All Bets Are On (3 page)

Chapter Four

Derek watched the woman run out the door.

Was she fucking kidding?
Not waste her
time?

He’d seen the mouse sitting at the table in the window when he’d walked up. She looked exactly as he expected—boring with a capital B. But he hadn’t expected her to be so skittish. She could barely even look at him. He shook his head as he watched her fumbling with the leash of a dog tied to a table out front. The poor woman really needed someone to help her dress and teach her about style. That shapeless skirt covered up whatever assets she might have. And the way her wild and frizzy hair was pulled back from her face made her look like a 1960’s schoolmarm.

Why was she hiding her legs under that tent? Perhaps she was one of those cavewomen who didn’t shave. He shuddered at the thought. How would he ever know? She didn’t show an inch of skin. The poor thing probably hadn’t dated much. If ever.

He was going to kill Minos and Cerberus for getting her hopes up like this. And now she’d just run out on him. On him! And her declaration that he wasn’t her type? That was the understatement of the year. He was tempted, more than tempted, to let her go. And he would, if it weren’t for that damned bet. There was no way he was going to let his minions win this one. He’d be washing cars for a week.

He followed her out front as she started to walk away with a massive brown dog.

“Can we try this again? I’m Derek,” he said, eyeing the dog. Some dogs didn’t have a problem with him; others tried to eat his face off.

She stopped. “I’m really sorry to have made you come all the way down here, but this…this won’t work.”

“What won’t work? Coffee?”

“This date! Us.” She gestured wide. “I knew better than to agree to this, but my friend was pressuring me and, well, I caved.” She took a step away from him, then another. “I should have known better. I always let Trish suck me into these things. Stupid, stupid, stupid.”

Now she was talking to herself. The poor thing was addlebrained. She was right, he really was too much for her. If he were smart, he would turn and walk away. Apparently, he was as dumb as dirt because he didn’t move. “How do you know it won’t work? We haven’t said two words to each other.”

She stiffened, her murky green eyes flashing as she faced him. “I can just tell.”

This couldn’t be possible. He was the Prince of Hell for Lucifer’s sake. He was the one who walked out, who charmed the pants off girls with a wink and a smile. Who decided what would and would not work.
Who
would and would not work. Annoyance surged through him. “Wait. Let me get this straight. Because I’m not your type, you’re walking out on me?”

“You don’t have to put it so harshly,” she said matter-of-factly. “I can just tell there is no reason for us to continue…uh… conversing,” she blurted, finally seizing on a word.

“Is that what you call this?” He shook his head in amazement.

“Listen, I’ve been down this road enough to know with one look that this would be a disaster. And trust me, I’m giving up a lot of potential money to walk away, but some things just aren’t worth it.”

“What are you talking about?” Had those morons paid her to date him? Those sons of bitches! He didn’t need to pay a woman to fuck him.

She shook her head. “I know I’m not making any sense, but the truth is you’re just too good looking. I don’t date good looking men.”

“Are you seriously judging me based on my good looks?” He laughed. This was too much.

Her eyes widened as she fumbled with her dog. A few more curls pulled loose from her too-tight bun. Perhaps that’s what was wrong with her. She was too tight. Maybe a good fucking was just what she needed. Suddenly, he was intrigued.

She started to walk away.

“Wait, you are walking out on me, on a lot of potential money, as you put it, because I’m too good looking for you?”

“Yes,” she called over her shoulder.

“So you don’t need the money?”

She turned back to him. “I very much need the money. That is, my kids need the money.”

He froze. “Your kids?” He didn’t remember her profile saying anything about kids.

“I run a nonprofit organization for homeless kids.” Her gaze swept over him again. At his Armani suit and Italian shoes. She must have dollar signs blinking in her eyes. “If you’d like to donate to the cause, they’re in great need.”

His jaw dropped. “Let me get this straight. You’ll stick your hand into my pants and take my money, but you won’t sit down and have a cup of coffee with me?”

Jaclyn’s eyes widened at his words. What he must think of her. “No,” she said. Then
followed up with, “Yes. I guess so. God, I don’t know, it sounds truly awful when you put it like that.”

“I’ll say it does,” the man agreed.

She felt her cheeks burning. This situation was going from bad to downright impossible faster than a snake slipping down a drain. “It’s not like that, though.”

“Really? That’s what it sounds like to me.” There was a challenge in his obscenely beautiful eyes, a smirk to his perfectly shaped lips.

She took a deep breath to try and explain then thought better of it. “Never mind. Someone like you could never understand.” She wheeled around and continued walking. Rufus looked up at her, back at the man behind her, and then whined. “Don’t even think about it,” she warned him. She’d just made a complete fool of herself. This was why she didn’t ask people for money. She was terrible at it. Beyond terrible.

The man followed after her, his shadow looming behind her. “So, you’re a coward then,” he called.

She spun back on him. “Geez, do you think there are any more insults you could hurl my way?” The man was making her feel downright pitiful.

“Well, yes, if you really want to know. I think you’re a self-indulgent and superficial woman who doesn’t give a damn about anyone but herself.”

Stunned, she opened her mouth so fast she almost choked again. “I just told you I run a charitable organization. For children.”

“And yet, in your own words, you’re turning down an opportunity to potentially gain a donation from me, because you are too much of a coward to get to know who I am and what I’m about. You’d rather jump to conclusions, judge me by my looks, I might add, and then run away. No wonder you’re still single.” This time he turned from her to walk away.

Angered by his words and completely flummoxed, she called out. “You’re wrong about me.”

He kept walking. She stared at his back, wondering for the first time if maybe he was right. Maybe she was too judgmental. But judgmental wasn’t a bad thing. It meant she was discriminating. She looked before she leapt. That didn’t make her a coward, it made her guarded.

Is that why you throw yourself into your work, never giving anyone a chance to get anywhere near you? Because you’re a chicken shit?
Her inner voice attacked. Hell no, she wasn’t a chicken shit.

“You’re wrong,” she called, again.

He turned back, a big smile on his face. “Oh yeah? Prove it.”

He was enjoying himself, the cad. “Fine, I’ll have coffee with you.”

“You will? Great,” he said dryly.

“I will, because trust me, I no longer find you the least bit attractive.”

The stunned look crossing his face was priceless. “That’s a hell of an invitation.”

She smiled when she realized how badly she’d just insulted him. But the truth was, she didn’t care. She was actually beginning to enjoy herself. Apparently she was also a secret sadist and didn’t know that about herself either. “Well, like you said, there is all that potential money.”

Suddenly he was standing before her, close enough to steal her breath and send a flutter moving through her insides all over again.

“Again, with the compliments. Please, don’t hold back on my account.”

She looked up into those incredible blue eyes. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

Chapter Five

Derek almost choked on his disbelief. Did she seriously just say she was no longer at
tracted to him? How he hoped no one was watching their encounter right then or he’d never live it down. No one had ever talked to him that way, or treated him that way. Ever. Hell, who did this little mouse think she was? Whatever misguided compassion he was feeling for the woman was gone. Now she was merely a bet to win. And he would win. He would have sex with this woman and make her eat her words. One way or another.

“I’ll tell you what. I’ll make a donation to your foundation if you accompany me to a charity ball tomorrow night,” he offered.

“What charity? Rutherford’s, by chance?”

Hell, he didn’t know. He thought for a moment, trying to remember what his mother had said about the ball. “I believe so. It’s one of those silent auction things,” he guessed. “You know, encompassing several different charitable organizations.”

“But you don’t actually know for which ones?”

“I go to a lot of these things,” he defended.

“Why?”

“Because that’s my business.”

“Charity balls?” She looked skeptical.

“Meeting people. Most deals are not made in back rooms, they’re made at parties over bottles of very expensive wine.”

“That’s comforting.”

“Afraid?” he challenged.

“Of you? Hardly. It’s just that you are exactly the type of person I don’t like talking to at those things.”

“Not even for a donation to your little foundation?”

She stiffened, her mouth drawing down. Ah, he’d hit a nerve. “Could you be any more condescending?” she asked.

“Look, you’re the one who said you needed donations. I’m offering to make one. All you have to do is show up, look pretty, and smile. I know that’s a lot to ask.”

Her eyes flashed fire. “Stop.”

“What?”

“Talking or I might just kill you.”

“Are you too afraid to spend an evening with me?” He threw down the gauntlet. “Am I just too handsome for you?”

Her mouth opened in outrage.

His annoyance had turned to amusement. This might just be a game worth playing. And then he’d be happy to collect his winnings from Minos and the boys, once he got the little mouse into his bed. Very happy.

“Do my blue eyes make it hard for you to think? To breathe? Is your heart about to pound out of your chest?” he continued, pushing it as far as he could.

“Seriously?” She actually smiled, and when she did her whole face lit up. For a second, a very small second, he forgot how truly annoying the woman was and thought she just might be the most fascinating creature he’d met in a very long time. “I wouldn’t go anywhere with you.”

“I knew you’d say that,” he quipped before she could walk away. “You would have a very difficult time walking into my world.” That was putting it mildly.

Her eyes narrowed. “And why’s that?”

“Because you don’t have the courage. You might as well throw in the towel on your little homeless foundation right now.”

“How dare you?” she sputtered.

“How dare I? I just offered you an opportunity to mingle with Miami’s ultra rich, who are used to doling out thousands of tax write-off dollars, and you won’t go because, let’s say it together—I’m too handsome.”

“You are insufferable. And you’re not even that handsome.”

She actually stomped her little foot. He couldn’t help grinning. He was getting to her. He could smell it; hell, he could taste it. And boy did it taste sweet. “You know, you are just as superficial as you believe I am,” he continued.

“Oh, you think I’m superficial? I bet you drove here in a big black Hummer. That’s the kind of self-indulgent jerk you are.”

He looked behind her at the black Hummer parked halfway down the street, blinked, and with a quick flick of his hand it immediately changed into his long black Mercedes Benz. He turned back to her. “I’ll tell you what, I’ll make you a bet.”

“A bet?”

“Yes. You go with me to this ball Friday night, and I bet you will be in my bed by midnight.”

“Are you kidding me?” She laughed. She actually laughed and he realized he liked the sound of it. Though why, he couldn’t fathom.

“I’ll even raise the stakes. You spend the night with me
without
ending up in my bed, and I’ll throw in $10,000 for your shelter.”

She swept a trembling hand through her hair, forgetting that it was pinned back and allowing more wild curls to fall loose. He was tempted to reach behind her, pull out the clip, and let it all flow free.

“Is it a deal?” he pressed, knowing by the way her tongue wet her lips as she stared up at him that there was no way he could lose. The temptation was too great to resist.

“I can’t believe you’re actually offering to pay $10,000 for a date.”

“I can’t believe you’re not willing to accept it,” he countered.

“Don’t worry. You’ll never get me in your bed. Not that night, not ever. Not for any amount of money.”

He laughed. “Now
that
I’d consider a personal challenge.”

Chapter Six

To Derek’s complete surprise he was excited about his date the next evening. He was looki
ng forward to winning his bet with Jaclyn, and his bet with his minions. But the absolute best part would be getting the uptight Miss Jaclyn to abandon all her pretenses of being a cold fish. He couldn’t wait to slip past her defenses, seduce her drab clothes right off her back, and hear her beg for mercy as he took her to heights she’d never before reached. Tonight, she would be screaming his name and begging for more.

And the game would be won. Point and score!

“You taking the mouse to the ball tonight?” Minos asked, winking at his partners in crime as the three piled into Derek’s office.

“You wanted to get me laid, didn’t you?”

“Well, yeah, Boss, but we didn’t expect you’d actually go through with taking her out in public,” Phlegyas said.

“Bringing her out in front of your mother, even,” Minos added.

“Then why’d you set up the date in the first place?” Derek barked, annoyed that they so cavalierly messed with the woman’s life. Worse yet, messed with
his
life.

“Because you’ve been a little uptight lately,” Cerberus said, obviously trying to smooth things over. It wasn’t working.

“Yeah, like that time you sent me flying into the next realm just because I was a little late,” Phlegyas said.

“And don’t forget that coffee mix-up,” Minos added, nodding.

“If you don’t want to spend the next week mucking out the bottom of the river Styx, just make sure you don’t do anything stupid tonight,” Derek warned all three of them.

“Stupid? Us?” Minos asked, as if the thought were impossible. As if they, the three most moronic minions in the Underworld, could ever do anything remotely dumb.

“Yes, you.” Derek slipped in his cufflinks, two gold Ds, then walked out the door and headed toward the black stretch Mercedes limousine. “Now, which one of you numbnuts is going to drive us?”

“That would be me, Boss,” Phlegyas said hurrying toward him, his driver’s jacket hanging over his arm. “Got to be there to make sure we win our bet.”

“Don’t be so sure you will,” Derek grumbled. More snickers from the peanut gallery. He climbed into the back of the car, and Phlegyas shut the door behind him. Getting the little spitfire, whose heart raced a million miles a second every time he stepped within a foot of her, into his bed would be a slam-dunk. And then those numbnuts would pay. They’d pay real well.

Within twenty minutes, they were pulling up in front of a small, well-maintained bungalow. Phlegyas opened Derek’s door for him. He stepped out of the car and headed up the walk and onto a spacious porch adorned with two white rocking chairs. Very homey. She probably had three cats and a house full of afghans. He knocked on the door, heard her dog bark, and then before he could take a breath, the door opened and a mouth-watering sensation stood before him.

Surprised, he stared at the woman and then almost asked for Jaclyn. When her green eyes narrowed in annoyance, he realized this beauty standing before him was his schoolmarm mouse. Without her glasses, her ponytail, and baggy clothes, she was a sight to see.

“You look breathtaking,” he said. And he wasn’t lying. She was a vision in red chiffon that hugged her breasts, pushing them upwards and displaying them beautifully. He was tempted to lean down and take a small nip, but all in good time. The gown tapered at the waist, flowing like an endless waterfall to the floor. He swallowed, his gaze zeroing in on her very tempting cleavage.

“Really?” she asked, her voice dry, her tongue sharp.

He stopped himself from licking his lips, and smiled. “Sorry, but you look delectable. Edible even. A creamy, irresistible dessert.”

She huffed with annoyance and pushed past him. “One you won’t be eating.”

He grinned and watched her walk toward the car, her unruly brown hair flowing in long curly cascades over her shoulders. She’d pinned it back behind one ear with a diamond comb, leaving small delicate wisps to tickle her neck. Tonight, he would follow their path with his tongue. His cock stiffened at the thought, and it annoyed him that he couldn’t take a small taste of her right then. For some reason, unlike most women he set his sights on, this one seemed easily able to resist him.

Obviously, he would have to work for the prize. He’d talk sweetly to her first, win her over with his charm, and let her see exactly how devastating he could be. Once he broke through her defenses, his little schoolmarm-turned-vixen would be in for quite the night. A night she would not soon forget.

“Wait,” he called. Ever the perfect gentleman, he hurried forward and offered his arm. She ignored it, one perfect eyebrow lifting. His cock jumped. Phlegyas rushed around the front of the car, buttoning the top buttons on his jacket, a big smile on his face. He was practically drooling over Jaclyn, his eyes wide and leering. His minions really needed to get a life. They were enjoying this game way too much. But then, he had to admit, so was he.

As they got settled into the back seat, Derek pulled a bottle of fine French wine out of the bucket in the sideboard and handed her a glass. “Wine?”

“Why not?” She looked around and fidgeted with her small beaded purse. She opened it, pulled out a brochure, and held it out for him while he filled her glass.

“What is this?” He took the brochure that read Safe Haven across the top.

“A brochure about my organization. I thought you should know where your ten grand was going.”

“We’ll see,” he said, a wide smile crossing his face. “That’s only if I lose the bet.”

She took a long sip of her wine and looked him square in the eye. “Plan on losing, because I can tell you right now I’m not having sex with you tonight.”

He liked a woman who was direct. As direct as he could be. “Are you sure about that?”

She grinned and, for a moment, looked absolutely feline. “Positive.”

Two glasses of wine later and the limousine pulled up in front of the Trump Resort. Derek sc
owled. Hopefully the ride wasn’t indicative of the evening to come. Jaclyn, though stunning, hadn’t said a word. Derek kept refilling her glass hoping to get her to loosen up but, he had to admit, he was beginning to miss his feisty schoolmarm.

Once parked, Phlegyas opened their door. Derek climbed out first, then held his hand for Jaclyn. She took it, extending a long shapely leg out the car. Flashes lit the night as paparazzi snapped their picture. He couldn’t blame them; his mouse was quite a sight to see.

They’d barely stepped onto the carpeted entranceway when his mother stepped forward to greet them. “Hello, Derek. I didn’t know you were bringing a date.” She looked momentarily annoyed as she extended her hand to Jaclyn. “Marlena Wescott.”

“My mother,” he said under his breath.

“Jaclyn Reynolds. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” She took his mother’s offered hand with a firm grasp. He cringed, knowing that with just the slightest touch, his mother was gleaning as much information as she could from the poor girl’s mind.

Information she would use against him in the future.

“I didn’t think you were attending tonight, Mother,” he said, trying to distract her. Didn’t matter. It never took her long to get what she needed.

She dropped Jaclyn’s hand. “I told you how important the Fredricks deal was. I want to make sure it goes off without a hitch.”

“You don’t trust me to handle it?” he challenged.

She smiled, that sly grin that always set his teeth on edge. “Don’t be ridiculous, darling. I have the utmost faith in you. Now let’s go inside. They are getting ready to serve dinner.” Marlena tucked Jaclyn’s arm into hers and led her into the hotel. There was no getting out of this now.

He turned to Phlegyas. “Isn’t there some catastrophe we can cause in the Underworld to get rid of my mother? Sink Charon’s ferryboat or something. I need time alone with Jaclyn tonight without her interfering.”

Phlegyas grinned. “I’m sure we can come up with something, Boss.”

…

“I hope they don’t serve us the proverbial rubber chicken,” Jaclyn said under her breath as s
he slipped into her chair at a round table big enough to serve eight.

“Oh, you can count on it.” Derek’s gaze followed his mother as she sat at a different table on the other side of the room.

She seemed like a nice enough woman to Jaclyn, but it didn’t appear as though she and Derek got on too well. “Is that Bill Gates?” she asked as she spotted the man across the room

“Yep. And standing next to him is Mr. Fredricks, President of Tellon Corp.”

“Your big deal?”

“Yep.”

“What is it you do again?” She took in the man he was referring to with the well-cut suit. The woman hanging on his arm, sheathed in diamonds and silk, looked like she was dripping in money. Jaclyn suddenly felt self-conscious in the chiffon bridesmaid dress she’d worn to a girlfriend’s wedding. Derek refilled her wine glass from the bottle sitting at the table. Though her head was already swimming from the wine she’d drunk in the limo.

“I do all kinds of things, but as far as Fredricks goes, I’m closing a deal that will take over his company.”

“Take it over? As in hostile takeover?”

His grin looked absolutely feral. “Yep.”

“Won’t that be kind of awkward?” She really hoped Fredricks wouldn’t be sitting at their table.

“Not at all. His company hires children in India to work for rock bottom wages. For what he spends on managers and American workers to fly in and oversee his operations, hiring and training, and the constant turnover of workers, we could bring the company back to the US.”

“Impressive,” she said. And she was being completely honest. She was impressed. If more companies would come back to the States, there would be more jobs here and less kids in her shelter.

“I’m not saying life would be any easier for those kids without the jobs, but using them as slave labor, not to mention the horrific punishments they incur if they don’t deliver, turns my stomach. All so he can reap millions off their backs. No, it’s not awkward. Not awkward at all.”

Suddenly this man sitting beside her with his perfectly cut suit and shiny Italian leather shoes was a lot more attractive than she’d originally thought.

Jaclyn relaxed and picked up her glass and clinked it against his. “Here’s to a very successful takeover.”

He smiled, and something lurched inside her. She quickly looked away and met the eye of the two gentlemen sitting across the table from them. They were looking at her with open curiosity and admiration. She wished she hadn’t drunk so much. Right now she was out of her element and way out of her comfort zone.

“Derek, are you going to introduce us to your lady friend?” One of the gentlemen across from her asked.

“Of course. Reginald, this is Miss Jaclyn Reynolds. Jaclyn this is Reginald and Zacharius. Two very important members on the board of our company.”

“It’s very nice to meet you.” They made small talk about the weather and the coming holidays, and continued harmless gossip about the partygoers around them. “What about that woman there?” she asked, pointing to a svelte blonde who had to be a supermodel.

“Elena Weathersby. Heir to the Weathersby fortune. She does her standard tax-deductible charities. Nothing more, nothing less. She might be interested in your organization, but if I were you, I’d hit up the men.”

“Oh, really?”

“Men can never resist a beautiful woman, especially if she’s wearing red.” He smiled again, and her stomach fluttered.

She watched him talk to Reginald and Zacharius, watched him drink his wine, his mannerisms impeccable. He’d said she was beautiful. It just slipped easily off his lips as if it meant nothing, when in fact it meant everything to her. No one had called her beautiful, at least not for a very long time. But the truth was, she wasn’t beautiful. Obviously, he was working his magic, buttering her up, trying to charm her right out of her pants. She picked up her water glass and took a long drink, trying to dilute the alcohol in her system.

He looked at her, winked and smiled.

And almost stopped her heart. This had to stop. She was not some flighty girl who went gah-gah over a little male attention. But then she caught a side glance from his very blue eyes and wondered if maybe she was.

Another man joined them at the table, Noah Wells, some bigwig in the Pharmaceutical Industry. Derek introduced her, and even pulled out the brochure she’d given him and handed it around the table. He then went on to talk about the good she and her organization were doing in the community. By the time everyone was seated she had sizable donations. Trish had been right, after all.

“That was amazing,” she said, under her breath, feeling slightly giddy.

“No,
you
are amazing. I’m just letting everyone else in on the secret.”

She grinned, and almost jumped out of her skin when he dropped his hand to her thigh.

“Buttering me up won’t get me in your bed,” she whispered, then quickly removed his hand. “I plan to collect that $10,000.”

“Really?” He turned his full mega-watt male attention on her, running his finger slowly up her hand, lingering on her wrist, trailing it up her arm and sending shivers cascading through her body. He was making her insides feel all melty.

His effect on her was lethal. Was she really that lonely? That desperate? The thought made her sad, but she steeled her resolve and stared down his hard-to-resist peepers. “Really.”

She stilled for a moment as his deep blue eyes captured hers. Men weren’t supposed to be that gorgeous. Good looking men learn from early on all they have to do is smile to get what they want. They sweep in, take you for a hell of a ride, then leave you with your life in tatters. She watched it happen to her mother first-hand when her father up and disappeared without a trace. Then she had remarried, and just when Jaclyn felt safe, her mother turned around and did it, too, leaving her husband and her daughter to run off with some looker. Jaclyn’s life was left in shambles. She never understood how her mother could be so weak. How she could throw it all away for a handsome face? Jaclyn would never be that dumb.