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

  “What did you slip her a fifty for?” Ruby asked.

  “It’s customary to tip the hostess in restaurants such as this,” Isaac explained. “Besides, I’m not exactly dressed like I have money to burn, so the generous tip ensures that we won’t be harassed about the dress code.” Isaac took a long drink of his ice water and smacked his lips. “Could use some gin to go with this ice water.”

  Ruby pursed her lips and just as quickly forced the expression of disapproval from her face. She enjoyed a drink or two now and then herself, she thought. But I don’t want this to degrade into some kind of drunken revelry.

  The waiter came to their table and took their drink orders: they both ordered colas, sans booze. Ruby smiled at Isaac as she flipped through the menu and looked around the restaurant. She had never eaten Moroccan food before and she was looking forward to the experience. Colorful, woven textiles hung from the high ceilings around the establishment. The space was broken up into two main rooms, with a small banquet room at the back of the building. Each room had a different color scheme to it adding visual interest to the dining experience. The section in which Ruby and Isaac had been seated had doorways of peaked arches, and a richly-colored mosaic mural dominated one wall.

  “This place is breath-taking,” Ruby said.

  Isaac nodded. “This is my second time coming here, and the food is amazing. I thought after this we could take a walk or see a movie.”

  The waiter returned to the table to take their orders. Both ordered beef tagine, a stew-like dish with butternut squash and couscous. When the food came, Ruby exclaimed over the fragrant, spicy aroma and the tenderness of the beef.

  “It’s perfect,” she said, taking another bite.

  Isaac smiled and dug into his own dinner. They conversed as they ate.

  “I gave some thought to the things you said. I should find something productive to do with my time and money. I’m just not sure what I want to do.”

  Ruby chewed thoughtfully before answering. “You could invest in a company, like a venture capitalist or something. Assuming you have the money for that kind of thing,” Ruby said quickly. “I have no idea what your finances are like.”

  “I could lose money doing that thought, couldn’t I?” Isaac asked as he took another bite.

  “It’s possible, but if you choose carefully and get some advice from an expert, you could see a lot of return for your investment too. I’m assuming your parents invested somehow?”

  Isaac nodded. “They set up a trust with half of it, and invested the rest into mutual funds. I mainly live off the trust fund which generates some interest. I mutual fund is a backup mostly.”

  “I’d start by talking to your financial team then,” Ruby offered. “They could probably tell you what direction would be best.”

  “But that doesn’t give me anything productive to do with my time, really. It’s just another income.”

  Ruby nodded. “That is true. Have you considered maybe getting a part time job?”

  Isaac’s eyes widened. “The thought never crossed my mind. My parents always took care of me, so I didn’t really need to work.”

  Ruby felt a slight twinge of envy. Oh, to have rich parents and a carefree life. “Have you ever worked?”

  Isaac nodded. “When I was in college, I had a job. Just delivering pizzas. I was going to be an oral surgeon originally. Then I just lost interest.”

  “That’s quite an ambition,” Ruby said, “Not to mention expensive.”

  “Yeah, that’s what turned me off. I didn’t want to come out half a million dollars in debt.”

  “I’ll come up with some ideas, if you like.”

  Isaac put his hand over hers. “I appreciate that you’re concerned about my well-being,” he said.

  ***

  On the drive home after a late movie, Isaac whispered in Ruby’s ear. “So, do I have a shot at trying some of those things on you?”

  Ruby blushed as a smile crept across her face. “Maybe.”

  “I have a better idea,” Isaac said. “Why not come in and I’ll read those steamy scenes to you while we soak in a hot bubble bath.”

  “Oh my,” Ruby said, feeling the pleasurable thrills running rampant down her spine, all the way to the place between her thighs.

  The car stopped at the curb in front of Isaac’s house and he took Ruby by the hand, leading her out of the vehicle. Ruby licked her lips, and couldn’t come up with a single reason not to let the night go where it would. I’m not marrying the guy, it’s just a date. She smiled at him and nodded. “A bubble bath and a good book sounds perfect.”

  Once inside Isaac’s house, Ruby grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled her surprised date toward herself. She reached up on her tip toes and planted a kiss on his lips. Ruby let her lips linger against his and she felt his hands sliding around her waist, pulling her closer, parting her lips with his tongue, exploring her mouth. Ruby moved her hands from the front of his shirt, sliding her hands into his back pockets to pull him closer. Isaac pressed her up against the front door, and they moaned lightly against each other.

  Suddenly Ruby felt her feet come off the ground. Isaac lifted her, wrapped her legs around his waist and carried her up the stairs and into the master bedroom. His lips never broke contact with hers. Her hands fisted in his shirt as he set her down on the edge of the bed. Ruby’s hormones were running rampant throughout her body now, reminding her what it was like to be desired by an attractive man. She heard water running momentarily and Isaac came back out, stripping the shirt from his tight abs as he did. He threw the shirt on the floor and gave Ruby a predatory smile that made her lower parts shiver.

  “What are you doing?” She asked with a smile as Isaac came over and knelt before her.

  He merely smiled at her again and winked one beautiful eye as he reached around to untie the halter top. He pulled the flimsy fabric away from her small, but full breasts and licked his lips. Ruby shivered and reached for him, letting her nails rake lightly over his skin. Isaac closed his eyes and smiled. Then he laid her down on the bed and unzipped her pants, pulling them off of her slowly. Ruby returned the favor, unbuttoning his pants and unzipping them with her teeth.

  “Show off,” Isaac laughed. He pushed her back down on the bed again and took the red lace underwear she wore between his teeth and pulled them off of her. As they slid down, revealing the place between her legs, Isaac’s eyes met hers and he ran his thumb over the tiny, pink nub there. A ripple of orgasmic pleasure rippled through her and Ruby’s breath caught in her throat.

  “I have plans for you,” he said to her. His voice was thick, Ruby noticed. She looked him over appreciatively, noting that he was hard, his thick shaft standing at attention.

  Isaac picked her up again and carried her into the bathroom where the water had just finished filling the large garden-style tub. The air was scented with lavender, and Ruby’s skin prickled lightly as he lowered her into the steamy water. Ruby watched him move, lithe, like a cat. He lowered himself into the water across from her, never breaking eye contact. He took hold of her leg and slid her towards him and then ran his hand under the water, up her leg and back to the pink nub he had triggered moments ago.

  Ruby closed her eyes as another shudder ran through her. She reached through the warm water and grasped him in her hand, giving a long, firm stroke, applying pressure to the underside of the head where she knew most men had an erogenous zone. Ruby was rewarded with a sigh from her date, and his fingers delved downward, from her pink bud, between the lips covering her pussy. Ruby took hold of his shaft and stroked up and down watching his eyes dilate and his breathing grow ragged.

  Isaac slid his fingers inside Ruby’s womanhood, enjoying the extra tight sensation the water provided. He thrust his fingers in and out of her several times as she stroked him expertly with her hand. “I want you,” he whispered.

  “Then take me,” she whispered back.

  That was all the motivation Isaac needed. He slid forwa
rd, crossing his legs, and pulled Ruby onto his lap facing him. As he pulled her toward him, he positioned himself for entry, and as he thrust into her for the first time, forcing her open against the water, Ruby let out a long moan of pleasure. Isaac was oblivious to the splashing water as he thrust into her again and again, each time a little deeper than the last, until Ruby was breathless and raking her nails down his back. He felt the sting of the bubble bath in the scratches and didn’t care. He was in heaven, her tightness gripped around him as if their very lives depended on this contact, this heat, this fevered lovemaking.

  Ruby felt herself lifted slightly, and then Isaac let go of her, her weight pulling her down on his shaft over and over again. She arched her back, moaning and panting. She felt Isaac take one wet breast into his mouth and suck, using his teeth to nibble and tease.

  “More, more,” she whispered breathlessly. “Harder.”

  Isaac slid her off of him and turned her over in the water so she was kneeling against the side of the tub. Then he took her from behind, using her shoulders as a fulcrum to give himself more depth. As he felt himself slide once again into her velvet tightness, they both moaned, long and loud.

  “You are so tight,” Isaac said as he pumped himself in and out of her.

  “Or you’re so big,” Ruby laughed as she felt another merciless thrust against her G-spot. She felt her inner muscles tighten until she thought they would burst and then came the climax.

  Isaac thrust himself once more, holding himself inside of her as he emptied himself. The orgasm took them together, in waves and convulsions. They rippled and shuddered against each other, Isaac grasping her breasts and pinching the nipples between his wet fingers, Ruby tightening her insides around his now spent shaft, giving him another convulsion of pleasure. Finally he had to let go of her and pull himself out.

  Breathless, they both sat in the water, Ruby on Isaac’s lap, this time kissing each other deeply. Ruby’s full breasts pressed against Isaac’s and his arms encircled her tightly, as if she were a life saver and he a drowning man.

  “We better stop or we’ll get ourselves worked up again,” Ruby said with a laugh.

  Isaac smiled slyly. “That’s the plan.”

  Ruby’s eyes widened. “I don’t know if I can do that again. It was—so intense!”

  Isaac took the washcloth from the edge of the tub and leaned Ruby back. “Now, my lady, I am going to wash you and worship you.” It was a slight rewording of a quote from Ruby’s newest book.

  “You did read the damn thing!”

  “I did,” he said as he applied the wash cloth between her legs first.

  “Shouldn’t I be the one worshiping you then?”

  Isaac laughed and shook his head. “Nope. This is all about you.”

  Ruby laid back in the water and luxuriated in the feeling of the wash cloth traveling all over her body, returning to her pink bud time and again until she was squeaky clean. Then Isaac wrapped her in a towel and carried her into the bedroom where he laid her on the bed before kneeling, still wet himself, between her legs.

  “Oh gosh,” Ruby said, feeling the breath go out of herself again.

  Isaac only smiled, lowered his head, and applied his tongue, and then his mouth, and then his whole body, to the subject at hand.

  In the morning Ruby would wake up, thoroughly tired and with a need in her belly that she hadn’t felt in years. She would roll over and look at Isaac, still asleep and feel the unique, singular horror of falling in love with a man who was no good for her. Then she would creep out, leaving a note on the pillow thanking him for a memorable date before shutting off her phone and ignoring all calls and knocks at the door for two days while she sorted through her feelings.

  Chapter7

  Isaac walked over to Ruby’s house and knocked on the door for the second time that day. He had awakened that morning without her by his side, and though she had left a note, it had seemed almost perfunctory:

  Thank you for the amazing night.

  When Ruby hadn’t answered her phone, Isaac decided to walk over and knock on the door. There had been no answer, so he went back to his own house to eat breakfast and ponder Ruby’s sudden absence. Why had she left without waking him? Sure, they weren’t exclusive or anything, but it seemed odd to him that she would just up and leave without saying good bye. Later in the day, he went over to her house again after several phone calls went straight to voice mail. Still no answer on the door.

  Isaac’s cell phone was ringing when he got home and he answered with a smile. “Aunt Mandy! How are you? Still coming to see me?”

  “I am, but that’s not why I called.” Amanda Johnson took a deep breath and began. “Isaac, your ex-girlfriend Genie Randles called me yesterday afternoon.”

  “Genie? Wow. I haven’t heard from her since we split up.” Isaac rubbed his jaw, realizing he needed a shave, but stopped suddenly as his aunt spoke her next words.

  “She has a daughter, Regina, who she says is yours, Isaac.” Amanda’s voice had an edge of skepticism to it that was lost on her nephew.

  “Really? I have a daughter?” Isaac stood up, suddenly full of nervous energy. “Why didn’t she tell me this before now? I have no idea what to do. Should I call her? Send money?”

  “Isaac,” came his aunt’s voice. “Calm down for a minute.”

  “How can I calm down?” Isaac said, “I just found out I have a kid I’ve never met!”

  Amanda sighed. She knew any words of caution would merely fall on deaf ears at this point in time so she kept her reservations to herself, but was determined not to let Isaac be taken in if indeed the girl was lying about her daughter’s parentage. Isaac was silent on the other end, waiting for a response Amanda realized.

  “Well,” she said, thinking as she spoke. “I told her I would call you and pass along the message. I have her number if you want it. But Isaac, just don’t rush headlong into anything. It’s awfully convenient that she’s coming out of the woodwork now, don’t you think?”

  Isaac sighed. “I’m going to give her the benefit of the doubt for now. I’ll keep my head though, Aunt Mandy. I promise.”

  “Good. That’s all I care about. I’ll be down next weekend. I can stay at a hotel if your house isn’t ready for guests.”

  “I’ll make sure there’s room for you.” Isaac took down the number of his ex-girlfriend Genie and said good-bye to his aunt. He stared at the phone number for a long, long time after hanging up. His thoughts drifted to Ruby and then to Genie Randles, the petite brunette he had dated for four years before an ultimatum from his parents had put the kibosh on their relationship. At least, that’s what Isaac led Genie to believe. In reality, their relationship had started to fray at the edges once his parents won the lottery. She started expecting more expensive gifts, no longer happy with flowers or walks on the beach. Asking his parents what he should do, they said to cut her out of his life, or he would be cut out of their will. It was for his own good he knew and eventually he let her go and moved on with his life.

  If only I had known she was pregnant, I never would have let my parents talk me into breaking it off with her.

  ***

  Ruby sat at her desk staring at the blank screen in front of her. She was supposed to be outlining her new novel, the sequel to The Affair in White, but she couldn’t find the thread of the plot. She puttered around the house, making pots of coffee and tea and staring out her office window. She opened her front door to collect the day’s mail and saw sticky notes plastered to the outside of her screen door. Ruby grabbed them along with her mail and padded back into the house. She arranged the sticky notes and began to read them. They were all from Isaac. Apparently he had stopped at her house a few times over the last two days. The sticky notes were left where they sat on the table and Ruby went back into her office. She wasn’t ready to come to terms with her feelings for her hunky neighbor yet.

  It was just supposed to be a date. I wasn’t supposed to fall in love with him. I’m goi
ng to have to face him some time. After a few more moments of internalized dialog, Ruby decided that she would go over after lunch. I really need to get that outline done and start writing, she justified. She wasn’t sure if she believed herself, though, or if it was just a scheme to put off the inevitable.

  ***

  Isaac dialed the number his aunt had given him. It rang three times and went to voice mail.

  “Hi, Genie,” Isaac began. “Um, my Aunt Amanda gave me your phone number. It sounds like we have some things to discuss maybe.” He left his number and hung up. Then he resumed pacing back and forth stopping only long enough to send a shout out on his social media pages responding to requests for a party. Isaac let them know there wouldn’t be a party for a while as he had out of town guests coming. As he typed the response he found himself wondering if what Ruby had said was true. Would his party-seeking friends abandon him altogether if he stopped catering to them?

  Genie called a few minutes later. Isaac’s hand shook as he answered his cell phone. “Hi,” was all he said.

  “Hi.” Genie’s voice was low and feminine; everything Isaac remembered it to be.

  “We have a lot to catch up on it seems,” Isaac said.

  “We sure do. Can I come see you? It would be easier to do this in person I think.”

  “Absolutely. When do you want to come down?”

  He could hear the smile in her voice when she responded. “The sooner the better. How about this weekend?”

  Isaac felt excitement course through his veins. “Okay.” He gave her his address and they settled on a date before hanging up. Only then did he realize he hadn’t asked her a single question about Reggie, but neither had she even brought up the little girl’s name during the entire conversation.