Forever Bound by Ella Ardent Read Free Book Online

butt.
    “Yeah.”
Darren nodded vigorous agreement. “Me, too. Set her straight while there was
still time.”
    “And
cut her loose if she didn’t surrender,” Mark concluded, finishing his own
shooter.
    “What
boutique?” Ryan asked.
    “The
next resort is couples-only.” Mark gestured with his empty glass. “They have a
shop, with gear from that BDSM club, The Plume. That hot bridesmaid was going
there this morning.”
    Ryan
bet Fiona had gone there with Jess. That would be where she’d bought that
gear—because he knew she hadn’t brought it with her. Well, maybe he
should turn the tables on her.
    Sooner
would be better.
    “Or
you know what else you could do?” Mark said, his eyes alight. “You could win
the bet!”
    “What
bet?” Ryan had a vague memory of a bet being conceived at the stag, but he’d
been so drunk that night that his memories were a haze.
    “Whoever
gets lucky first wins the money,” Darren said with a nod. He spared a glance at
a passing waitress, as if considering his own prospects. She ignored him.
    Ryan
almost laughed out loud at Darren’s crestfallen response. Darren was about as
likely to proposition a woman he’d just met as walk on the moon. His friend
from high school talked a lot, but was notoriously shy around women. It would
take more than a smile from a pretty waitress for him to work up his nerve.
    “Three
thousand dollars,” Mark hissed. He pointed to a waitress who was just coming on
duty. She was petite and curvy, even prettier than the others. The women
working in the bar all wore bikinis and sarongs, along with high-heeled
sandals. They clearly spent most of their time off working on their tans and
their nails. This one spared Mark a knowing smile, clearly remembering. “The
campaign continues,” Mark murmured, raising a finger to summon the pretty
waitress. “You’ve got maybe six hours to make your mark, Ryan.”
    The
idea wasn’t even worth talking about. Ryan wasn’t going to mess around on Jess
just days before the wedding. He was going to use that time to ensure that
their marriage worked.
    He
got to his feet, leaving his beer. “I’m going to check out that shop,” he said.
“You guys coming?”
    Darren
shook his head. Mark was too busy trying to charm the waitress to answer. Ryan
headed to the neighboring resort alone.
     
    * * *
     
    Men
were such losers.
    Laura
shook her head as she put empty glasses into the bin at the waitress station.
No doubt about it—working at an all-inclusive resort let her see them at
their worst. She wasn’t sure her natural optimism could survive with another
six month contract.
    She
felt the need to retaliate. Somehow.
    She
turned to look at the dark-haired guy who oozed confidence, the one she’d
accused of being a Prince Charming.
    “He’s
kind of cute, isn’t he?” Alanna said.
    Laura
glanced up to see her smiling at Mr. Smooth. He winked at Alanna and saluted
her with his shooter. “He’s his own biggest fan,” Laura said wearily.
    “They’ve
got some bet going,” Alanna said, her eyes sparkling. “A thousand bucks in the
pool and it goes to whoever gets lucky first. He said he’d split it with me if
we did it.”
    Laura
turned to look at her friend in shock. Three thousand was what she’d overheard. Mr. Smooth had
lied about the amount, making himself look good while he was planning to cheat
Alanna.
    “What
a rat bastard he is,” Laura said with heat. “But then, what else can you
expect? A guy that good-looking, who has charm to spare. Of course, he’s a
dick.”
    “What
do you mean? I thought that was a good offer.”
    Laura
thought about it for only one minute. In less than a day, she’d seen this guy
trying to trash his friend’s wedding, trying to get the groom drunk, trying to
get him beneath a willing woman, and she didn’t like it. No wonder the bride
looked so stressed. And now, he was lying about the money in order to entice
Alanna to help him win some stupid bet.
    This
was one