#LUCKY (The Empire Series Book 2) Read online

  "You're getting pretty good at that. I may even mistake you for a comedian one of these days. Look out world!"

  "Aye, she's far too pretty to be a comedian," said the sexiest damn Irish accent Sam had ever heard.

  Turning around, Sam was confronted by the most attractive man she had ever set eyes on. Cory had nothing on this sex-god. Mystery man stood next to her with a broad chest, shaggy, but short brown hair, emerald eyes, and facial hair that she wanted to have buried deep in her lady zone. Mystery man had on a fitted, light colored dress shirt, and an attractive grey vest, which fit tightly across his chest. Now, not many men could pull this look off without looking like a penguin standing at the altar, but everything fit snug as a bug, and his sleeves were rolled up just enough to expose his elaborate sleeve tattoos.

  The tattoos alone had her damp and pleading to see what this man had under his posh digs. He was beautiful. Her very own Collin Ferrell to gawk at. Shit, she was staring at him like a kid at the county fair looking at the bearded lady.

  "Name's Declan. And you are?" he asked politely, extending his perfectly manicured hands. Shit, he has to be gay. No man is THIS put together. Oh, but that grip has power behind it. Hmm.

  "Sami," she stuttered, clutching his callused, yet oddly soft hands into her own.

  "As in Davis, or is that your name," he smirked, showing off his perfect teeth. Yum, Yum, Yummy.

  She wanted to lick him from head to toe. He would taste like a dream; she just knew it.

  "N…Nah…No, no" Sam was failing miserably to form any sort of coherent sentence. She closed her eyes to refocus her mind and bring her back to reality.

  "It's Samantha, but my friends call me Sam, or Big Mike here calls me Sami."

  She felt his hand on her chin, while her eyes were still closed. Pulling her chin up, she refocused to meet him eye-to-eye.

  "Hello, gorgeous. I thought I lost you for a bit. You okay?" He was dreamy. Like, Patrick Dempsy McDreamy. Sam was giving off the worst vibe right now. She was surprised he hadn't left, mortified by her actions. "There are those beautiful eyes."

  Gaga. That's how she felt for this man. She had never felt so gaga, or so affected by one man. Not even Cory got her this wet before. Believe her, he tried; he was horrendous in bed though. Even if she had given him a road map to her clit, he still would have gotten lost. GPS couldn't help that fool find the way to please her. Something told her Declan had his passport stamped and could navigate his way through in the dark. He oozed sex.

  "Sam, I've had a pretty pisser of a night. Can I buy a beautiful woman, such as yourself, a drink?" He curled up on the bar stool next to her, resting his arms on the counter.

  "Seems to be going around today," she said, almost inaudible.

  "Bad night?" he assumed, leaning his elbow on the bar, and turning his attention, and legs, toward her.

  "You have no idea." Rolling her eyes, she swiveled her stool towards him, intertwining their legs together, completely on accident. Well, kind of.

  "How about this. Why don't we drink our sorrows away tonight and say, fuck it. I only have one stipulation," he mischievously winked at her.

  "I'm terrified to ask," she raised her eyebrows with a grimace worried for her impending stipulation.

  "You must drink whatever I put in front of you. Deal?"

  "Just as long as you don't put drugs in my drink, I think we are good," she said with a giggle, pushing her coaster back and forth across the slippery bar. She had grown up in a huge Irish family. She would bet she could drink him under the table if she wanted to.

  "Deal," extending his hand, he took hers in his, shaking it, while calling over Mike.

  "What's up, Boss? What can I get you?" Mike asked, giving her the atta-girl, look.

  "I would like to buy this lovely woman an Irish Car bomb."

  Oh Hell. She could tolerate a lot, but Irish Car bombs were the devil. Watching Mike pull the Jameson Whiskey from the shelf, she knew she was in for a treat. He poured two half shots of Jameson, filling the rest of the shot with Irish cream, and two glasses with a pint of Guinness each. Pushing it toward Declan and herself, she wanted to run as fast as she could.

  "Raise your shot. I need to make a toast to this beautiful woman who is doing me a favor by drinking with me so I don't seem too pathetic for drinking alone. As you slide down the bannister of life, may the splinters never point the wrong way. Here's to being single, drinking doubles, and seeing triples. Cheers."

  This was definitely going to be an interesting night.

  “Cheers.”

  2

  “But first...let me take a selfie.”

  "So, Sam, what is it you do?" Declan questioned as he laid his empty pint on the bar. "Is this one of those things where you really want to know, or are you just asking to try and get into my pants?" she giggled and snorted at Declan's question.

  "No. I genuinely want to know, A stór. If it'll make ya feel better, I'll go first. I am a professor over at Beckley College, where I teach Integrated Marketing Communications. I've been there five years, I have an amazing 401k, I have my own parking spot, and I don't sleep with any of my students; unless, they beg me. Just kidding. Are you impressed yet?" Declan had a dubious and yet charming way about himself. She could totally see how his students would fall head over heels for him.

  "Strangely yes. Beckley just so happens to be my number one client. I run the Fashion and Style section for Empire Magazine. Seems we have a lot in common. See, while you are beating your female students away, I am persuading them to keep coming through your door. I could, very well, be the demise of your career if you don't watch yourself. Just remember, when you see a hot twenty something in your classroom, she probably got there because of the excellent publicity I offer your current employer."

  "Is that so, A stór? I'll have to keep that in mind the next time I have a young coed trying to flash me her panties while crossing her legs. I try not to look, but sometimes they don't even try to cover up." Covering his mouth as to whisper in my ear, "sometimes they don't even wear panties, eeks."

  His face was hilarious. It reminded her of her father's when he got really uncomfortable talking about periods, pads, and tampons – awkward. Her Dad would have liked Declan; she could just tell.

  "You don't say. Well, I will be sure to weed out the pretentious sorority girls next time, and only focus my marketing skills to the less attractive. I can see it now." Spreading her hands across the skyline, "Come to Beckley, but not if you are exceptionally good looking and enjoy showing off your hoo-ha to extremely handsome English professors.” Is that too aggressive? Do you think I should tone it down a bit?

  Maybe it was the alcohol talking, but she couldn't stop thinking of being Declan's student. Sitting front row, short skirt, slowly and methodically crossing and uncrossing her legs –sans panties of course. She would watch him gnaw on his pencil just waiting for class to be over so he could take her over his desk and spank her with his ruler. Wait, do teachers even have pencils and rulers anymore. Anyway. I digress. It was inevitable, every single student, teacher, porn scenario raced through her head.

  Before he could even address her last comment, the alerts on her phone began to chime.

  * * *

  Cory: I'm so sorry, baby. It was just one time, I swear. It'll never happen again.

  The sad part was, this wasn't the first time. Cory's infidelities had been on her radar in full force almost a year into their relationship. He started to get phone calls in the middle of the night, taking unscheduled trips, even coming home with lipstick on his collar. She brushed it off for years, because she loved him and thought it was just a phase. She was an idiot to think it would pass.

  Once she caught on to his infidelities, she hopped on birth control, made him wear a condom whenever they did have sex, which wasn’t very often, and got tested regularly. He had no clue that she was on birth control, so she asked him to wear a condom. Her excuse was, "we are too young to have kids right now. Let's not
take a chance." He didn't seem to mind and, in fact, she thought he liked that she brought it up instead of him. Reason number five million why she should never have stayed with him.

  He mistook her kindness for weakness and now, she didn't give a shit how he felt. She had hit her limit on feeling used and abused by his actions. She wasn't going to stand for it anymore. He had crossed a line, and his actions were unforgiveable.

  * * *

  Cory: Baby, please say something. Why don't you come over to my apartment so we can talk this through?

  * * *

  Reason number six million why she should have left sooner; he had his own apartment. They had been together for years, and when they graduated she thought they would move in together. Wrong. She was so very wrong. He insisted that they have two apartments. His excuse was flimsy and inept, stating, "we both live such hectic lives, I wouldn't want to get home from camp and wake you at all hours. You need your beauty sleep, Angel." What a douche.

  His apartment was just another excuse for abusing their relationship. He wouldn't even give her a damn key to the place until she literally begged for it a couple weeks ago. Some trust, huh? There had been times in the past where she showed up, knocked on the door, and heard whispers from the other side. Cory didn't even have the common decency to open the door to lie to her face. Nope. She supposed he figured that if he didn't actually open the door, the problem never existed. She bet he felt like an idiot for giving her the key now. Chump.

  * * *

  Sam: I left your things in the hallway of my apartment. Should someone find them as a charitable contribution, that's your fault.

  Cory: You couldn't have just left them inside the front door? What the hell is wrong with you, Samantha?

  Sam: I changed the locks to the door; so don't bother trying to get in.

  * * *

  She couldn’t let him know how angry or upset she truly was. He always used that shit to his advantage.

  Cory: I forgive you for putting my things in the hallway, but can we please talk about this?

  * * *

  He forgives her? That was laughable.

  * * *

  Cory: You don't need to go home alone tonight. I think you should just come over to my place. I'm sure we can "make-up."

  * * *

  Cory was such a puss. He always tried to use his dick as a weapon. He might as well have been trying to harm her with a Vienna sausage, and that's being generous.

  She felt bad for Declan for having to deal with her lack of communication. Her facial expressions alone were probably a sight to see right about now. The wrinkled brow, the annoyed grimace, the putrid rage, and yet, the disappointment smeared across her facade. Then again, when did she start caring about what a complete stranger thought of her?

  "Everything okay?" he asked with apprehension in his voice. Although the situation was fucked up, it was nice to hear someone cared about her well-being. The look in Declan's eyes was comforting and peaceful. He made the hurt seem to fade away. Like, it didn't matter what happened between Cory and her. They were over and she was finally free to live her life. That didn’t mean she wasn’t above torturing the douche a little though.

  "My ex. We just broke up tonight. I can't say that I'm all that upset, or shocked, but it's still upsetting none the less." She laid down her phone on the bar, pushing it away from her eye sight. "He was a jerk and it should have ended a long time ago. I was the idiot who put up the blinders to make myself feel better about his infidelities."

  "Sounds like a total arse to me, A stór."

  "Arse is an understatement. What about you? You said you were having a, what did you call it again? Pisser of a night."

  "Sounds like our ex's need to have a pow-wow. My, now ex Megan, was cheatin' on me as well. She had a so-called, ‘faculty meeting,’ he said with gestured quotations. "When I decided to surprise her with a late night dinner, our coworker was knockin' the hole off her. It was definitely a site to see. She never had sex with me like that. Believe me, I know her fake screams from around the block."

  "I'm sorry. I know I'm supposed to be supportive, but you and I are a sight to behold. How is it we both got stiffed at the same time?" she blurted out, laughing out loud.

  "No. You know what's fucked up with this situation," he announced like he was ready to make an elaborate and meaningful exclamation. "We are out of lager. I say we get shit faced and drink away our sorrows. We need to forget about how horrible our day was, and have a little fun. I have a beautiful woman by my side and that's all that matters right now."

  As their legs intertwined again, Declan rested his manly hand on her thigh sending a shiver down her spine. She would kill to see how those hands could handle her body. Letting a subtle breath escape her pouty lips, she called over Mike for a refill.

  "Declan, this is my friend Mike, and this is his bad ass bar. I wouldn't go anywhere else," she boasted, giving Mikey a smile.

  "Aye, nice to finally meet you," Declan said, extending his hand.

  "Sheppard's pie. Yeah, I know you. You sit at the back of the bar and order the same thing every Sunday." Mike took his hand and gave him a hearty shake.

  "Aye, you've got the best pie in town, fella. I haven't had pie this good since my ma used to make it for us as kids. I can't pass it up," Declan exclaimed.

  "Thanks, man. That means a lot. My Granny taught me the recipe, so I brought it into O'Mallory."

  "I love coming here. I've been meanin' to tell you that for a while. It makes me feel like I'm at home, but some of that leprechaun shit has got to go," Dec said, waving his finger around the bar.

  "Clients like that stereotypical Irish bullshit. Keeps them coming back, so I don't exactly mind, if you know what I'm saying."

  Mike and Declan were really starting to hit it off. It was refreshing to see one of her best friends, and a dude she was starting to crush on, actually like one another. Cory hated O'Mallorys – with a passion. He also hated Mike - with a passion. She thought it was more narcissistic than anything else. He always said that the bar was filthy and too brutish. Well no shit, dick, it's a bar where people get rowdy and have a good time.

  "I think we need to go shot for shot. Forget about our exes, forget about everything, and have a good time. Let's turn this horrible night into the best breakup ever. This is a celebration, not a pity party. Shots of Jameson, Mikey," she said actually getting thrilled for the first time all night.

  They pounded away the night with shots, joking back and forth about how shitty their exes were. Although they had said they wouldn't talk about them, it was hilarious to see she wasn't the only one in a seriously fucked up relationship. She only thought it was amusing and less pathetic because they were ten sheets to the wind. All this time she thought she was the only sad sap in a horrible relationship, however Declan had proved her wrong with his endless stream of sob stories. It soon got to a point where they, literally, tried to outdo each other with how shitty their exes were. It felt good to finally get all her anger and aggression out, but in a light hearted way.

  "I've got a brilliant idea!" she proclaimed as she took the pint from his hand and put it down on the bar. "We need to take a selfie. What do ya say?" she lifted her bum from the chair and clutched onto Declan's shoulder. Holy shit! His muscles were incredibly defined under all his clothes. She hoped he was feeling her, as much as she was feeling him. Plus, revenge was so, so sweet.

  "I think it's masterful!" he said, looking like a kid on Christmas morning. "Okay, so how do we do this? I'm not good with selfies. How does my beard look right now? Do I look put together, because I really want that bitch to know I'm good without her." Declan ran his hands down his shortly cut beard and sat up straight as if he were being scolded by his mother.

  "Here, I'm going to turn around and lean into you. It will make the shot so much better." They didn't necessarily need to smash together, but what the hell. Oh, my goodness. He smelled like heaven – vanilla cream mixed with some fruity concoction. He did
n't object, which was fantastic. She didn't want him to feel uncomfortable.

  Flipping the camera around, she stretched her arms out to accommodate their photo. Crushing her body against Declan, "Say cheese!" she rang. They smiled like goons, just snapping away their payback pics. Tilting the phone to the left, Declan snuggled up close to her neck as if they had been a couple for years. He wrapped his large arms around her, holding her on his lap. She would admit it, but it felt amazing. Their bodies seemed to mold with one another – flawlessly.

  Shifting the camera to the right, she tried different angles. She didn't necessarily need ten photos of the two of them, but it would be nice to look back on once they went their separate ways tonight. Ash she curled up into his arms, Declan placed a sweet kiss on her cheek as she clicked away. Her cheeks flared red as she clearly felt his erection growing beneath her leg. Hello, big boy!

  "Here. I want to take a few, too. Quit hogging up my camera time," Declan asserted as he shifted to pull out his phone from his pocket, trying desperately to ignore the fact that he had a raging hard on. Brushing off his tender kiss, they took a few cheesy pictures and a few funny, regal pictures as well. When he swiveled to allow her to rest in the crock of his neck, she looked up to see his expression. Staring down at her, his eyes grew hungry, and his lips yearned to be kissed.

  Declan may have played it cool with his smooth, gentle kiss, but she, on the other hand, will be going straight for his delectable lips. She delicately placed her hands on either side of his face and pulled him in close. The room faded away, while the clicking of the camera kept going, freeing her to slowly pull Declan's lips to rest on her own. If she thought is hands were soft, his lips definitely gave them a run for their money.