Deadly Odds

by Adrienne Giordano

  “Pfft. Come on. You’ve never been in love?”

  “Of course I have. It’s never been enough to sustain a lifetime. That’s what I want.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes. Really. You see a player and I don’t deny I enjoy female company. What I know, without a doubt, is that when the right woman comes into my life, that’s it. Game over. She’s mine and I’m hers.”

  “Interesting.”

  “Not really. I know what I want and don’t settle.”

  She met his gaze, her green eyes locked with his.

  “Kate?”

  “Yes?”

  “Come with me to the club tonight.”

  Something ripped in the middle of his torso and he waited, realizing, for the first time in a long time, a woman, this woman, rejecting him would hurt like hell.

  But she stayed quiet, making him wonder as the seconds ticked by and his time ran short. Screw it. He stepped closer, wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and kissed her. Softly at first, teasing, testing to see if she’d respond the way she had when he’d kissed her the first time and—yep—she didn’t disappoint and slipped her tongue into his mouth.

  Pow. He wrapped his arm around her, dragged her closer, right up against him where an erection screamed for activity.

  Hello, Kate.

  She arched against him, wrapping both arms around his neck. Whatever he wanted, apparently, she wanted it just as much. And the way she fit against him, the curve of her smaller body under his hands? He liked it.

  The easy fit.

  He broke the kiss, moved to her neck, feasted and licked and she let out a soft moan, slapped her hand across the back of his head and held him there. Sensitive neck. He’d remember that. Hours. That’s all he wanted. Hours to explore Kate’s mouth.

  Maybe a few other parts too.

  Except, she let go of him and gently pushed away. No you don’t. He moved in again only to see a small smile stretching across her face.

  “You’re destroying me, Kate.”

  That smile stayed in place, but her eyes were hot and if she’d just let him, they’d have an amazing night.

  She reached up, brushed his lips with the pad of her thumb, stroking back and forth and that was so not helping his current state.

  “Getting involved. It’s not wise.”

  “You don’t work for me. You’re a consultant.”

  “A weak argument, at best.”

  “Trust me, I can sell it.”

  She lifted her chin an inch. Considering her options.

  “No,” she said.

  Progress. At least she’d considered it, however brief it was. Still with his arm around her, he nudged her closer, focused on her lips. Perfect lips. “You’ve done nothing but work since you arrived here. Besides, if you’re doing a security review, you should see all aspects of the operation.”

  “Oh, please. That’s what you’re going with?”

  “Of course.” Time to up the stakes. “If you say no, I’ll tell Samuels you had an opportunity to see the entire operation and chose not to.”

  She gasped. “You wouldn’t.”

  “Don’t bet on it, honey.”

  “That is simply mean!”

  Enjoying the swordplay, he laughed. Damn, he liked her. “Then come out with me tonight. Have some fun.” He waggled his eyebrows. “I know people here. I can show you a good time.”

  A few seconds passed—more thinking—and she slid her hands up his arms to his chest and gripped the lapels of his jacket. “One hour.”

  What did that mean? One hour to get ready or she was giving him an hour? “Translation?”

  “I have to change. Then I will meet you for one hour. One. That’s it. I don’t need your boss finding out I’m partying in the nightclub.”

  “An hour is partying? I mean, Kate, it’s not like you’ll be dancing on the bar.”

  If only…

  He held his hands up. “I’ll take it.”

  A measly hour.

  It’s a start.

  Chapter Nine

  The elevator shuttling Kate to the top floor of Fortuna opened to a glass walled corridor and a sea of people behind a rope line. If she had to stand in that line, the hour she’d promised herself would end before she even dabbled in any fun. Her research on all things Fortuna indicated the club’s popularity, but this—on a Thursday no less—was extreme. Behind the glass walls, perfect for voyeurs or wishful thinkers, the large multi-story room was tightly packed with scantily dressed women. The men, obviously also adhering to the club’s no-jeans policy wore suits or dress slacks.

  Typically, a no-jeans policy might induce a bout of hives for Kate, but tonight, it gave her an excuse to test drive the emerald green mini-dress she’d bought on a whim six months ago.

  When she’d gone home earlier that day, for whatever reason—maybe her inner vixen nudging her—she’d packed the dress, thinking that perhaps she might need it while on assignment amongst the filthy rich clientele of Fortuna.

  The thousand-dollar price tag should have scared her off. The fact that the dress barely covered her crotch should have scared her off too. But something about the high neck combined with a deep V in the back—naughty on one side, nice on the other—called to her. In a completely un-Kate moment, she slapped down her credit card and to date, had yet to wear the dress.

  Now, this naughty but nice dress made its perfect debut on a night when she decided to let Ross Cooper talk her into spending an hour with him.

  A man—was he even legal?—at the end of the rope line eyed her, his gaze lingering on her legs long enough for her to know he appreciated the view. Then he came back to her face, hit her with a greasy smile and shifted into attack mode.

  “Hi, beautiful”

  “Good evening,” she said.

  He glanced behind her. “You alone?”

  “No. She’s not.”

  Ross. A hand grazed across her lower back, just below where the V ended and something about that touch, possessiveness and comfort all rolled together, sent her nerve endings into a happy dance. Ross stared down at her for a few seconds, his gaze slowly meandering up her legs and torso until he finally met her gaze.

  “You’re stunning,” he said.

  This dress. Who knew? “Thank you.”

  He grabbed her hand. “Come with me.”

  Behind her, the kid on line eyed the back of her dress and slapped a hand across his heart. Ha. For fun, she waved back at him. “Have a good evening.”

  “Seriously,” Ross said, his tone teasing. “I leave you for an hour and you’re picking up toddlers?”

  “I wasn’t picking him up. He was picking me up. Big difference.”

  He escorted her down the length of the rope line to the front where a beefy security guard in a suit manned the door. He spotted Ross and swung the door open. A blast of Beyoncé reverberated into the hallway and Kate flinched. The last time she’d heard music that loud was…when?

  Maybe during her Bureau days when she’d been investigating a kidnapping and had to go backstage at a concert. That might have been the only time.

  I need to get out more.

  “Thanks, Paul,” Ross said to the security guard.

  “Sure thing, Mr. Cooper.”

  Kate leaned in, tugged on Ross’s sleeve and he tilted his head down. “Do you ever feel guilty about moving to the head of the line?”

  “That one? No. I work my ass off. It’s the only perk I take.”

  He kissed her on the cheek and liquid warmth shot from her core to places she shouldn’t be thinking about so soon after lecturing him about fraternization rules.

  When he backed away, his gaze skimmed over her again. “That dress may kill me tonight. Just so you know.”

  Oh, she should have busted this dress out way sooner if it had this effect. “Excellent. First time I’m wearing it. I was a little nervous.”

  “Why?”

  “Have you seen the back of this thing?”

>   He leaned in again, brushed his lips against her ear. “Oh, I saw it.”

  The contact, the skin to skin heat, surged and as she’d done the first time she’d met Ross Cooper, she lifted her free hand and fanned herself.

  And, also as with the first time, Ross cracked up.

  One hour. That’s all she’d promised and she had to stick to it.

  Grabbing her hand, he led her through the throng. Crowds like this, the closeness, the pressing in, paralyzed her lungs. Not quite claustrophobia, but definitely enough discomfort to remind her why she stayed away from packed nightclubs.

  She squeezed Ross’s hand, an involuntary attempt to hang on. Had she forgotten her big-girl panties? When had she ever needed a man to save her?

  He turned back. “You okay?”

  “I’m good.”

  Pulling her closer, he let go of her hand, slid it around her waist, his fingers once again hitting bare skin as he brought her next to him. “We’re heading up one level to get out of this crush.”

  Good. As much of a trooper as she’d like to be, the crowd and the noise she could pass on. “Okay.”

  A giant staircase at the back of the enormous club led them to another guard wearing a black suit. He unhooked the rope across the staircase and nodded. “Evening, ma’am.”

  Ross waved her ahead. “Thanks, Eddie.”

  And here was the thing about Ross Cooper. In this building, everyone knew him. The waitresses, the dealers, the security people, they all knew him and treated him respectfully. No eye rolling, no nasty looks. Just a controlled friendliness.

  He’d told her on her first day that he went out of his way to introduce himself to the employees. The effort had paid off because she hadn’t once seen an employee treat him poorly.

  With an operation this size, that was no small feat. She glanced over her shoulder, spotted Ross two steps behind her and smiled. “No looking up my dress.”

  “Nope. It’s still a great view from back here though.”

  Typical man. “You’re funny, Ross.”

  “I do try.”

  At the top of the stairs, Kate stepped aside and waited. He obviously had a plan, so she’d let him lead. This time.

  She scanned the large loft area where considerably fewer people mingled. The music still deafened her, but she could at least breathe.

  Ross hit the landing and pointed. “Over here.”

  A large group of men, a mix of ages, stood surrounded by women. All young, all impossibly beautiful. Welcome to Vegas.

  “I’m glad you’re here,” Ross said. “Thank you.”

  “Yep,” she said. “One hour.”

  “You’re sticking with that, ay?”

  “One. Hour.”

  He grinned. “We’ll see.”

  “I won’t let you corrupt me.”

  Even as she said it, she knew the corruption had already started. Why else would she be wearing a barely-there dress at a packed club?

  Behind her, one of the stunningly beautiful women—this one with dark auburn hair, super-model height and a skin-tight sequined dress on her curvy body—latched onto Ross, speaking directly into his ear. Kate’s shoulders seized. Really, Kate? Ridiculous. She knew exactly what Ross Cooper was. A seemingly great guy and an admitted player. One who, if the internet was correct, had a thing for redheads.

  Like her.

  The woman draping herself on Ross looked familiar and Kate ticked back over the last couple of days thinking perhaps she’d seen her in the casino.

  Nothing.

  It would come to her.

  “Can I get you a drink?” a waiter asked drawing Kate’s attention.

  “Wine is fine. Whatever.”

  “They’ve got that Malbec you like,” Ross said.

  She glanced behind him where the woman he’d been speaking with stormed toward the staircase, her long legs moving impressively fast on her high heels. Someone wasn’t happy and Kate wasn’t sure she liked the vibe of the whole thing. Whatever it was.

  “The Malbec sounds good. I’ll have that, thank you.” The waiter moved off and she raised her eyebrows at Ross. “Interesting that they have my favorite wine here.”

  “Why is that?”

  “I didn’t see it on the wine list. I called room service and asked about it and was told the hotel doesn’t carry it. Odd, considering it came with the ill-fated caviar.”

  Ross shrugged. “Call it a fluke.”

  “Or call it you bringing bottles of that wine to the bartender yourself.”

  Again he shrugged. “All I did was make sure they had something you liked. I like making people happy.” He leaned in. “If you’ll let me try, I’d like to make you happy.”

  One hour. That’s what she’d given him. Had practically taken an oath over it.

  And now it didn’t seem like nearly long enough.

  Fifty-three minutes later, Kate stood near the second level railing staring down over the enormous crowd while Ross dealt with an issue one of his VIP hostesses, Holly, had brought to his attention.

  The crowd on the dance floor pressed in, bodies bumping and grinding in any available space. Too many people. Too, too many. She’d always liked to dance, but looking at that crowd? No way would she squeeze in there.

  She turned back, scanned the area around her where clumps of people chatted. At the bar, a man met her gaze, but quickly averted his eyes and went back to the blond at his side. In profile, she thought she vaguely recognized his odd hooked nose. Or maybe she was just being paranoid. Overthinking.

  Ross broke away from Holly, and propped an elbow on the railing. “Sorry about that.”

  “Don’t apologize. You’re the boss. When they need you, they need you.”

  “How set are you on that hour?”

  She grinned. “I’m pretty set on it.”

  He moved closer. Close enough that her arm bumped his stomach. “Here’s the thing. It’s getting close to an hour, so if you’re set on that hour, I’ll walk you back to your room. If you’re feeling generous, and I hope you are, we could talk.” He pointed to the doors to Kate’s left. “Right beyond those doors is a heated patio. It’s quiet out there and there are about a billion stars tonight. It’s a great night and, out there, we can have a conversation without screaming at each other.

  Talk. He wanted to talk. As if she believed his only intention in taking her outside was to talk.

  “Yow,” he said. “You’re giving me a this guy is full of shit look. I probably deserve it. But, truly, all I want is to talk. To get to know Kate Daniels, to feed this insatiable curiosity I have. You’re smart and you understand my job. I don’t get that a lot.”

  Perceptive man. “And on top of all your other talents, you’re now a mind reader.”

  He shrugged. “You did your research on me. My track record with women is documented and maybe I like to date, but I try not to be an asshole. I’m always honest about what it is.”

  “And what is this?”

  “For the first time, I don’t know.” He let out a sarcastic laugh. “Whatever it is, it’s not normal.”

  Damn it all to hell. Leave it to him to hit her with a line like that. Half charm, half sarcasm, all convincing. A complete master of seduction, this one.

  She wouldn’t be one of the legion of redheads left in his wake, the silly girl lulled into bed by the handsome player. Since her FBI days she’d prided herself on reading people, deciphering their motives, and usually being right. Now? Standing in front of him, looking into those luscious dark eyes, he wasn’t playing her.

  And that was a problem.

  He’ll destroy me.

  She bumped him with her elbow. “Okay, Ross Cooper. I’ll make you a deal. We can talk, but we stay in here to do it.”

  * * *

  Talk.

  He might as well put a bullet in his head now because what man actually wanted to talk.

  But Kate, for whatever reason, was different. She didn’t believe his crap. Not for one second. Wheth
er in business or personal matters, she called him out. Every time.

  Which, God help him, made him want to talk. To know her and understand her.

  And maybe, if he got really lucky, they’d do more than just talk.

  A waitress swung through and took their drink order. Kate stuck with the wine he’d smuggled in and since Ross wanted his wits about him, he went for a soda.

  Right now, nothing good could come from alcohol. He’d just convinced Kate to give him an extension on that hour and he had no intention of saying something stupid and tripping the asshole meter.

  “So,” Kate said, “what shall we talk about? Work?”

  “Nope.”

  “What else?”

  With this, he’d have fun. He leaned in, trying like hell to keep a straight face, but blowing it. Ah, the hell with it. “How about you, me and the amazing life we’d have together.”

  She rolled her eyes and gagged. “Relax, killer.”

  “Okay. Maybe that was pushing it.”

  “Maybe?”

  “I figured you’d expect a smarmy line from me. I wanted to oblige.”

  A loud dance number thumped through the overhead speakers and Kate moved closer, right next to his ear. “Oh, please. Knock it off. I never said you were smarmy. A player, but not smarmy.”

  Again he laughed. With her, it was too damned easy to have fun. “If the amazing life is out, tell me your favorite thing to do, anything.”

  “Riding horses.”

  Not what he’d expected. “There you go. Now you’ve surprised me. I can’t picture pulled-together-Kate on a horse.”

  “I grew up on a ranch. We rode every day.”

  “I’ve never been on a horse.”

  “Stop it.”

  He held up a hand. “Truth.”

  “We’ll have to fix that. I’ll teach you to ride. You’d probably like it. It’s therapeutic. Whatever your mood, you can ride hard or slow and it’ll settle you down.”

  Ross swallowed and Kate kicked him. Wham, just let him have it with the toe of her shoe.

  “Ross, hey.”

  He turned to Dane Carlisle, one of his whales, and held out his hand. “Dane, good to see you.”

  Ross motioned to Kate. “This is Kate Daniels. Kate, Dane Carlisle.”