Before Lucky (Forever Love, #3) Read online

  “Sometimes, I think guys like you take girls like me for granted.” She giggled and placed her hand in my lap again. “You’re lucky I said yes to tonight’s date.”

  “I am.” I tried not to roll my eyes at her words. I wasn’t being cocky when I said I could have almost every woman in Miami. The only ones that would possibly say no were lesbians, and I’d even dated some of them.

  “I want to go back to your place.” Her voice was firm, and I knew that Emily was a woman used to getting what she wanted.

  “That’s not going to be possible.” I pulled onto I-95 and pressed my foot on the gas. I was fuming inside at what she had said about Lucky. But not only was I fuming at her, I was also mad at myself. What did I care what Emily had to say about the girl? Some of it was true. Lucky was poorly dressed, likely because she was poor and she was working in a somewhat trashy diner on a Friday night. She wasn’t a girl I would normally look at twice, for a number of reasons. Yet, something about the glint and smile in her eye wouldn’t leave my mind. Emily may have called her plain, but there was nothing plain about Lucky. Her big brown eyes were expressive and beautiful. They were so open and honest, and I’d been able to read her every emotion; that was something I couldn’t really do with the crowd I hung out with. And yes, her hair had been somewhat frizzy, but it gave her character. The loose tendrils surrounding her face had been sexy as hell, and I could picture myself playing with her hair in bed, as those tendrils teased my chest and face.

  “Well, I guess you’re not exactly as Braydon said.” Emily’s voice interrupted my thoughts and I turned to her quickly.

  “Oh?” I looked at her through narrowed eyes. My heart had slowed and I kept my voice even. Did Braydon suspect what I was up to already?

  “Yeah, he always said that you were just after sex, and any girl that dated you would be a fool to think you were interested in anything else.” Emily looked at me with a wondering and weak expression. “But, I don’t think you took me out just for sex? I mean, you’re taking me home…” Her words trailed off, and I could tell she was confused, concerned, and slightly hopeful. I knew she was worried that she had lost her mystical powers of entrapping any man she wanted with sex. But I also knew she was wondering if perhaps, she had been the one to tame me, and maybe I was holding back on sex because I wanted a more meaningful relationship with her. I almost laughed in her face. There was no way in hell I wanted a relationship and it certainly wouldn’t be with her, if I ever changed my mind.

  “You almost seemed to pay more attention to that waitress than you did to me.” Her voice was upset and my breath caught. “I felt like you didn’t even listen to me much.”

  “I…”

  “Like, when I told you that Braydon had asked me to go to a party with him in St. Barths next weekend and if you thought I should go, you didn’t even respond.”

  “Wait, what?” I frowned at her words. “I don’t remember you saying anything about a party with Braydon.”

  “Because you were too busy watching the waitress,” she huffed.

  “Oh.” I bit my lip in anger at myself. What else had I missed watching Lucky walk around the diner? I’d never lost focus before, and now wasn’t the time to start.

  “It makes me wonder why you even asked me out,” she pouted again and I knew that there was only one thing to do to make sure I got everything I needed out of Emily.

  “Let’s go back to my place.” I hesitated slightly as I spoke, but I knew it was the only thing I could do, to make Emily happy again.

  “Really?” Her tone changed and she slid back over to me.

  “Really.” I nodded and turned my car around and we drove back to my place in silence. As I drove, I felt an impending doom in my stomach. I’d slept with plenty of girls that I’d never cared about before, but somehow, this just felt wrong. This time, I just didn’t want to do it. It wasn’t that I wasn’t attracted to her, she was beautiful and her body was amazing. Any other night, I would have fucked her without a problem, but tonight, in this moment, the last thing I wanted to do was take her into my bed. I could tell myself it was because of my distaste for her, but I knew that wasn’t it. I didn’t even want to think about why I just wanted to go home and read my book by myself.

  I felt numb as I drove back to my place. I could hear Emily prattling on about something, but I ignored her. She didn’t seem to care now that she had achieved her goal. I guess I was just another notch in her belt: she’d be able to tell her friends that she had slept with Zane Beaumont, son of Jeff Beaumont, the head of Paragon Studios. For all I knew, she had aspirations of becoming an actress and was hoping for an easy in. Little did she know, I hadn’t spoken to my dad in about a month and didn’t care to either.

  I pulled up the driveway and jumped out of the car quickly. I wanted to get the night over with, so I could take her home in the morning and be done with her. I was pretty sure she didn’t have any info on Braydon, but I was hoping to convince her to go to the party with him in St. Barths, and maybe then she’d have a bit more to report back to me. She didn’t need to know why. I just needed her to do my bidding.

  “This place is amaaazing,” she gasped as we walked through the large wooden doors. “Welcome to Miami, bitches.” She walked across the hallway and directly to the large glass doors on the other side of the room. She stared out at the pool and turned to grin at me. “Let’s go for a swim.”

  “A swim?” I frowned, not wanting to prolong the evening any longer. I didn’t want to have to listen to her yap on about her hair and her modeling career any longer than necessary.

  “I’ve always wanted to have sex in a pool.” She dropped her bag on the ground and before I knew it, she was stepping out of her heels and pulling her clothes off. I stood there staring at her in surprise. I knew she wasn’t a shy one and her body was as amazing as I thought it was going to be, but as I stood there staring at her in her bra and thong panties, I felt not one iota of yearning or lust for her. “Come to momma, Zane.” She laughed and pulled her bra off, throwing it towards me. I stared at her breasts in almost clinical fashion. They were perfectly shaped, and something about their perkiness screamed silicon to me. She leaned back against the glass door and ran her fingers up to her breasts, in an attempt to be sexy, and I felt myself shudder at her obviousness. This had been a mistake. I was as indifferent to Emily as I had been before, but now I also felt extreme distaste at her attempt at seduction. I had no interest in taking Emily in the pool, or in my bed.

  “Go and have a swim, and I’ll meet you in the pool in a few minutes.” I turned away and walked up the stairs casually, not waiting for a response. I needed a moment to think and to plan. I couldn’t afford to make Emily mad at me, but I also knew it would be a cold day in hell before I would make love to her. There were some things that even I wasn’t willing to do.

  Chapter 2

  “Oh Zane, you’re such a big boy.” Her fingers slid along my hardness, and I grinned at the wonder in her voice. I watched her as she played with my manhood and closed my eyes as she bent her head. Her mouth was warm and her tongue teased me gently. I groaned as she brought me to the brink of an orgasm. I pushed her off of me gently and shook my head.

  “Your pleasure comes first.” I grinned at the wide surprise in her eyes and kissed down her body softly, allowing my tongue to trail down her stomach to her sweet spot. I heard her gasp as I entered her, and she squirmed beneath me.

  “Take me now, Zane.” She reached down and grabbed my hair. “Please, please, take me now.”

  I kissed back up her body and positioned myself over her, pausing to grab a condom. She shook her head and grinned up at me shyly “no need,” she whispered and I plunged into her, delighting in the feel of my skin against hers. “Oh, Zane. Zane.” She screamed my name in pleasure, and I moved slowly, teasing her with my movements. I looked up into her eyes and they glowed at me in pleasure. “Zane, Zane, Zane.” She kept moaning my name, and I felt myself moving faster and faster. I stared
up at Lucky in amazement, as I felt myself about to come. I’d never felt this hot and on fire before. I felt like I was on top of the world.

  “I’m going to come…” I groaned out and grabbed hold of her.

  “Zane, Zane,” I felt someone shaking my shoulders roughly. “Wake up.” I opened my eyes slowly and saw an angry, wet, and topless Emily staring down at me. She stood there shivering and I jumped up, annoyed and frazzled. I looked to the other side of the bed to see where Lucky was, but I realized it had all been a dream. My heart was still beating rapidly and my body still felt hot. It had been such a vivid dream, I could still feel her warm breath on my skin. I could still taste her on my lips. I shook my head to gather my wits around me.

  “Sorry, I must have fallen asleep.”

  “I was downstairs in the pool for over an hour.”

  “I told you I was tired.” I walked over to the closet and threw her a towel. “Would you like to have a shower?”

  “Are you going to join me?” She held the towel in her hands, and I averted my gaze from her breasts.

  “No, I think you should just go by yourself.”

  “You’re a loser, you know that right?” She glared at me, and her voice was hostile. “Just take me home.”

  “You can spend the night. I have a spare room…” I started and stopped as I saw her nostrils flare.

  “Spare room? Take me home.” She walked out of the room. “I’ve never been treated so shitty in my life.”

  “I’m sorry, I must have just sat down for a second and drifted off.” It took everything in me to not ask her how it was possible that this was the shittiest she had ever been treated. She was one of the biggest bitches I had ever met. I couldn’t believe that no one had ever let her have it before.

  “Whatever.” She flounced down the stairs, and I followed behind her, watching her butt cheeks as she walked. Part of me wondered if I should just fuck her and be done with it. She was obviously aching for it, and I obviously was sex-starved if I was having dreams about some girl I didn’t even know. I frowned as I thought again of the dream I just had. It had felt so real, I could still feel the happiness inside me as Lucky had screamed out my name. But maybe that hadn’t even been a part of the dream, maybe that had been Emily shouting at me. I was uncomfortable at how much Lucky was occupying my thoughts. I didn’t understand it and didn’t want to think about her. She could bring nothing positive to my life. She could bring you love, a little voice whispered to me, and I stopped cold.

  “Hey, come here.” I called out to Emily urgently. “Let me make it up to you.” My voice sounded unfamiliar to me, it was warm and wanting. Emily looked up at me hopefully, with her bra in her hands. “Come here.” I commanded her this time. She grinned at me and ran over, dropping her bra on the floor.

  “I knew you couldn’t say no, not to me.” She pushed her breasts into my chest, and I felt nothing. I made myself smile into her cold and calculating blue eyes.

  “Of course, I couldn’t say no.” I leaned forward to kiss her. This is what I knew. Sex, for the sake of sex. My lips crushed down on hers, and I slipped my tongue into her mouth. Her lips remained motionless underneath mine, and her breath tasted foul. I tried not to recoil from her and ran my hands down her naked back. She moved in closer to me and ran her hands down my chest and to the front of my pants. She started to unbuckle my belt, and all I could see was Lucky’s face in my mind. I moved away from her slowly and rubbed my forehead. “I’m sorry,” I shook my head. “I, I, just can’t do this right now.”

  She looked at me in shock and tried to reach her hand down my pants.

  “No,” I pushed her hand away. “I’m not interested Emily, sorry.”

  “You just told me you wanted to have sex.”

  “I’m sorry, I thought I could do this, but I just can’t.” My voice was pained, as much for her, as for myself. I didn’t understand it. I just knew that I physically could not have sex with her, the kiss alone had been torturous. The feel of her body against mine did nothing for me. If I was honest with myself, I knew that I didn’t like her and didn’t care if I never saw her again. Braydon or not. I sighed and felt like slapping myself, but I knew there were other women. I’d get what I needed from one of them. “Are you okay?” I walked over to Emily as she threw her clothes on.

  “Just take me home.” She growled at me, sounding very much like a male bear. I was taken aback as I stared at her and stifled a laugh. I guess her true colors were coming out.

  “How about I call you a cab?”

  “Whatever.” She flung her hair.

  “Let me call you a cab.” I walked into the kitchen quickly and pulled out a number. “Hey, it’s me, can you send someone over right away? Thanks.” I hung up and walked back to where Emily was. She stood by the door and stared at me provocatively, I was pretty sure she was trying to look alluring, but she looked more like a rat that had nearly drowned.

  “The cab will be here in a few minutes.” I nodded at her and averted my gaze, feeling somewhat sorry for her.

  “Don’t bother calling me again.” She gave me the death stare and I pretended to look disappointed.

  “I’m sorry. The night didn’t go as I intended.”

  “I thought you had more class, but I should have known when you took me to the grease spoon that you were…”

  “I think we should both stop before we get any angrier.” I interrupted her and stared into her eyes. “I don’t think we want to end the evening on an argument.” I knew that if she tried to disparage Lucky again, I wouldn’t be able to keep my mouth shut.

  “You’re scum, Zane Beaumont.” She spat at me and opened the door. “I’ll be outside.”

  “I’ll come out with you.” I sighed, not wanting to join her, but not wanting to leave her outside by herself. I may be an asshole, but I wasn’t going to let a woman stand on the street by herself.

  We stood there for a few minutes silently before I saw the car come down the road. I said a silent prayer that the car arrived so quickly and whispered to the driver when he stopped.

  “Don’t worry about the cost, I got it.” I smiled at Emily and she glared at me without answering, as she got into the back of the car. “Thanks for coming, I had a fun night.” I shouted out before she slammed the door, and I laughed to myself.

  I walked back to the house and closed the door. I looked around the room and stared at the marble floor that sparkled so brightly, thanks to the light from the chandelier. The house was so quiet and I walked slowly, turning off all the lights. I thought back to the first time Noah and I had seen this place. He had known right away that this was the house he wanted us to get.

  “Can you imagine the parties we could have here, bro?” He had punched me on the shoulder lightly, his eyes sparkling. “Look at the pool, right in the middle! This place is perfect.”

  I hadn’t really agreed—the place was too ostentatious for me, but Noah had loved it. I felt my throat constrict as I thought about Noah. I didn’t want to think about him or about anything anymore. All I wanted to concentrate on as bringing Braydon down. He was responsible for Noah’s death. He had to pay. I walked up to my room and pulled out my phone. I needed to talk to someone. I didn’t want to go to bed yet; I didn’t want to face my dreams. I dialed the number of the only person I knew I could talk to.

  “Special Agent Waldron.” He answered the phone on the first ring, and I was glad that he was always available. Ever since the day I had decided to call him, he had always been here for me. Even if sometimes he was so vague that I didn’t really understand what he was saying.

  “It’s Zane.” I paused. “I just got back from my date with Emily.”

  “The model that dated Braydon six months ago?”

  “Yeah,” I paused. “She didn’t know anything.”

  “I didn’t think she would have much information.” I heard some papers shuffling. “I’m not sure many of them will have access to the info we need.”

  “You never kn
ow,” My voice was urgent. “I have to try.”

  “Yes, it doesn’t hurt. Have you been in contact with Evan?”

  “Yeah, we’re going to hang out soon.”

  “Good. Once you get in with that crowd, you should be able to figure out who is closest to Braydon. And hopefully, figure out how many people are involved.”

  “Yeah.” I sighed. “I have a date planned for next week with Brigetta.”

  “The swimsuit model?”

  “Yeah.”

  “She’s hot.”

  “They’re all hot.” I was nonchalant. Hot didn’t mean anything to me anymore. They were all the same to me; a means to an end.

  “Lucky bastard.” Special Agent Waldron laughed and I closed my eyes as I sat on the bed.

  “I don’t care if they’re hot. I just want them to have info.”

  “Yeah.” His voice was monotone again. “Well, don’t forget to let me know if you get any.”

  “Yeah,” I scratched my head. “I took Emily to a diner tonight.”

  “Oh?” I knew that he was surprised. I wasn’t the sort of guy to do diners.

  “Yeah, Lou’s Burger Joint. It was different, but kinda cool.” I thought back to the beginning of the evening and watching Lucky dancing. I smiled thinking about the concentration on her face, as she tried to get the steps down, and the embarrassed smile she had given me when she realized I had been watching her.

  “I see.”

  “I figure maybe I’ll go back next week.” I paused. “Unless you think it’s a bad idea.”

  “I don’t think it’s a bad idea unless you get made.”

  “Yeah, I wasn’t sure if it was smart to go again. I mean, I have no real reason to go back, but the food was pretty good.” My voice trailed off. I wasn’t sure why I was going on about the diner. Or why I wanted to tell him about Lucky. I felt a strong urge to say her name and talk about her, as if that would make me closer to her.

  “Okay. Was there anything else, Zane?”