Never to Love

by Aimie Grey

  (Accepting Fate, Book 3)

  Aimie Grey

  Copyright © 2016 by Aimie Grey.

  Kindle Edition

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owner.

  Published by Insanity Press, Hilliard, Ohio

  Edited by Elaine York / Allusion Graphics, LLC / Publishing & Book Formatting

  Edited by Liz Aguilar, Book Peddler’s Editing

  Proofread by Judy’s Proofreading

  Cover Image © Chris Butler Photography www.chrisbutlerphotography.com

  Book layout ©2013 BookDesignTemplates.com

  eBook formatting by BB eBooks

  Never to Love/ Aimie Grey. – 1st ed.

  For Liz and Stacey

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  About the Book

  Chapter One – Thomas

  Chapter Two – Juli

  Chapter Three – Thomas

  Chapter Four – Juli

  Chapter Five – Thomas

  Chapter Six – Thomas

  Chapter Seven – Juli

  Chapter Eight – Juli

  Chapter Nine – Thomas

  Chapter Ten – Juli

  Chapter Eleven – Juli

  Chapter Twelve – Thomas

  Chapter Thirteen – Thomas

  Chapter Fourteen – Juli

  Chapter Fifteen – Thomas

  Chapter Sixteen – Juli

  Chapter Seventeen – Thomas

  Chapter Eighteen – Juli

  Chapter Nineteen – Juli

  Chapter Twenty – Thomas

  Chapter Twenty-One – Juli

  Chapter Twenty-Two – Juli

  Chapter Twenty-Three – Juli

  Chapter Twenty-Four – Thomas

  Chapter Twenty-Five – Juli

  Chapter Twenty-Six – Thomas

  Chapter Twenty-Seven – Juli

  Chapter Twenty-Eight – Thomas

  Chapter Twenty-Nine – Juli

  Chapter Thirty – Thomas

  Chapter Thirty-One – Juli

  Chapter Thirty-Two – Thomas

  Chapter Thirty-Three – Juli

  Epilogue – Thomas

  About Never to Keep

  About Never to Hope

  Letter from Aimie

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  Bad boy meets bad girl…

  Thomas Ramsay has three rules:

  One night

  No expectations

  No bullshit

  Julianne Griffith has three rules:

  One night

  No feelings

  No beds

  When a man who doesn’t believe in love collides with a woman who has no use for it, the resulting explosion is much more than they are prepared to handle.

  Meeting your match doesn’t always lead to the kind of happy ending you expected, especially for those who have vowed never to love.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Thomas

  “Wanna fuck?”

  The barstool on which I half-sat, half-leaned nearly slid out from under me when a sultry, unfamiliar voice ambushed me from behind, whispering my trademark pick-up line next to my ear. After regaining my balance, I turned slightly to the left and was met at eye level by a pair of plump, luscious lips painted candy apple red. My dick came alive at breakneck speed, which had me praying he wouldn’t hurt himself.

  “Always,” I casually replied in an attempt to regain some semblance of dignity.

  The glossy lips curved into a seductive smile, and I had to practically tear my eyes away from them to take in the rest of the package. The stunning green eyes, wavy red hair, and perfect tits did not disappoint my dick in the slightest.

  “I have three rules,” she said as if negotiating a business transaction. “One night,” she began, raising a finger on her right hand, “no feelings, and no beds.” If I hadn’t been studying her so closely, I might have missed the slight shiver of what appeared to be derision that ran through her body as the word “feelings” passed over the lips I actively imagined wrapped around my cock. She was definitely my kind of woman.

  “I’m surprised you don’t have a rule against exchanging names.”

  “Oh, I want you to know my name,” she said with a sexy little smirk. “I’m looking forward to hearing you scream it until your voice gives out.”

  “I think I’m in love,” I teased, letting her know I was completely onboard and also testing her reaction to the “L” word. I’ve met women who would say just about anything to bed an Adonis such as myself, so I knew her perfection couldn’t be taken at face value. Painfully hard or not, the tiniest spark of triumph in her eyes would send me running.

  “On second thought, never mind.” Before I could offer an explanation, she darted across the room, earning herself a perfect score on my exam. The slight I-just-ate-a-worm face preceding the fifty-yard dash maxed out her extra credit.

  Not wanting to spook her, I stood back for a little while, watching as she surveyed the crowd from where she’d taken up residence at the other end of the bar. Slowly, I moved closer, creeping up on her like she’d done to me. When I was close enough to catch the end of her one-sided conversation, I stopped.

  “Old. Gay. Virgin,” she muttered as her eyes flicked from man to man. Following her line of sight, I realized the last two adjectives were directed toward my brothers. She seemed confident of her appraisal but was wrong on both counts.

  My youngest brother, Finn, was getting married in a few days to a God-awful shrew. As much as I wished he’d been born with an affinity for dick so he would’ve stayed the fuck away from the Antichrist to begin with, he was as straight as the crease in his perfectly pressed trousers. As for our middle brother, having personally mentored Sawyer, there was no way he hadn’t dipped his dick in half of the Beverly Hills talent pool by the time he was old enough to drink.

  Her incorrect appraisal of the brothers Ramsay didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. The three of us would only be in Vegas a few days for Finn’s bachelor party—otherwise known as the final salvo of Operation Get Finn to Dump the Nastiest Bitch on the Planet—so I let it go.

  Maybe I should correct her—about one of them anyway. I bet she could get Finn to see the light. Who could turn down a woman with tits so perky they had to be fresh off the assembly line?

  Never one to discriminate, I appreciated the beauty of each and every breast, regardless of origin. As a world-class connoisseur, I could differentiate between a natural formation and a silicone valley from fifty yards away. It was a God-given talent, and being the son of a plastic surgeon helped refine my craft. Screw Christmas; growing up, “Take Your Child to Work Day” was my favorite day of the year.

  In my professional opinion, these were top-shelf tits, and even loyal-as-a-mastiff Finn wouldn’t be able to turn them down. However, when the ob
ject of my musing sighed in defeat, my dick decided he wasn’t in the mood to be altruistic. Finders keepers, losers can suck it.

  “Looks like you’re stuck with me.”

  “Jesus,” she said, spinning on her heel. The hand now resting over her heart drew my focus to the dream team barely concealed by the bodice of her dress.

  Leaning down closer, I pulled her body against mine and nipped at her ear. “Turnabout is fair play.”

  “You blew your chance by breaking the most important rule before I even got your name.” Her jaw clenched in frustration. She’d obviously been looking forward to taking me for a ride and was pissed her rules were getting in the way. I couldn’t blame her. If I were a chick, I’d totally want to do me too.

  “It was a figure of speech. Trust me. My rules are very similar to yours.”

  “Oh, yeah? What are they?” she challenged as she pulled away from me.

  “One and done, no emotional bullshit, and don’t expect me to call you tomorrow—or any other day, for that matter.” Holding her eyes with my own, I dropped my voice to a tone that had made countless pairs of panties hit the floor over the years. “By one and done, I mean one night, not one orgasm. I’ll make you come more times than you can count.”

  “I’d like to see you try. I may be stupidly hot, but I’m not actually stupid. I can count pretty damn high.”

  Fuck. Was she immune to the voice?

  “Sooner we get started, the sooner I’ll find out just how smart you are.” Even though we were in a building with well over a thousand mattresses, logistics would be slightly inconvenient. “What’s the deal with your aversion to beds?”

  “Beds are boring,” she said with a note of amusement in her tone. “You pick the first place, and if it meets my standards, I’ll give you an opportunity to put your dick where your mouth is. Or more accurately, where your mouth is going to be.”

  She hadn’t stood a chance against resisting me, but my eager dick was relieved as fuck she gave in without much of a fight. “Do you know anyone here?” I asked, gesturing around the room. Owning a hotel back in LA meant I could easily find dozens of secluded places for a quick fuck. However, with that particular prize on the line, there was absolutely no way I’d settle for easy.

  “I’m here with my clients. They’re around here somewhere, but I’m off the clock. You?”

  “My brothers are over there,” not wanting to point them out, I tilted my head in their general direction, “and my dad’s wandering around somewhere.”

  Scanning the decent-sized cocktail lounge, my eyes locked onto the perfect target. “Follow me.” Grabbing her hand, I practically dragged her across the room to a corner somewhat shrouded in shadows. The soft music and low, rolling din of the bar added to the excitement; we’d have to be quiet to avoid being discovered.

  Pushing her against a free-standing rectangular pillar, which was just wide enough to block the view from the rest of the room, I lifted the hem of her flowy, knee-length dress and dropped to my knees.

  The tent created by her skirt made it slightly difficult to see, but I could still make out a pair of sexy-as-fuck white panties. No way was this woman a virgin, but the virginal tableau had my dick begging to defile her. Tugging the lace to the side, with a single swipe of my tongue I determined she was more than ready for me, and—what the hell was that?

  Forgetting about modesty for the moment, I lifted the front of her emerald green dress until there was enough light to make out what I’d felt. “Is that…?” At my dick’s insistence, I didn’t finish the question or give her a chance to answer.

  I unfastened my belt and opened my fly just wide enough to free my cock without risking anything getting caught in the teeth of my zipper. After rolling on the condom I’d pulled from my pocket, I lifted her up and pinned her against the pillar.

  My pants still rested on my ass, and everything else was concealed by my suit jacket and her skirt, which she’d quickly arranged around her legs once I had her securely in position. At least if we were caught, the cops wouldn’t be able to charge us with public nudity. Public indecency, however, was another story.

  “You never told me what name I need to shout, not that I will.”

  “Juli.” Her smirk conveyed her lack of confidence in my ability to control my volume—or maybe it was overconfidence in her ability to get me to yell her name no matter how much I resisted.

  “Nice to fuck you, Juli. My name is Thomas. I don’t scream, but I hope your vocal cords are warmed up and ready to go.”

  Before she could argue, I tugged her panties to the side and shut her up with one hard, swift stroke of my dick. The screaming would have to wait a bit; I wasn’t ready to get caught yet.

  Determination dominated her expression as she bit her lower lip so hard I was sure it would bleed. Since I set the pace, I had the advantage in our little game.

  At least, that’s what I thought.

  When I slowed down, she tightened her legs around my hips and used the newfound leverage to bounce on my cock.

  Juli’s hands haphazardly threaded through my short hair but didn’t grab on or pull. “It’s too perfect. Looks like a fucking Ken doll,” was her quiet, yet labored, response to the question I hadn’t asked.

  When I’d least expected, she clenched around me, working the muscles gripping my dick in a way I wasn’t sure was humanly possible.

  The desire to best her was now barely a whisper on the outer fringe of my subconscious, but somehow I had the presence of mind to slam my mouth onto hers to muffle my cries. Aside from going through a series of meaningless pre-fuck steps to get some of my previous “dates” to spread their legs a little faster, I hadn’t kissed a woman in years. I wouldn’t call what was happening a kiss, though. It was more of a battle of lips and teeth and tongues; a skirmish to establish dominance, one which neither of us would surrender.

  And I fucking couldn’t get enough.

  My thrusts faltered when the realization hit me, but the smile of impending victory I felt form against my mouth quickly brought me back to the moment, returning my focus to the mission at hand.

  “Come for me, Juli,” I said with a growl against her lips.

  She pulled back and looked at me as if I’d said the stupidest thing she’d ever heard. “Do you seriously think it works that way?” Well, fuck, it had before. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news—”

  Her thought was interrupted when I changed my angle of attack on her pussy. She felt so fucking good, I had to think about my youngest brother’s bitch of a fiancée to keep from blowing my load before Juli had a chance to come all over my cock.

  The horrible images in my head turned out to be all for nothing. She masterfully clenched her pussy one more time, and I completely lost it. The only thing allowing me to save any face at all was the fact that she came just as violently a split second later.

  After setting her on her feet, I tucked myself back into my pants while she arranged her panties and skirt. Heaving for breath, I stared into her victorious green eyes and said, “You may have won this battle, but I will win the war.”

  “You seem so confident,” she replied, her breathing almost as heavy as mine.

  “I’m just getting warmed up. Your turn to pick the venue.” Please make it someplace noisy. “Make it somewhere I can get a better look at your piercing.” The mental image of tiny dice, which seemingly hovered around her clit, had me ready to shoot again.

  Taking my hand, she led me to the entrance across from the bar and surveyed the main casino floor. Her entire body perked up when she found what she was looking for.

  Fuck. I needed to come up with an exception to my rule. One night wasn’t going to be enough with her. I wasn’t sure how much longer she would be in Vegas, but I still had a couple of nights left.

  As she pulled me through the sea of slot machines, I realized I had no other choice. Three and out was the new rule for women who looked like a supermodel or fucked like a porn star. Juli was both, excep
t unlike a supermodel, she was petite and curvy in all the right places. With how well I just fucked her, I hoped I would be able to pry her off my dick at the end of the third night.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Juli

  After my third orgasm of the night, which I refused to admit was one of the best I’d ever had, I found myself nearly passed out on the floor backstage of the largest theater in the resort during the second encore of a sold-out concert. A large shipping crate shielded my body from the cast and crew, and thanks to the deafening music, we didn’t have to be quiet this time.

  “Ugh. Please tell me you aren’t serious,” I complained, having to yell to be heard over the song coming from the large speakers flanking the stage. I should have known it was too good to be true.

  “Just think about it. Two more nights of amazing sex, and then we go our separate ways.”

  “No,” I replied succinctly. The man was hot and knew how to work his dick, but I’d been down this road before, and I wasn’t about to make a return trip.

  Irritated I would miss out on the remaining three orgasms I had planned for the night, I managed to pull my tired body to my feet. If he would’ve kept his mouth shut and let me rest for ten more minutes…

  Adjusting my panties, which somehow hadn’t been shredded in the past four hours, and smoothing my hair, I turned to leave.

  “How about we pretend I never brought it up and finish out the night?” Thomas pleaded.

  As if that would change my mind. Begging led to clinging which resulted in awkwardness and distraction. Not worth it.

  “It was fun fucking you while it lasted, but I’m done. I’m sure you can easily find someone who would be more than happy to keep your dick warm,” I said.

  “But—”

  “Rules are rules,” I shouted over my shoulder as I walked away from the man fumbling to get his dick back in his pants. Before he could finish, I took a left and got lost in a swarm of roadies and groupies, disappearing from Thomas’s sight.

  One a.m. wasn’t terribly late for me to be awake, but after traveling this morning and the few hours of aerobics I’d just engaged in, my body was ready for sleep. My mind, not so much. Whether or not my friends, who also happened to be my clients, would still be up was hit or miss. If they were still up and not engaged in aerobic activities of their own, I could hang out with them for a while. If not, I’d go to my room and work until I was tired enough to crash.