High Stakes: A Dark Romance Read online

  “So,” I said. “Should we go find your friends?”

  The job must have been wearing me down, because I didn’t want to take anything from her. We came from completely different backgrounds, but we shared a lot of similarities. We both had a love for adventure and the need to branch out from where we grew up and make something of ourselves.

  “We could,” she said slowly, “or, we could go up to my room before the others get back.”

  I couldn’t help but grin a wide, genuine grin. The wine must have gone to my head because the thought of getting under the covers with Amanda was extremely enticing.

  Chapter 2―Amanda

  The second I suggested going back to my room, I regretted it. I was sweet, boring Amanda. I wasn’t the type to bring guys back to my place. I was the friend who cheered others on and waited at home for the stories when they went off on their sexual conquests.

  It was just such a rare occurrence that I couldn’t possibly pass it up. In front of me was an unbelievably hot guy who was incredibly cool. I’d wanted to tear his clothes off from the minute he’d approached us at the pool in the afternoon. In a day, I’d go back to Texas, and he’d eventually go back to London, and we’d never see each other again. I needed to see where things could go in the meantime.

  Much to my dismay, I wasn’t great with guys. I grew up in a community where my dad had a reputation for being a bit intimidating. When you are raised around oil in Texas, no one tries to fuck with the oil tycoon’s daughter. Dating was not available to me until I left for college.

  I went to a university not far from where I grew up, so my family’s reputation followed me. In hindsight, I should have moved out east or somewhere farther away, but I was nervous about being away from my friends and family. If people didn’t recognize me from sight, then once they heard my name called in class, they knew who I was.

  Of course, there were some guys who wanted to go out with me because they knew who I was. This didn’t happen a lot, but when you’re a guy working on an art degree with tens of thousands of dollars in student loans, you get desperate. I was pretty good at sniffing the gold diggers out, as few as there were.

  Even then, I didn’t garner much interest when it came to men. As a very average looking girl, there wasn’t a lot about me to make me stand out. My friends, on the other hand, never had problems finding dates. Maybe I should have chosen friends based on how they would make me look in comparison.

  Then, once I left college, I went back home. I didn’t want to, but I didn’t have a lot of options at the time. I took some design courses after I got my degree, but I had a hard time getting my designs out there. After a while, I just sort of gave up. My dad let me “work” for him, which involved very little work. I basically got paid for being at home and occasionally assisting him with business when necessary.

  Since I moved back home, I’ve had to watch my siblings and nearly all of my friends find love, get married, and start a family. I wanted all those things, but I needed to find the right guy first.

  My problem was that I was too shy. I was a follower, not a leader. If I wanted to, I could totally walk up to a guy and get him to hook up with me. I was too afraid to do that, though. This all led me to be in my late twenties without any real experience with men. It was my biggest source of shame.

  The minute that Josh left us at the pool, my friends basically wouldn’t stop demanding that I try to hook up with him. They said that I had waited long enough and that I needed to hook up with someone soon. I never wanted to disappoint anyone, so I reluctantly told them that I would try. They told me that I had better have good stories for them by tomorrow morning.

  I was both excited and terrified to be taking such a hot guy back to my hotel room. I wasn’t sure if I could give him what he wanted. I did want to lose my virginity, but I felt like I didn’t know what I was doing. Luckily, if I did manage to embarrass myself really badly, I wouldn’t have to see him again.

  I had given up on the hope of losing it with someone special. I was getting to be too old for that. I figured once I finally met someone special, the first-time jitters would be out of my system and I’d be a little more experienced.

  We made it to the elevator before we started kissing. There was no one in there with us, and we had fifteen floors to go.

  I’m not even sure how it happened. We were just standing there one moment, and the next, we had slowly gravitated toward each other like magnets. By the time we hit the third floor, his hands were on my hips and my tongue was in his mouth.

  I couldn’t help but wonder if he was using me. He was so incredibly nice to me from the second he approached us at the pool. In my experience, no stranger was that kind. We had basically gone on a romantic date within hours of meeting. Something felt a little off.

  But with his body pressed against mine in the elevator, I didn’t care. He could be after my money, for all I cared. I didn’t want him to stop touching me.

  We managed to break away from each other long enough for me to slip my key into the door. We stumbled in, and I dropped my purse on the table and kicked off my shoes.

  “This is much nicer than my place,” he said, looking around the suite.

  “Let’s go into my room,” I suggested. “In case my friends come back.”

  Josh followed me into the separate bedroom, his finger tracing the long zipper on the back of my dress.

  “Can I help you out of that?” he asked.

  I flicked the lights off.

  “Oh.” He sighed from behind me. His breath on my neck sent a shiver down my spine. “I’ve been imagining what you would look like under that dress since we were in the restaurant.”

  “Really?” I scoffed. I wasn’t sure how comfortable I was letting some guy see all of me.

  “Absolutely,” he said in his sexy British accent. “You’re such a natural beauty.”

  I rolled my eyes, but he couldn’t see it in the dark.

  He slid his hand down my back. “And you’ve got an ass that won’t quit.”

  I laughed and turned to face him. I gently tugged at the bottom of his shirt. “You’re the one with the hot body,” I said. “Do you mind if I see a little more of it?”

  The neon lights from the window illuminated his smile. “Of course.”

  As he touched the top of my zipper, ready to release me from my dress, the door swung open, revealing a very surprised and very drunk Tanya.

  “Oh, my God,” she gasped. “I’m sorry.”

  She didn’t seem very sorry, judging by her laughter.

  “Do you want to come down to the casino with us?” she slurred. “I already ran out of cash, so I had to come back up here to get my emergency money.”

  “Doesn’t that defeat the point of emergency cash?” I said, getting annoyed at her presence.

  “Well, it is an emergency. I’m heating up at the craps table.”

  I shook my head. She was not getting the hint that I wanted to be left alone.

  “I might catch up with you later,” I said quietly. “I’ll have my phone if you need me.”

  “Fine,” she said. “What’s the point of you having all of that money if you aren’t going to gamble with us?”

  “I’ll see you later, Tanya,” I called after her.

  I had killed the mood with my shared hotel room and stupid friends who were too drunk to remember why they sent me off in the first place.

  “I’m so sorry about that,” I said, sitting down on the bed.

  “It’s no problem,” he said, taking my hands into his. “If you’re interested,” he said, “I have a place for us to go that will be a little more private.”

  “Where?”

  “I had to check out of the casino because my friends went back to London, but I’m currently staying with my American friends in their house. I’ll have to double check, but I think they’ll all be away for the rest of the night.”

  I hesitated for a moment. I never went to second locations with guys, espe
cially if I didn’t have my girls with me. On the other hand, I was pretty annoyed at Tanya and the others, so I decided that this one time wouldn’t hurt.

  “Okay,” I said. “Let’s go.”

  He smiled and took me by the hand. It felt like he wanted more than to just use me as a sex object. He was so kind to me, like he actually cared about me. He led me down to the parking garage and to a nice-looking car and opened the passenger door for me.

  “It’s my friend’s car,” he explained. “He’s nice enough to let me borrow it. He works at a bar, so he’s out really late at night.”

  I looked at the clock. It wasn’t even eleven. In Vegas, it might as well be the middle of the afternoon.

  My rational mind told me that I should probably just hang back at the casino and watch my friends get extremely drunk. I could corral them back to bed in the wee hours of the morning, and we’d leave town soon after with raging hangovers.

  But the adventurous side of me needed to be with Josh right now. I was in Las Vegas, and I rarely got opportunities to try new things like this. I had to go for it while I was able to.

  I fastened my seatbelt and prepared myself for the ride of a lifetime.

  Chapter 3―Joshua

  Before I got in the car, I sent a quick text message to Ben and Reese.

  Change of plans. I’m bringing Amanda back to our place. Try to stay away. If you have to come back, I’m London Josh right now, crashing with my American friends.

  “All right,” I said, getting into the car. “I just texted the other guys to warn them that I’m having a friend over.”

  “Hopefully, they have more chill than my friends do,” she said. “I’m so embarrassed.”

  “Don’t be,” I said, placing my hand on her thigh. I started the car and headed toward the house. I hoped that everything was at least presentable in the house. We didn’t have a lot of things, but you’d be surprised at how messy things could get with three guys in one house.

  Amanda was surprisingly quiet on the way back to my place. I was starting to get the feeling that she was a little nervous about coming home with me. I hoped she wouldn’t change her mind about hooking up with me. I was fully aroused back in her room, and I couldn’t bear the thought of going to bed alone tonight.

  “Are you okay?” I asked, stroking her leg.

  She nodded. “I was just thinking about what my friends are getting up to.”

  “You don’t want to go back, do you?”

  “No, not at all.” She smiled. “I want to be with you.”

  I slid my hand up higher, pushing her dress up with it. When my hand reached her upper thigh, I could have sworn I felt her legs part just a fraction of an inch. I think she was into me.

  Before I could get much further, we were already back at my place. I went inside first, looking for any evidence lying around that could contradict my story, but it was all clear.

  “Nice place,” she mused, walking around the kitchen and living room.

  “It’s not anything too special,” I said, “but it’s good enough for now. Do you want a glass of water?”

  “Do you have anything harder?” she asked shyly.

  I searched the cupboards and found a bottle of cheap vodka. I felt a little bad offering her something so nasty. I bet she wasn’t used to eating and drinking the same garbage that was a staple in my diet.

  “Is this okay?” I asked.

  She laughed. “Sure, it’ll take me back to my college years.”

  I poured two cups and added a little lemonade to both. We drank the concoction, wincing as the vodka burned our throats.

  That was all we needed to loosen our inhibitions. I grabbed her by the hand and pulled her into my bedroom. We started making out again, my hands resting on her beautiful behind. Her body reminded me of the marble statues found in so many casino lobbies. Unlike those knockoffs, Amanda was the real thing.

  We crawled on top of the covers, and I pressed my mouth to her neck. She smelled so sweet.

  “What do you like?” I murmured in her ear. “I want to make you feel good.”

  She paused for a second. “I don’t—” she said before becoming silent again.

  “Do you like it nice and slow, or do you like it rough?” I asked, feeling her out.

  “I haven’t had sex before,” she said, nearly whispering.

  I stopped, looking her in the eye. “You’re a virgin?”

  She groaned and covered her face with her hands. “I’m sorry, I’ve ruined everything. There is nothing sexy about a twenty-six-year-old virgin.”

  I licked my lips. I felt bad that she was upset, but she was cute when she was worried like this. We were basically the same age, but she was so innocent.

  “On the contrary,” I said. “I’m really into it. If you still want to, I promise to be gentle.”

  She looked at me in disbelief. “This isn’t some weird fetish of yours, is it?”

  I laughed. “No, I’m not that kind of guy. I can tell you’re a cool girl, and I think you deserve to have a little bit of fun.”

  “It’s not a big deal,” she said.

  “Of course it is,” I replied. I was starting to feel a little guilty. Not only was I taking large sums of money from her, but I was also taking her virginity. I felt like I was reaching a new low. She wasn’t like the other women we scammed.

  I ran out of the room and gathered a few things to make the experience better for her. I dug through my roommates’ drawers and closets before I had everything that we needed.

  Back in the room, I lit the mismatched candles and scattered them on different surfaces. Then, I mounted my iPod on the speaker and played some soft music. Real panty-dropping kind of stuff. I set the condoms and extra lube on my nightstand.

  “You don’t have to do all this for me,” she said.

  “I guess I don’t, but I want to.”

  “Okay,” she said, smiling again. “I know it’s obvious, but I’m really into you.”

  “Good. I’m pretty into you myself. Now, where were we?”

  I hovered over the top of her and kissed her again, sliding my hands behind her back to unzip her dress. I pulled it down her arms and past her feet.

  “Damn,” I said, getting a good look at her lacy undergarments. They looked like something off the runway. “This is even better than I imagined.”

  I could see her blush under the soft candlelight. “Your turn,” she said.

  I stripped down and joined her back on the mattress, turning onto my side to face her. I didn’t want to wait any longer, but I knew I needed to take it slow. The anticipation was dizzying.

  We made out for a while, while our hands explored each other’s body. I slid a hand down into her panties and she was sopping wet. Maybe I wouldn’t need the lube after all.

  I played with her for a while, checking her face to make sure it felt good. Her eyes were closed, and she had a slight smile on her face.

  “I know you’re a virgin,” I said, kissing her chest, “but you’ve had an orgasm before, right?”

  She blushed again and shook her head ever so slightly.

  “No? Well, you’ve just put an enormous amount of pressure on me,” I joked. “Let’s see if I can’t change that for you.”

  I slid her lacy panties off and knelt between her legs. She seemed a little unsure at first, but once I touched her again, she let me come closer. I kissed her inner thighs, closer and closer until I was right where I wanted to be.

  I could hear her breathing become deeper and faster as I stroked her. I slowly slid a few fingers inside her. I could already tell that she was tight. I couldn’t wait to feel her around me.

  I watched her grip the sides of the mattress, and it made me even more excited. I had the honor of making a girl come for the first time, and I didn’t take that responsibility lightly.

  She let out a shrill “Oh!” and I couldn’t help but crack a grin. I felt her muscles contracting around my fingers, telling me that I had done a good job.
I hoped she’d remember this night for years to come.

  “How was it?” I whispered, returning to eye level. In the pale candlelight, I could see how flushed she looked. She ran her fingers through her hair before dropping her hands by her head.

  “That was incredible,” she gushed. “This has turned out to be the best night.”

  I had to agree, and it wasn’t even midnight yet. I lay down beside Amanda and ran my hands through her hair. She was truly stunning.

  I assumed that guys didn’t pay as much attention to her as they did her friends, but she was a real knockout. She dressed conservatively on the outside, but once you got underneath her clothes, she had it going on. She had an hourglass body with a tiny waist and hips you could hold on to. Her breasts, hidden under high-cut tops, were ample once released from her bra. She was truly a hidden treasure. Put her in a low-cut top or a tight-fitting dress, and she would outshine her stick figure friends any day.

  “Is that it?” she asked as I kissed the top of her head.

  “It certainly doesn’t have to be.”

  She was so innocent, so trusting of me to take care of her. But, I could tell that she had a real wild side to her. I’d met a lot of women in Vegas, but she seemed like the most complex girl I’d ever crossed paths with. I wanted to know everything about her.

  But first, I wanted to rock her world.

  Chapter 4―Amanda

  It was my first time in bed with a man, and I couldn’t get enough. I wanted him closer to me, to feel his mouth on my skin.

  Everything was so perfect. His face was so gentle and kind, and his body was expertly sculpted. Looking into his blue eyes, I felt like I could trust him.

  “Let me know if you want me to stop,” he said. “I’ve heard the first time can be a little painful.”

  I was a little nervous. For my entire life, everyone had made such a big deal about virginity. First, girls were judged for losing it too early. Then, for losing it too late. Everyone says that you’ll always remember your first time. I think the fact that I was with Josh, somewhere in Las Vegas, was enough to make me remember it forever.