BACK IN HER HUSBAND'S BED

by Andrea Laurence

  “Nope. They won’t.”

  He hadn’t told her everything. Her game was poker, but Nate’s game was chess. He was already three moves ahead of her. Annie hated being outmaneuvered. “Enlighten me.”

  His mouth curved up in a sly smile. “There are no cameras in here.”

  Annie looked around the office and down the dark corridor to his suite. She sincerely hoped not. They would’ve gotten an eyeful during their wedding night. “And no one will find it suspicious that I’m up in your suite? That I’m spending all my time with the casino boss?”

  “Why shouldn’t you spend time with your husband?”

  Annie’s blood turned to ice in her veins. If there was one thing she clung to, it was that no one knew about their mistake. Their marriage had been a secret she’d shared only with her sister, Tessa, and her mother. Yes, she and Nate would’ve told people eventually, but in the beginning they’d been far too wrapped up in one another to share the good news. Then it was over. “You don’t think people will question that we’re suddenly married? That we’re together again after all this time apart?”

  Nate shrugged. “We’ll just tell the truth. We got married three years ago. It didn’t work out. We separated. You came back for the tournament and we reconciled.”

  “That’s not the truth.”

  “No, but the best lies have a good bit of truth in them. The paper trail will back up our story. And we won’t give them any reason to doubt it.” He smiled a wide, confident smile that started to melt her defenses away before she could think through his statement.

  No reason to doubt they were married? “You...you don’t honestly expect us to...?” The air in the room suddenly seemed cooler, her skin contracting with goose bumps. Annie crossed her arms protectively over her chest and ran her hands over the bumpy flesh of her bare upper arms.

  “No—” he laughed “—of course not. It will just be for show. You’ll need to stay here in the suite with me. We’ll eat together in public, be affectionate. You might have to suffer through a few of my kisses so any time we spend alone will be chalked up to romantic interludes. No one will suspect what we’re really doing together.”

  Annie felt the rush of blood rise to her cheeks and chase away the chill. When was the last time she’d blushed? Probably her first kiss in sixth grade. She learned to master her emotions not long after that. It made her an excellent poker player. It also made her a really crappy girlfriend. Or wife, as the case was here. Somehow Nate was the only one able to put a dent in her armor.

  Suffering wasn’t exactly the response she had to his kisses. They always made her head swim. Made her thoughts turn to mush and her body into a bundle of raw nerves. His kisses had been enough to convince her that getting married after only a few days together was a good idea. If Annie was going to kiss him, she’d have to be very careful. The phrase one thing leads to another had never been truer than with Nate.

  This was a bad idea all around. Spying on her fellow players? Acting the happy couple with Nate? That was like playing with fire. No. This was a ridiculous suggestion. She wouldn’t be a party to Nate’s games. “What if I say no?”

  Annie watched her estranged husband take a large sip of his scotch and cross his arms over his chest. His expensive gray suit coat strained against his broad shoulders as he leaned casually against his desk. He didn’t seem at all affected by their conversation or the thought of kissing her. Apparently Annie was the only one still afflicted with that weakness. He was only interested in using her to make his precious hotel even more successful.

  Despite everything, she remembered why she’d fallen for Nate. He was all that she was supposed to want in a man: tall, handsome, strong, intelligent, caring and exceedingly wealthy. What she didn’t know was how to breathe when someone held her so tightly. She wasn’t used to someone else having a say in what she could or couldn’t do. Nate’s expectations of his wife had been more than she could handle.

  The women in her family weren’t known for keeping men around. Her marriage, as short-lived as it might’ve been, was the first in several generations. Magdala Baracas had taught her daughters early on that men could be amusing, but in the end, they were more trouble than they were worth. And looking at her “husband” now just reinforced her mother’s wisdom. Nate was infuriating. She’d filed for divorce and he’d contested, refusing to finalize the agreement just to punish her. Now he dangled her freedom as a carrot, but the price was too high.

  Nate pinned her with his dark gaze. “No cooperation, no divorce. Simple as that.”

  Uncomfortable, she shifted her glance away, tracing the angles of his smooth jaw to the dark blond curls that hung just at the edge of his shirt collar. His hair was longer than she remembered. She liked it better this way. Not that it mattered anymore what she thought. Despite what the law said, Nate wasn’t hers and hadn’t been for a very long time.

  Annie sighed in frustration but refused to just bite at whatever he dangled in front of her. “Come on, Nathan, be honest. This isn’t about poker cheats. This is about bending me to your will and punishing me for leaving you. You couldn’t possibly want to be married to me after everything that’s happened.”

  Annie couldn’t tell if her rambling was helping or hurting her cause, but she couldn’t stop the words from gushing out of her after three years of silence. “I regret that we confused lust and love and got into this mess. But I want to close this chapter of my life and move on. I don’t want to play these games anymore. Please.”

  At that, Nate took a step away, a Cheshire-cat grin crossing his face. The sudden shift in his mood was unnerving. The dimple in his cheek she’d kissed a hundred times was barely visible from where she was standing. “Did you really think it would be that easy? That you could just look at me with those big blue eyes and I would change my mind?”

  Annie stiffened. No, but she wanted this over. Done. She didn’t need a single reason to have to be in the same room with Nate again. It was too dangerous. She was too weak. The farther they were apart, the firmer her resolve.

  “What’s your lawyer charge by the hour, Annie? If you turn down my offer, we can see who runs out of money first.”

  That was certainly a losing game for her, even after a few fabulously lucrative years. Annie flopped back against the couch, unable to continue fighting with him. “Please, Nate.” She wanted out of the marriage, but she knew she couldn’t win this hand. She gazed down into her lap. “I can’t change what happened between us in the past. But don’t force me to jeopardize my future. If someone finds out I’m spying for you, my career will be ruined. I will be the most hated woman in poker.”

  Annie didn’t look up but caught Nate’s movement out of the corner of her eye as he settled into a nearby chair. She couldn’t say anything else. She’d laid all her cards on the table, but the dispassionate look in Nate’s dark eyes told her it wouldn’t matter. Whether in court or in the casino, Nate would ruin her and have his revenge. After three years, he had her right where he wanted her.

  “These are my terms,” he said, his voice cold. “Do you want a divorce or not?”

  Of course she did. But... She shook her head. “This is blackmail.”

  Nate smiled widely, his pleasure at watching her squirm plainly evident. “Blackmail is such a dirty word. I prefer to look at it as a mutually beneficial arrangement. I catch my cheaters and secure the tournament for a decade. You get your divorce without going bankrupt first. Simple as that.”

  That was a vast understatement. It couldn’t be more complicated. “Why me?”

  Nate watched her, his lips pursing in thought before he spoke. “I need an insider. You’re an excellent player. You have a good read of your competitors. The odds of you making it to the final table are in our favor. And I have the leverage to incentivize you. It’s perfect.”

  Not entirely perfect. She took a d
eep breath and squeezed her eyes tightly shut for a moment before she spoke. She wanted to walk away from the Desert Sapphire when the tournament was done and never have a reason to see Nathan Reed again. And yet the price was high. Spying for him. Publicly adoring him. Privately conspiring under the guise of their so-called marriage. It was dangerous territory. But the tournament was only a week long. If all went well, she could play poker as planned, throw Nate a couple leads to chase and hopefully walk away from the Sapphire a free woman.

  “And I can trust you to keep your word if I keep up my end of the bargain?”

  Nate arched an eyebrow. “Annie, my trustworthiness has never been in question. But yes. If you agree to see this through, I’ll call my lawyer and have him withdraw the protest. If we get things started soon, the divorce should be finalized in a few weeks’ time.”

  He’d left her no other choice. She met his gaze across the coffee table. “All right, Nate. You’ve got a deal.”

  Two

  Annie regretted the words the minute they passed her lips, but she couldn’t take it back now.

  Nate glared at her in disbelief. It was obvious he’d been prepared for a battle. He thought she’d fight harder. There was a flicker of disappointment across his face as he straightened up in his chair and mentally regrouped.

  Annie hated that she was so aware of his body. Every twitch of every muscle beneath the tight fabric of his suit registered in her mind. She could tell herself that she was just good at reading body language after years of poker, but it wasn’t true. She knew him better than she cared to admit. Her own body remembered every inch of the hard physique hidden under those expensive suits. It wasn’t something she could easily forget.

  “Well, good,” Nate finally managed to say. “I’m glad you could be reasonable about this.” He set his glass onto the table and nodded. “Have you checked in to the hotel?”

  She hadn’t bothered. She’d figured Nate would have his security goons come after her before she could reach her room. She’d arrived a day early to get that unpleasantness out of the way so she could focus on her game. “No. Not yet. I wanted to play a little first.”

  “Okay, I’ll radio to have your bags brought upstairs. I assume you left them with the bellhop?”

  Annie opened her mouth to argue, but he was already barking orders into a push-to-talk cell phone at his hip. He’d told her she would stay with him as part of the cover. Somehow she hadn’t let her mind process that part of the deal yet.

  Her mind raced, thinking of the private suite that sat dark and quiet down the corridor. Nate owned a home in Henderson, but she knew he usually stayed at the Sapphire when he was working, which was all the time. As she could recall, there was a full kitchen, living and dining rooms...but only one bed.

  She frowned, kicking herself for not getting all the details before agreeing to this. Now she had no negotiating power at all. “Where will I sleep?”

  “The bedroom.” Nate said the words as though it were the most obvious answer in the world.

  Nate’s gaze had been cool and detached since the moment they got upstairs. He was obviously more interested in power and revenge than seduction, but even then she wasn’t comfortable with the idea. “And what about you?” she pressed. There. That should be clear enough.

  Nate’s lips twisted in a faint grin. “I don’t sleep, remember?”

  That was almost true. He did have the ability to make it on only three or four hours of sleep a night, but he did sleep. “You sleep enough.”

  This time he grinned wide, his perfectly aligned smile blazing white against his tanned skin. “We’ll worry about that when the time comes.”

  The smile was not enough to charm her. He was being deliberately evasive. She glanced down at her watch. It was after seven. She was a night owl, but even then the time was coming sooner rather than later. “I’m going along with your plan because you’ve given me no choice, but I am not sleeping with you, Nathan Reed.”

  His heavy brows rose in response to her declaration. “I hadn’t planned on seducing you.” Nate stood up and rounded the coffee table. He leaned over her, trapping her between the long lengths of his arms.

  Annie eased back into the couch, but there wasn’t anywhere else to go. She could only breathe in his cologne and remember that same scent on her pillows as she slept in this very suite. Back then, Nate had the ability to play her body like a musical instrument he’d studied his whole life. She’d never been with another man who could bring her pleasure like he had. What they had was explosive. Mind-blowing.

  The closer he came to her, the more she wondered if that connection had severed during their time apart. It didn’t feel like it.

  His gaze raked over her body. “But if I did...what’s so wrong with that? It’s not a crime to sleep with your own husband, Annie.”

  She felt a surge of electricity run through her body when he spoke her name. He’d said it the way he had in the past, with the low, soft tones she remembered him whispering into her ear as they made love. Whatever it was between them was still there. For her, at least. She couldn’t even respond with him so close.

  “Besides,” he continued, “I don’t seem to recall you complaining much about it before.”

  Her mouth suddenly felt dry. Annie ran her tongue quickly across her bottom lip. Even after all this time, she still wanted him. There was no question of it. “That was a long time ago,” she said, her voice a little too breathy to ring true even to her own ears.

  “We’ll see about that.” Nate stood up, pulling away from her and breaking the spell. Annie felt him take all the oxygen in the room with him as he stepped back and scooped his drink off the table. He took a sip, the ice clinking in the mostly empty glass, and turned his back to her. He was as calm and unaffected as he would be conducting a business deal.

  Then she understood. She was right; this wasn’t just about busting cheaters in his casino. There were other ways to go about catching them that didn’t require them to pose as the married couple they were. Methods that didn’t make him touching her necessary for their cover.

  No, Nate wanted to make her pay. To get the small sense of justice he’d been lacking for the past three years. She couldn’t exactly call it torture, but he would be using every weapon in his arsenal—from seduction to indifference—to ensure she was uneasy and off her game. She would get her divorce, but the next week would be anything but simple. The odds were she could kiss this tournament win goodbye. Her focus was already shattered and it hadn’t even begun.

  The chime of the elevator startled her. Annie looked over to see Gabe, the head of security, enter the foyer with her luggage. He was one of the only people with the card to access Nate’s private suite.

  Annie stood and rounded the coffee table to approach him, but his gaze stopped her cold. Gabe had always had a smile and a laugh for her, but not today. His hazel eyes were like knives, shooting sharp accusations at her from across the room. His jaw was tight, the muscles in his thick neck tense. There was more anger in Gabe than she’d seen in Nate. Perhaps Nate was simply better at controlling it.

  Gabe turned toward the darkened suite without speaking and dropped her luggage carelessly beside the dining room table. “Call me if you need me, sir.” He said the words while looking at Annie, the threat inherent. A moment later, the elevator doors reopened and he disappeared.

  With him gone the heavy weight of his anger suddenly lifted from her chest. Annie had never realized how protective Gabe was of Nate. She bet if given the chance, he’d shoot her with his Taser just to watch her twitch.

  Annie chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully. Of course he was angry. He’d been there every day of the past three years. He was probably the one who’d gotten Nate drunk and hauled him to a strip club to get over her. As a friend and as a security officer, he obviously disapproved of Nate’s plan to
use Annie in the sting operation. Especially the part about them living together. Gabe could see the potential problems a mile away.

  To tell the truth, Annie wasn’t entirely thrilled with that part of the plan, either. She wanted to follow him downstairs, to tell him she had no intention of getting involved with Nate again, but knew it wouldn’t help. Annie turned around, stopping short when she found Nate smiling. It was the first sincere grin he’d cracked since she arrived and of course, it was at her discomfort.

  “He’s not your biggest fan.”

  “I gathered that much. I’d hoped you hadn’t told anyone about us. Does anyone else know? Should I watch for flying daggers from housekeeping?”

  Nate laughed and shook his head. “No, just Gabe. I wasn’t even going to tell him, but he found your wedding ring.”

  The ring. Annie had forgotten. She’d left her platinum wedding band on the bedside stand. She hadn’t felt good about taking it. Leaving had been the right thing to do, but taking the ring so soon after receiving it felt like stealing.

  She watched, stunned, as Nate twisted a tiny band from his pinky finger and held it out to her. “You’ll need this back. For the cover,” he added.

  Annie took the tiny silver loop from his hand and examined it like a lost artifact. It was a dull, brushed-platinum band with shiny accents around the edge. They’d picked the rings out in such a hurry. At that moment, all she’d wanted was to be Mrs. Nathan Reed. What the hell had she been thinking?

  “Why are you wearing it?” she asked.

  “I wear it as a reminder.”

  Annie got the distinct impression that he didn’t mean it in a sentimental way. More a daily reminder of how much she’d suffer if he got his hands on her again. “Where’s your ring?”

  “Put away. I couldn’t very well wear mine and tarnish my reputation as Vegas’s most eligible bachelor.” He said the last word with audible distaste before he walked around his desk, fished in the top drawer and pulled out a small black velvet box.