ABANDON ALL HOPE: The Hope Brother Series (Book Two) (16 page)

He was all I needed.

My father stirred as I closed the front door, and I stared at him, lost in his usual drunken stupor, sleeping away what was left of his life in an effort to make it all go faster.

I couldn’t understand it.  I wanted nothing more than to find a way to slow everything down so I could cherish every moment of my future with Crit.  I sighed, and padded back down the hall to my room.

My phone was ringing when I entered my room.  I picked it up and saw that it was Lincoln.  I hadn’t talked to him since I watched him be led away to his hotel room, and I had no interest in talking to him now, let alone seeing him again.

I picked up on the third ring, as soon as the protective side of me kicked in.

“Lincoln, hello,” I answered.

“Hi, Ruby,” his voice was low, and he sounded a little tired.  “Thanks for getting me back to the hotel last night.”

“It was no problem.  I trust you made it to your room okay?” I asked.

“I did.  Did you take a taxi home?”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry about that.  I feel like an ass.  Why don’t you let me make it up to you?  I’ve got some business back in New York for a few days, why don’t you come with me? We’ll leave tomorrow. I’ll get you a room at the Waldorf, and I can assure you it’s nothing like the dump in Houston.”

“The Four Seasons is hardly a dump,” I replied.

“Whatever.  Come to New York with me.  I’ll show you a great time, I promise.  You said you’ve never been,” he said.

“Actually, Lincoln, I’m sorry, but I think it’s best we don’t see each other again.”  I was turning down a free trip to New York with the richest man I had ever met and the part of me that had been poor all my life was  kicking the other half.  I kept Crit’s face front and center in my mind, and listened to the icy coldness that crept into Lincoln’s voice.

“Is that so?  Your cowboy got to you, did he?”

“Crit is not my cowboy, Lincoln.  He has nothing to do with it,” I lied.  “I just don’t think we’re a good fit.  Thank you for everything, though.  That trip to Dallas was really fun.”

“Are you seriously turning me down?  Do you have any idea who I am?”

“I think I’m beginning to, yes,” I said, rolling my eyes.  I was so tempted to tell him to leave the Hopes alone.  It was obvious he had so much money he was only causing trouble because he was an asshole.   The steely nastiness that I heard next only proved it.

“You have no idea.  This whole fucking town doesn’t know who they’re fucking with!”  He was yelling into the phone now.  “I’m going to destroy Crit Hope and that fucking farm of his.”

“Why, Lincoln?”  I asked, unable to hold my tongue any longer.  “What’s in it for you to do this to someone you hardly know?”

“Sometimes, you just need to put people in their place. And Crit Hope is one of those guys that needs to learn who to respect.”

“So, because you have more money, he needs to respect you?”  My heart was racing, and I realized just how screwed up this guy was.  “What about you respecting him?”

“He would be wise to respect me because I own his land now. He’s got nothing without me.”

“But that wasn’t his doing.  His father died before —,”

“—tough shit!”  he roared.  “You have to be prepared at all times.  If he was any kind of responsible businessman, he’d have been on top of this long ago.  Way before my uncle died.”

“I can guarantee you that Crit is the most responsible person I know. If he had known —,”

“—and whose fault is that?  Mine?  Fuck no! Fuck that hillbilly buffoon!”

“Lincoln, please —,”

“—no!  You’re going to choose him over me, Ruby? Not that I give a shit, because I eat girls like you for breakfast.  But you have no idea what you’re giving up.  A girl like you will never have an opportunity like this again.  You’re going to live to regret this.”

“You know what, Lincoln? What I regret is ever speaking to you in the first place.  You may have money, but you are sorely lacking in integrity and manners!”  I was livid now.  How dare he insult me like that.  He had no idea what I went through, how hard my life was, or even what kind of ‘opportunities’ that may come my way.  He was nothing but an arrogant prick.

“Do me a favor, Ruby,” his voice lowered to a menacing sneer.  “When you’re living in a shack out in the woods, and your precious cowboy is impregnating you with his penniless heir with his poor man’s sperm, think of me, will you?”

“Kiss my ass, Lincoln!”  I hung up the phone with shaking hands.  
What a disgusting piece of shit
, I thought, as I threw the phone on my bed.  How could I have ever gotten in a car with him?  Was I that fucking gullible to not see through his act?  Was I that blindly distracted by shiny things?

I picked up my phone and dialed Georgia’s number.  It was time for Ruby Rae Rust to take the bull by the horns.  

☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼

 Dixie was a wild cat in the sack.  She was an entirely different person away from her rich, socialite friends and once she let her hair down, she became much more likeable.

I had been nervous wreck when she arrived.  Eva had left hours ago, insisting she didn’t want to wear me out before the client arrived.

When the knock on the door came, I was rock-hard because I couldn’t stop thinking about fucking Eva.  But, after one last reminder to myself that this was business, and wanting to make Eva happy, since she seemed to be so invested in our new business venture, I put on my best smile and showed Dixie a good time.

A very good time, according to the way she was had been writhing and squirming on my cock for the last several hours.

I thrust into her, over and over, my strokes long, firm  and intentionally slower than she probably wanted, drawing out her pleasure as long as I possibly could, watching for the tell-tale flush of her cheeks, and then speeding up, pounding into her harder and harder until the loud moans turned to frantic gasps.

When the look of blissful ecstasy washed across her face, silencing her moans into a stillness that took complete hold of her, rendering her motionless, freezing her in its gripping pleasure, I pushed into her faster, harder, until she broke her silence, crying out again, cursing me and praising me all at the same time, as she clenched around me.  Afterwards, she melted below me with submissive acceptance, her hips offered up in a wanton offering as I hammered into her until my heat exploded inside of her, burying myself deeply in her warmth, her softness quivering around me, until I was spent.  

Gently, I pulled away, pulling off the condom and discretely depositing in the trash before joining her on the bed and pulling her into my arms.  Eva had insisted I cuddle each and every client, no matter what, informing me that it was just as important as the orgasm.  I disagreed, but I was a sex-addicted man, so what did I know?

Dixie was sure enjoying it.  The smile spread across her face made me feel as if I had at least done something right.  
Eva will be proud
, I thought to myself.

***

The next morning, hours after Dixie had left, I was on my way to breakfast.  While I was waiting for the elevator, I ran over my conversation with Eva in my mind.  I had told Eva all about my date, and she told me she had already booked three more.  I had a feeling I was going to be spending a lot of time in this hotel.

A door to one of the other hotel suites opened and I turned my head when I heard a man’s voice yelling.

“Get the fuck out, you whore!”  The man from the restaurant earlier, the man with the bruises and busted lip, was pushing a beautiful woman out of his door.  “You weren’t worth the money I spent!  Tell Mario I want a fucking refund, and to send me a woman with some class next time! For fuck’s sake!” he roared.

The woman he was yelling at was dressed in a black sequined dress, tall black heels and her blonde hair danced in wild curls around her face.  She took off a shoe, throwing it at the man, hitting him in the shoulder.

“Fuck you, you abusive prick!” she yelled at him, her voice dripping with a thick, southern drawl.  His eyes narrowed in anger and he took a menacing step towards her, his hand raised high over his head in a fist.

“Hey!” I yelled.  He froze.  His gaze traveled down the hall, and I felt his eyes rake over my tall frame, sizing me up before he turned and retreated back into his room.

“Fucking cheap whore!” he seethed, before slamming the door.  The sound of the lock sliding into place followed, and the woman ran over to the door, picked up her shoe, slid it back on and walked over to me.  I was still standing in front of the elevator, and it opened just as she joined me.

“After you, ma’am,” I said, tipping my hat.  What a piece of shit that guy was, I thought.  The woman lifted her chin, walked into the elevator, and I followed.  Awkward silence filled the air after the doors slid shut, until I couldn’t stand it any longer.

“Are you okay, ma’am?” I asked. “Is there anything I can help you with?”

She looked over at me, smiling through the tears that had formed in her eyes.

“I’m okay, thank you,” she replied.  She turned away, lifting her chin higher, and I stopped myself from pressing.  I knew that look in her eyes.  It said,
no, I’m not alright, but I’m really good at pretending to be
.

The elevator doors opened and I gestured for her to go first.  She flashed a crooked smile at me once more, before walking out of the hotel doors.

I made a mental note to give that asshole a piece of my mind if I ever saw him again.  People like that are what’s wrong with this world.  Not only do they think they own the world, they think they own all the people in it, too.

If that’s what money turns a person into, maybe I didn’t want that much of it anyway.

☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼

 “Did you hear anything from Hank Haggard?” Seth asked.  Seth, Jesse and I were sitting around the dining room table, drinking beer for lunch, and trying to figure out some solution to our problem.  I had spent last night with Ruby on my mind, and trying to come up with some solution to this mess.

“Nope, not yet,” I replied.

“Do we have any savings at all?” Jesse asked.

“Nope.  What savings we did have was used up repairing the barn and for the repairs at Evan’s bar,” I replied.   Jesse hung his head, and I felt a pang of sadness wash over me.  None of us had asked for this.  To be left alone, so suddenly, drowning in a sea of debt that our parents had left. To be left without their constant guidance and support.  It had hit Jesse the hardest, and I knew he felt terrible about setting those fires.  He was just lashing out, and I understood.

I guess that’s what I was doing when I busted Lincoln LaCroix’s face.  Lashing out.