Deadly Odds

by Adrienne Giordano

  “Sober?”

  “No.” Ah, shit. “Well, yeah.”

  She smiled, sat back a second, her bottom lip poking out. Thinking. More than likely deciding how stoned she was.

  What a cluster.

  After a few seconds she stood and faced him. “The painkillers are doing their job, but I know what I’m doing.”

  And then she did it. She gripped the bottom of her tank top and inch by slow inch raised it, her fingers sliding against the smooth skin of her torso and Ross sat there, mesmerized by the creamy white flesh he wanted so badly to get his hands on.

  “Kate—”

  “Shut up, Ross.”

  “Shut up?”

  “Yes. I get it. You’re being a gentleman.”

  The tank top slid over her chest, revealing a sheer lacy pink bra that did nothing to hide the budding nipples underneath. Damn that was hot. No padding. Just lace against skin and Ross’s erection became painful.

  He tore his gaze from her breasts, met her stare. “Please,” he said, “tell me you’re sure.”

  In one quick move, she popped the clasp at her chest and the bra came loose, her amazing breasts right there for him.

  He met her eyes again, grinning like an idiot. “I guess that means you’re sure.”

  “I guess that means you should help me get my pants off.”

  Chapter Eleven

  He’d get her pants off.

  Yes, he would. Because he’d been a nice guy long enough and the heat storming this room should have burned the damned building down.

  But… “You’re sure?”

  “Oh, my God,” she said. “How much more of a Go sign can I give you?”

  “I’m—”

  Before he could finish his sentence, she stepped closer, straddled him and started working the buttons on his shirt.

  He liked that. The simplicity of it. The intimacy of her undressing him. For whatever reason, it occurred to him that he always did that job himself. Always. Women seemed to know not to invade his space.

  Except Kate.

  With Kate, she could invade all she wanted.

  She got to the middle button, worked it free, than looked back at him. “This isn’t something I take lightly and believe me, the drugs are not making this decision for me. And, really, I’m half naked.”

  She slid his shirt out of his pants, undid the last buttons and ran her hands under his T-shirt and that initial touch, the skin-to-skin contact made his pulse jump.

  He cupped her cheeks, brought her closer and kissed her. “You just got out of the hospital. You have to tell me if something hurts you and we’ll stop.”

  “Shut up, Ross.”

  He laughed. “Promise me.”

  “I promise.”

  Game on. “Good. Then let’s get those pants off.”

  He scooped her up and she let out a squeak of surprise as he carried her to the bed, gently set her down.

  “I could get used to this,” she said.

  “I’m hoping you can get used to a lot of things. Me being one of them.”

  Sitting in front of him, she undid his belt, slid it out of his pants. “Bring it on, hot shot. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

  * * *

  Her big girl common sense had deserted her. Just gone.

  For years she’d been staying the course, leading a quiet unadventurous life. Taking the safe route.

  At least until Ross showed up. The man stirred things in her. Exciting things she hadn’t known existed.

  Boring, structured Kate dropped his belt and, almost like a warning, the heavy metal of the buckle thunked against the bed frame.

  Forget the warning.

  She didn’t need it. She’d been living her life, existing day-to-day and now there was an energy, a newness and passion she hadn’t experienced in…forever.

  Whatever it was that Ross was doing to her, she wanted more of it.

  She focused on the deep chocolate of his eyes, the dark hair, the perfect face. God, this man. So beautiful. She bit her bottom lip and groaned.

  “What?”

  “I’ll be fighting the women off. That’s what.”

  Like an explosion, he was on her, kissing her. Hard at first, then softening it to a slow brush of his lips. The reminder that she’d been injured. He paused to rip his T-shirt over his head while she went to work on his pants, sliding them off, running her hands over his boxer briefs, hooking them into the waistband. Bye-bye briefs.

  She broke the kiss and scooted up on the bed while he grabbed a condom from his wallet and set it on the nightstand.

  His face was one thing. The body?

  Girl, you hit the jackpot.

  As she’d imagined from the way he filled out a suit, his shoulders and arms were all hard, sinewy muscle. And the chest? Double-jackpot. A line of dark hair ran down the center of his carved, rock-hard chest. She set her hand there, let her fingers swirl in his hair while she explored.

  He settled in next to her, propped himself on his elbow and stared.

  “What?”

  He shrugged. “I’ve been thinking about this.” He leaned forward, nipped her mouth. “All the things I’d like to do with you.” He nipped again. “It might take a while.”

  “I have time.”

  “Good.”

  He rolled her to her back, kissed her again, moving down her neck to her breasts where he kissed and licked and just generally drove her to madness.

  At least until she showed him who was boss, grabbed hold of his extremely healthy erection and squeezed.

  His eyes rolled back. “I’ll give you a week to cut that out.”

  Kate snorted. A snort. How incredibly unsexy, but whatever. They were having fun.

  “Kate, you make me crazy. All day I think about you. Your hands on me. Just like this.”

  He rocked his hips back, pulling out of her grasp. “I can’t take too much of that. Not with you.”

  “I know. It’s crazy. All I want is to touch you. All the time. I almost can’t stand it.”

  She reached back to the nightstand, grabbed the condom. “I’m not rushing you. I’d just really love to feel you inside me.”

  He popped off a full-wattage smile and plucked the condom from her fingers. “If I have my way—”

  “Which you usually do.”

  “—we’ll have plenty of time to take things slow. You’ll never want to leave this bed.”

  “Oh. Yay. Mr. Cooper, you are a devil.”

  He sat on the edge of the bed to deal with the condom. Needing the contact, Kate sat up, peppering kisses down his shoulder, raking her hands over his arms and pressing her breasts against his back.

  “Kate, you’re gonna get it.”

  He spun back, eased her to the bed and nudged between her legs, hooking his hands under her legs. “I don’t want to hurt you. Promise me you’ll tell me.”

  God, she wanted this man. Wanted to feel him inside her, on her, all over. “I will. Now shut up about it already.”

  He entered her. Fast, but somehow easy. Just slid right in and she let out a sigh because—yes—this was how she wanted him. Hot and fast and gentle at the same time.

  She closed her eyes, locked her hands onto his rear, held him inside her for a few seconds.

  “Kate? You okay?”

  She opened her eyes, held his stare while her heart thumped and turned a little gooey. Smitten. Like a silly teenager because she was way more than okay.

  “Ross, if you break my heart, I’ll kill you.”

  That, he must have enjoyed. He shot off a grin and dropped a kiss on her lips. “Won’t be me. I have a feeling you’ll pretty much own me.”

  She lifted her hands away then lightly smacked him on the ass. “Then let’s get this show on the road.”

  He slid out of her, slowly, all the while still smiling, taunting her.

  Mr. Playful.

  Enough of that. She bucked her hips and wrapped one leg around him. He reared up, shoved her legs back and e
ntered her again.

  Together they rocked and moved and moaned and Kate fought to free her legs, to wrap them around him wanting the connection, loving how deep inside he was.

  “I don’t know what to do. It feels so good, but I need to touch you.”

  He released one leg—yes, yes, yes—and she wrapped it around him as he pumped his hips and gritted his teeth and something warm built inside her. The heat, slow at first, sped up, swarming her.

  She opened her eyes, met Ross’s smug smile. “When this is over,” she said, “I’m going to make you pay for that smugness. Just don’t stop right now.”

  He laughed and entered her again, finally letting go of her leg and laying fully on top of her, his body weight gently sinking into her.

  Oh, all that closeness would do it.

  She arched into him, let out a gasp as the heat tore through her. Building, building, building. She slammed her eyes closed, held her breath for one long second because…yes…the explosion came, that huge burst and she cried out, riding that fantastic wave.

  “Ah, Kate, you’re amazing.”

  He bent low, kissed her and picked up his pace, thrusting hard, but careful not to hurt her.

  And, oh, Kate might like being bad. “I love sex with you. Just saying…”

  Ross laughed and she smiled up at him, their gazes locked. His smile faded and the muscles in his neck corded like taut wire. She reached up, slid her fingers along his clenched jaw.

  “That’s it,” he said. “Can’t…”

  * * *

  The orgasm hit him hard.

  A ferocious blast that ripped his strength from him. All he wanted was to collapse. He held himself up, forced his body to stay up as his arms shook and his world blew apart.

  Finally, his body relented and he gently lowered himself, rolling sideways and bringing her with him.

  “Holy shit, Kate, where have you been all my life.”

  “Ha!” she said. “I could say the same about you. Way to make a girl smile, sailor.”

  He snuggled into her neck. Snuggling? Really? Apparently he’d turned into a pansy. But what the hell? He was happy. “Got plenty more where that came from. I hope you like this bed because we’re gonna spend a lot of time here.”

  “Yay. Me.”

  From somewhere over by the sofa, his phone rang.

  Dammit.

  “Wow,” Kate said. “That was what? Twenty or thirty minutes without it ringing?”

  Kate propped herself on one elbow, swirled her fingertips through the strip of hair down the center of his chest and kissed him. “We all want a piece of you, I guess.”

  “Sometimes I can’t stand it. I need to be someplace all the time. Never a break.”

  “What you need is to come to the ranch with me for a weekend. You’d love it. The quiet, the horses, the fresh air.”

  Was that an invitation? He sure hoped so. “Quiet? Half the time I don’t know what to do with quiet.”

  “Exactly.”

  His phone rang again and at the same time, Kate’s room phone blinged.

  “Both of us,” she said. “Could be Don.”

  Reluctantly, he released her and she slowly maneuvered herself to the nightstand, protecting her sore ribs. After her nap and the, um, activity of the last hour, the painkillers were obviously wearing off.

  “You’re on five hours without a pill. Are you okay?”

  “Hello?” She angled back to him, a wicked grin on her face. “Hi, Don. Yes, he’s here. We were going over some…security measures.”

  Security measures. Good one.

  “Okay,” she said. “I’ll tell him. Yes. He’ll be there in five minutes. Sorry I kept him.”

  She hung up and smacked him on the chest. “He’s requesting your presence. I kinda feel bad for monopolizing you.”

  “Don’t. We were supposed to meet at 3:00. He blew me off.”

  “Well, he’s ready for you now so you should probably take care of that.”

  “Kicking me out already?”

  She smiled. “Yep. I’ve had my way with you and now you can leave. Besides, when I take a pill it’ll knock me out.” She leaned over, kissed him long and slow then pulled back. “Just make sure you come back later. I’ll even give you my key so you don’t have to sleep in your office.”

  “Deal,” he said, knowing full well that, if given the chance, he’d break his rule of not staying all night. Staying all night, sharing the intimacy of not just sex, but the vulnerability of sleep, indicated things. Things that meant commitment and an emotional attachment he’d never even gotten close to.

  Until now.

  With Kate, it seemed, some rules needed to be broken.

  * * *

  Ross snuck out.

  Kate rolled over, found the space next to her, the one that he’d occupied quite nicely all night, empty. She ran her hand over the sheet. Cold.

  He’d been gone awhile. And she’d slept right through it. Being a light sleeper, that was something short of a miracle, but she’d had the help of medication.

  Still, after last night and the wicked things they’d done in this bed, she’d have preferred him saying goodbye. Maybe not leaving her feeling like a total one-night stand.

  Who did that? Just left? Players, that’s who.

  She’d have to keep this whole thing in check. They weren’t in a relationship. Right? They were consenting adults, enjoying an evening. Right?

  Right.

  Some girls weren’t good at casual sex though. Kate being one of them.

  She glanced at the clock. 7:00 AM.

  A sheet of paper sat tucked under the clock.

  Well, good for him. She scooted toward the nightstand, grabbed the note and realized, without a doubt, Ross’s handwriting was atrocious. Barely more than chicken scratch.

  What an interesting little tidbit considering how particular he was about finer details.

  Sorry to sneak out. You looked peaceful. Didn’t want to disturb. Call me when you’re awake. We’ll grab breakfast. Had a great night. Ready for round two?

  Maybe there was hope for this one yet.

  Round two. If it meant the things he’d done to her last night, she’d take another round anytime. Today preferably. And more than that, his little note had done wonders to alleviate the insecurity—the irritation—she’d felt just seconds ago.

  Which only proved what different creatures they were. If she were to guess, Ross probably didn’t spend overnights with women. That assumption had been reached when she asked what side of the bed he liked. His response?

  The middle.

  So, apparently, they both had some adjustments to make in this new adventure. Her lightning up and trying to embrace some of his chaotic, adventurous world and him figuring out a side he liked.

  Slowly, she shook her head. What am I doing?

  Taking a risk. And between her career and the emotional implications, it was a hell of a risk.

  On Ross Cooper.

  Last week, it would never have happened. She’d have pegged him as too slick for her.

  Now? She wasn’t sure. All she knew was he made her feel alive, like a dying fire that had been stoked.

  She rose from the bed, testing her balance. Good. No wobbling, no swirling room. Progress. If she could get through her shower without falling over, she had a breakfast date with Mr. Slick.

  * * *

  An hour later she strolled into the casino restaurant and found Ross sitting at a table in the back corner with a stack of papers in front of him.

  He looked up as she approached and he popped out of his chair, pulling the one across from him out.

  “Good morning,” he said, that smile more than a little mischievous. “Sleep well?”

  “In fact, I did. Good company tends to do that.”

  “Un-huh. Do you feel okay?”

  “Yep. No dizziness. Right now, I’m good.”

  “Excellent. Don’t overdo it.” He pushed in her chair and took his seat again, le
aning in on his forearms. “I had fun last night.”

  “That makes two of us.”

  “Good.”

  “You were up early.”

  “Yeah. Couldn’t shut my brain off. I left around five, went back to my office to get caught up on emails. Samuels would like an update from us today. You ready for that?”

  Was she? Outside of almost getting killed, she wasn’t sure she had anything substantial to report. The handsome man across from her was proving too much of a distraction. Right after breakfast, she’d check in with John. See if he had anything new for her.

  She placed her napkin in her lap, smoothed it. “I’ve reached out to my contacts regarding the crossroader on the strip.”

  Kate loved that term. Crossroader. It sounded so much more civilized than calling someone a cheat.

  “Anything new?”

  “From what I can gather, seventy percent of the revenue loss is from mini-bac.”

  Ross whistled. “I’ll talk to Don. We’ll dedicate someone from surveillance to it. That’ll give you an extra set of eyes.”

  Kate’s phone blinged and she dug it out of her tote. “That’s Don’s ring. Excuse me.” She tapped the screen. “Good morning, Don. What’s up?”

  “Tell Ross you’ll see him later. I need you.”

  “Pardon?”

  “You heard me. We got a problem at hold ’em.”

  Alrighty then. Duty calling. “I’ll be there in five minutes.”

  She pulled the phone from her ear and poked the screen.

  Ross narrowed his eyes. “What’d he say?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Didn’t sound like nothing.”

  “He’s being Don, but I need to get over to hold ’em. Raincheck on breakfast?”

  “Sure. Make sure you eat though.”

  “Yes, dear.”

  “Oh, I like the sound of that.”

  “I’m sure you do.”

  He smiled up at her. She liked this guy. Maybe too much. “Okay, handsome. I’m going to go do my job now. I’ll see you later.”

  “I sure hope so.”

  Kate entered the casino and swung around to the far side, where a row of penny slots ran perpendicular to the poker tables. She stood at the end of the row, tucked next to a support beam to phone Don.

  The one who’d been keeping tabs on her and Ross. Part of her couldn’t blame him for being short with her on the phone. Part of her, in fact, felt a little shameful. She was a professional, a woman who’d never compromised her reputation by sleeping with a client. Or coworker.