THE HOT BAD BOYS BOX SET: A Bad Boy Romance Collection

by Wood, Lauren

  With that thought in mind, the atmosphere felt different to me. It was smoky and loud, with everyone chattering to each other. My eyes scanned the room and I saw a few lovelies that I had had before. I bypassed that area by the bar and decided that my time was going to be better spent with a drink in my hand. I needed to get inspired and think about what I was going to do with Cece. I wasn’t ready to throw in the towel over Cliff or anything else for that matter.

  It left me in a weird position as several women started to hit on me. It was usually me that was the aggressor. I always zeroed in on whatever it was that I wanted and I made sure I had it, but now I was far more worried about consequences that I had never really thought about before. It was a new feeling and I found it easier than I thought I would have.

  That is, until I heard a certain voice that I knew well.

  “What are you doing around here Dante? I thought you were blissfully happy with your new girlfriend? Didn’t think I would see you here again.”

  I turned to look at Barb. The young blonde was dressed up in clothes that would make any man’s heart race a little more and I was not the exception. The fact of the matter was that I hadn’t had any in a couple of days and while I had hoped for some lovemaking with Cece, it just hadn’t worked out that way and now my body was answering a call that it shouldn’t.

  “Just getting a drink Barb, that’s all.”

  She scoffed and sat down, even though she hadn’t been invited. There was a tawdry look in her eyes that I knew well, but that wasn’t why I was here. I had to keep telling myself that. Barb had always been so eager to please and I was sure by the expression on her face that she hadn’t changed a bit.

  “Hmm, I don’t think you have ever come here for just a beer before. Are you really not looking for anything?”

  I was the one agitated. “You still haven’t learned your lesson yet, have you?”

  “What?”

  “You already cheated with the boss’ boyfriend once before and I can’t believe you are going to try to do it again. You make no sense. You are lucky she didn’t fire you before. I would have.”

  Barb made a fake pouty face. “You would really fire me? Even though we had all of those good times together?”

  I didn’t remember much with her that didn’t involve the bedroom and even then it never extended after the act was actually finished. I pushed her out the door as soon as we were done and there was nothing else that I wanted to do now. All I could think about was Cece and Barb was just another distraction that I just didn’t need.

  “Yes I would have fired you. It isn’t up to me though. Cece has too big of a heart.”

  “No, I think it’s just because she can’t keep anyone there at the ranch. The way people talk about her, it is no surprise. The town is small and her antics get around.”

  Again I had to temper my response. I knew that she was baiting me, but that didn’t seem to help anything when it came to my knee-jerk reaction. I didn’t care why she was pissing me off, I just knew that she was and she would look at me with this self-satisfied smile that really did me in.

  “Why are you so hateful Barb? You didn’t used to be this way.”

  “I want you back Dante. You are making a mistake with her and I don’t understand why you can’t see it. You have lost your way and I am just trying to help you remember who you are.”

  I didn’t believe a thing she said. She wanted something more and maybe it was about sex, but I had a feeling that there was more to it. She would be acting this way for nothing. I just couldn’t see that.

  “I know who I am Barb. People change. You were the one that cheating on me with that meat head, so I am not going to feel bad about this. You made your choice. Now you are going to have to live with it. Did you really think that he was going to take you with him?”

  Now I was the one that was being rude and I tried not to, but it was hard, really hard. I knew that kicking the hornet’s nest was not a good idea. But I was never a smart man when it came to women. The woman sitting next to me was a silent testament to that.

  “No, I didn’t, but I didn’t think he would drop me like I meant nothing. You guys just don’t really get what you do to women. You should. It would be easier for you.”

  “I have learned a long time ago that nothing is ever easy with women.”

  “Has Cecelia got you down? I don’t think I have ever seen you like this.”

  It bothered me that she acted like she knew me. She was a fuck. That was it. I got her a job and I regretted it many times over since then. I wish I would have never met Barb, here at the bar, most likely the exact same spot that I am sitting in now.

  “I am fine Barb. I just came here to get a drink. What are you doing here?”

  She had a Cheshire cat grin on her face. “I am on the prowl.”

  I should have known that it would be her answer. She was on the prowl when she found me and I felt sorry for any sap that wanted her. They would pay for it, more than they realized and I was sure that I wasn’t the only one that regretted meeting the petite blonde. She was beautiful, but still a disaster all the same.

  “Well there are a lot of men that are looking at you Barb. You are wasting your time with me.”

  “What if I want you though? Are you really going to tell me no Dante?”

  I shook my head that I was, even though I wasn’t too sure about it. There was a part of me that wanted to take her to the bathroom and bang her brains out on the side of the stall for one of the bathrooms, but instead I just agreed with her. I could tell her no. I was a man and I could be stronger than many thought I was.

  “You don’t need to waste your time on me Barb. I am not biting. I told you before that our last time was before I found you with Cliff. Even if we weren’t together, I don’t want to share you with the likes of him. No thanks.”

  I saw her eyes flare and again I wondered if I was just setting myself up for failure. I knew messing with her was a problem, but the real problem was that I just didn’t want to keep it up. I wanted her to go away and I hoped that a clear answer and a little bluntness would go a long ways, but now I wasn’t so sure. She didn’t seem to be taking the hint, just getting more upset the more we talked.

  “You don’t have to be mean Dante.”

  “I am not trying to be mean Barb. I just want to drink my beer and be left alone. You can just keep it all to yourself. We are through. Never really were together and I have moved on. I suggest that you do the same thing. I don’t want to hurt your feelings, but you have to understand that I am not going to take this any further. I can’t and I don’t want to.”

  It was about as nice as I was going to get about it, but by the look on her face, that wasn’t an acceptable answer. I wanted to get my point across, but I still wasn’t trying to hurt her feelings. I also didn’t want her as an enemy. I had enough of those and since she still did work at the ranch, her exit never even discussed anymore, I knew that I was going to have to keep my cool, no matter how hard it seemed to be to manage.

  “Fine, Dante. It is your loss. I was trying to be nice to you, but since you want to be a jerk, I won’t bother you anymore.”

  I know that I was supposed to feel bad and maybe in a way I did, but now all I could feel was relief that she had finally moved on. The girl was walking trouble and it was better for me to know it.

  She was right though. I don’t know what I was doing here. I had never come for just a beer and after several more ladies came up to chat, I decided that I was just wasting my time here. Barb’s eyes followed me as I was leaving and I could feel the heat from them on the back of my neck. She was not a happy camper, but I hoped that tomorrow would be another day.

  I had to go home and face the music. I still felt like I was right about how I felt about Cliff, but at the same time, it just isn’t worth it, not really if it meant that Cece and I were on the outs. What was the worst that could happen? She wasn’t going to leave me for him, but she very well may leave me if I keep
this up. Cece was complicated and viciously independent. I had always admired that about her. Now it was time to embrace it, no matter how hard it really was.

  Chapter 53

  Cecelia

  I cooled down not long after we got home from the airport. I saw the back taillights of Dante’s truck as he took off. I felt sadness wash over me seeing him leave, even though I knew he would be back. He worked here, of course he was going to be back. But I wanted to work this out. I hated the feeling in the pit of my stomach when we argued. I would rather this have all gone so differently.

  After a short bath, I looked outside and he was still nowhere in sight. I don’t know why that made me so sad, but it did. I wanted him to want to work it out and it wasn’t until a couple of hours later that I started to worry about where he was. This wasn’t something that he didn’t do, the man was always late for everything and stayed out late almost every night, but not since we had started seeing each other. We had slept together ever since and only when he was gone recently was I meant to stay alone at night.

  I don’t know why, but his absence was not sitting well with me at all. My mind went from one nefarious downfall to the other and I was convinced not too long later that he was either in the arms of another woman or he was dead in a ditch somewhere.

  Seeing lights coming up the driveway, I was ecstatic that he was finally home, but my hopes were dashed when I saw that it was just Barb coming back. I was on the porch and she was a little tipsy. She was the last person that I wanted to talk to, but I had to know if she knew anything. I just wanted to make sure that Dante was okay first. I am sure I was going to be mad at him later, but for now I just had to know.

  So I swallowed my pride, something that Barb had already made in short supply and moved to the woman that was walking slowly up the short staircase to the hand house.

  “Barb, wait up.”

  She turned around and smiled at me. I didn’t like her. There was something about her that didn’t sit well with me, but I had learned to deal with it. Every time I saw her, I thought of Cliff. Right now though, I was worried about Dante. He was the one I loved and Cliff was but a faint memory. Just because I worked with her and him, didn’t mean that I had to let it get to me.

  So instead I squared my shoulders and told myself that it was going to be okay. “Have you seen Dante?”

  Barb’s smile was quick and I could tell that she enjoyed me having to ask her. The bad feeling in the pit of my stomach was back and I just hoped that it was there for no reason. I was hoping that I had built it all up in my head and there was nothing to worry about. This was my hope anyways.

  “Yeah I saw him earlier at the bar. He looked like he was having a bad day. He was drinking heavy.”

  My heart sank and I didn’t like the idea of him at the bar. I knew what he went there for. Could he really be moving on from us after one little fight? So quickly?

  “Oh, I see.”

  Barb didn’t budge and I hated the smile on her face. “I think he was upset about something, but he wouldn’t talk to me about it.”

  She emphasized ‘me’ like he had talked to someone else about it. She had a buzz and she was enjoying toying with me. I should have just walked away right then and there. I knew that this conversation wasn’t going to get any better, but there was a hope that maybe, just maybe, I could get some information that would at least help me sleep tonight.

  “Was he there with someone else?” The question stuck in my throat and I hated the fact that I even had to ask. I was starting to think that this guy better be hurt in a ditch somewhere for making me worry and for making me find out about his whereabouts from Barb. This was a new low as far as I was concerned and I didn’t like it one bit.

  “There were a lot of someones with him. You know how Dante is. He is too handsome and charming to be alone for long.”

  My face must have flushed because she put her arm on my shoulder. “It’s going to be okay Cecelia. You know how guys are. As long as they come home eventually, right? I know from experience that he is worth a little extra drama. You have to know that too. Everyone around here knows that the two of you are going hot and heavy.”

  I pulled back from her touch and I can’t say that I had anything else on my mind but physically striking her. I didn’t want her to say such things to me, but what if she was right? Was I really just going to pretend that everything was the same? Nothing was the same. It was just that simple.

  “Well thank you for letting me know Barb. I am sure that he will turn up. I was just wondering if you had seen him. Was he still there at the bar when you left?”

  “No, he took off a little while after I talked to him.”

  I wanted so badly to ask her if he was alone or not, but I couldn’t force myself to say the words. What if he wasn’t alone? Did I really want to know?

  The answer was continuously a resounding no and I just couldn’t do it to myself. I had gotten enough bad news for one day. I don’t think that I could take anymore, so I just left it at that. I thanked her for her help and made my way back to the ranch house. I was just going to have to wait and see what happens. It was like a story that I didn’t know the ending too and I was too damn scared to look ahead and find out what happens. I needed to, truly, but what good would it do me in the end? There was nothing good that was going to come from me getting all worked up even worse than I was. I was just going to have to wait and see.

  It was a ridiculously long night and all I could think about was Dante and where he was. I was driving myself crazy and at some point I did call over to the bar to see if I could find him, but he wasn’t there. He hadn’t been there in hours, just like Barb told me. I didn’t think that she was lying, although I really wished she had been. That meant that I wouldn’t have to worry as much. I could handle him drunk at a bar, I could go get him. But again I was just filled with all of these unknowns and it was killing me slowly.

  I went back to sleep and woke up again about five in the morning. It wasn’t like I kept up with him before, but when I did keep up with his coming and goings, I knew that he almost never stayed out this late. He was still gone and it just didn’t mesh well with me. Instead of trying to get anymore sleep and playing victim in some crazy mind games with my brain, I decided it was probably just best to get up and see about my day. Where ever he was, the ranch still had to keep going. Animals had to be fed and people had to get their assignments for the day.

  Thankful that I was the only one in the kitchen for a while, I took a minute to sit down with a cup of coffee once it had brewed. I was almost feeling normal again, until everyone started to pile in. The cook was in first to start breakfast and then the other employees moseyed their way in not too long after that. My moment of peace was gone.

  “Good to see you up so early boss. Have you see Dante around? I was looking for him earlier and he wasn’t in his room. Hoping he was with you.”

  I tried not to blush. It was obvious that we were together, but it was also obvious that he was nowhere to be found and I had no idea where he was. I was supposed to because we were together, I was his boss, but it was like he had just disappeared out of thin air and there was nothing I could do about it. I felt embarrassed on so many levels that I just didn’t know what to say about it.

  “No, I don’t know where he is Carl. Why don’t you take over for him today until he makes it in?”

  “He isn’t on the ranch at all?”

  I shook my head and didn’t say anymore. It was painful that he wasn’t here with me and I didn’t want to go over it again.

  “Did you ask Barb about it? She saw the two of them talking last night at the bar. Maybe she knows.”

  He was just trying to help, but his harmless comments was just pushing a knife into my stomach and twisting. Didn’t he know that it was horrible to think about him gone and bringing up his past lover did nothing to help where my mind gone. What if Barb did know where he was and just didn’t tell me?

  “Well speak of t
he devil. Barb, where is Dante?”

  Barb looked at me and then looked away. “I don’t know. I am not his keeper anymore.”

  Chapter 54

  Dante

  I should have known that the night was just going to get worse. I had a feeling and as I was leaving the bar, the feeling got worse. It was like a cold dread that came over me and the more I thought about it, the more I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to get home as I had planned.

  I had drunk a few beers. I wasn’t drunk, but I was certainly feeling no pain. The last thing I saw was this look from Barb as I was leaving. She gave me this little wave and considering the conversation we had, I knew that there was a reason. I don’t know what that reason was, but it set me on edge.

  That may have been why I was driving a little faster than I should have to get back to the ranch before her, but none of it mattered. What mattered next was that I was pulled over on the short eight mile drive and I wasn’t but a mile from the ranch when I saw the red and blue lights flashing behind me.

  It was one of those moments that I knew I was had and there was really nothing that I could do about it. I had messed up and I should have known that it was going to end badly. When I saw Officer Johnson walking up in the rearview mirror, I knew that it was going to be really bad. The man hated me. I banged his wife, not knowing she was married and he had had a hard on for me ever since. I didn’t blame him of course, but I did blame myself for how I reacted.

  “Dante, what are you doing out driving like that so late at night? You got another husband after you because he caught you with his wife?”

  I just shook my head and looked forward. There was no winning this fight. I knew it was pointless to hand him anything. It wouldn’t matter. I was going to jail.

  “You mind if I make a call first?”

  Darryl Johnson just smiled at me and clicked his tongue. It was a slow acting scoff and I sighed as I put my head back on the seat.