Her High-Stakes Affair

A dare.

She’d spent a lifetime tamping down the urges of her wild blood. That was what Grandma Nan had always called it when Raine got into scrapes at school. And in her younger days she’d gotten into more than a few of them.

She’d never been able to resist a dare.

How had this man known? What was it about his dark-brown eyes that enabled him to see past the protective layers others never noticed were there?

In truth she knew it wasn’t arrogance. The man had a swarm of adoring people following him around day and night. She wondered how long they’d be alone in the alcove before one of his fans found him.

“What’s the matter? Scared you can’t handle me off the set where you’re not in charge?” he asked in that silky tone of his.

She realized he was so used to getting his way that it never occurred to him she’d turn him down. And it irked her that she was thinking about accepting his invitation. But she was definitely going to make him work for it.

“I think we covered this already,” she replied. “I’m not scared of any man.”

“Then I’ll pick you up in your suite at eight. Dressy casual. Be prepared for the night of your life.”

She wrapped her arms around her waist. His words, the delivery and tone, were exactly like her father’s. Every birthday he’d called her, promising her the moon, and for eight long years she’d believed him.

“You know nothing about me, Scott. How can you guarantee me the night of my life?” she asked carefully. Maybe going wasn’t a good idea, no matter how tempting he was. Actually, because of how tempting he was. She’d forgotten her own rules. No matter what spin he put on it, Scott Rivers was a gambler. He gambled every day on life, taking risks and issuing dares.

“Touché. That was arrogant.” He grinned at her.

“Just a tad.”

“I’d like to say it won’t happen again, but…”

This time she laughed at him. He was very charming, and she didn’t care if it was practiced. This was the man she had to be careful around. The one she’d find it so easy to fall for. For just this once, though, she wanted to enjoy basking in his laughter.

“How about a night of getting to know each other?” he asked, propping one hand on the wall behind her and angling his body closer to hers.

The heat of his body swamped her. She struggled to keep her pulse steady, but it had picked up the minute he’d put his hand on the wall next to her head. He captured one of her curls with his fingers and toyed with the strand. “Why is this important to you?” she asked.

He ran his finger down the side of her face, his touch tentative and very gentle. For the first time in her life she felt…special. Not the go-to girl or the can-handle-anything woman. But as if she was actually the one who needed to be treasured and pampered by a man. He’s just playing you, she reminded herself. But she liked the way he was treating her—which unsettled what she thought she knew about herself.

He leaned even closer to her. She inhaled his spicy aftershave and the smell of his breath mints. Her breath probably smelled like garlic from the scampi she’d had for lunch. This was why she didn’t do the fairy tale thing.

“I can’t get you out of my head,” he said.

She stopped thinking about her breath and stared up at this man who had to be putting her on. “Lust, eh? I’m not really cover-model material.”

“No, you’re not. You have something so unique. Something that’s just Raine.”

His words touched her and she had to swallow. She told herself he was a consummate actor, even though it had been a while since he’d tried his hand at that. A part of her wanted to believe him, but another part was afraid. She’d grown up with her father, the accomplished con man who could promise anything and make everyone including Raine believe it.

“Don’t say things like that to me. I prefer honesty.”

“As you pointed out, we don’t know each other. I just want a chance.”

“One chance. But no more of those mushy romance lines that you’ve doled out to a hundred other women.”

“Jeez, I’m not sure you’ll fit in my car with that chip on your shoulder. And I think we both know I haven’t had a hundred women.”

“I don’t care if you’ve had a thousand.”

“You will,” he said. Lowering his head, he kissed her. His lips brushed hers, and when she opened her mouth to breathe, his tongue slipped past her lips and into her mouth. He tasted her with long, languid strokes of his tongue. She tipped her head to grant him greater access.

Still he didn’t hurry. He just leaned there next to her, taking his time and exploring the fire that she’d never wanted to acknowledge was between them. Awareness spread down her body, and she relished the taste of him.

The world fell away and she swayed when his hands skimmed down her back and over her hips and he tugged her closer to him. The wall was solid behind her, and he was solid heat pressed to the front of her. She felt trapped and oddly free because the decision was taken out of her hands. This was the most daring thing she’d done in years.

Her pulse raced, and she knew that something she’d caged long ago had broken free. She reached for his shoulders, but he pulled back.

“Eight,” he said, and turned on his heel and walked away.

Scott went back to the set, but he was off his game for the rest of the day. He knew no one else observed it but he felt it inside. For the first time in fifteen years he was distracted by someone. He wasn’t just focused on his own pleasures. It was an odd feeling and he wasn’t sure he liked it.

But the only time he felt alive was when he was doing something risky, which was why he’d made the bet and was pursuing Raine. Who would’ve thought pursuing a petite brunette would be the challenge he’d been searching for?

Scott almost blew a really big hand, but brought his attention back to the game at the last minute.

They wrapped for the day, and he noticed that Raine stayed far away from him. Even when she came out of her booth, she gave him and the other players a wide berth. Scott finished up the conversation he was having with Stevie and started slowly stalking her.

She glared at him once so he knew she was aware of his presence. He laughed. She was so sassy and spunky that he couldn’t help himself. She might prefer safety and routine, but nothing could dampen the innate fire that burned inside her.

Why was she even trying to hide it? He knew then that the secrets he wanted to unlock in Raine were somehow tied to that passion.

She moved toward the exit, and Scott deftly followed her, blocking the one door off the set. He folded his arms over his chest and leaned back against the wall. She tossed her hair and pivoted on her heel, facing away from him.

“You still have that magic touch with the ladies,” a droll voice said behind him.

Scott turned to see one of his closest friends, Hayden MacKenzie—the newly married Hayden. “What can I say? I should bottle my charm.”

“Well, it is legendary. Does she not know that? Want me to go talk to her?”

“What are we—in junior high?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t go to junior high,” Hayden said.

Hayden had attended an exclusive boys’ school back east. Scott had met him in Europe when they’d both had too much money, too much anger and too much time on their hands. The other man stood a few inches taller than Scott.

“So how’s wedded life? Still bliss?”

Hayden smiled and for the first time since Scott had met him he saw a kind of peace in Hayden’s eyes. “Can’t complain. In fact, Shelby and I are having a dinner party on Friday. Can you come?”

“I might have plans.”

“You can bring her with you. Max is flying down from Vancouver, where he’s brokering a deal. Deacon and Kylie will be there.”

“Okay. But it’ll be just me. I don’t want Max to feel like the Lone Ranger.”

“You know Max. He’s never alone for long. See you at nine on Friday.”

Hayden walked away and Scott watched his friend leave. He wasn’t sure he wanted to be surrounded by his bachelor buddies who’d given up the single life. Scott had been alone for so long.

“Is everything okay?”

He glanced down at Raine. “Yes. Why?”

“Hayden owns the Chimera. I wasn’t sure if there was a problem.”

“Hayden and I go way back. Besides, he’d speak to you if there was a problem, wouldn’t he?”

She shrugged. “I guess. Listen, I’m going to have to work late, editing today’s shoot. So we’ll have to cancel dinner.”

He’d never had to work so hard with a woman, and a part of him toyed with the idea of just stopping his pursuit. He could afford to lose the bet to Stevie. But there was something about Raine that wouldn’t let him do that.

“No problem. We’ll go whenever you can. My plans are fluid,” he said, watching her carefully.

She put her hands on her hips and stared up at him. “I’m not sure how to say this….”

“Stop trying to find excuses. I’m not going to ask you to strip naked in front of a crowd of people. It’s just dinner.”

She dropped her arms and glanced around the set, which had cleared out except for one camera guy, who was still putting his gear away. “I’m not usually like this. You seem to bring it out in me. Are you sure you want to have dinner?”

“Yes. I’m not feeding you a bunch of BS, Raine. Believe me, I wouldn’t work this hard for a woman if I wasn’t really interested.”

There was a hint of vulnerability on her face before she carefully concealed it. “I’m free now. How about something casual?”

“It’s a little early for dinner.”

“Maybe we could go do something.”

“What do you have in mind?” he asked, sensing with Raine it was better to let her take the lead at first. He sensed she was used to being in charge on the job and off as well.

“Minigolf?”

No way. He had a reputation to live up to. “What are we…ready for the retirement home?”

“Well, what do you have in mind?” she asked in that quick-tempered way of hers.

“How much time do you have?” he asked, struggling not to smile at her show of temper.

She consulted her watch. “Four hours.”

“One round at the roulette table. Winner picks the next activity.”

“I don’t gamble.”

“Why not?”

“I just don’t.”

“Rumor has it that you were once a big-time player.”

“The National Enquirer intimated you had sex with an alien on your yacht in the Mediterranean.”

“Then you were a big-time player,” he said.

She threw her head back and laughed. “Okay, you win. I’ll play roulette with you, but only one game. Whoever wins picks the activity.”

“I don’t lose,” he said, warning her.

“Neither do I.”

Raine rubbed her sweaty palms against her jeans and stood in front of the roulette table. She was intimately familiar with this game, having grown up a few blocks from the casinos in Atlantic City. She’d spent her childhood on the boardwalk, staring in at her father, who’d spend a few days playing roulette when he couldn’t scrape together enough money to stake himself to a poker game.

Just one small bet. That was all she had to do. She wasn’t going to become addicted to gambling by placing one bet. She’d bet Scott on this one game and then she’d take him to the Keno diner on the second floor, sit with him in a vinyl booth and bore him to death so he would move on.

Conning him didn’t seem like such an easy thing to do just now. She felt as if she was being torn in two, and the balance and serenity she’d worked so hard to find in her life were now gone.

Her heart was beating too fast, and every minute she spent in his presence made her like him more.

“What are you waiting for?” he asked, making her realize that she’d been staring at the rows of black and red spaces for too long.

She scrambled for an answer. She was used to thinking on her feet in the high-pressure world of television. “You have to have a strategy.”

“For roulette?” he asked. “Be careful, Raine. This is just chance. Odds or evens, black or red. That’s all you have to decide.”

“Well, we all aren’t you, Mr. Lucky. I need a strategy. Give me a minute.”

Turning away from him, she closed her eyes. Coming to Vegas had been a struggle. She wasn’t a gambler by profession, but her heart was always ready to bet on something.

Every day she walked past the odds board in the lobby and mentally bet on something, anything. Prize fights, European sporting events, even the outcome of certain reality shows. She was contractually forbidden from betting on their show, but in her mind she bet every time.

She’d watched her father and brother both spiral out of control and into addiction. Right now they were both living hand-to-mouth existences. And she couldn’t help them. When she sent money, they only gambled it away, and when she visited, they wanted her to run one more con. A big score so they’d be set for life.

She was being silly. One little roulette bet wasn’t going to turn her into an addict. She took a deep breath and looked up at Scott. “Okay, I’m ready.”

“What’s your lucky number?” he asked.

She didn’t have a lucky number, didn’t believe that luck came from numbers or rabbits’ feet.

“Don’t have one?” he asked, putting his arm around her waist and leaning closer.

They were in the main casino, where anyone could see them. She inched away from him. “No. Why should I?”

“No reason. Mine is thirteen. Want to use it this time?”

“No. I’ll take fourteen.”

“Okay,” he said, reaching around her to drop a few casino chips on the table.

“What are you doing?” she asked. What did it say about the man that he had a pocketful of casino chips?

“This is on me.”

She shrugged and placed her bet. She put her chip only on the number, not bettering her odds by playing the color.

“You’re going for the bigger payoff just like a real gambler would,” he said.

He had no idea. She’d watched her father at the roulette table for so long that she’d played the way he would. His words didn’t reassure her, and it took all of her courage to stand her ground and not turn and run from the casino. Her hand actually trembled as she saw the croupier begin the play.

Scott captured her hand and rubbed it against his T-shirt-clad chest. “Don’t sweat it, honey. This is just for fun.”

She looked up at him and felt the waves of reassurance in him. Despite his playboy image and the way he seemed to glide through life unaffected, she sensed a rock-solid part of this man.

“I know.”

“When I win, I’m going to take you for a ride on my Harley out into the desert with the warm wind blowing all around us. Then we’ll have dinner at my favorite hole-in-the-wall Mexican place.”

That didn’t sound dangerous. It sounded fun, thrilling. She’d never been on a motorcycle and a part of her had always wanted to ride one. Especially if she was pressed up against Scott’s back. She’d have an excuse to touch him and not have to worry about the consequences for once in her life, not taking the same safe route she’d always chosen.

But he had dared her—and she couldn’t pass it up. “I don’t know what I’ll do when I win. Probably something safe and boring.”

He smiled at her then. His expression was so tender that the sounds of the casino faded away, and there was only the two of them. “Nothing with you could be boring.”

She turned away from the intensity in his eyes and focused on the table. The ball jumped and bounced and finally landed on fourteen. Raine couldn’t believe it.

“I won.”

“I saw,” he said. His arms came around her waist and he held her to him. “Maybe my luck is rubbing off on you.”

“I didn’t realize that luck felt like a muscled, masculine body.”

He dropped a fierce kiss on her lips. “Luck comes in all kinds of packages.”

She had the feeling he was talking about more than slot machines and Vegas winnings. “Bad luck sure does.”

“Hey, no talk of bad luck,” he said.

“I can’t believe this. You lost,” she said. And she won. After years of carefully avoiding taking any kind of risk, the first time she bet someone, she won.

“I know.”

She stepped away from him, fighting the urge to dance around. She won. For the first time she could understand the appeal of gambling. But she realized her euphoria had as much to do with the fact that she was with Scott as it did with winning.

“Does this ever happen to you?” she asked.

“About as often as I make it with my alien lover.”

She laughed and felt free in a way she hadn’t in a long time. Scott reminded her of what life could be when she let go of the tight control she kept on herself.

“What now?”

He picked up her winnings. “Let’s go cash out, and then the rest of the night is up to you.”

The glow of victory still hung around Raine as they stepped away from the cashier and she pocketed her winnings.

“So what’s the plan? I think we’ve got a few hours until you have to be in the editing room.”

She glanced at her watch, then tipped her head to the side, studying him. “How do you feel about going to Red Rock? They have a nature trail that’s supposed to be pretty awesome and it’s not that far from here. I haven’t had time to check it out yet.”

“Sounds good. I’ll drive, unless you want to?”

“No, you can drive. I’m sharing the production van with Tim and Leslie.”

Just then Scott became aware of a group of three women who were eyeing him. He knew the second they recognized him. They took a few steps toward him, but Scott wrapped his arm around Raine and made for the exit. She shoved her elbow against his stomach but he refused to budge. He suspected she was worried about Joel or someone from the show catching them together, but he liked the way she felt tucked up against him. “You have a choice.”

“Of what?” she asked as they left the casino behind and walked out into the warm spring afternoon.

He put on his sunglasses and led her toward the employee parking garage. Hayden kept the top floor of the garage for his own private vehicles and allowed Scott to store his there, as well. Sometimes Scott thought his entire life was just one long travelogue as he moved from one location to another.

“Of how you want to go,” he said, leading her to the garage elevator. He pressed the button for the top floor and then inserted his security key to access the parking level.

“I keep a Hummer H2, a Porsche Boxster and a Harley-Davidson Screamin’ Eagle V-Rod here. I don’t think we can off-road at Red Rock so the Porsche or the bike would be a better choice.”

“Your cars cost more than my house does back in Glendale, California.”

He shrugged. “It’s just money.”

She put one hand on her hip and narrowed her eyes. “Not to everyone.”

“Is this going to be an issue?”

She said nothing, and he knew it was. He’d dated women with Raine’s outlook before. Some women honestly had a problem with the insane amount of money he had. He recognized it could be an issue and he hated that because the money was part of who he was.

“I started working when I was nine months old,” he explained.

She dropped her hand. “I know.”

“Then you can’t expect me to be poor. I spent my entire childhood earning that money.”

“Should I grovel for forgiveness?”

Realizing he had his own problems with this issue, he forced himself to relax. “Maybe later.”

“I have money issues in general. It was just a shock to hear you rattle off your list of vehicles.”

“Can you get over it?” he asked teasingly.

She tipped her head to the side and gave him one of those looks of hers that cut past all the images he’d cultivated over the years and burned straight to the bone. He should probably stay here in Vegas where he fit in. Out in nature he always felt more like the fraud he was. No longer the actor on a set but out in the elements.

“Yeah,” she finally said. “I can get over it—especially if you let me drive the Porsche.”

“Didn’t you hit the security rail with the production van yesterday?”

She wrinkled her brow. “That story was grossly exaggerated. No damage was done to the van.”

“I’ll think about letting you drive my car on the way back.”

He crossed the parking lot to the Porsche convertible. Opening the trunk, he pulled out two baseball caps. “If we’re taking this car you’ll need a hat. The sun is hot with the top down. You want the Yankees or the Red Sox?”

“We can’t ride in the same car wearing those hats.”

“Sure we can. You like to fight. This will make people believe we have a reason.”

“I don’t like to argue. You’re the one who’s contrary.”

“Really? I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Why do you have East Coast hats? I thought you grew up in L.A.”

“I did. The Sox cap is Hayden’s. I picked the Yankees just to needle him.”

He opened her door for her. She gave him a strange look before sliding into the car.

“What was that look?”

“Most guys don’t hold the door.”

“Most guys don’t have my mom. She’s a stickler for manners and men holding doors.”

“She sounds like my kind of woman.”

“She’s…fierce, I guess. She made sure no one took advantage of me when I was a kid. She still watches out for me now.”

“What about your dad?”

“He backs her up when she needs him. But he’s content to let her lead the way.”

“Sounds like they have a good marriage.”

“They do. What about your folks?” he asked as he put down the top on the convertible. Once it was down, he backed out of the parking space and headed to the exit.

“My folks are divorced. My mom remarried when I was sixteen. We’re not real close.”

“What about your dad?”

“He lives on the East Coast so I don’t see him.”

“My folks live in Malibu. I see them all the time when I’m in Los Angeles.”

She said nothing as he maneuvered the car onto 215 and headed toward Red Rock. “Too bad I didn’t think of asking you out sooner. We could have applied for a rock climbing permit.”

“I think I’d have a heart attack if I tried to do that.”

“It’s easy.”

“Sure it is. Easy to fall.”

“What kind of guy do you think I am? I’d never let you fall.”

“Stop it. You sound too good to be true. Remember, I’m on to you and your smooth-talking ways.”

If only she were right and he were feeding her lines. But there was something too real about Raine. He’d felt her pain when she’d spoken quietly of her lack of parental contact. He wanted to sweep her into his arms and promise she’d never be alone again.

No matter how much she intrigued him, this would be the same as every other relationship in his life. Fleeting and memorable.

Three

A tense silence filled the car as they entered the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. The area had some of the best examples of the Mojave Desert terrain in Nevada. Raine had never been an outdoorsy girl. But there was something so clean about being here now. Especially compared to the overdeveloped Vegas strip where she’d been spending all her time. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply.

“You okay?”

“Yeah,” she said, realizing that she was. The bet with Scott, the constant fear she felt being close to gambling, even her own tension about his interest in her dropped away. Within moments there was nothing but the two of them and nature.

“Sure?”

“Yes, I was just thinking how different this is from Vegas. I have to warn you that even though I suggested this, I’m not really a nature girl.”

“That’s okay. I am.”

“You’re a nature girl?”

“Ha, nature boy. Seriously, I spend all my free time outside.”

For a man who had the world at his fingertips, he spent a lot of his time like any other guy his age.

“I still can’t believe this place is so close to our hotel,” she said, offering a tentative olive branch to Scott. This was a mistake, she thought. Her gut had said it from the beginning, but she’d foolishly thought she could dip one foot into the world she’d always forbidden herself.