Bet Me Something (Something Series Book 3)

by Aubrey Bondurant

  ***

  I fell asleep with him inside of me and woke the same way. I’d lost count of the number of orgasms and had no idea what time it was. The sunlight streaming into the bedroom windows was the only indication it was now morning. My head lay on his chest while he stroked my body lazily.

  With a sigh, he started talking about what was weighing on his mind. “I want to start a new line of the production company focused on indie films and documentaries. I’ve met some talented young writers and producers who I’d love to work with. In the meantime Josh is looking at the bottom line, and those types of movies don’t generate a lot of money.”

  “Why do you need your brother’s approval?”

  “He controls the cash which I need to put up for this venture.”

  I didn’t understand why Josh would have this kind of veto power when it was Colby’s business.

  “Anyhow, I’ve decided to fund the first film out of my own private money. Over the last forty-eight hours, I’ve been working with the producer, getting things set up. We’re on a tight budget, but I’m hopeful it’ll come together. With any luck, I hope to premiere the film at Sundance next year.”

  “That sounds amazing, but why can’t you control the cash in your business?”

  For a minute, I thought he wouldn’t answer, and then finally he spoke.

  “The first year I started Gamble Productions, I was twenty-three and ignorant about a lot of things. I put in a ton of hours to secure some great scripts and had a viable business model, but I had this work-hard, party-harder mentality. Inevitably, it caught up to me a few years ago, and I screwed up big time.”

  “You lost money?”

  “If only. I, uh—Shit. I guess I should be grateful your brother didn’t tell you.”

  “He may not know.”

  “Yeah, right. Brian is closer to my brother than I’ve ever been. Mark, too, for that matter. I’m confident they both know. Especially Mark, since he most likely handled the settlement.”

  I sensed the vulnerability in his statement about the other two men having a better relationship than he did with his older brother and propped up in order to meet his gaze. “You don’t have to confide in me but know if you do, it won’t change how I think about you.”

  “And what do you think?” His hands palmed my breasts.

  “At some point everyone deserves the benefit of the doubt. You work hard and shouldn’t have to continually prove that to someone else, no matter what happened.”

  “I’m not sure if it’s naïveté or blind faith which inspires you to say that to me.”

  I quirked a brow. “And you say I’m the master of deflection. I try to give you a compliment, and you turn it into my inability to see the real you?”

  He exhaled unsteadily. “Maybe I enjoy your blind faith more than the thought of you ever getting a real dose of my past.”

  “I assure you my faith is not blind. If it was, I wouldn’t get wet every time you flashed those damn dimples at me.” I laid my head back down on his chest, kissing him softly. “You don’t need to tell me anything you don’t want to.”

  He laughed, squeezing me tight. “I know, but I’d rather you hear this from me than in some rumor someday.”

  “Okay.”

  “Despite my, uh, previous reputation with women, you believe I’d never take advantage of one, don’t you?”

  I didn’t hesitate with my response. “Of course you wouldn’t.” Even if I didn’t know his heart, the notion was ridiculous considering how many women threw themselves at him willingly, not to mention frequently.

  “There was a woman who I met at a party about three years ago. She acted like she didn’t have a clue who I was, but turns out she was well aware, and it wasn’t a chance meeting. We had sex, and then she proceeded to blackmail me.”

  “For what?”

  “The second time I saw her was months later when she showed up on the set of one of my films. She was in a pretty substantial role, and next thing I knew, I was being slapped with a lawsuit saying I’d extorted sex in exchange for her movie part. She’d timed it all out with the offer and everything.”

  “You’d never do that. The police believed you, right?”

  “She didn’t press charges. The threat of publicity was enough to garner a payoff, which ultimately is what she wanted.”

  “You gave her money?” It made my blood boil.

  “My brother insisted and took controlling interest of the company’s cash after that. I run the production company’s operations; however he’s the responsible one in charge of the finances.”

  “How can you say you screwed up when you obviously were conned?”

  “Because I was stupid enough to take her back to my office to have sex. Her idea, of course. Overlooking the city, blah, blah, but it put it on camera, and it only made more of a case that I was using my position to ensure we both got what we wanted.”

  “Jesus.”

  “Look, I’m not faulting my brother for what he did back then. Hell, I was nothing but a manwhore, party every other night, and not putting in the quality of work I should’ve been. I wasn’t careful when it came to protecting, not only my company, but the entire Gamble label. He was rightfully angry when he had to step in to clean up my mess.”

  “It was a turning point for you.”

  “Exactly. It was a hell of a wake-up call. Luck only gets you so far, and I was tired of this perception I was living off my family’s money, not doing anything to earn it. Honestly, it became a relief to step out of the party life at that point. Although, there have been some exceptions with regards to a weekend or two in Vegas, it’s just different now.” He paused, sighing deeply. “I’ve never told anyone outside of my brother that story.”

  “Thank you for trusting me.”

  “I should be the one saying that to you. I warned you I’ve done things I wasn’t proud of.”

  “And yet I’m still here. Please tell me that woman didn’t end up making it big in Hollywood?”

  He shook his head. “Hardly. She took the money and evidently went through it quickly. I guess the next man she conned didn’t take it well and went to prison for beating the crap out of her. That’s the last I heard and, to be honest, I don’t keep track.”

  “Karma.”

  “Maybe, although as much as I despise her for what she did, I wouldn’t wish a beating on anyone.”

  “That’s because you’re a good man.”

  “You’re biased because of the seven orgasms I’ve given you in the last twelve hours.”

  I had to laugh that he’d been counting. “Huh, I only remember six,” I teased, wanting a change of subject onto happier things. I found myself pinned with him looming over me.

  “Guess it’s time to refresh your memory.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  The next week went by quickly with Colby working a lot of hours on his documentary project and me balancing volunteer time at the hospital with my physical therapy.

  After receiving the all-clear from my doctor to start driving on Friday morning, the first thing I did was have the car service drop me off at my apartment to pick up my own car. I couldn’t believe how much I missed the simple act of driving. I was practically giddy with the regained freedom.

  Once I returned to Colby’s house, I packed up my things, surprised I’d accumulated so much over the last few weeks. With my car filled, I arrived back at my place and began the painful process of schlepping stuff, making several trips up and down the stairs to the second story. The irony wasn’t lost on me that I’d be moving out in another month and trekking everything down again. Of course, I’d yet to figure out exactly where that would be.

  By the time I was done, I’d worked up a quite a sweat and my ankle, now sporting a brace was throbbing. After jumping in the shower, I curled up atop my own bed for the first time in weeks to ice my swollen joint and rest my eyes. I woke to a very irritated voice.

  “What the hell, Kenz? I’ve been trying to ge
t a hold of you the last hour. Then I drive home to find, not only are you gone, but you moved out?”

  “Huh?” I sat up, rubbing my eyes and trying to process in my sleepy mind what Colby was saying.

  “You moved out without a word.” He took a seat on the bed beside me, a healthy dose of irritation in his expression.

  “I—uh—I received the all-clear that I could drive today and figured this was the plan all along.” It hadn’t occurred to me he’d be upset about it since me living with him had always been a temporary situation. Just because we were having sex now didn’t mean I was moving in, so I hadn’t given a second thought to him taking offense over my going back home. If anything, I would’ve assumed he’d be relieved to have his space back.

  “I know I’m new to this whole couple’s thing, but do you think you could’ve told me first?”

  My eyes went wide. “Can I use one of my relationship advice lifelines to phone a friend for help?”

  A smile teased his lips. “What do you think they’d say?”

  “That, at the very least, I should’ve texted you and, at the very most, I could’ve talked to you about it.” I was as new to this relationship thing as he was, but it was obvious I should’ve communicated better.

  He scrubbed a hand over his face. “I thought that maybe with the hours I’ve been working, not to mention the fact that we haven’t had sex in a few days, and I haven’t taken you out on a date in quite a while—God, I sound like a fucking girl.”

  I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing. He was being vulnerable and, obviously, it wasn’t sitting well. I’d been on my period this week so the not-having-sex hadn’t bothered me. “No, I’m pretty sure you’re simply telling me how it made you feel, and I hear that’s what normal couples do. I obviously wasn’t thinking how it would look to you, and I planned on driving back to your place, but I accidently fell asleep. Why were you trying to get a hold of me?”

  He sighed. “Because I was pissed off.”

  “With me?”

  Exasperation clouded his features. “Yes, with you.”

  Clearly, I’d missed something. “So you came over here angry with me for moving out because when you’d tried to talk to me about being pissed off, I wasn’t at your house?”

  “When you say it like that, it sounds ridiculous and makes me want to kick my own ass.”

  I no longer fought my smile. “What on earth did I tick you off about?”

  “Mark told me today he’s looking at international volunteer organizations because you’re planning to travel abroad come fall.”

  “Oh, that.” I hadn’t meant to keep it from him, but in hearing the way he’d found out, it sure seemed that way.

  “Yeah, that. Jesus. And I thought I was bad at this communication thing.”

  I hit him with a pillow. “Maybe I’m trying to make you feel better about your inadequacies.”

  “Mission fucking accomplished then,” he muttered, sounding wounded.

  I reached for his hand. “Hey. I’m sorry. I haven’t made a decision and only mentioned it to Brian who, in turn, said that before I took any steps, he wanted Mark to do a background check on the organization. A woman at work brought up the program, and I was curious. That’s the furthest I went with it. In my defense though, I did tell you I might want to travel and see the world.”

  “So, you’re seriously thinking about it?”

  Yes, however up until now, I hadn’t thought about how it might affect my relationship with him if I did leave. “I love the way working with kids and doing music makes me feel.”

  He stroked my face. “You’re absolutely amazing at it, and I’d never be upset you’d pursue it. I was just caught off guard when Mark mentioned it casually over the phone this afternoon—that I heard it from him instead of you.”

  “Looks like I suck at Couples Communication 101.”

  He smirked. “Well, if I’m going to suck at a relationship, I can’t think of anyone else I’d love to suck at it with.”

  “Aww, you really don’t hear enough romantic declarations with the word suck being used.”

  He leaned in and sucked on my neck, making me giggle. “Did you call your dad?”

  “Not to abuse the word, but you have sucky timing with that question.”

  He smiled and kissed me again. “It’s been a week since your mom dropped the bomb.”

  “I’m well aware, but don’t you think the first thing she would’ve done when she returned home was to tell him all about it? She’d have to vent to someone. And did he pick up the phone to call me? Nope. Plus, Brian tried talking to her and she bit his head off. So clearly it’s not a subject she’s willing to discuss at all.”

  He hugged me tightly, stroking my back with his strong hands. “I’m sorry I brought it up. What do you think about getting away for a few days?”

  I sighed, letting the stress of discussing my mother go. “That sounds amazing. Whatcha thinking?”

  “Dinners on the beach.” He kissed me once. “Breakfast on the balcony overlooking the ocean.” He kissed me a second time. “You in bed, naked. A lot.”

  My breath caught when he deepened the kiss. “I’m in.”

  “Good. Kenz?”

  “Mm-hmm.”

  “Are you off your period?”

  “Yep, as of—” I didn’t get to finish the sentence before he commenced ripping off my clothes. My hands became equally frantic in accomplishing a similar mission with his.

  It wasn’t until he sank deep inside of me that we both groaned in relief, almost as though we’d needed the link to steady any disconnect we’d experienced over the last few days. Thirty minutes later we were laughing during a quick shower.

  “Do you have your passport?” he asked afterwards while we both dressed in my bedroom.

  “Sure do, with my one stamp from your brother’s wedding in it.”

  “Good. You won’t need to bring a lot. Beach wear and at least a couple dresses for dinner, but not much else.”

  “Okay.” Clearly, I was behind the curve when he put my suitcase on my bed. “Are we leaving now?”

  He grinned. “Depends on how fast you can pack.”

  “What about your work on the film?”

  “It’s in post-production as of this morning, and it occurs to me that while I’m hoping this is coming off as wildly romantic, it could easily slide the other direction into presumptuous that you don’t have any other plans.”

  I put my arms around his neck. “I’m leaning towards romantic since I don’t have anything going on over the next couple of days that I can’t reschedule. Where are we going?”

  “South of the border, baby.”

  ***

  After a two-hour flight, we arrived in Cabo San Lucas as the sun set. I knew Colby’s family had a resort down here, but when the car drove us to one with an unfamiliar name, I had to ask, “This isn’t your place, is it?”

  He took my hand in the back seat. “No. I figured since I intend on being all over you this weekend, it might be better to stay at a different hotel.”

  Right. Because we weren’t telling our families. Funny how a couple weeks ago when Brian had showed up, it had been a no-brainer not to spill the beans, yet now I found myself disappointed that our relationship remained a secret. I mentally shook myself out of the thought. There’d be time enough to talk about it later, but for now we were here to enjoy paradise and each other.

  “When does this being all over me start?”

  He framed my face in his hands, flashed the PDG, and kissed me soundly. “Right now.”

  The resort was beautiful, and it took no time to get checked into our own private villa. I walked around the spacious room while he took care of the luggage. Venturing out onto the balcony, which boasted a beautiful view of the ocean, I breathed in the fresh scent of salt water and tropical air. When Colby’s arms wrapped around me from behind with his chin resting on top of my shoulder, pure contentment washed over me. Whether it was his kisses down
the side of my neck or the moment itself that made me shiver, I wasn’t certain.

  “What are you thinking?” he whispered.

  “That this here with your arms around me makes me realize I was missing something I wasn’t aware I even wanted.” Sure, I’d always had feelings for Colby, but never having been in a relationship, I hadn’t appreciated how much I craved this type of physical intimacy.

  He turned me around, locking his eyes on mine. “Me, either. Maybe that’s why I freaked about you moving out.”

  “I don’t want us to burn out on each other.” Considering he’d lived the life of a bachelor for so long, I figured he’d be the one to do so first.

  “Not possible. If I’m being completely honest, I always assumed that in a relationship I’d get tired of being with the same person, but with you, I can’t seem to get enough.”

  I put my hands on either side of his face, pulling him down for a scorching kiss. Colby Singer may never have eloquent words to convey his feelings, but his unfiltered thoughts resonated far more than any smooth declaration ever could.

  When the knock came, he reluctantly pulled away. “That would be dinner.”

  “That was fast,” I commented, watching him go to the door.

  “I preordered, and the driver let them know we were on the way. Cheeseburgers okay, I hope?”

  “Do they come with beer?”

  After opening the door and signing for the meal, he wheeled a cart across the open space to the small dining table with a smile. “Si. Dos Equis.”

  “Limes?”

  He lifted off a cover to reveal a small plate. “What are we—animals? Of course there are limes.”

  We both laughed and sat down to dinner.

  A short time later, after enjoying my burger along with two beers, I pushed back from the table. “Tell me about your documentary project.”

  His face lit up. “You really want to know?”

  “Of course I do. I picture you in your office looking all hot in your suit and tie—and then wonder what you’ve been doing with your time.”

  He flashed his dimples. “No two days are the same, but the current documentary is about the Zika virus and the spread of it. The doctor we’ve had on the project is from Brazil and insists it will be a worldwide pandemic in the next couple of years. There are already countries urging women not to get pregnant and thousands of babies being born with birth defects due to this mosquito-spread virus. We also look at the economic factor, in that the problem spreading to the US is most likely the best scenario for funding a cure and prevention. These Third World countries can’t afford to put the money for research into it, but now that it’s moving north, it can’t be ignored for much longer.”