DANIKA

As Addy and I entered the Gala, I couldn’t help but look around in awe. The venue itself was breathtakingly beautiful and that wasn’t even mentioning all the celebrities walking around. I suddenly felt really out of place and miniscule in comparison. Hell I was only Danika Marie Jones from small town New York and there was nothing really special about me. So what was I doing here? I would never live this lavish life style; fuck I’d be lucky to get out of the swindling business alive. But something inside was telling me this was our chance to find someone to help get us away from Ryder once and for all—to give us the life we had always longed for.

I took in a deep breath and stood up to my full height. That feeling was right. Addy and I were here to change our lives for the better. So tonight was my night to live in glamour and richest and damn it that’s what I was going to do. I was dressed to the nines and I was going to act like every other blueblood in this place. As far as I was concerned, tonight I would be walking away one of them, or at least with a shit load of their money.

The only problem about tonight was that I couldn’t trick some guy into falling for me by getting him into bed. Nope my ass of a sister made it so I had con a guy the old fashioned way, which if you asked me was boring. Why not have a little fun while working? You know what they say, ‘pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work’, and I liked to live by that philosophy! But there was no way I was going to lose a bet to my darling twin. No fucking way! Danika Jones did not lose!

But enough about the bet, it was time to get to work. I had to come home with a name and number of some shmuck or else Ryder would punish both Addy and I. That wasn’t fucking happening! He wasn’t going to touch a hair on my sister’s head. That was for damn sure!

I slowly made my way over to the bar, hopped up onto a stool , and crossed my legs, making sure that my hip was exposed through the slit up the side. “Hey, can I get a Jack on the rocks please,” I asked the bartender with a sexy smirk.

By the time I brought the little black straw to my lips, I had a hand on my shoulder. Yes, my plan was working already. “What is a girl like you doing sitting at the bar all alone?” I turned around to find a handsome older gentleman in a very expensive suit. I’m sure he had a lot of dough kicking around in his wallet. If I played my cards right I could walk away with a good chunk of his money. But what card did I want to play? Innocent girl? Seductress? Someone looking for a good time? Hell, what did it matter? I just wanted the money in his wallet!

“I’m getting myself some liquid courage,” I said, wiping my lips with a napkin and smiling at the man. He was good looking but definitely wasn’t my usual type. Maybe he would surprise me?

“L-liquid courage, huh?” he stuttered and I mentally kicked myself. Well this was going down hill fast. The man could only form one coherent sentence before crumbling completely? You had to be kidding me?! “Why-why would… a gal like you… need that?” The man swirled his drink as his eyes wandered down to my exposed thigh. Oh yeah, look all you want buddy because nothing was going to happen between us.

I chuckled lightly and flipped my dark hair over my shoulder, watching him the entire time and reading his body language. He was totally eating up everything that I was throwing at him. “You see, this is my first time at an event like this…” I traced my long slender finger along the rim of my glass with a small smirk. “And I don’t really know anyone.”

“Don’t worry… um… you-you’ve got… me now,” he smirked and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and laugh out loud.

“So... what is your name, handsome?” I asked, hoping that the conversation would get better.

Unfortunately each sentence became worse than the last and it took every ounce of my being not to smack him in the face. God Daniel was boring and it turns out the bastard didn’t have any money! He fucking won tickets to the event in a raffle! You’ve got to be fucking kidding me! The suit was his brother’s, who happened to be some big business tycoon. Where the hell was he? I had to get out of here before I was stuck with this loser all night.

"Addy!" I squeaked as my sister walked by. I grabbed her arm and quickly pulled here toward the other side of the bar away from Daniel.

"Don't tell me you're wasted before the job's done," Addy groaned and rolled her eyes.

Was she kidding? Me drunk? Okay, so maybe that wasn’t out of the realm of possibility, but for right now, I was sober. Well… mostly. "That guy I was talking to just now, is so fucking weird! He pauses at least four times in the middle of a sentence. 'I, um, work for the, um, Queen of um, fucking England.' Damn, he bored me!" I whined only for my sister to take my words literally.

"He works for the Queen of England?!" I swear…

“I was kidding, Addy…" I sighed, rolling my eyes.

"Well, that makes us on the same page," Addy sighed, looking around nervously. I knew what she was thinking, but we couldn’t walk away from this even empty handed. We would find someone to swindle and our lives depended on it. We just needed a plan!

"Okay, let's make a plan. We're gonna start off from the bar—"

"Why the bar?" Did she have to question everything?!

"Because the hot guys are always sitting at the bar,” I explained. God, was this her first time doing this? “Now listen to me. I'm gonna check out the left side of the room and you on the opposite.” Thank fucking god Addy listened for the first time in her life and took my lead.

With a little swagger in her hips, she made her way across the room and I prayed she would find some poor sap. I would lose the bet if it meant making sure both of us were safe, but that was only if there weren’t any other options.

The only problem was that the next two guys that I talked to were also duds. One was a limo driver that brought some A-List celebrities that were in the front of the ballroom and the other was personal assistant to some celebrity or some crap like that. Personal assistants didn’t make shit! Hell, what did a girl have to do to find some hot celebrity to swindle?!

With a sigh, I made my way back over to the bar. I needed more to drink if I was going to continue with this line of crap all night. “Hello Miss, may I interest you in a cabernet franc or cabernet sauvignon, or nice merlot?”

"Oh dude, stop telling me all the fancy wine names. Just pour me some JD or vodka,” I groaned, hitting my hand on the bar. This night wasn’t turning out at all as planned and I needed something to calm my nerves.

"Make that drink two," a deep voice said to my left and I rolled my eyes. Out of the corner of my eye I could see some guy with dark hair wearing a button down shirt and a red bow tie. He wasn’t even wearing a tux, so obviously he didn’t have money either. I crossed my legs and took a long sip from my drink, enjoying the burn from the Jack Daniels. Maybe if I ignored him, he would go away.

"Hey, I'm Zacky," a deep voice interrupted my thoughts as I leaned against the bar, sipping my drink. I guess he didn’t take the hint. I could feel the close proximity of the stranger and I closed my eyes, taking in a deep breath. He was a little too close for comfort but I knew how to deal with punks like this.

"Zacky, huh?” I asked as I turned around to find myself face-to-face with that man from the red carpet. His face was only inches away from me and I could feel his warm breath and smell his intoxicating scent. The man smelled like a mix of mint toothpaste, cigarettes, and the most mouthwatering cologne I had ever smelled.

Easy now Nika, don’t lose you cool. He obviously was a no-body, just like the last three. Don’t get caught up by his good looks. I swallowed thickly as I looked up to meet his eyes. God he was even more gorgeous up close and those green eyes…I could get lost in them for weeks. Nope. Nope. Nope! Wasn’t happening!

“I’m not interested,” I said, giving him a sickly sweet smile and turning my back to him. I could feel my heart racing and it started to beat even faster when I heard his musical laughter. "Did I crack a joke?" I said, trying to put up my wall again. Damn, no one had ever broke it down… ever! What the hell was I thinking? I had to get this guy out of here!

"You know, I may be a stranger but I ain't no danger." Wow… this guy was smooth… not…

"Oh my god, Zacky," I groaned, looking up at the ceiling. Did this guy have no game what so ever? That was disappointing. The worst part was that I kind of liked his goofy charm… but I couldn’t. No, I had a job to do. "... don't make me laugh anymore or I might knock you out right here."

"So, are you—"

"No, I'm not," I turned around and picked up my drink ready to move to the other end of the bar. Luckily he seemed to take the hint because he didn’t say anything else. Wait? Was he really going to give up that easily? He had to be kidding me!

With a sigh, I looked back over my shoulder to see a very tall muscular guy with aviators talking to Zack and I listened closely.

"Whatever. Listen, Revolver magazine's here and they wanted to know about our tour we just finished. So you might get a call from them in a day or two," the guy said and I raised my brow. Revolver magazine? Tour? He must have had something to do with the music business. Maybe this handsome guy wasn’t so useless after all… Maybe it was time to start over.

"Hey, aren't you Zacky?” I asked, turning back around. “From that band that just finished touring?" Maybe if I acted like I knew him all along he would forget about our rocky start.

Zacky raised his brow at me with a smirk and I couldn’t help but let out a little giggle. Okay, so maybe he was drop dead gorgeous… and don’t get me started on those green eyes.

"That's me," he said and I took the opportunity to scoot over closer to him. I had to get him talking to find out more about him. I mean, if he was a rock star, he could totally be my newest victim. How cool would it be to be a rock stars girlfriend? Even it was just until I robbed the poor sap blind… Addy would be so jealous!

"So how's life? Good, average or you're having a blast right now?" I asked, moving even closer and putting my hand on his arm and making sure he could see my exposed leg through the slit of my dress.

"I didn't catch your name," Zacky said and bit down on my lip and extended my hand.

"Nika,” I replied, feeling a light spark when he touched my hand. What the hell was that? Must have just been static electricity.

"Oh Nika, I’m having a blast right now.” Zacky smirked and he leaned back, his eyes raking up and down my body. Oh, yeah… I couldn’t wait to play with this guy more. Something told me he was a lot of fun… especially between the sheets. “Our album's gonna hit the market soon and we're all pretty excited about it.” Oh he was definitely a musician! Hell yeah!

"Great. So what are you in the band?" I pressed, wanting to know more. I was trying not to get too excited, but it seemed like my night was finally turning around!

"It's funny that you're asking,” Zack laughed and I frowned. Wait, what was funny about it? Was he a musician or not? I didn’t have time for these games! "I play rhythm guitar for our band." Oh thank god!

I bit my lip and looked him up and down. Just knowing he played the guitar made him even hotter. Hell, I wouldn’t mind my own private concert. “Oh, a guitar player? I always had a thing for guitar players," I winked.

"Really.”

"Oh yeah," I purred, taking his arm. I could feel his muscles through his white button down shirt. "Someone keeps fit.”

“Well, Nika, you haven’t seen anything yet. Will you do me the honor of a dance?” Zack was suddenly standing with his hand held out and l anxiously looked around the room. Dancing wasn’t really part of the plan but it had been forever since anyone asked me to do anything besides fuck. “Dance with me,” and with that, Zack grabbed both of my hands and pulled me to the dance floor.

With a smirk, Zack spun me around and pulled me into his rock hard body. Wow, this guy really did have some moves. Impressive. Hell, if he moved this well on the dance floor, I could only imagine what he could do between the sheets.

“So,” he said, placing his hands on my hips and pulling me into him even more. I couldn’t help but bite down on my lip and look up at him. Oh, he was definitely making all the right moves now… “What’s a beautiful girl like you doing at a stuffy event like this?” Zack asked, his warm breath tickling my neck.

Oh you know, just finding some guy to swindle for all that he’s worth and have a little fun in the process. “My sister and I are here to raise money for our charity,” I lied, spitting out the first thing that came to my head.

“So there is another creature as stunning as you walking around this place?” Zacky asked, wiggling his eyebrows at me just as the music sped up a little. He pulled me into him, our hips moving in synchronization. I giggled and wrapped my arms around his neck, enjoying the feeling of our bodies moving together. He ran his fingers gently down the exposed flesh of my back and bringing the ravenous beast inside of me to life. Damn if Mr. Rock Star didn’t slow down, we’d end up in one of the beds upstairs. “And what kind of charity?”

“I guess you could say that, considering she’s my twin,” I replied, getting lost in those gorgeous green eyes. Why did this guy have to be so hot?! “So tell me more about your band. What kind of music do you play? How was tour?” I gushed, my heart racing a mile a minute in my chest. Why did I feel so excited around this guy? He was just like all the others and damn it, I knew the rules! I couldn’t get involved with this guy.

“Ah, you didn’t answer my question,” and there were his fingers grazing my cheek as he pushed a piece of hair behind my ear. That motion alone sucked all the air out of my lungs and caused a mass outbreak of goose bumps to erupt on my body. What the hell was this? I didn’t know, but I didn’t like not feeling in control.

“We-we are collecting donations for a-a woman’s foundation,” I stammered, trying to put together some piece of a lie that would make sense. I couldn’t blow this now. Luckily the chump bought it.

“I think my band mates and I could help you out with that,” Zack said as he spun me around again. “And as for you question, we are a heavy metal band from right here in California and we just got from tour. We haven’t even been home yet to see our families…. This little event was our last ‘duty’ before we have our freedom again.”

“That sucks that you haven’t been home yet,” I frowned, feeling empathetic for the guy. What was wrong with me tonight? I never felt any of these things!

Zack shrugged and dipped me down low, holding me against his body. “Well it’s turned out to be a surprisingly good night,” he said before pulling me back up. “Especially since I got to dance with a lady as beautiful as yourself.”

I bit down on my lower lip as a blush ravished my face. What was wrong with me? I never blushed at compliments by strangers, no matter how hot they were. Why was thing one starting to get to me?

Zacky’s handsome green eyes suddenly locked with mine as slowly reached up and ran his calloused thumb over my bottom lip, his lips coming closer and closer to mine by the second. No, no, no! I couldn’t let him kiss me! I quickly glanced over his shoulder, trying to find a way out. Thankfully I spotted my sister with a man that looked like some kind of Greek god standing over by the bar.

“I-I… need to uh… go-yeah, go check on my sister,” I lied, quickly pulling away from him and making my back over toward the bar. That was a close one. I couldn’t let Zacky kiss me, especially not now. I had to maintain control and I would be damned if I was going to let Addy win the bet.

BRIAN

“No luck in finding your newest conquest?” Johnny laughed as I made my way back to the table for a drink.

I had scanned the ballroom for the millionth time and the dark haired beauty in the blue dress from the red carpet was nowhere to be seen. Fuck, I had to find her and make her mine for the evening. Hell, there was no way she would be able to resist my charm and good looks. Hell, she would be putty in my hands just like the rest of the women had been all tour.

“Fuck you,” I said, sinking down next to him as we watched Jimmy and Matt talk to the Madden Brothers across the room. “She’s just playing hide and seek. I’ll find her, mark my words short shit.” Johnny rolled his eye and I just shrugged. It was a typical response from a guy that got shot down more than he went down. “She will be mine before the end of the night, and that is a promise.”

Johnny groaned and pulled at the collar of his dress shirt. “Well, while you try and find this invisible girl, I’m going to get another drink,” he said leaving me alone.

My eyes scanned the room but I didn’t see the dark-haired beauty anywhere. Where could she have run off too? It was just then that I saw Vengeance talking to a girl at the end of the bar. “Fucking figures he finds someone first,” I scoffed before downing the rest of my scotch and standing up to start my search again.

I quickly made my way through the dance floor, hoping to find the little brunette sitting at a table alone just waiting for me to come over. But fuck me, I couldn’t find her anywhere!

I shook my head and continued on my own quest to the other side of the venue. “Now where would she go?” I muttered to myself as I made my way through the crowd. There were thousands of people in this ballroom and honestly it was a little stuffy for my taste. I quickly pushed through the crowd towards the bar just as someone slammed into my chest.

I quickly reached out and caught the peron, only to look down to see the woman I had been searching for. No fucking way…

"Careful," I said, looking down into a stunning pair of blue eyes. Damn this woman was even more gorgeous up close. From her dark hair twisted up into and eloquent hair style to her beautiful eyes, plump lips, and don’t even get me started on that banging hot body in that dress. Oh yeah, she had a killer rack and curves that I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into, and that was only in that quick glance.

"I-I was just..." she stammered and wasn’t that the cutest fucking thing. Oh, this would be easy, considering she was already drooling over me.

"Addy, there you are," A man said, pulling me from my thoughts. To my surprise the little brunette turned and linked her arm through mine, making a smirk fall over my face. Looks to me like my little brunette was trying to avoid someone. I would play along and reap the benefits later.

"Oh Charlie, have you met Mike? This is Mike, you know, the Mike I was looking for," the brunette lied expertly. Surprisingly that little move right there made her even hotter. Oh yes, this little lady would be the perfect conquest for the evening.

"Oh, it's okay. Have fun." The guy said, walking away without so much as a fight. Pussy.

"It's Brian, by the way," I said, pulling the woman closer and laying my arm around her back. I let my finger graze over the little bit of exposed skin in the cut outs of her dress. I couldn’t wait to pull the fabric off of her and see what treats were hiding beneath the surface. I couldn't wait to have that sweet ass pressed against me. Fuck I was getting hard just thinking about it.

"So Addy, huh? What does that stand for?" I asked with my signature smirk that made all women crumble.

"A-Adelaide," she stammered, trying to regain a professional edge. She was hesitant, and looked around a little anxious. No, Gates, don't let her get away now.

"So, you wanna grab a drink or something?" I asked, taking a step closer and resting my hand on the small of her back. Oh this little beauty wasn’t going anywhere without me for the rest of the night, that much I was sure of.

"Uh...um, tell me something about yourself first. I don't drink with strangers," she said coyly and I couldn’t help but chuckle.

"I play lead guitar for Avenged Sevenfold. Ever heard of us?" I watched those eyes light up with excitement, and a smile come out. As if she couldn't get more beautiful.

"Really?" Addy asked and that beautiful smile got wider. I swear there was a twinkle of mischief in her eyes. "If I give you a chance to brag about yourself, will you disappoint me?"

"Oh, I never disappoint, especially a beautiful lady like you,” I replied as a small blush fell over her face and she looked down at the ground. Was a girl that looked like this seriously not used to compliments? I would have to change that.

I carefully pushed a strand of hair back behind her ear and she looked up at me with her bottom lip between her teeth. Well if that wasn’t the single hottest thing I’d seen all week, I didn’t know what was. “What do you want to drink?”

“Surprise me,” she smirked. “I want to hear more about your band…”

I shook my head and ordered us two drinks from the bar. “Tell you what, you dance with me and I’ll tell you more about it.” I baited, seeing Vengeance on the dance floor with Addy’s sister. She was surprisingly laughing and having a good time with him. So I guess little Vee did have some game on his own. Well good for him, now I wouldn’t have to listen to him bitch tomorrow. That is if he could close the deal with her tonight.

“I-I don’t dance,” Addy said softly, swirling her drink with her finger. I suppressed a groan as she carefully licked the alcohol off her finger, watching me the entire time. My pants were suddenly growing tighter and I had no idea what this woman was playing at but I liked it. Maybe she wanted to cut right to the chase? Fine by me.

“What do you do?” I whispered in her ear, taking a step closer. To my delight, she closed her eyes and swallowed thickly, my breath leaving a trail of goose bumps down her exposed arm.

“GATESY-POO! What are you doing over here! I’ve been looking everywhere for you!” God damn it Jimmy, not now. Couldn’t he see that I was in the middle of something? “I’ve found this fucking awesome—oh, hello.” Jimmy stopped when he saw Addy next to me. I gave him a pointed look, hoping that he would get the picture and go back to where he came from. “I didn’t know you had a lady friend,” Jimmy whisper shouted.

Addy smirked and looked down at the ground as I pulled Jimmy a few feet away. “Yes, I’ve got a lady friend, and if you know what’s good for you, you’ll turn and walk the other way. Do you hear me?”

“Loud and clear, Gatesy-poo,” Jimmy said, giving me a salute. I let out a sigh of relief as he turned to walk away.

However, he didn’t walk away, he walked right over to Addy and put his arm around her shoulders, introducing himself. Fuck, this guy was going to get it. Could he follow directions for once in his life? “Come on, beautiful, come sit down at our table and relax,” he cooed in her ear. “So tell me, what’s your name? I’m Jimmy and you’ve already met Brian. Then the short one over here is Johnny, the muscular one is Matt, and that punk with that girl over there is Zacky.”

“That girl happens to be my sister, Nika,” Addy said, shooting me a small smile. “And I’m Addy. Nice to meet you guys. So tell me about this band,” Oh, she was good. She was getting exactly what she wanted without having to follow through on my requests. So she was going to be a challenge? I was up for whatever she was going to throw at me that was for sure. Addy was going to be mine tonight.

Notes

So who is winning over who in the little game of cat an mouse?! Let us know what you think!