Chapter 6

"You did what?" Elizabeth hissed, her icy blue eyes narrowed at Lucky as she stood across from him in the coat room.

"Look, I made a mistake-"

"This isn't a mistake, Lucky," she interrupted, pointing a slender finger at his face. "What kind of fucking idiot are you?"

"It's just a couple of hours," he replied sheepishly, half shrugging as if he didn't know what to do.

"I should have known that you would go and do something so stupid," she said, raising two fingers to either side of her head.

She pressed them against her temples as she paced back and forth in the coat room, her body trembling with fury. She wasn't sure what to do; part of her wanted to laugh it off, while the other just wanted to sit down and cry.

He'd asked her to come with him tonight, practically begged her even.

She told herself from the get go it was a mistake. There was no point in delving into the past all starry eyed and full of wishful thinking, but her heart had gotten the best of her.

She'd gotten all dolled up; bought a new dress, actually put on make up for once. Hell, she'd even shaved her legs, but for what?

To think that she'd actually show up tonight, have him parade her around the room on his arm as if he actually cared about her for once? Or maybe she honestly believed he wanted her with him, wanted to try and smooth out the mistakes of their past? Or even better, that they'd actually go home together at the end of the night and she'd put those shaved legs to use?

Oh, no.

He didn't want any of that.

He wanted to drop her off at the bar, pick himself up a drink, and then scope the room for who would be the easiest woman to take home and get into bed. Apparently he didn't realize the easiest woman would have been the one he'd brought.

God, she really hated herself for coming tonight.

All she wanted was to dress up and feel pretty. Or rather, have him make her feel pretty. He used to be so good at that.

And he used to be a good date.

But that was before he sold her out in a fucking game of blackjack.

"Elizabeth, what was I supposed to do?" Lucky asked, placing a hand on his chest.

"What were you supposed to do?" she asked incredulously, raising her eyebrows at him. "You were my date, Lucky. You don't bet your date in a hand of blackjack."

"You know who he is," he replied as if that somehow justified his actions. "How was I supposed to back down from him?"

Her jaw tightened and she shook her head. "You don't get to use that excuse. I'm sure you didn't know who he was when you started playing with him."

"Just as you didn't know he was when you were throwing yourself at him, right?" he asked indignantly.

She couldn't help but smile, partly because he almost sounded jealous. "You were obviously planning on going home with someone else tonight, why couldn't I?"

"That's not like you."

"And being a self-centered asshole isn't like you either, but hey, it happened," she spat, pushing past him.

He caught her by the hand and pulled her back against him. "You can't just walk away from me like this."

"I'm not walking away," she said, tipping her head back and giving him a stern look. "I'm going to go find Jason Morgan and let him know what I think about the little proposition you gave him."

Lucky grunted, his grip on her loosening a bit. "Honey, I didn't give him the proposition," he replied, his lips forming a satisfied smirk.

Her eyes filled with confusion as she looked back at him. "What?"

"He made the proposition," Lucky replied smugly. When she just stared back, giving little reaction, he took it a step further. "It was Jason Morgan's idea to bet you during a game of blackjack. Not mine."

"As if that makes a difference!" she cried, trying to jerk her arm away, but his grip tightened.

She stomped her heel into his toes for the second time that night and pushed him away. "You're such a bastard," she said, loathing the fact that she was allowing this to hurt her. "How much money was this about?"

She knew there was so motive behind his antics. And if anything drove Lucky Spencer, it was money.

He was a terrible poker player, always had been. He couldn't bluff if his life depended on, and she was sure that if he drank too much, he wouldn't be able to count past ten.

Then again, everyone was terrible when you knew how to count cards and stay a few steps ahead of them.

Jason knew he could beat Lucky.

Damn him.

Had this been any other circumstance, maybe she would have enjoyed the attention; the idea that he had gone this far to get her alone.

But then again, he was Jason Morgan, which meant that Elizabeth was sure of what he'd want when he got her alone-If he got her alone because at this point she couldn't think of a single reason to hold up Lucky's end of the bargain.

"How. Much. Money. Was. This. About?" she asked, her hands clutching the curves of her tiny hips.

He scowled, bending over to wipe at this shoe as if she'd tarnished it in someway by stepping on it. "Does it matter?"

"No, I guess not," she replied hastily, shaking her head. "Because you lost, right?"

His shoulders slumped and he rubbed his hand over his face. "I didn't have a choice, Elizabeth. You know who he is and what he does."

She rolled her eyes at his failed attempt to give her an excuse for what he'd done.

Yeah, she knew who Jason Morgan was. Everyone in town did. Or at least thought they did.

Shady businessman with even shadier business partners. The businesses, mostly casinos, were said to be legit enough, but there were all kinds of rumors about racketeering, money laundering, and off shore accounts.

It was a name to not be crossed, and for some reason, he'd chosen to cross her.

This entire evening had been more of a turn on when she had flirted shamelessly, not knowing his last name or what he did for a living. Not to mention the fact that she had all intentions of never seeing him again.

"And just what kind of business are you in?"

"That depends on who you're asking."

She'd done gone and gotten herself in and over her head.

She couldn't believe she hadn't noticed who he was. Maybe it was his demeanor that caught her off guard; he was kind and gentle, not the rough around the edges man that he was rumored to be. And he'd brought up Italy, catching her hook, line and sinker.

Boy, she really knew how to pick them.

Then again, he'd picked her.

"Elizabeth," Lucky murmured, his eyes pleading with her to do this for him.

"This is completely insane," she replied, shaking her head at him. "You honestly expect me-"

"I don't expect you to do anything, but maybe if you knew who you were throwing yourself-"

"I was flirting, Lucky," she interrupted furiously. "That doesn't mean that I had any intentions of going to bed with him. I'm not you."

His eyes flashed with a mixture of remorse and rage. She sure as hell hadn't forgotten about what really happened to drive them apart, and she wasn't about to let him either.

"Fine, don't do it. Who knows what the hell he'll do to me," he said, holding his hands up and shrugging the entire idea off. "I'm sure he's killed people for less."

"Maybe you should learn something from this," she replied, not capable of believing how he was pushing this off on her. She really hated herself for coming tonight. "Don't make bets and promises and you can't keep. You have to pay in the end."

"So this is about some sick revenge for what-"

"This isn't about revenge, Lucky," she cut, staring at him with a hard face. She held up a hand and started to count off on her fingers. "Revenge was setting all your clothes on fire along with her nasty, thong underwear and telling her to be careful that she didn't contract your latest STD. Revenge was telling every girl that walked into Jake's just how tiny your dick is….This-This is just leaving you to lay in the bed you made."

"You're acting crazy," he replied, rolling his eyes. "I can't talk to when you're like this."

She grunted. "Good, because as far as I'm concerned, I don't want to talk to you ever again, Lucky," she said disgustedly. "This isn't even a good joke."

"It's not a jo-"

"No, but you are," she replied, shoving past him, her eyes filling up with tears.

She hurried from the room, wiping her eyes with her fingertips, careful not to smear her makeup. He had already upset her enough she wasn't going to let him completely ruin her night.

"Hey, there, watch-" The voice stopped mid-sentence as she ran smack into him. "Well, actually you can run into me anytime."

She stiffened before she looked up, not needing to see his face. "You," she murmured, tipping her head back.

"Me," he replied, flashing her a toothy grin. "So, you wanna smack me around a little bit? I kind of like it-"

"You would," she cut in, checking her fingertips before any smeared makeup before smoothing her hands over the front of her dress.

She scowled when his eyes dipped, traveling over the curves of her body. "Do I need to remind you that my face is up here?" she asked, placing a finger under his chin and pushing it upward. "Hello?"

"Sorry, you're just so feisty," he replied with a wink. His eyes twinkled when he smiled, which she would have usually found attractive, but it was impossible to like anything about this man.

She rolled her eyes, forcing an over apologetic smile. "I have to go, but if you're here to collect from Lucky, he's in the coat room practicing his famous last words," she said hurriedly as she stepped around him.

"Actually I am here to collect," he called after her. "But not him. Just you."

She halted mid-step, spinning around on her heels to face him. "So not only does Jason Morgan bargain women in poker games, but he sends his lap dog to collect them," she said, shaking her head in disbelief. "Well, Lassie, you can run along and tell him I'm not playing his game."

He nodded, almost obediently. "That's fine, but it'll be your little boy toy that pays the price," he replied with a frown.

"Why?" she asked simply, folding her arms across his chest. "Why does it matter when there is a slew of women in there who would gladly hop into bed with Jason Morgan?"

He shrugged as if it made no sense to him either, and she had the immediate desire to smack him again. "He likes you, though I can't imagine why with that God awful attitude."

"He talked to me for all of two seconds."

"You know within a half second if you want to fuck a broad," he replied seriously. "According to you he had four times that, so he knows."

She scowled, raising a hand to her face and wiping her fingers firmly against her forehead. This has to be a test of exuberance. Surely, someone was playing an incredibly hilarious prank on her. And soon, she'd see the punch line.

"Do you understand what's wrong with betting your date in a game of poker?" she asked slowly, dropping her face into her hands.

"Did you happen to see your date?" he quipped, stepping towards her.

Her jaw slacked as she tipped her head to the side and looked up at him.

His eyes softened immediately and he almost looked sorry. "You liked him," he said, making a face. He shook his head as if he didn't believe it. "Did you really like that guy?"

She cleared her throat, shrugging half-heartedly. "Does it matter?"

"Well, sure it does," he replied, raising his eyebrows at her. "I could call in a couple of favors and get him taken care of."

She tried to fight her grin, but couldn't. "But I'm sure there's a catch, right?" she asked, clearly amused.

"Like going back to Jason's room," he offered, rocking back and forth on his feet.

And she was instantly pissed off again at the mention of the ridiculous bet.

She didn't care how charming, attractive, or enticing Jason Morgan was-The simple fact that he'd made a wager to get her back to his room was wrong in every possible way, especially considering he'd made it with her date.

Sure, she had flirted with him, but that didn't mean he could just take her to bed.

Stupid man.

She shifted her eyes back to his friend, who was waiting rather impatiently for her response. Was he actually taping his foot at her?

Stupid, stupid man.

"Fine," she said, forcing a tight lipped smile his way. She was either absolutely crazy or hell bent on having someone understand why she was so pissed off. "I'll go back to Jason's room."

His face lit up with surprise. "You seriously want me to put in a call about-"

"No," she cut in exhaustedly, holding up her hands. "I just have a few choice words to say to your friend."