“She hates us, doesn’t she?”
“What did you think would happen? You bought her in a poker game. Why couldn’t you stick with gambling for cars or horses? Cash? Why her, Deac. Why?”
Deacon pushed off the couch and paced around the room. “Damn. She’s perfect. More than perfect.” He hung his head. “She is incredible.” He’d never seen more beautiful lips on a woman. Her hair was golden—it almost shimmered as if she were an angel. “This isn’t going to be easy.”
“You wanted an empress.”
“Instead I got a caged panther.”
Cole stood next to him. “I’d say back out of the deal, but…”
He cut him off. “No. We can’t let h
er go.”
Cole shook his head. “No. We can’t. On this, I actually agree with you for once. Even if I completely disagree with how she came to us.”
“Are you ever going to stop giving me shit about it?”
He knew he gambled too much. He knew sometimes it got out of hand, but this was the one time it had paid off. His bet brought the most amazing woman into their lives. A sassy spitfire with gorgeous tits and an ass that was round and soft. And there was an entirely unexpected side—she was an artist.
It was a part of his life he had never been able to share with anyone before. He had collected for years. Toured the world, visiting the most prestigious collections he could find..
“She isn’t going to go for this, Deac.”
“Then, we do it the old-fashioned way,” he decided.
“Old fashioned way?” Cole questioned.
“We seduce her with everything we have. We will be relentless. Put everything on the table. Everything.”
“I don’t know that Abby is the kind of girl who is going to fall for that. You saw that look. It’s clear Cal Mantelli isn’t her favorite person, and I’m certain she has added our names to that list.”
“That may be so. But we have thirty days to make her ours. And I plan on using every second we have to make sure that happens.”
It took everything he had not to kiss her when she was here. He had taken one look at her and wanted to know what those plump lips would taste like. What kinds of sounds she would make when he kissed her. How her eyes would light when he touched her.
“Are you with me?” he asked his friend.
Cole ran his fingers through his hair. “For a chance with her? Yes I am. I’m all in, if we can make this work.”
“Then the opening in Vegas this weekend will be the perfect chance to show her what we can give her.”
“Let’s just get through dinner first.”
5
Abby
It didn’t matter that the drapes were made from imported silk or that she had her own fireplace. Abby didn’t care that there was a closet full of designer gowns, and more high heels than she had seen in a department store.
These walls were her prison. A beautiful expensive prison. And she hated it.
She turned on the TV and sank onto the pile of pillows. She scowled, despising how comfortable the bed was. It would make it easier if they gave her a bed of thorns to sleep on—not luxurious linens.
Who did these assholes think they were? There was nothing about them that seemed like the thugs Cal usually did business with. They were refined. Polished. And they had money. They weren’t trying to hide how rich they were. She doubted they had made a single deal in the back of an ally or resorted to petty theft to pay bills.
From their expensive suits to the custom details in the mansion. They were loaded. Their reputations as Chicago’s infamous bachelors were hard to miss. They were splashed on social media. There were even blogs about Deacon and Cole. The last article she read put together a bracket list on which Chicago socialites would be able to snag the duo. She wondered what the world would think if they knew this is what they did.