What Happens In Vegas...: His Wedding-Night Wager

“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.”

Six

Hayden pushed himself out of the water using only his arms. His erection was large and fierce looking.

He scooped her up and stepped over the railing onto the deck of the boat. The remains of their dinner and their clothing still lay where they’d been left.

Shelby was a little embarrassed at her abandon, but there was a sense of rightness about being in his arms that made her realize that they belonged together. A kind of confirmation that she’d made the right decision to come to Vegas to resolve the past and cement the future. She and Hayden weren’t finished. Their story was still continuing and she was glad about that.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and shoulders as he strode across the deck of his yacht. His heart beat strongly under her cheek and she closed her eyes, pretending that it beat just for her.

He set her on her feet next to the king-size bed in the stateroom. She was dripping on the carpet but she knew that Hayden didn’t mind. He watched her with eyes that seemed to be on fire for her.

“Don’t move.”

He liked to give orders and she wasn’t about to fall into the trap that had plagued their first whirlwind relationship. She followed him into the bathroom area. He bent over to retrieve two thick navy blue towels.

Shelby pinched his backside, then ran her fingers down to cup him.

He glanced up at her. “I thought I told you to stay put.”

“I don’t take orders well,” she said. But she realized that she needed this to be about something more than power. She needed to not get swept away in Hayden but to have both of them get swept away in each other.

“We’ll see about that,” he said, pushing to his feet.

“Yes, we will see.”

She took one of the towels from him. “Stand up and I’ll dry you off.”

He rose, towering over her. There was a look in his eyes that she scarcely trusted. “I like that idea.”

She reached out with the towel but he stopped her with an iron grip on her wrist. “Use your tongue.”

She swallowed. Hayden was a dominant lover and she freely admitted that he appealed to her as no other man did. Two could play at this game. He liked to give orders but she knew he wasn’t immune to her.

“Close your eyes,” she said, softly tracing her finger down the line of hair at the center of his body. The hair tapered down to his erection. She caressed him, coming closer and closer to his erection but making sure she did nothing more than brush it.

She licked the drops of water that still clung to his chest, while he dried her with long, languid strokes of the other towel. She dropped to her knees in front of him, following the trail of water down his strong thighs.

She really wanted to push him beyond boundaries, to push herself further than she’d ever gone before. She lowered her head, letting her breath wash over his erection first. His hands came to her head, rubbing her hair but not holding her or pulling her closer.

She tipped her head back and looked up at him. His skin was flushed with arousal. His breaths were rapid and his pupils dilated.

“Hayden, can I…?”

“Only if you want to.”

She definitely wanted to. He felt like satin under her fingers. She lowered her head and ran her tongue up and down his length. Taking her time, she tasted him and discovered the different nuances of him. Reaching between his legs, she cupped his sac, massaging it in the palm of her hand as she took him fully into her mouth.

She sucked him deeper in her mouth, felt his body tighten as she worked up and down his length.

She tasted a salty bit of his essence before he pulled her away and lifted her to her feet.

He carried her into the bedroom, cradled in his big arms, then slowly lowered her to her feet. She loved the feel of his solid frame against her. He wrapped his arms around her, anchoring her to him with his hands on her back.

He lowered his head slowly and she was consumed by the fire that he effortlessly brought to life inside her. She rose on tiptoe to meet his mouth. She loved the way he kissed her, as if he had all day and wouldn’t stop until he’d explored every one of her secrets. She wanted to know him the same way. Reaching up, she took his jaw in her hands and held him still.

She traced the seam of his lips with her tongue, tasting him with small delicate darts. His hands on her back tightened but she didn’t hurry. He always seemed so in control. What would it take to rattle him? she wondered.

Slipping her tongue past his lips, she ran it over his. She stroked her way into his mouth before retreating and coming back again.

He groaned and his erection pulsed between them. She felt him growing even harder against her belly and reached between them to enfold him in her grasp.

Not about to be outdone, Hayden placed her on the center of the bed. His hands made long strokes down the center of her body, lingering over her full breasts. He circled her nipples with the tip of his finger. She arched her shoulders, wanting to feel his mouth on her.

“Hayden, kiss me there.”

“Yes, baby.” He lowered his head and took her nipple in his mouth, suckling at her strongly as she cupped the back of his head, holding him to her.

He rubbed small circles around her belly button before delving lower. His fingers separated her. As he slipped one finger into her creamy warmth, her legs moved restlessly on the bed.

He slid a second finger inside her and brought his thumb down to rub her with a small up-and-down movement that made her want to scream; it felt so good. His fingers thrust in and out of her body and she was arching into him, needing more.

Everything in her body focused on his hand between her thighs and his mouth on her breast. He thrust slowly, driving her up toward a pitch until everything in her body tightened and she knew she was going to come.

Suddenly her entire body clenched and she called out his name long and low. She smiled up at him and she felt a sense of rightness. She wrapped her arms around his head and held him to her.

Hayden waited until Shelby’s body stilled before he pushed himself up on his elbows to stare down at her. She smiled at him. Her lips were swollen and still wet from his kisses. Her nipples poked into his chest and though he’d satisfied her, he knew she wanted more.

He needed more as well. Once was never enough for Shelby and him. He freely admitted that only when he was lying between her legs, buried deep inside her body, did he really feel as though he was seeing the real woman. She had no chance to put up barriers then.

He set about arousing her again. Sweeping his hands down her body. Using his mouth to trace the same path. Slowly building her once again to fever pitch.

She didn’t lie passively under him but caressed his back and buttocks. Skimmed her hands over him and then scraped her nails in patterns everywhere she could reach. When he could wait no longer, he kissed his way up her body, lingering at the base of her neck. He sucked against her sweet flesh and bit softly until she was moaning his name.

“Open your legs.”

His voice was gruff, guttural even. She’d pushed him past his boundaries. When she did as he asked, he settled his weight over her. Taking her hands in his, he stretched them up over her head, forcing her fingers to curl under the headboard mounted on the wall.

“Don’t let go.”

She nodded.

He lifted her legs and paused at the entrance of her body. The tip of him slipped inside her. She was so wet and so ready. Her body tightened around him as he entered her. He cursed and pulled out. “Are you on the Pill?”

She shook her head. He didn’t want to use a condom; he knew he was free of any diseases and wanted to feel her wrapped around his erection, but he couldn’t chance pregnancy.

He pushed off the bed and went into the head and found the box of condoms he kept in the medicine cabinet. He grabbed one, sheathed himself before returning to the stateroom.

Shelby hadn’t moved. Her arms were still above her head, holding the headboard. She was so beautiful to him in that moment, caught up in the feelings he’d brought to her, that he paused to watch her.

“Baby,” he said between clenched teeth. He dropped to his knees near the bed. Starting at her neck, he nibbled his way down her body. Lingering over her pretty breasts, he circled the plump globes and left her nipples untouched.

She shifted her shoulders to try to move her nipple to his mouth. He allowed her to get closer, licking the tip before turning his head to her other breast and slowly exploring it.

He slid his hand down her body. Her earlier orgasm had left her body flushed and sensitive to his fingers. She was wet and creamy and he used her juice to coat his fingers, bringing them up to her nipples and rubbing her own moisture on them.

She craned her neck to watch him. He, too, was helplessly fascinated by the sight of his large fingers sliding between her thighs and entering her body.

“Hayden, I can’t wait much longer.”

“Yes, you can,” he said, levering himself on the bed and over her.

He settled between her open legs, taking his erection in his hand and rubbing it up and down her center. He pressed it to her little bud until she tightened her thighs around him and her hips jerked upward.

“Not yet, Shelby. Hold on, baby. Wait for me.”

She closed her eyes, breathing deeply, and he knew he’d pushed further than he’d intended to tonight. Putting his arms under her thighs, he lifted her legs, opened her fully to him and entered her. Slowly he filled her until he was seated hilt deep.

Her brilliant eyes opened and she watched him take her. For a moment he remembered the first time he’d taken Shelby. He’d been her first and it had been a surprise. She’d been as openly candid about her appreciation of him and his body then as she was tonight.

Her muscles tightened around him as he pulled back for a second thrust. Her hands gripped the headboard so tightly that he knew she was close. He wanted them to come together this time.

His own orgasm was almost on him. He hurried his pace, thrusting deeper and deeper into her. Finally he felt that telltale tingling at the base of his spine.

“Now, baby.”

She came at once, her body tightening around him like a wet, hot glove. He emptied himself into the condom, wishing he’d been able to empty himself into her womb. He wanted to claim her. To stake his claim and make sure that no one—man or woman—ever doubted that Shelby belonged to him.

He collapsed on top of her, spent from the powerful climax. He nestled closer to her breast, idly sucking on one nipple. Her arms wrapped around him and he shifted his weight to the side so that he didn’t crush her.

He felt as if he’d found his home. That disturbed him deep inside because he hadn’t realized that he’d been searching for one until this very moment.

Shelby didn’t want to wake up. She saw the sun shining across the bed, but the feel of Hayden’s arms around her was too good to give up. Even to the reality of morning. How many times had she dreamed of him holding her this way only to wake alone once again?

But she wasn’t one to hide from reality. And she knew this morning he was real, not a figment of her hungry soul. But this time she had to deal with her own guilty conscience. Deal with the fact that she had gone behind his back to seduce him with the things he loved.

Her thighs and breasts were pleasantly sore from last night. She was a little scared at the intensity of their lovemaking.

She’d enjoyed herself, no doubt about that, but he’d made her feel vulnerable. She didn’t like that. She was a business owner—not exactly an occupation for wimps. She was used to dealing with her fears head-on and would deal the same way with this one, too.

Rolling over and opening one eye, she found herself nose-to-nose with Hayden. His eyes were wide open and the most arrogant male grin split his face.

“What are you smiling about?”

“You, here with me,” he said. Leaning down, he kissed her.

It was the slow kind of kiss that didn’t put any pressures or demands for more. She felt precious to him. It made her realize how vulnerable she was once again to Hayden. Before, she hadn’t really loved him, but this time he was so much more to her than a wealthy man.