GRIPPED (Romance Mystery & Suspense Box Set)

by Abbott, Alex

  Brooke got out of the limo, stretching her legs and looking at the doors. It was obviously a very nice place, and she could hardly believe that she was about to be eating there. She straightened her dress and took a moment to re-check her makeup with her compact mirror before entering. She had been told by her boyfriend to look for the man in the purple tie if she was having trouble finding him, but that turned out not to be an issue. She spotted him at once the second she walked through the doors, and instantly rage began to boil inside her. He had obviously noticed her as well, for he stood and walked to the entrance.

  “Brooke-” he said, worried when he saw her angry expression. She wanted to take that purple tie and strangle him with it. Very coldly she met his stare and responded with his name, as she now realized she needed no formal introduction.

  “Tommy.”

  BOOK TWO

  As Brooke stood there, dressed nicer than she ever had been in the nicest restaurant she had ever seen, being stared at by a room full of complete strangers, she didn’t know what to feel. She felt embarrassed and foolish, heartbroken and betrayed, but most of all, she felt like her old cynical self once more.

  There was no such thing as fairytale romances. Dating sites never worked. People she loved would only hurt her. She had been an idiot. She had been a foolish idiot to believe that she would ever find someone on a dating site of all places. She had abandoned her rational mind, and it made sense in a cruel sort of way that as punishment her “true love” would be the man who had broken her in the first place.

  The worst part of all was that he had to have known. He had lied about never having been to California, and with all the secrets she had shared with him, he must have known who she was. He certainly didn’t look surprised when he saw her. The bastard had set her up, and like an idiot, she had fallen for it.

  “I’m actually going by Thomas now,” he said, smiling weakly at her. “Why don’t you come sit down?” He offered her his hand.

  “You sick son of a bitch,” she spat at him, whispering so as not to cause more of a scene. “You knew. You knew the whole time and you lied to me. Why? So you could laugh with all your rich friends about what an idiot your ex is, eight years later and she’s still falling for your tricks? Or was the whole millionaire thing a lie to?” She was more furious with him than she ever had been, though in truth she knew it was herself she was mostly mad at.

  “Brooke, would you just come sit down? Please? I know that things between us have not always been the best,” she snorted at that, “but I can explain everything. Just give me a chance. I’m still the guy that you fell in love with.”

  “Twice,” she corrected. “You’re the guy that I fell in love with twice, and remember how well that worked out for me?”

  “It didn’t work out for you at all. I hurt you, Brooke. And I didn’t mean to, not now and not back then. But you never gave me a chance to explain and I hope that you will this time, because I do really care about you.”

  She couldn’t believe it. She couldn’t allow herself to believe any of this. “I’d just like to go home. Just, call your stupid little plane back to come get me.”

  “Brooke-“

  “No, I’m serious. I trusted you and you broke my heart. And meeting you on line, that’s been the only time I’ve believed since then that things could turn out a little better for me, but you’re still just a liar. I just want to go home.”

  “You must be starving,” he said. “It was a long flight, and it will be another long flight back home.”

  She wanted to protest, but the truth was she was famished. There was little denying that. She didn’t say anything, so he continued. “Have dinner with me, get some food in your system, and if you still want to leave, I’ll call that plane, okay? Just hear me out, that’s all I ask.”

  Brooke was torn. She really just wanted the whole thing to be over, but she also knew that the doubt would drive her bitter and crazy. She knew she would feel better, in the long run, if she heard him out, even if she didn’t feel like she had the energy for it. She took a few deep breaths before giving her final answering smartly, “Fine.”

  “Thank you.” He motioned to take her hand but she quickly snatched it away. He held up his own hands as a sign of surrender and led her into the restaurant. Instead of taking her to the table that he had been sitting out, however, he took her to one of the more secluded booths in the back. She was going to ask why, but she was still seething and decided not to give him the satisfaction.

  “I thought the two of us would need some more privacy. I was only sitting out there so you’d have an easier time finding me.”

  She didn’t respond. She didn’t really feel like talking to him, and planned to go through as much of their dinner in silence as she could manage before insisting that he arrange for her to get home.

  “Although,” he added as he slid into the booth opposite hers. “I have to admit that you seemed to recognize me with very little trouble.”

  She had nothing to say to that either. Of course she had recognized him. She had been haunted by his image for the last eight years of her life. She would not give him the satisfaction of knowing how often she still though about him, however, so she remained resolute in her silence. He sighed.

  “Look, I know that you’re mad at me. But I really, really never meant to hurt you. I saw your profile on that dating site, and I just had to message you. I didn’t say who I was because I knew you’d never give me a second chance, and it would have been against the terms and conditions of the site to tell you even if I had wanted to. I feel like after all that you and I have been through in the last month, I’ve earned a second chance.”

  Her anger at that remark finally broke her silence. “You think that conning me for a whole month, pretending to be someone you’re not, would actually earn you a second chance with me?” Brooke cursed herself for being so weak. Though her words had been far from kind, she could see the spark of excitement in his eye that he had finally managed to open some sort of dialogue.

  “Brooke, I haven’t been pretending to be anybody. I lied to you, yes, but only by omission. I opened up to you, and I really am the person that you’ve been talking to all month. That’s the real me. And I wasn’t joking when I said that I have feelings for you.”

  She looked at him, skeptically, an eyebrow lifted in disdain.

  “I messaged you because, yes, I knew who you were. And, initially, I thought maybe I could talk you into meeting somewhere so that I could explain what happened back when we were in school, because it’s always bothered me that I never got to explain. But while we were talking, I fell in love with you all over again. You stopped being the one who got away and you started being the one who I needed to win back. Brooke, I love you.”

  She watched him closely while he spoke, and his emotions did seem to be sincere, at least as far as she could tell. When she looked at him, for just a moment she didn’t see the boy who had broken her heart all those years ago, she saw the man who she’d fallen for anonymously. She was reminded of all those conversations they’d had, all the cybersex, how incredibly hot he had made her. There was a part of her that still wanted him.

  She snapped back to reality in the silence that followed his confession. This was the boy who had now twice ruined her life. He was a liar, a cheater, and she was playing right into his hands again. Not this time, she thought to herself, and she was just about to stand up and walk out, when she had a better idea.

  Tom had ruined her life. He had taken her virginity, he had taken her romantic nature and her innocence. Then, he had come back into her life to make her believe in true love once again just to fly her out to an island and throw it in her face. Now he was saying he had feelings for her, trying to lure her in again, and she realized that she didn’t want to get away. She wanted to get even. Whether he was lying about being in love with her or not, she realized she could use this as an in. She was going to play along, make him fall for her and stomp his heart into a mi
llion pieces, just as he had done to her twice.

  ***

  It was all Brooke could do not to smile as the realization hit her, and she instead tried to focus on looking hurt. “I love you too. At least I thought I did. I just don’t know what to do anymore, Tom. How can I ever trust you again after what you’ve done to me?”

  He reached across the table and took her hands in his. “It won’t be easy, Brooke, I know that. But I promise, I’m going to do everything I can to show you that I’m serious this time. I don’t want to lose you, not again.”

  Inwardly, Brooke smiled. This could not be going better, she knew. Outwardly she did her best to give an uncertain, unsure sort of smile that wouldn’t give away the diabolical laughter now resonating in her mind. She gently squeezed his hands and looked up at him with her best hopeful face. He seemed to buy it.

  They were interrupted then by the waitress and placed their orders. He ordered wine for the two of them. At first, she was reluctant, not wanting alcohol to cloud her judgment or ruin her revenge, but eventually she succumbed. If she was going to pretend to be in love with a man she so despised, she figured she would need all the help she could get.

  Over dinner he briefly explained that what had happened with their break-up truly had been a misunderstanding. Brooke wasn’t buying that, not for a minute, but she did her best to play along convincingly before telling him not to worry about it. She gave him a little speech about how she could see who he had become and that it would be best if they just left the past in the past. He seemed all too eager to agree with her, further confirming her suspicions that he had been lying about the “misunderstanding.” The thought of him still lying irked her, but she felt better knowing that she’d soon be getting even.

  After that, a lot of the dinner was spent in silence, at least on her end. This was partly because she was starving and a lot of her focus was on devouring her food. While he carried on one sided conversations in various areas of small talk, she chewed her food and plotted her revenge. She had no way of knowing exactly how far she’d be able to take this, since she didn’t know how serious he’d be willing to make things between them before she could end it.

  In her fantasy situation he fell madly in love with her and proposed. They’d have a big wedding and she could leave him at the altar, crushing him and humiliating him in front of his friends and family, just as she had been humiliated by him. Then it occurred to her that if she broke up with him after the wedding, she could take enough of his money in the divorce that she would never have to wait another table in her life. Something about that seemed oddly satisfying, though a little extreme, even for her.

  She was wondering how far she’d really be willing to take this in order to exact her revenge and contemplating whether or not the wine was starting to affect her decision-making, when he took her hand again.

  “Brooke?”

  She looked up from her food. “Yes?”

  “Do you?”

  She realized that while she had been completely lost in thought, he had still been talking and had asked her a question, to which he would now be expecting an answer. She tried to get her brain to focus on what the question might have been, but it was of no use.

  “I’m sorry, do I what?”

  He looked at her questioningly, so she decided to offer up an explanation. “I’m sorry. I’m just a little distracted. Now that we’re past all the unpleasantness, it’s just a lot to take in. I’ve been thinking ever since you messaged me that it’s too good to be true, and I thought when I saw you that would explain it. Now that we’re past that and eating dinner together, it just seems like a dream.”

  He smiled at her. “I feel the same.”

  She smiled back, glad that he had bought it.

  “What I asked was if you’d like me to have your luggage sent up to your room.”

  “My room?” she asked.

  “At the hotel. I have my room there, of course, but I didn’t want to presume anything,” he grinned at her slyly. That stupid, crooked smile was what had attracted her to him in the first place, and it was that smile that refueled her anger. She decided in that moment that no matter how far she took this, it wouldn’t be far enough. He had hurt her, and she would do whatever it took to hurt him back. That meant she’d have to make him fall for her harder than ever, and she knew just how to do that.

  She smiled her best seductive smile and leaned over the table, whispering at him in her sexiest voice. “I don’t want to presume anything either, but I think you can have my bags sent to your room, if that’s alright with you.”

  He looked at her, as if he almost couldn’t believe her, and she held his gaze, willing him to fall for it. At last he did, and returning her smile he pulled out his phone to make arrangements for her bags. This is it, she thought, I’m all in now. I am really doing this. She knew there was no turning back now. If she broke it off before her revenge was complete she would look pathetic again, and she was unwilling to let that happen.

  She let the rest of the dinner play out, doing her best to remain convincing at all costs. Whether it was the wine or the promise of revenge, Brooke was so dedicated to her new mission that she barely even questioned what she was doing until she was back in the bathroom of his hotel room “slipping into something more comfortable”

  She slipped out of her dress and reached into her bag for some of the lingerie that she and Sara had carefully picked out together while planning for the trip. She pulled out a black lace number and carefully held it up to herself. She remembered the shopping trip perfectly as she looked at the garment in the mirror, and the recollection suddenly filled her with doubt. Sara had picked this out for her so that she could make a good first impression with the man of her dreams. Brooke had insisted she’d never be caught dead in anything of the sort, even during sex, but Sara had insisted. Brooke had packed it into her suitcase, thinking it would probably stay there.

  She realized then that if she had come here and the man she’d met with hadn’t been her ex-boyfriend, she probably would not be in that room trying to look her best. She’d imagined that if she was going to get laid, it would happen naturally. It shouldn’t be planned; she shouldn’t be doing this. She certainly didn’t feel like she should be going out of her way to impress him either.

  It hit her hard when it clicked that her perfect revenge plan would mean once again spreading her legs for this man, who she now hated enough to want to ruin his life. She had known that when she had started planning the revenge, but it was now sitting a lot heavier in her heart. Still, she knew it was too late to turn back, and she knew that the only thing that would make her feel better would be revenge. She would do whatever it took to make this happen; she had to.

  Once she had calmed herself and reasserted that she had no real option but to make him pay, she stepped into the black lace. It took her a little while to get all the straps in place, but when she was done she could not deny the effect. The lace slip covered very little, and left even less to the imagination. It offered her breasts just enough support to keep them perky despite their larger than average size, and the color was very slimming. She took the time to snap the dangling clips onto matching lace stockings, which she pulled up over her leg. She touched up her makeup and tousled her hair before looking at her reflection one more time just for good measure.

  She barely recognized herself. She had never done anything like this, never worn anything this sexy, and she couldn’t help but think that she looked good. Any playboy bunny would be jealous, she thought.

  Although part of her wanted to head out of the bathroom and get straight to work with her revenge plot now that she was all dressed up to do so, the majority of Brooke was still somewhat shy. She had never been an overly sexual person, and her experience in the bedroom was limited. She was definitely not accustomed to anyone, particularly a man, seeing her in anything like this. She dug in the bag until she found a black silk bathrobe, which she slid on. That was more like her normal idea
of lingerie, not see through, and it covered her up better.

  Though she felt more comfortable in the robe, she knew what was underneath it, how she’d soon be seen, and it made a wave of panic go through her as she opened the door. She did her best to remain composed, keeping her sexiest expression on her face and trying to mentally calm herself. What she saw when the door open surprised her, and momentarily she was completely distracted.

  While she had been slutting herself up in the bathroom, Tom had also been busy. The lights in the hotel room were off, but there were a few dozen candles lit, casting a romantic glow over the room. Rose petals had been sprinkled over the bed and soft music was playing. He had taken off his suit jacket and his vest, his shirt was now un-tucked, and his tie had been loosened, but he was, for the most part, fully dressed. She felt terribly exposed in comparison. The worst part, by far, was how handsome he looked. While her hatred for him had kept her from noticing earlier, the boy that she had dated in high school had grown up to be, if possible, even more attractive. He was taller now, and despite the impression she had gotten online that he was a computer nerd, he was also muscular. She could make out the contours of his chest through his shirt, and she was getting aroused in spite of herself.

  “You look amazing” he said, and Brooke was unable to keep herself from blushing.

  “Thanks,” she said, stepping into the room and closing the door behind her. She reminded herself that this was all for revenge, that she didn’t really like him, she just had to fake it. While she was faking things, she figured it couldn’t hurt to pretend to be a little bit more sexually assertive than she normally was. She knew that there were a lot of men who were into that sort of thing, and she’d be willing to bet good money that Tom was one of them. “You don’t look so bad yourself.”