Hustle Him (Bank Shot Romance #2) (11 page)

Ramsey walked behind the bar, like he knew his way around. “You just take a seat. I’ll get you something that will help you relax.”

“I have to still drive home, you know.” If this guy thought he could get me drunk, he was so wrong.

“One drink isn’t going to kill you, Vessa.”

“That’s coming from someone that drinks all of the time.”

“I don’t drink all of the time. Some nights I like to unwind. My life is complicated. The alcohol helps me relax.”

I wished that I could tell him that I knew about his family. I hated that I knew the truth. It was like I was lying to him. “My life sucks!” I grabbed the shot glass and let it pour down my throat. Ramsey leaned back against the bar wall and watched me.

“Because
your husband?”

“Ex!” I shook my head and tapped on my glass. Ramsey started to fill it with more Bourbon. “He promised my son that he would take him fishing. The child has only wanted to go for the last two years. He was really looking forward to it. Out of nowhere that asshole calls and says that they aren’t going. Can you believe that? He stood up his own son.”

Ramsey shook his head. “Some men don’t know what they got. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that. It’s a shame that your husband is…”

“Ex! We aren’t together anymore.”

“You know what I meant.” I did know, but after everything that had happened, I wanted nothing to do with the liar.

“I’m glad you came back.” My reply was both in a whisper and timid. I was actually scared to talk to Ramsey this way.

He cleared his throat and seemed to have to think about how to respond to me. “How bout that pool game?”

Ahh, he wasn’t going to answer me. It was okay. I got it. I just hated that this man could be holding in his demons and not letting anyone in to help him. It made me want to help him even more. Except, with my own set of problems, it made me seem like I was the one who needed the help. I was pretty sure that Ramsey was only coming around me now, because he pitied my situation. Why else would this broken man want to spend a single second with a still married, mother of two
? “Sure.”

Just like the games before them, I let Ramsey take the lead. He played in a way that made me think that maybe, just maybe, he was showing off a bit. He played the game well and I loved watching it. I’d seen quit a lot of people play pool in my lifetime and there was just something graceful about the way he held that stick in his hands. It was like the gentle side of Ramsey Towers was peeking out of the hermit façade.

He ran out a few of his balls on the table before giving me a turn. “Your shot. Do you remember how to play?”

I laughed and leaned over the table. “Pretty sure.”

Since I had been the one serving Ramsey earlier, I knew that he’d had a bunch to drink, but the man standing before me seemed collected and far from being drunk. I suppose he really did handle his alcohol. It also reminded me of how sad and lonely his life must be to only have a bar to come to, instead of a friend.

Here I was, pretending that I couldn’t shoot, just to get to know him better. I’d really stooped low this time. Not to mention the fact that I was still legally married. He may have been a total douche, but on paper, he was my douche.

In all honestly, Ramsey was the first man that I had ever really been attracted to, other than Gavin. I’m not meaning like some guy that just looked good when he walked by or ordered a drink. I’m talking the kind of attraction where I was dying to know what made him tick. Perhaps it was just the whole mysterious vibe that he wore on his sleeve. There was so much more to Ramsey. Whether he wanted me to know or not, I was going to find out.

We played three games before he said something other than pool tips. A few times, I found myself biting my tongue to prevent myself from laughing. I wanted to turn around and contradict him.

Ramsey did a great job talking to someone without having a single personal detail revealed. He didn’t ask and neither did I. After three games, he walked over and got me another drink. By this time, I was already feeling a little too relaxed. I never usually drank, because when I did, I couldn’t shut up.

I knew I was leaning over the table, laughing and acting all giddy, but at the same time, he was smiling more. His teeth were almost perfect except he had one crooked canine on the left side.
The stubble on his face must have grown pretty quickly, since he had a five o’clock shadow almost every night that I’d seen him. Don’t get me started on those matching tattoos that I wasn’t even supposed to know about. When he bent over, I found myself watching to see if his underwear were hanging out the top of his pants. If someone was watching me from afar, they would have thought I was just plain creepy.

When he handed me the drink, he opened his bottle of water and took a long sip. I too, sipped on my drink. “You feel any better?”

I nodded. “Alcohol can’t be the answer to my problems. I need to just face them.”

His jaw clenched and I could tell that my comment seemed like I was insinuating that alcohol was the answer to his problems. “I never said it was the answer, but it does take the
edge off. Sometimes, I just don’t feel like caring.”

“Well, that is pretty obvious. I’m a good listener, you know. I mean, this is as close to having a friend as I’m going to get. So, if you need something, anything, just tell me.”

He let out an air filled laugh and shook his head. “I can tell that aside from your husband, you really don’t have much experience talking to men.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I put my hands on my hips and waited for his answer.

He turned to face me, moving his body closer to where I stood. When I looked up into his eyes, I wasn’t sure if I was afraid or turned on. “It means that you can’t offer a man something, or anything.” He raised his eyebrows, waiting for me to get what he was saying.

“Oh. Oh! I wasn’t suggested that…I mean…”

He laughed again. “It’s fine. I know what you meant. I’ve already told you that I don’t talk about my life. It’s nothing personal, Vessa.” I sat down and basically pouted. I wasn’t crying or acting like a baby with my lip out, but I just looked down at my drink and avoided eye contact. He sat across from me and waited for me to look up at him. “It has nothing to do with you. If it makes you feel any better, I haven’t hung out with anyone like we are right now. I am a terrible excuse for a friend, but I suppose if you really like my company, you know where to find me.”

“Friendship goes both ways, you know. We can’t be friends if I know nothing about you. I mean, wasn’t
that the reason that we were playing pool, to get to know each other?”

“I didn’t say that, you did.”

“You knew what it implied. I wouldn’t have played you if I didn’t want to know you. Whatever it is, you can tell me.” I reached my hand over and touched his.

Right away, he pulled away from me. “Don’t! Sorry. I should get you home now.”

I held up my glass. “You just made me drink liquor. I can’t drive home.”

“I’ll drive you home, Vessa. Then I will have someone get the car to you in the morning. Consider it my part in this new friendship that you want so much.” Ramsey stood up and grabbed his keys out of his pocket. He leaned over and took the glass from me, then walked it over to the sink and cleaned it.

After we turned off all the lights, we both headed toward the door. At the same time, both of our hands grabbed the doorknob. His warm hand was underneath mine. Bravery wasn’t my strong point, except when alcohol was involved. I scooted myself in between him and the door. Our faces were almost touching. When he tried to pull away, I squeezed his hand. “Kiss me.”

His eyes got big enough that I could see the white in them
, even in the dark. “Vessa, that is the alcohol talking. Trust me, you don’t want that.”

I didn’t let go. I held my body close to his and let my lips brush over his. I was
surprised that he didn’t fight me. He just held his body still. “My ex told me that no man would ever want me again. Don’t tell me what I want.”

It was clear to
me; at that moment that this was the first time since losing his wife, where Ramsey had been in this position. He was weak and I was taking advantage of that. “We need to get you home,” He said as our lips made contact again.

“Just kiss me.” My other hand reached up and grabbed the collar to his shirt, pulling him into my lips. I opened my eyes and saw that he’d closed his. In a matter of just seconds, what started as light pecks, turned into a
full-blown make out session. His breathing increased, as did mine, while our tongues mingled. He pulled his hand away from mine and grabbed my hair. I kissed his cheek with my lips and slip of my tongue. The stubble tickled me, but made him release a low groan.

When my hands began to move around, he grabbed both of my arms and pulled away. His lips were on my forehead. “We need to stop.”

I nodded, knowing that this was as far as it was going to go. As hot as I was between the legs, I knew we weren’t going to sleep together.

We said nothing on the ride to my aunt’s house. I didn’t know what to say to him. Our second kiss had felt even better than the first. After both times, there was only one thing that I knew for sure.

I wanted more of Ramsey Towers.

Chapter 11

Ramsey

She was under my skin now and I wasn’t sure if I wanted her there. Don’t get me wrong, sexually, she was definitely a weakness. I wasn’t a fool. I knew that my wife was gone, but as far as moving on, well, I’d never even considered it. Because of me, they’d lost their lives. It wasn’t fair for me to want to be happy again.

I can’t say that I hadn’t thought about her puffy lips and what they would feel like against mine. Hell, I’d thought about a whole lot more than that when it came to Vessa. In the short time that I’d known her, she’d made me open up more than I had since the accident.

It also meant that it made me feel guilty over my actions.

I didn’t want Vessa to feel like she wasn’t attractive. She needed to know that her husband cheated because he couldn’t keep his shit in his pants. She was stunning. Everything about the woman had the potential to get my blood flowing.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t going to go there. This friendship that she wanted was going to have to end. I couldn’t continue to get close to her.

In no time at all, I fell asleep on the couch. Just like every night, my dream was more of a memory. I’d just come off of a long shift where we had a double homicide. The family had been at the scene and it was just hard to not bring
that kind of shit home with me.

I found my girls asleep on the couch.
They were covered up with a small throw blanket. Quietly, I made my way to the chair across from them and started to remove my boots. It was difficult to not wake up Jules. She was the lightest sleeper that I’d ever known. Her eyes opened and she caught me watching her.

I think right away she knew that it hadn’t been a good night for me. After being a cop’s wife for a while, she just knew. She scooted herself off of the couch, without waking Katie and then made her way over to my chair. Jules said nothing as she climbed up into my lap, straddling me. Her lips found mine and I accepted the only cure for my shitty night.

Her erotic tongue moved with unique technic. I was always a sucker to her seduction skills. She was like that Bon Jovi song, Bad Medicine. Her dark hair was pulled back and I took it upon myself to free it from the clip, so that I could see her waves fall down over her shoulders.

Realizing that our d
aughter could wake up at any moment, Jules climbed off of me and grabbed my hand, pulling me up the stairs with her. I followed like a little puppy, waiting for a reward for being a good boy.

While she went into the bathroom for a moment to herself, I started ripping off my clothes. I didn’t want to waste a single second when she came out. Our mat
tress was new and a pillow top, so I flopped down on it and closed my eyes while I waited for her to join me.

She came out wearing nothing
, just the way I wanted it. Her slow strut to the bed was tantalizing, exactly how she wanted it to be. “Give me a number.” This was how Jules and I discussed that night of work. It was a scale of ten being the worst and one being an easy night with no occurrences.

“Nine,” I said while watching her climb on top of me.

She ran her hands up my chest and bit down on her lip. “Kids?”

“Teens. Parents came to
the scene,” I whispered between kisses.

Jules sat up and rocked her body back and forth. Her movements made me crazy considering that my dick was already rock hard. I grabbed her hips and flipped her underneath of me. She gasped, but quickly went back to seducing me with her sweet kisses.

I entered her slowly, allowing her to accept my girth. Her legs wrapped around mine, like a pretzel. I watched her face as we began to grind together. She leaned into my chest and licked at my nipple, while I ran my hands up and down her fine ass. Low sounds of pleasure filled the room as we continued our late night therapy session of making love.