our head, sex had mostly lost its appeal. At least until this sexy bastard came along.