Читать книгу What Happens In Vegas...: His Wedding-Night Wager - Katherine Garbera - Страница 11

The soothing scent of the water was the first thing he noticed. Shelby had insisted that he keep the mask on and led him through the parking lot. He felt the wooden planks under his feet and stopped.

How had she known? This was one of his most closely guarded secrets.

“We’re at the lake,” he said, wondering how she knew about his recent obsession with boating. Not even his assistant knew about the boat he kept at Lake Mead. It was the one thing he’d kept to himself, kept for himself and shared with no one. But Shelby knew about it.

She paused next to him. “Are you surprised?”

“Yes. How did you know about this?”

“I can’t reveal my source. But it took a lot of time and energy to figure this out.”

He pushed the mask up and off, pocketing it for later. He was touched she’d dug deep enough to find this out. “Did you rent a boat?”

“Uh, my source said you had one.”

“I do. Follow me.”

He noticed she held a picnic basket loosely in her left hand and that large leather bag she called a purse was slung over her shoulder.

He led her to the Lady Luck, his thirty-foot yacht. She smiled as she read the name. “Has luck been a lady?”

“More times than not. I always treat her right,” he said.

“You do have a way with the ladies.”

He helped her on board. Her words echoed in his mind. His way with women had served him well. There had never been a lady he’d wanted that he hadn’t been able to date. But the women never stayed. What did that say about his way?

The only constant in his life was the Chimera. He’d spent his life betting on the roll of the dice or taking risks, but that meant that life was constantly changing.

He piloted them out of the marina toward the middle of the lake. The evening was nice and warm and a breeze stirred the short hair at the back of his neck. He glanced over at Shelby, still amazed that she’d taken the time to really find something that he liked to do this evening.

It hadn’t been a test for her. But if it had, she’d have passed. That scared him because there was so much he’d forgotten about Shelby. She made the world brighter and more exciting. Even when they were younger, it had been the same. She made him want to take bigger risks—and that was dangerous.

“Ever piloted a boat before?” he asked her. He needed her in his arms, closer to him.

“No. One time Paige and I catered a party for some suppliers that was on the lake.”

“Tell me about your business. To be honest, I was surprised when I realized you owned such a successful chain of lingerie stores.”

She bit her lower lip. He glimpsed a hint of sadness in her eyes before she turned away.

He scanned the area in front of them. No other sailors. He reached for her, pulling her around to face him. “I didn’t mean that as an insult. You just never seemed interested in anything like that when I knew you.”

“I know. I was only interested in you and having fun.”

“I think it’s safe to say we both shared those interests.”

She hugged her arms around her waist and stared up at him. “When I left with the money…I thought all my problems were solved. I couldn’t believe I had a million dollars. You can’t understand this, Hayden, but I never imagined I would see that much money. It felt almost unreal.”

“Just because I’ve always had money doesn’t mean I can’t understand that. What’d you do with the money?”

“I went on a shopping spree. Then about two days later I realized that everything I’d purchased would be gone eventually and I’d be back in the same boat and…”

He stopped the engine on the boat and dropped anchor. He couldn’t concentrate on Shelby and the boat simultaneously.

“What?”

“I couldn’t do that again, Hayden. Whatever else you believe about me, please know that leaving you was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.”

He traced her jawline with his finger, realizing that in some ways, this strong independent woman was worlds too soft for him. Too innocent. Despite the fact that she’d left him, he knew that he and his father were to blame. When he’d started dating her to get at his father, he’d put her right in the middle of the power struggle they’d always engaged in.

“I know,” he said softly. “Tell me how you started your store.”

“Well, first I decided to go to college. Since I wasn’t going to be using my looks to make money, I figured I’d better use my brains.”

“It doesn’t have to be one or the other.”

“I know that now. But I was only twenty-two. You know, at the time I thought I was very mature. I mean, I knew things about life that other people didn’t. But there was still so much I didn’t know.”

Hayden nodded, realized what she was talking about. He, too, had felt he knew it all as a young man, and in retrospect he realized how little knowledge of life he’d really had.

She walked to the railing, glancing out at the deepening twilight. “I met Paige in college and we were both working in a chain lingerie store at the mall. We had this idea that kind of grew from that. Something more exclusive, more high end. Paige said we needed a French-sounding name because the French know everything about sex.”

Hayden laughed at that. Shelby did, too. “Paige is crazy sometimes with the things she says, but she was right. Since we’d both come into our money in unorthodox ways, I suggested calling the shop Bêcheur d’Or. Most consumers recognize the French word for gold and it gave us our brand. Those little gold bags set us apart from other shops, and the rest is history.”

“How did Paige come up with her share of the investment money?”

Shelby paused, eyeing him. “She was a wealthy man’s mistress for about a year. I don’t know the details.”

She stared as if she expected a cutting comment, but Hayden had heard it all, living in Vegas.

Hayden was impressed with what she’d made of her life. He was also a little leery of getting involved with Shelby again because she had vulnerabilities that he’d never really explored before. And he didn’t want to hurt her again.

Shelby hadn’t meant for the evening to get so serious. This night was supposed to be about him not her. They’d had a light dinner and now were sitting on the bow of the boat. She’d removed her shoes, dangling her feet over the water.

“What did you do today?” she asked.

“Meetings and the like.”

“Just casino business all day?” she asked, because it sounded as if he was hedging.

“No. I also went to a children’s facility that Deacon and I set up.”

“What kind of facility? Something for sick kids?”

“No. It’s for kids whose parents work in casinos. A place for them to hang out and be safe. Kind of like day care, but for older kids.”

“What do you do there?”

“Usually I spend my time climbing on the rock wall. We have a scoreboard that tracks times up and down. A lot of the regular kids like to challenge me.”

“Do you let them win?”

“Hell, no. What kind of lesson does that send to kids if you let them win?”

He had a point. “You like it.”

He tipped his head and looked her straight in the eye. “I didn’t expect to. But yeah, I do.”

She’d learned more about Hayden in the forty minutes they’d spent on the water than she had in the weeks she’d spent with him before he’d asked her to marry him. He was a deeply complex man, and a part of her worried she’d never be able to fulfill all his needs.

But she was willing to try. She was falling in love with him all over again. Only this time she knew it was the real thing. Not just a chimera shimmering in the distance. But something real and substantial. An emotion that would last for all time.

Hayden leaned back on his elbows, like some potentate. He was too sexy for his own good. She was still hot and restless from his hands on her in the car. It amazed her how easily he turned everything into something sensual.

“Were there film people in the casino today?”

He arched one eyebrow at her. “Your source is very well connected.”

She had to be careful about revealing the things Alan had told her. She wasn’t cut out for the kind of intrigue that this type of deception entailed.

“That was the buzz in the buffet,” she said, hoping she didn’t sound as defensive as she felt.

“I was joking with you. Not accusing you of anything. They weren’t film people. The Celebrity Poker Showdown is coming to film here next month.”

“Sounds exciting.”

“Do you watch it?” he asked.

She didn’t really spend much time at home. She was a workaholic who took time for the occasional opera performance and that was about it. “No, I’m really not much on TV. You?”

He shrugged, pushing himself up. “Not too much. I try to watch when I know Scott will be on.”

She shook her head at this second reminder of the differences in their lifestyles. “I can’t believe you know Scott Rivers personally.”

“Should I worry about that? I don’t really think of him as anything other than my friend who’s very good at bluffing.” There was complete honesty in Hayden at that moment and she knew that he didn’t view Scott Rivers any differently than he did her. Well, perhaps a little differently.

In Hayden’s voice she heard the affection he had for the man. She knew from the past and from what she was learning about the man he was today that he had few friends. He was nice to many people but he let few know him.

“Why do you like coming out on the lake?” she asked. He was so at home in Vegas that seeing him out here was almost jarring.

“I don’t know. It’s just the only time I’m alone. I can kick back and not worry about any of the details I’d have to when I’m at the casino. Sometimes I fish, other times I just drift like we’re doing tonight.”

“What’s it like running the Chimera?”

“Exhilarating, frustrating, fun, a pain in the ass. It’s a million things at once but in the end I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

“I feel the same about my shops.”

He smiled at her. “Are we going to talk business all night? I thought you were supposed to do some wicked seducing.”

“Did I agree to that? I think that’s your fantasy.”

“Let’s not quibble about the details.”

“Well, I wish I’d planned better. I think swimming in the moonlight with you could be a lot of fun.”

“What didn’t you plan for?”

“No swimsuits.”

“We don’t need them.”

Skinny-dipping. Despite the fact that she was thirty-two, the thought of it was still forbidden…naughty somehow. And Shelby had spent her entire life following the rules in a game that had always seemed weighted against her.

She pushed to her feet and Hayden stood up next to her. “Did I shock you?”

“Did you want to?”

“Yes. You seem so self-contained, so…untouchable, sometimes I want to shake you up.”

He had no idea how much he did. She watched him carefully, her fingers going to the hem of her black shirt. “Will this count instead of the sexy dance?”

“You want to bargain now?”

“Yes.”

He scratched his chin. “I’m not giving up my dance, so we’ll have to bet on something else.”

“What? There’s nothing out here but the two of us.”

He studied her carefully, gliding forward until no space remained between them. He put his hands on her hips and pulled her fully against his rock-hard body. Each breath he took caused his chest to brush against her breasts, rubbing over her already sensitized nipples.

She struggled to keep him from noticing her reaction. But she could tell by the look in his eyes that he knew she wanted him. He knew she was his for the taking. She pushed against his chest.

He was too used to the power, too used to being in control. Shelby needed to be in charge. Just this once, she thought.

“Last one in is a rotten egg,” she said. She kicked off her sandals while tossing her shirt on the deck.

Hayden was a competitor who liked to win so he stripped out of his clothing as fast as he could. Watching Shelby’s curvy body emerge from under her clothing slowed him down, however. He knew the moment she realized that he was watching her.

She tipped her head to the side and ran her hands over her breasts and down the center of her stomach. Her fingers toyed with the button at her waistband. “Are you giving me a head start?”

Her voice was deeper than normal, husky almost, brushing over his aroused senses like the whisper of a win in a gambler’s ear. The lure was totally irresistible and all he could do was helplessly watch her long legs.

Winking at him, she pivoted away from him and bent at the waist to push her pants off. The thin strip of her black thong pulled tight against the crease in her backside. He clenched his hands at his sides as she straightened.

She glanced over her shoulder at him and pulled her hair free. Shaking her head, she let her hair fall in a cascade down her back. He saw red. A haze came over him and he stepped toward her, but his pants caught at his knees and he almost stumbled.

“I’m going to win,” she said, taunting him as she daintily folded each bit of clothing she’d removed. Then she took a leap off the edge of the boat.

Hayden’s pants caught on his feet and he kicked them off just before he tumbled over the side, splashing down a scant second before she did. As the water closed over his head, he heard the sound of her laughter filling the air.

Lazily he pushed to the surface, coming up behind her. Reaching for her, he skimmed his hand down her spine. She trembled under his touch.

“I won,” he said.

She glanced back at him. “Don’t get all arrogant about your victory.”

“Why not?” he asked, pulling her closer while he treaded water to keep them both above the surface. The action forced his legs between hers.

“Because there was no skill involved,” she said, undulating against him so that her entire body caressed his.

“Then you know that resistance is futile,” he murmured against her skin.

She pulled away from him. “Did you say ‘resistance is futile’? Isn’t that from Star Trek?”

“I thought you said you didn’t watch TV.”

“Star Trek is more than TV. But it doesn’t seem your cup of tea.”

“I went to that exhibit over at the Hilton a few years ago, to see about doing something similar at the Chimera.”

“Did the hotel benefit from that trip? Because apparently your legendary charm didn’t.”

“I beat you once, Shel. Don’t make me do it again.”

“You can try,” she said, and dived. He followed her easily, making out the shape of her white legs under the water.

He caught her ankle and pulled her to him, using a powerful scissor kick to bring them both to the surface.

His skin was too tight and he felt as if he was going to explode if he didn’t get inside her soon. But he loved the sensual way she moved. He snaked one arm around her waist and fondled her belly button before cupping her breast in his hand.

“I don’t need skill. I have raw talent.”

“You’ve got raw something all right, but I don’t think it’s talent.”

“I’ll prove it,” he said. It had been too long. Still, he knew he had to take this slow, because despite her teasing, Shelby was still feeling her way in this new relationship with him. And the last time, sex had clouded everything else.

She pushed away from him and dived under the water once more.

Shelby still hadn’t surfaced when he felt her hand on his knee, skimming up the inside of his thigh. She cupped him in her hands.

He forgot to tread water and started to go under. Shelby surfaced a few inches from him. “Still going to prove something to me?”

He laughed. This was what had been missing from his life. This element of sexy teasing had been absent in all of his relationships until now. He stroked over to her, capturing her from behind.

She turned in his arms and kissed the base of his neck, nibbling at him and then soothing the ache with her tongue. He tightened his hands on her soft body. He wanted to toss her up on the deck of the boat and bury himself hilt deep inside her. He wanted to bind them so close to each other that they’d never really be separate again.

She lifted her head, her eyes sparkling up at him. “Don’t try to tempt me with that smooth voice. I remember it well.”

He closed his eyes, inhaling the scent of Shelby, letting the feel of her in his arms totally overwhelm him. He needed her like the air that he breathed and he followed that desire the way he’d always allowed all his cravings to rule his life.

Her wet hair snaked over her shoulders, falling onto his. He liked that feeling, and pulled her closer. He wanted them so deeply intertwined, she’d forget everything except being with him.

Grasping her waist, he lifted her slightly and lowered his mouth to her breast. He traced her nipple with his tongue, lapping at it gently until her nails dug into his shoulders. Carefully he scraped his teeth over her and heard her cry his name. They both sank beneath the water and he realized they needed to get out of the lake right now.

He needed more. He needed it now. And so did she. Holding her carefully with one arm, he swam them both back to the boat and lifted her up onto the platform at the back.

When she would have stood, he stopped her with a hand on her thigh. “Not yet.”