Chapter Fourteen

Talia had the feeling that no matter what Casey said, they were on borrowed time. Her heart was involved now, and though she wanted to savor her time with him, it was a double-edged sword.

She’d realized at that bridge game that she hardly knew this man she thought she loved. There were other facets to his character that she’d never noticed, likely because she’d been too busy making sure that she didn’t fall for another gambler that she might have ignored traits Casey had that didn’t fit in with the image of the man she wanted him to be.

When they entered his penthouse, she looked around at the little touches she’d made to the place—the flower arrangement on the big table in the foyer, the pictures she’d placed on the console table of the two of them, one of Gran and one of Casey, Nicholas, and Darien. She’d been making this a home…but she wasn’t sure she could ever let her guard down with a man who’d been so at ease at a card table.

“I’m so glad you are back home,” Casey said.

“Sorry about earlier,” she said as she walked past him toward the stairs.

She heard him follow her up the stairs and she moved into the dressing area near her closet to get undressed and put her jewelry away.

“Talia?” he asked.

She turned around and saw him leaning against the frame of her door. He’d undone the buttons of his shirt and untucked the tails, so she caught a glimpse of his tattoo.

“Yes?”

“Are we okay?” he asked.

The words felt heavy in her heart. She wanted to say yes, because the only reasons she had for saying no were ephemeral. There was nothing concrete that she could justify. How was she going to tell him that when she’d seen him with cards in his hand, she’d felt the icy cold sliver of fear?

That sounded…melodramatic even to her. But it was true.

“Yeah, of course,” she said.

“Don’t try to bluff,” he said. “You’re not very good at it and I’m an expert.”

He walked farther into the room and she closed her eyes. The scent of his cologne, the nearness of him…it would be so easy to just give in to the physical attraction that was always a constant with the two of them. She’d give anything to go back to her first night in this place—when he’d been a stranger and sex was all that either of them wanted.

That had been enough.

“I’m…” She opened her eyes and he was standing closer to her. His blue eyes were icy and his stance was that of a man who was readying himself to take a body blow. She knew that Casey wasn’t with her lightly. That, like her, he felt something that he couldn’t explain or control. She wanted to be the one who gave him things that poker couldn’t buy—like family, and a solid life together.

But her fear wasn’t going to let her.

“Talk to me,” he said. “Did I force you tonight? Is that it? Do you really not want to be with me because of something Darien said?”

She put her hand on his chest.

Damn.

He was hot and hard.

She shouldn’t have touched him.

“It’s not that,” she said. Her fingers spread wider until the back of her hand pushed the fabric of his shirt far enough out of the way that she could see his tattoo. She traced the cards.

“Do you know that I avoid looking at this?”

He tipped her head back so that their eyes met. “No. I didn’t. Why?”

“I have spent the entire time we have been dating trying to convince myself that you’re not a card shark. Not a poker player—”

“But you know I am. I’ve never hidden that.”

She nodded. “You’re right. The thing is, I didn’t want to see any trace of my father’s weakness in you. And until tonight…until I saw you with a hand of cards and winning on the line, I didn’t.”

His hand fell away from her face. “Am I supposed to lose?”

“No. It’s not about winning or losing. It’s about how I realized that there was an entire part of you that I’d never seen before. That man was a stranger to me, yet he’s so much a part of you. I felt stupid for not noticing it before.”

“What are you saying?”

“What else are you hiding?”

“Nothing,” he said, turning away and cursing. “Why would I hide that? I don’t even know what you are talking about. Honestly, I play cards to win because winning is the only option I had to survive. The only reason why I’m standing here today is that I learned about odds and what it took to win.”

She wrapped one arm around her own waist. She had known from the moment they met that there was something between them that she had to ignore. Something that would break the both of them if she let it. And tonight, she realized that it wasn’t her fear of staying in Vegas that had been driving her to keep some distance between her and Casey—it had been this.

He was exactly the man she didn’t want him to be. He was a rogue and a gambler and charming as hell—exactly the type of man she didn’t want to love. Yet she did love him.

“Talk to me, Talia,” he said. “Tell me what it is you want me to do and I’ll do it.”

Those words unconsciously echoed things she’d heard her father say and she knew that, no matter what, she had to end this with Casey. He wasn’t the kind of man to give away everything he had to feed his gambling addiction, but she was too much her father’s daughter. Seeing him play had terrified her. It had made her want to tuck money into her shoe so that he wouldn’t find it if he searched for it. And that was not a normal reaction to seeing someone play an innocent game of bridge.

She knew that.

“You don’t have to do anything,” she said. “I’m the one who has to figure this out.”

She turned back to the tallboy that Casey had bought for her to keep her jewelry in and reached up to take off her pendant necklace—the olive branch he’d given her—but his hands were there. His fingers quickly undid the clasp and handed the necklace to her over her shoulder.

His fingers brushed her neck and then slid down the slope of her shoulder, touching her through the fabric of the wrap top she’d put on earlier. The heavy polished cotton fabric normally felt thick enough to withstand anything but Casey’s touch burned through it, making her skin feel too tight and too sensitive as goose bumps spread down her arm. He put his arm around her waist and drew her back against his body, holding her close. He took a deep breath.

She waited with anticipation.

Only silence greeted her.

“I can’t change that part of me,” he said at last.

“I know,” she admitted.

Turning in his arms, she put her hands on either side of his face. This was it. This would be her last night in his arms. She had enough money to make the final payment on Gran’s house, accomplishing what she’d set out to do when she took the job at the casino.

And this thing she felt for Casey…she had to get out before it destroyed what she thought she knew about herself.

She went up on her tiptoes and rubbed her lips against his. His mouth was so perfect—the right combination of strength and softness. Her lips parted under his and the kiss she gave him was goodbye. She knew it, and when he lifted his head and their eyes met, she was pretty sure he had guessed it, too.

“Make love to me,” she said.

…

The soft sound of her voice, the sadness in it, the need in it, made him want…well more than he knew he had a right to. He had this night to make love to her. To show her that what they had was real and much stronger than anything she’d experienced in the past. He undid the tie at her waist and the fabric of her blouse fell open, but was fastened by a tiny button on the inside at her waist which he made quick work of. He pushed the top open and then reached behind her to undo the fastening of her bra. He rubbed his hand up and down her back. It was so smooth and graceful. Holding her always made him feel almost too big and awkward.

His entire body felt too hot, like he was going to explode if he didn’t get her naked fast enough. But he shoved his own need to the background. Tonight, he needed to show her how much he wanted her. How very much he needed her in his bed and in his life. He wished he knew if he could show her how much he cared for her, loved her.

“Come here,” he said, walking over to the tufted chair in the middle of her dressing room. The chair was padded and had a back but no arms. He sat down and then drew her down on his lap. She shifted until she was straddling him, and he pushed the fabric of her skirt up to make it easier for her to settle over his erection.

He nudged her blouse off her shoulders and down her arms, then he took his time, running his fingers under the fabric of her bra against her skin. He saw her shiver delicately, and when he pulled the bra away, her nipples were beaded and hard.

She arched her back, which thrust her breasts up, and a growl escaped him. He put his hands on her waist as she leaned forward, brushing the tips of her breasts against his chest. Her mouth was on his neck, kissing and nibbling up the length of it until she reached his ear. She took the lobe between her teeth and bit lightly on it.

“Do you like that?”

He shifted his hips to rub the ridge of his erection against her center. “What do you think?”

She nipped his earlobe a little harder and then shifted back to put her hand between their bodies, rubbing his cock through his trousers. “I think you do.”

She scratched her nail over the tattoo. Now that he knew how she felt about it, he brought his hand to hers and held her hand to his pec for a moment. He wished he could tell her that the cards had been his life…but she was now.

He opened his mouth but before he could speak, she had her mouth on his. Her other hand was on his erection, rubbing him, and he shifted his legs, his mind no longer on talking, but on sex. He needed her naked.

He needed to be buried inside of her. Talking could wait for later.

She broke the kiss and got off his lap, reaching under her skirt to take off her panties. She held her skirt high at her waist and he saw the neatly trimmed hair at the notch of her thighs.

Observing her, his eyes narrowed to slits as he felt his cock getting even harder in his pants. Her tongue darted out to lick her lips as she saw him stroking himself through his pants, watching her.

She straightened and stood there, holding her skirt with one hand up around her waist, her breasts bare, her pussy so close he could smell her arousal. He’d never wanted anything as much as he wanted her in that moment.

He shifted his legs wider and she smiled, arching one eyebrow at him. “Like what you see?”

“You know I do, woman. Get back over here so I can show you how much,” he said, holding out his free hand.

She shook her head and reached behind her to undo the fastening of her skirt, then it slid down her legs. She stood there, a few feet away from him—the woman of his dreams come to life. He’d never have thought he’d been searching for someone like Talia, but now that she was here, he would be lying if he said he hadn’t been.

He got up and was at her side in two steps. He put his arm around her waist and lifted her off her feet as his mouth found hers. His tongue plunged deep inside, taking her mouth the way he wanted to take her pussy.

She sucked on his tongue and drew it deeper into her mouth. He took a step backward until he felt the chair at the back of his legs and then sat down. She straddled his lap again. Putting her hands on his shoulders, she leaned down and kissed his chest, avoiding his right side where the tattoo was, her tongue darting out and brushing his nipple.

She put her hands on his shoulders and eased her way down his chest. She traced each of the muscles that ribbed his abdomen and then slowly made her way lower. His cock was so hard, he could feel his heartbeat with each pulse through his shaft. He wanted to take control and get inside of her. But another part of him wanted to just sit back and let her have her way with him. When she reached the edge of his pants, she stopped and glanced up to his face.

Her hand went to his erection, brushing over his straining length. “Are you going to keep this on all night?”

“Fuck no,” he said, holding her so that he could tunnel his fingers in the back of her hair and bringing their chests together so that her nipples poked into his torso.

Blood roared in his ears. He was so hard, so full right now that he needed to take her, to claim her. To make it so she never left, could never think of saying goodbye.

Skimming his fingers down her body, he found her center. It was warm and wet and he parted her, tapping her clit lightly. Her hands on his shoulders tightened as she arched her back, her head falling to the side as he rubbed her sensitive flesh.

She bit her lower lip as she shifted her hips, moving until he was touching her in the perfect spot. He wanted more. Needed her to come for him. He slipped one finger lower and traced the opening of her body and then when she moaned, he pushed two fingers up into her.

“Casey!”

He worked his fingers in and out of her body, keeping the finger on her clit as she began to rock against him with more urgency. She put her hands on either side of his face and drew his mouth to her breast. She brushed her nipple over his mouth and he sucked on it, drawing it between his lips and teasing the tip with his tongue.

He caressed her, bringing both of his hands down her back until he could cup her ass in his hands. “I love your ass.”

“You do?” she asked, her voice breathy and needy as she continued to ride his fingers.

He thrust them deeper into her body and when he felt her body start to tighten around him, he bit her nipple which thrust her over the edge. She called his name as she came and he held her until she quieted. Then he stood up and carried her into the bedroom. He laid her in the center of the bed and took off his pants and then very carefully lowered his underwear.

Their eyes met and he realized she’d been watching him. She held her hand out to take his shaft in it, stroking him while he opened the nightstand and took out a condom. The anticipation in her eyes made him feel things that went beyond sex.

She rubbed her finger over the head of his cock and he pulled back because he was close to coming in her hand. He opened the condom and put it on before he came back to the bed. Putting his hands on her ankles, he drew her legs apart, resting one knee on the bed between her spread legs.

Then he lowered himself over her and rubbed her body with his, loving the feel of having her underneath him. She reached again for his cock and he caught her hand, lacing her fingers with his, and stretching their hands over her head. She smiled at him.

He pushed his hips between her thighs and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He felt her hand on the right side of his chest and glanced down to see her tracing the tattoo this time. What did that mean?

But he couldn’t think right now. Instead, he drew his hips back and entered her, taking her as deeply as he could. Her hand fell to his shoulder, her nails digging into his skin as he drove himself into her. And she took it all. All of him.

He leaned down and caught one of her nipples in his teeth, scraping very gently. She started to tighten around him, her hips moving faster, demanding more. But he kept the pace slow, steady. He wanted her to come before he did.

He suckled her nipple and rotated his hips to catch her pleasure point with each thrust and he felt her hands in his hair, clenching her fingers as she threw her head back and her climax ripped through her.

A moment later, he followed her. He came hard and deep…and felt like he’d lost his soul to her. Afterward, he cradled her close and held her to him. She opened her eyes and looked at him in a way he couldn’t explain, and he wanted to believe that something had changed. That she understood no hand of cards could compete when she was in his life.