The Bad Boy Next Door: A Red Hot Bad Boy Romance Read online

  “She would love to. I will put them in touch with one another. Julia does pro bono for non-profits so there’s no need to pay her. She makes enough off of her well-to-do clients that she can afford to do some work for free each year.”

  “Well, then, my work here really is done.” Amanda retrieved her overnight bag and after another round of hugs and tears of happiness between the two women, she headed to her vehicle and pointed it toward home.

  The Final Chapter

  After Amanda left, Ruby poured herself a glass of iced tea and flopped on the couch to call Julia. It was only noon and already an entire day’s worth of emotions had happened. It was both overwhelming and satisfying to Ruby. She was glad that she and Isaac had been able to resolve their differences so they could start moving forward.

  Julia answered on the first ring. Ruby told her in detail what had happened with she and Amanda went next door. Her friend listened silently.

  “Wow,” she finally said when Ruby had finished. “Sounds like a big morning.”

  “Definitely. I’m going to take a bath to wash away the emotions I’m contending with, and then I’m going to get my manuscript turned in. Oh, that reminds me,” Ruby continued. “Would you be interested in helping Isaac organize a benefit for a non-profit he wants to found?”

  Julia was silent a moment. “The loyal friend in me wants to say hell no because of what he did to you. But the realist in me says that if you’ve forgiven him then I should as well. Besides, I’ve never even met the man.”

  Ruby snickered. “I love you, Julia. You’re the best. If it helps sway you, I plan to donate and so does his aunt. She’s even going to try to bring in a few donors.”

  “All right. I can probably bend a few ears as well,” Julia mused aloud. “I will check my schedule. Give me his number and I’ll get a hold of him soon.”

  Ruby rattled off the number and the two friends said their good-byes and hung up. Ruby finished her iced tea and ran a hot bath which she scented with lilac and lavender oils. The steam curled up from the water’s surface, bringing tendrils of aroma therapy with it. Ruby inhaled deeply before lowering herself into the bath and relaxing.

  ***

  Isaac was looking at the letter he was typing to Genie. Finally he erased the whole thing and started over with a fresh, blank screen.

  Dear Genie,

  I don’t understand why you did what you did, but I forgive you nonetheless.

  If you were in a desperate place and needed money, you could have approached me as a friend and asked.

  I probably would have given you something for old time’s sake.

  Don’t feel as if you’re obligated to respond to this letter. I’m doing this for my own closure.

  Good luck with your endeavors in life and I hope you are well.

  -Isaac

  There, he thought. That’s much better. Isaac hit the print button and then saved the document. Amanda had called her lawyer and obtained Genie’s address before she left, for which Isaac was grateful. He was glad to be able to avoid a phone call. After addressing and stamping an envelope he put it outside to be collected and then considered the matter closed. Isaac found that he honestly didn’t care one way or the other if Genie responded to his letter. He felt immediately at ease and able to wash his hands of the situation entirely. Some small pang of hurt would stay with him for a while, but eventually it would soften around the edges before melting away, entirely forgotten.

  That done, Isaac returned to the computer to handle a couple of other matters. His first task was sending out a message on his social media sites stating that there would be no more parties until further notice. Then he sent out a second message, this one containing an announcement that he was founding a non-profit organization and details on a fund raising benefit would be forthcoming. That done, he turned off the laptop and began another task, one which was both physical and symbolic.

  After an hour and a half of steady work, Isaac had cleared all of the empty alcohol containers out of the house and into the recycling bins. He had even swept and mopped all of the floors before moving the couch back to the living room where it belonged. The emptiness of his dining room suddenly bothered him. It felt sterile and devoid of warmth, like a hospital room. Isaac cataloged his life since his parents passed away and felt the reality sink in. He was living a transitory life, not setting down roots because he didn’t know where life would take him from day to the next. It was time to change that, Isaac decided.

  ***

  Ruby sent Isaac a text asking if he wanted to come over for dinner and he responded in the affirmative. She called the Moroccan restaurant where they’d had their first date and ordered dinner and a bottle of wine to be delivered around six, about an hour from now.

  Isaac arrived just after the food was delivered and Ruby was dishing it on to plates. She greeted him with a hug and motioned for him to sit at the dining table.

  “What’s this?” He asked.

  “We are re-creating our first date,” Ruby responded. “I feel like our relationship needs a do-over, so I called the restaurant and ordered dinner and wine.” She poured two glasses of bubbly and brought everything to the table where long taper candles were already lit along the center.

  “I agree,” Isaac told her. “I definitely need a mulligan.”

  Ruby nodded and took a seat across from him. As they ate, they talked about Ruby’s book launch which would be happening the following month; much sooner than originally expected.

  “There were only a few edits to make,” she explained, “and since there is a network interested in my first book as a television series, we wanted to launch the new book as soon as possible.”

  “That’s fantastic. What happens at a book launch?” Isaac asked. He slid his foot over hers under the table and smiled.

  She returned the gesture as she replied, “A bunch of people stand around drinking and eating and talking about how great Ophelia Maddox is. I read an excerpt, shake hands, sign autographs. That sort of thing.” Ruby then asked if Julia had been in touch yet. “I only spoke to her this morning, but I didn’t know how quickly she would get back to you about the benefit.”

  “She called to say that she was going to take the job pro bono, and that she’d check her schedule and make some calls to work out a few details. Julia is projecting that perhaps in three weeks we could hold the benefit.”

  “Wow, that’s fast! Julia is a wiz at pulling events together though. She knows all the right ears to bend, and her client list is to be envied. Julia organizes all my book parties as a matter of fact,” Ruby told him. “I don’t really have time to deal with the stress of it.”

  Isaac began clearing dishes after they finished dinner. As he was rinsing a plate in the kitchen sink, Ruby came up behind him and put her arms around his waist, one hand dipping slightly in between the waist band of his jeans and his stomach. She felt him draw in a sharp breath as her hand made contact against his skin. Isaac put his hand over hers and squeezed. Ruby smiled and slid her hand a little further down into his jeans.

  “Re-creating the whole first date, huh?” Isaac asked playfully.

  “That’s the idea,” Ruby murmured as she slid her hand into his underwear and down the length of his shaft which responded quickly to her touch.

  Isaac unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans and let them slip down his toned hips. Ruby took him in her hand and stroked with an alternating firm and soft pressure until he was as hard as a Greek statue. Then she turned him to face her and slid her own shirt up over her head and let it drop to the floor. Isaac saw that she hadn’t been wearing a bra beneath the soft cotton blouse, and her nipples were hard from rubbing on the inside of the fabric. He bent and took one into his mouth, switching between suckling and nipping with his teeth. Ruby gasped as her erogenous zone was triggered, sending a cascade of pleasure down her stomach and to that spot nestled between her thighs.

  Ruby took Isaac’s hand and led him into her living room where she pushed h
im down on the couch. She unbuttoned her jeans and slid them to the floor, revealing to him that she wasn’t wearing underwear either. “I didn’t want to wear anything complicated,” she explained with a sly smile as she sank to her knees and took his hard length all the way into her mouth. Isaac gasped audibly, surprised at the sudden and unexpected move, and then moaned again as her moist, wet mouth sucked up and down his shaft. He bucked his hips when the waves of pleasure rode through his lower abdomen.

  Ruby moaned as well, enjoying the feeling of warmth spreading through her lower body as she orally pleased her man. His hands fisted in her hair, but Ruby set the pace, going faster and then slower, and then switching to her hands as her mouth licked and nibbled it’s way along the insides of Isaac’s thighs.

  “Oh, my god, Ruby. You’re amazing.” Isaac pushed his hips upward again, unable to help himself. “I need you,” he whispered. His voice was thick and husky.

  Ruby relented finally, giving one last long, achingly slow pull on his throbbing manhood before she straddled him on the couch. She pushed his hands away as they tried to pull her hips down hard and fast. She wiggled her finger from side to side and kissed him deeply, probing his mouth with her tongue, and then biting and sucking at his lower lip. As she did so, Ruby ever so slowly lowered herself onto him, taking his cock into herself one inch at a time. Isaac moaned again as she did so, feeling her moist pussy tightening on his shaft, so tight he thought he might explode before he could give her an orgasm. He willed himself not to cum yet however, instead begging her in hoarse whispers not to torment him.

  She only smiled a catlike smile, licking her lips seductively, and lifted herself slowly off of him until he was no longer inside of her. Isaac whimpered then, and Ruby lowered herself again. She wasn’t only teasing him however. Ruby wanted nothing more than to slam her hips downward, filling herself with him so that his engorged head hit her sweet spot mercilessly. But she wanted to lengthen the pleasure for both of them, bringing them both to the edge of ecstasy before they rode each other in the waves of pleasure.

  “Give it to me,” she finally whispered in his ear, biting his ear lobe gently.

  Isaac needed no more coaxing. With practiced hands he raked his nails down her back, grabbing her hips and thrusting her downward, feeling himself fill her time and time again. Her back arched and he took the invitation to bite at first one nipple and then the other until they were bruised and swollen from his attentions. Isaac felt her swollen vulva tightening around him, slick with the dews of pleasure. Whether it was her own body’s moisture or his, he knew not. He only knew that he must drive himself against her until they were both spent and exhausted. After Ruby had been riding on top of him for a while, Isaac lifted her, still on his cock, and laid her down on the couch so he could drive his hips against her.

  Ruby moaned loudly, nearly crying out as her sweet spot was thrust against by the momentum. She could barely speak her mind was a blank, and she felt the cascades of pleasure rolling through her. I don’t ever want this to stop, she thought to herself in a coherent moment. Then Isaac changed the position again, this time pulling her to her knees so he could drive into her from behind. Now Ruby did let her moans come loud and long each time his hard, throbbing cock drove itself into her sweet spot, filling her from top to bottom with its girth. Isaac’s hands were on her breasts, squeezing and rubbing her nipples between his thumbs and forefingers, driving her crazy with the feeling. She gave another long, loud moan, and felt herself tightening hard around his cock.

  Isaac felt her tighten and leaned against her back, holding himself inside her, feeling her body throbbing around him as they climaxed together. He held himself there a moment longer, until he was completely spent, and then they collapsed together on the floor, against the side of the couch, breathing heavily. Ruby’s head rested on Isaac’s chest, which heaved as he caught his breath. Her hand playfully went to his cock where she stroked it teasingly.

  “Can you handle another round?” he asked.

  She stopped. “I don’t even know if I can walk after that,” she said with a laugh. Her lower abdomen was still contracting, the ecstasy still rolling through her, causing her to arch her back as it did so. “That was the best orgasm I’ve ever had,” she said finally as it came to an end.

  “You’re the best I’ve ever hand,” Isaac said, kissing her ear.

  Finally after a time, Ruby stood up and went into the bathroom to clean up. She came back out and got dressed, watching Isaac do the same.

  “You want to be my date for the book party?” she asked finally.

  “Of course. I assume you’ll reciprocate and be my date at the benefit?”

  The two of them embraced, kissing each other deeply again before separating. “I believe I left the dishes undone,” Isaac said.

  Ruby just laughed and gave his ass a light slap. “You did what was important,” she said with a lascivious wink.

  *

  Ruby was bustling around the large banquet hall, putting the finishing touches on center pieces, straightening the linen napkins, and annoying her best friend Julia.

  “Ruby!” Julia said loudly, to get her attention. “Stop that! I have assistants to take care of these details and you’re getting in the way.”

  Ruby took a deep breath and slowly walked over to where Julia was standing at the front of the room, in front of a large stage. “Sorry. I just want it to be perfect. I don’t want any little detail out of place.”

  “Nothing is out of place,” Julia reminded her friend patiently. She consulted her clipboard. It had been just over three weeks since she told Isaac Ross she would take on the task of organizing a fundraiser to he could found a non-profit group for literacy. She thought she’d outdone herself this time, however. Julia had never set up an event in under a month, and she thought it was all going just beautifully.

  “What should I be doing?” Ruby asked, smoothing the skirt of her long evening gown. She had chosen black with silver highlights, and her hair was in a Grecian style updo with ringlets hanging free down the back.

  “You should still be at home,” Julia reprimanded her. “This is Isaac’s baby and you don’t see him here getting under foot do you?”

  “I know,” Ruby dithered, “but someone has to show guests where to sit, and show the orchestra where to sit, and man the guest book.” Ruby was rambling.

  Julia cut her off. “None of those things falls to you, dearest. This is why I pay my assistants so well; we do all of those things. You and Isaac are the clients, and the clients never work their own events. It would make me look unprofessional. So you take a deep breath, go get some water, and sit the hell down somewhere out of the way. Don’t you have books to autograph?”

  Ruby sighed. Julia was right, but Ruby couldn’t help it. They went through this familiar banter before every book launch party began also. Ultimately, Ruby trusted Julia. So she went to the bar and asked for a tall ice water and then carried it to a back table where a cardboard box full of books awaited her autograph. Her publisher had moved up the release date for the second book in her romance trilogy, and many of the books she was signing today were special advance copies which would be given away as contest prizes. A few were earmarked for Julia’s clients; clients would appreciated any little extra personal attention for their donation.

  The book launch party itself was in three weeks. Ruby had already submitted the outline and a few plot notes to her agent for the final book of the trilogy. The feedback had been positive, and she was looking forward to getting started on it. After Isaac and I get back from vacation, she reminded herself. Ruby and Isaac had promised each other that after his benefit and her book party, they would take a week-long cruise to recharge their batteries. Ruby couldn’t remember the last time she’d taken a vacation. A weekend of shopping in Dallas didn’t count. Isaac hadn’t taken vacation either, not since his parents passed. It would do them both good, she knew.

  Their relationship, though it had a rough start origin
ally, had been going strong since their First Date Do-Over. Isaac had thrown a couple of parties in the last three weeks, but to Ruby’s pleasure and surprise she was invited to them, and they weren’t nearly as out of control as his previous soirees had been. They gave each other space when they needed it, but spent plenty of intimate time together as well. Ruby enjoyed maintaining her independence, and Isaac didn’t begrudge her that.

  “We live right next door to each other, so it’s perfect,” he’d said one afternoon as they discussed their couplehood. “We’re each independent, but close enough to spend all the time together that we want to.”

  “It would be kind of funny if we remodeled both of our houses so they were connected by a doorway inside,” Ruby had laughed, drinking the last of her margarita.

  Isaac hadn’t laughed however. He had rubbed his chin and said, “Hmm. You might be on to something there, my love.”

  Ruby raised an eye brow. “No, I’m not. I was joking.”

  “Well, hear me out. Some day we might want to move in together right? So how would that work? I have the larger house, but yours is cozier. Do we sell one and cram all of our stuff into the other? Or,” Isaac said, spreading his hands in the air as if inviting her to share his vision, “do we simply connect the two houses into one mega-house?”

  Ruby shook her head, smiling. It wasn’t the worst idea she had ever heard. Besides, she didn’t know if she wanted to give her house up. Finally she shrugged. “Okay, when it comes time to have that discussion seriously, we’ll put it on the table as an option.”

  Isaac fist-pumped the air as if he’d won a major victory.

  Bringing herself back to the present, Ruby smiled and continued signing books. She set aside one copy of each of her works for the network owner whom she would be meeting at her party in three weeks. She knew the woman already owned the books, but Ruby felt the autographed hardcovers would be a nice gesture. She was nervous about the idea of seeing her work on the screen, whether it was the big one or the small one. What if the show’s writers slaughtered her plot? What if they deleted characters? What if they added characters? There were already steamy romance scenes, but what if they started over-sexing the whole thing? Ruby took a deep breath and told herself to calm down.