Love's Gamble

by Theodora Taylor

  He stepped closer, and Pru found herself instinctively steeling, refusing to back down this time. She didn’t flinch, not even when he leaned forward to say in her ear, “But before I do that, I will ruin you for any man who comes after me.”

  His tone was soft, but his words were so vicious, it felt as if they were ripping through Pru, cutting her dignity into pieces.

  Max let a few seconds tick by before asking once again, “Truth or dare?”

  “Dare,” she answered immediately, welcoming the change of subject from Max’s “plans” for her. Now wishing she hadn’t asked about them in the first place.

  “You should have picked truth,” he said. “Sure you don’t want to change your mind?”

  He still hadn’t touched her, but the sexual tension was back. Buzzing between them like an electric magnet.

  Pru’s legs began to feel a little weak, but she shook her head in answer to his question. The old Pru wouldn’t have backed down.

  There came a moment of silence so suspended, it made Pru feel as if she was at the top of a roller coaster. Then he said, “Dance with me.”

  He reached into the basket and pulled out his phone. A few seconds later a fairly new club anthem that Pru recognized from the night of their nightclub wedding played. The song sounded thin and weak coming out of his phone, stripped of its previously overwhelming power to make her want to move her body.

  But after eight years on the line, she knew how to dance when it was the last thing she felt like doing. She swayed her hips, giving Max a sexy show. At the same time, she glanced at the countdown timer. A little over forty-five minutes to go.

  Only now did Max touch her, grabbing her by the wrist and saying, “I said, dance with me.”

  She’d heard him. But didn’t understand what he wanted from her.

  He answered her unspoken question, tugging on her wrist and draping it over his shoulder before pulling her in close and tucking his face into her shoulder.

  And suddenly the music didn’t sound so weak anymore. In fact, it came through loud and clear, pulsing through them as they swayed to its rhythm as if their bodies were one. Pru’s eyes drifted closed, letting the song work its magic. When it finished, another one took its place and then another one after that.

  Eventually, she forgot where she was and whom she was with. Max became another part of her, swaying when she swayed, his hips moving with hers.

  It made it hard to know whose idea it really was when she turned in his arms, dancing with her back to his front. More memories from their wedding night came rushing back. How she’d tossed her headdress into the crowd so that they could dance just like this. How his breath had felt on the back of her neck. Thrilling and hot.

  “You’re starting to remember,” he said behind her.

  She was.

  “Nod,” he said. His hand was on her belly now, and she could feel him hard and thick against her back. “Let me know you remember.”

  She nodded, knowing it wasn’t a great confession. She’d always remembered the dancing part of that evening.

  “What else do you remember?” he asked.

  “That’s all,” she answered. “Just the dancing.”

  “So you don’t remember what happened when we got back to the hotel room?”

  Pru froze, going stiff in his arms. But it didn’t matter. He kept them moving, making both of their bodies sway to the music as he asked, “Are you locking up because you remember or because you don’t?”

  “I don’t remember,” she told him, not to be mean or to bring him down a peg, but because it was the truth.

  “Then let me give you a recap. We danced like this and then I got us a room, so that you could sleep it off—you see, Pru, occasionally I can be a gentleman. But in this particular case you made being a gentleman very hard for me, because as I was tucking you in, you were begging me to do you. Your words. Not mine. ‘Just do me, Max,’ you said. ‘Let’s keep the party going.’”

  His words echoed in her ear, causing her entire body to heat with something she might have been able to attribute to embarrassment, if its origin point hadn’t been between her legs.

  “You grabbed my hand and forced me to touch you here.”

  His hand found her breast, rolling her nipple through the bikini’s top and causing her to gasp. But Max continued on, his voice casual and low. “And you begged me to take you, Pru.”

  He continued to torture her nipple, rolling it through the fabric, causing liquid heat to pool between her legs. Then he cupped her roughly with his hand, squeezing the lips of her mound together through the blue bikini bottom.

  Pru’s back melted into his chest and somewhere in the distance a woman moaned. Was it her? She didn’t know. Couldn’t tell. There were too many sensations going on in her body now, making her mind fuzzy, making her pant.

  Once you go Max, you never go back.

  “Truth or dare?” she somehow managed to squeeze out.

  A pause. Then Max’s voice was back in her ear. “Truth.”

  “How many other women have you played this game with?” she demanded. “How many other women have you decided to ruin?”

  She needed something. Needed something that would convince even the old Pru that giving in to Max wasn’t a remotely good idea.

  But his answer came harsh and unexpected. “Only you,” he said. “I’ve never set out to intentionally ruin any woman but you, because no one else has ever pissed me off as badly as you do.”

  He punctuated this statement by moving his hand up from her mound. But this turned out to be only a momentary reprieve. Soon it was back on her belly, slipping inside her high-waisted bikini, down, down until Max found what he was looking for. And pushed two fingers inside it, brushing her clitoris with the ball of his hand as he did so.

  On purpose? She had no idea. Her body bucked all the same, her throat releasing a loud involuntary moan.

  Two fingers began pumping into her with slow, knowing strokes. “Was this what Wedding Night Pru wanted when she begged me to touch her?”

  It was. She was sure of it, but he hadn’t said “truth or dare,” so she didn’t have to answer that, she reminded herself, as her head fell into her chest, her whole body slumping because of what he was doing to her.

  But Max kept her on her feet. “Don’t worry, Pru, I’ve got you. Just give me another one of those pretty moans to let me know you’re still with me.”

  She did moan. Moaned hard, but she couldn’t be sure if her answer was voluntary, because it felt as if Max’s fingers were pulling the broken sound out of her.

  Her moan seemed to be the answer he needed, because he went to work after that, pressing the ball of his palm into her clit. This added an overwhelming pressure to his hand action that felt both delicious and cruel. In a way that made her want to beg him to stop and implore him to keep going. Not that it mattered. At that point she couldn’t have formed words if she tried. She was too busy biting back a scream.

  The orgasm, when it came a few minutes later, took her in one greedy swallow, sending her into a vortex of pleasure before it spit her back out, weak as a bowl of jelly.

  Now it really was Max holding her up. Keeping her tight against his chest as his fingers continued to pump into her afterglow.

  “Pru, Pru, Pru,” he crooned in her ear. “You are very wet now. And extremely tight. How long has it been?”

  Again, she didn’t answer. Didn’t have to, she reminded herself as her head lolled from side to side. She didn’t have to do anything now but close her eyes and let the old Pru take over. Let the old Pru get everything she’d apparently begged for from Max.

  But suddenly he stopped, pulling his fingers out of her. “Truth or dare?” he said quietly.

  Pru blinked, confused and frustrated. Despite the orgasm he’d given her
, she was still throbbing down below. Because of him. Because of what he’d done to her. And she no longer wanted to play this game.

  “Why? Why do we have to do it this way? Can’t you just take what you want?” she asked him. Only after the words were out of her mouth did she realize that he didn’t have to answer her questions either. She hadn’t said “truth or dare.” Also, it wasn’t her turn.

  “Truth or dare?” he said again. This time the three words were hot and hard in her ear.

  “Truth,” she spit out, both her past and present selves agreeing that they didn’t have the guts to take another dare from Max Benton at this juncture. And maybe he would ask a different question this time.

  But he didn’t.

  “How long has it been?” The question was an angry demand.

  One she didn’t understand. Why was he asking her this? Why did he care?

  “Truth,” he repeated when she didn’t immediately answer. “How long has it been?”

  “A long time,” she whispered.

  “What do you qualify as a long time?” he asked.

  Anger mixed in with the lust, confusing her, making it so she didn’t know what to do. Was he accusing her of being a slut, after all the women he’d run through? Trying to make her prove she was worthy of him or something? She had no idea.

  She averted her eyes, even though he was standing behind her and couldn’t see her face as she answered. “Like, over five years. Is that long enough to prove whatever you’re looking to prove?” she asked.

  However, letting him know that she’d actually been as prudish as her name suggested for over half a decade didn’t seem to make Max happy.

  His entire body stiffened, and he cursed. Once, twice, then a third time as he brought his forehead to rest against the top of her head. “Listen, sweetheart,” he told her, his voice ragged, “you’re very wet. But I need you even wetter, because...”

  He broke off with another curse, and he finally let her out of the clinch. Turning her around to face him, before dipping his head so that they were at eye level. The wicked gleam was gone now, replaced by a brutal honesty that sent a frisson of fear through her belly.

  “I’m not going to be able to hold back with you,” he told her. “I’m going to take you, and it’s going to be rough. So I need you to lie back on the bed and let me make you come at least once more, so I can make sure you’re ready for me. I don’t want to hurt you. Let me take you with my mouth first. Please.”

  Pru’s heart was beating fast now. Too fast. So fast, it didn’t seem healthy.

  Run! a small voice whispered inside her. Don’t let him.

  She tensed up, preparing to bolt. But then...she didn’t.

  And that was when Pru knew that the old version of herself had fully taken charge. Because instead of running screaming from the room, Pru pulled away from Max...and climbed into his bed.

  The old Pru didn’t care how fast her heart was beating. She wanted this. She wanted Max. And it was the old Pru who lifted her eyes to Max. Waiting to see what he would do next.

  Chapter 12

  “You were thinking about running, weren’t you?” Max asked, meeting her gaze head-on.

  Apparently he wasn’t the type to back down either.

  Pru didn’t lie. “Yeah, I was.”

  He started stripping out of his clothes, ditching the suit jacket and white dress shirt, pushing the pants down and kicking off the shoes. All without dropping her gaze.

  “But you didn’t,” he said, coming to stand at the edge of the bed, in nothing but a pair of boxer briefs. All traces of playful Max were gone now, as well as the slightly desperate man who’d pleaded with her to let him get her off with his mouth.

  This switch did not make the old Pru change her mind. And her eyes wandered down his body to the only piece of clothing left on it. Not to be titillating but because she couldn’t help but look at what was encased there, straining to get out.

  “No, I didn’t,” she answered, her voice little more than a murmur.

  Max followed her gaze and gave her a thin smile. “Maybe you should have.”

  Before the threat could fully sink in, he had her by the ankles, pulling on them so hard, Pru fell backward, legs flying in the air. Making it easy for him to reach forward and jerk the bikini bottom off her hips and down her legs in one savage yank.

  Then he was on his knees between her legs, shoving them wide as his tongue dived deep inside her, his nose pressing into her clit.

  Pru bucked, even worse than she had when he’d touched her there. His mouth felt exactly like an invasion, and he didn’t let up, just pressed her back down onto the bed. Then his fingers got in on the action, parting her lips, opening her even wider for his complete and total takeover.

  He owned her with his mouth, devouring her and tormenting her with his fingers until she fell apart. Her hips lifted in the air as a second climax ripped through her.

  “Exactly what you wanted,” came his voice, gruff and smug. Then he was above her, his long and lean body stretching toward the nightstand.

  He had his boxer briefs down and the condom dealt with before she’d even finished coming down from her high.

  Then he was between her legs, long and thick. Pushing in.

  Pru’s breath caught.

  And Max cursed. “So tight,” he said, his voice strained to the point that she couldn’t tell if this was a compliment or a complaint.

  But then he answered her question, capturing her eyes again and shaking his head at her as if she was the naughtiest girl he’d ever met. “I’m trying not to lose it with you, but you’re making it hard for me, Pru.”

  He began moving inside her, his strokes measured, giving her time to adjust to his size as he went in, deeper and deeper. “But you like making things hard for me, don’t you, sweetheart?”

  His strokes became harder, sharper, filling her up in a way that felt like a punishment delivered inside a Trojan horse of pleasure. “You liked making me wait for this like a dog, hoping to get his treat. But now I’ve got you. Exactly where I want you. Exactly where you’ve wanted me to be, since the first time we kissed in New Orleans.”

  Max was everywhere now, heavy body on top of her, heavy erection inside of her, heavy voice in her ear, making nasty accusations. The scent of their combined arousal filled up her nose, acrid and obscene, not allowing her to deny his words or anything else that was currently happening.

  Yes, she wanted this. What woman in her right mind wouldn’t?

  But Max wasn’t satisfied with her nonanswer. “Talk to me,” he growled. “Let me know how much you want this. How good this feels for you. Give me a reason to hold back.”

  He pushed into her so hard on the last sentence, the stroke hit her clit, causing her to cry out at the unexpected extra pang of sharp pleasure.

  “I do want this,” she gasped helplessly, clawing at his shoulders as the pleasure of that last stroke vibrated through her.

  Then she showed him. Really showed him the real Pru. “But I don’t want you to hold back.”

  Max stopped pumping. Both his nose and his eyes flared with shock.

  Pru felt like a live wire, her entire body pulsing with a dangerous sexual current. She met his gaze. Met it as the old Pru would have and said it again. “I want you. I don’t want you to hold back.”

  Max became an animal on top of her then. Wild and crazed, riding her so hard the line between reward and punishment became impossibly thin.

  When the orgasm came, it blasted all the way through her. A nuclear bomb, taking out everything in its path. Her voice, her vision, her hearing. Every single breath of air in her lungs.

  And when she came down, what felt like years later, she could hear the sound of her phone’s timer chirping in the background. And Max muttering some
thing in her ear.

  If not for the fact that he was now collapsed on top of her and no longer moving, she would have had no idea that he’d come, too.

  “What...?” she croaked, feeling like a bomb victim. “What did you say?”

  Her voice seemed to bring him back from whatever edge he’d been on.

  He abruptly stopped muttering. Pulled out and raised up off her, getting out of bed. A few moments later, her phone stopped chirping.

  She tried to follow his movements, but her eyes wouldn’t cooperate. Her whole body felt sluggish, like something that had been put through a wringer.

  Still, her curiosity held on, made her ask again, “What did you say?” even as her eyes fluttered close.

  “Nothing,” came Max’s answer from far away in the room. Clipped and hard. “I didn’t say anything, Pru. Go to sleep.”

  She followed his command, not necessarily because she wanted to, but because sleep already had her in its clingy grip.

  Chapter 13

  Not enough.

  Those were the two words that had appeared inside his head last night after he completely lost it with Pru. The words that kept on repeating inside his head when his orgasm hit him like an electric shock wave. Causing him to lock up and lose all sense of time and place until he finally came down, mumbling the words out loud.

  Not enough, not enough, not enough...

  What the hell did that even mean? He’d gotten what he wanted from Pru. It should have been enough. More than enough. He should already be bored by now, coming up with plans to put some distance between him and Pru, so that sharing a room for the next few days wouldn’t become awkward.

  Instead the words had been stuck on a loop in his head for the past thirty-two hours. Making it hard for him to think of anything more than Pru. The taste of her sweet essence, the sound of her sweet moans, the feel of her sweet body receiving him, allowing him to go as hard as he liked. Telling him that was what she wanted.