by Mia Grandy
He wasn’t sure what she had gone through in her young life to be this on edge, but he could tell that she was far from being comfortable in her own skin. Although every instinct in his body was telling him to go in and protect her, he knew that would end up scaring her more than it would help.
“Oh, hi,” she said as she leaned over to grab the spatula and then turned to rinse it off in the sink. “I didn’t hear you get out of the shower. I hope you don’t mind, but I decided to make some eggs and bacon.”
“You can never go wrong with the classics,” Hhe replied.
She smiled and it lit up her whole face. “That’s what I figured. I made enough for both of us. I decided that if you had bacon in your fridge you probably weren’t a vegetarian.”
Drake let out a short bark of laughter at the idea of him not eating meat. “That was probably a safe bet.”
Randa tucked her hair behind her ears and then used the spatula to pull the bacon out of the frying pan and onto a folded up paper towel that she’d placed on a plate on the counter. Then, in one fluid motion she pulled an egg from the crate and dropped it into the still hot grease.
“You’re good at that,” he commented.
“I should be. I spent a few years working at a truck stop diner when I was in high school. There were nights I was the only person in the restaurant. I was the waitress, the cook, and the dishwasher.”
“Sounds like loads of fun,” he said as he walked into the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee.
She laughed. “There were nights it was awesome, and there were nights I wanted to beat the drunks with the mop and lock them out. On the whole though I’d have to say it balanced out.”
She slid the eggs onto two different plates and then took everything over to the breakfast nook table that was over by the window. Drake grabbed the silverware and followed her.
“So, if you stay here who lives in the big house?” she asked as she cut into her eggs.
“No one.”
“You mean it just sits there, empty?”
“Yep.”
“Why?” she looked as if someone had just told her that Santa Claus wasn’t real. Drake didn’t respond immediately, and Randa started backpedaling. “Nevermind. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have pried. It’s really none of my business.”
Drake looked at her and realized that this girl was truly only a pool game or two away from living on the streets. Of course she would never understand why he would shun living in the mansion for living in the guest house.
“It’s okay. I was just trying to think of a way to explain why. The truth is I don’t know. I’ve never really felt comfortable there. It has definitely never felt like a home.”
Randa seemed to give this consideration and then nodded her head before she spoke. “I have never lived anywhere as nice, but I have definitely been in my share of homes that left me feeling like a stranger in my own skin. So, I can understand that.”
“It’s why I have to win that cabin back.”
She raised her eyebrow and tilted her head, her dark hair falling across her shoulders as she did so. For a moment, he caught himself wanting to run his hands through it. He had flashes of her face as she looked up at him, and in his mind’s eye he could still see the passion lingering in her gaze as she studied him. He found himself struggling to repress his building lust. He knew that if he gave in they would not get anything done today, and there was too much at stake.
“Because it was the only place you felt at home?”
“Bingo. I guess my grandfather knew that. This is his way of trying to force my hand and get me to take control of my life,” he said as he turned his attention away from her and back to his breakfast.
Drake didn’t like to think about the motivations his grandfather had for getting rid of his cabin. When he did he got angry at the situation all over again. He was sure that he could probably buy it from the winner, but there was always the chance that whoever got it would not be willing to part with it.
He gently steered the conversation into the pool tournament and started explaining the rules to her. The rest of their morning and afternoon was filled with procedure and practice. He could tell that she was anxious about playing in such a high stakes situation, but she was a quick learner. Even as he was showing her his tricks, she was catching on at a rapid pace. By the time they broke for lunch, he could tell that no matter what, he’d definitely made the right choice.
Chapter 6
Randa woke up to the blare of her alarm at five thirty in the morning and the starkness of the hotel room greeted her. When they had wrapped up practicing last night, she had insisted that she go back to the hotel room alone so she could get some rest. She did not want to start off at the tournament unable to concentrate, and neither did she want herself to get too attached to Drake. After all, once this tournament was through, chances are he wouldn’t want to continue this little fling with the poor girl from the wrong side of the tracks.
As she swung her feet over the edge of the bed and stumbled to the shower, she considered the fact that she was nothing more to him that a play toy. The truth was, she’d never had a brief affair. But she knew that the way she felt when she was with Drake, she would take what she could get, regardless of the absence of future potential. However, she was determined to do her best to help him win back the cabin.
The thoughts of the tournament and her desire for Drake were still going around and around in her mind by the time she met him downstairs an hour later. The sun was just beginning to peak over the horizon, bathing the entire parking lot in a soft orange glow.
She smiled as she signed out of the room and heaved her bag over her shoulder. Randa could not believe that she was about to compete for the chance to win ten thousand dollars. It wasn’t a fortune for most people, but with someone who only had a few hundred dollars and a bag of clothes to their name, it was everything.
The ideas about what she could do with that money, the freedom it would buy her. Even if Drake decided that he wanted nothing to do with her once this was over, it wouldn’t matter. She would be guaranteed her own independence for at least a little while.
As she approached the vehicle, Drake got out and took the bag from her, placing it in the rear of the SUV with his own luggage as she climbed into the vehicle.
“Thanks,” she told him when he got back into the car.
“For what?”
“For getting my bag.”
He looked at her, his dark eyes almost glowing with the intensity of his stare. “What kind of person would I be if I didn’t help you with your bags?”
She suddenly felt uneasy, as if she were being judged because politeness was not something she was accustomed to. So, instead she chuckled and turned away from him, “The kind I usually associate with, I guess.”
“Well, in that case, you’re welcome,” he said as he placed his hand under her chin and turned her face toward his. “I didn’t mean any harm.”
Randa nodded and smiled the best she could. Although she knew he hadn’t meant anything personal it still stung a little and highlighted the obvious inequalities in their two worlds.
The car ride was fairly quiet as they sped along the interstate, the grass and trees only intermittently broken up by a town or city. Randa found herself intrigued by the openness of the country landscape. She never really imagined a world with so little concrete and buildings, and the beauty of it all left her in awe. Anytime she’d ever traveled outside of the city it had always been by plane, but she decided there was something majestic about driving.
She had been so caught up in the rolling landscape that at first she almost didn’t see the neon sign that rose out of the wilderness. But when they rounded the corner, there was no denying the very real imposition that this mammoth structure left on the landscape.
Leaning forward against the seatbelt, Randa tried to take it all in. The casino was the largest in the state. The tribe that owned it had put a lot of effort into making i
t a little oasis in the middle of the country. The outside was decorated with iconic landmarks. Everything from the Empire State Building and the ruins of the Roman Coliseum to the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the Eiffel Tower, were present and accounted for.
Drake watched her reaction with interest before he spoke. “I think there is something to be said for using window dressing to lure in your victims. It’s a giant people trap set up in the middle of nature.”
The odd comment caught Randa off guard and she actually laughed so hard she snorted. When they turned into the parking lot off of the highway she got a full glimpse of the magnitude of the concrete and neon jungle that was only partially visible from the interstate.
While the car was being unloaded at the valet parking stand, she went inside and looked around. She was walking by a bank of slot machines ten minutes later when Drake walked up to her and handed her a room key.
“Our rooms are on the west end of the fourth floor, or the Eiffel Tower section,” he told her, and she found herself leaning forward to try and hear him as he spoke over the bells, whistles, and screams of the machines around them. “You can stay down here if you want, but I’m going to go up and get ready. We need to be down at the main floor to check into the tournament before six.”
Randa glanced up at the walls, searching for a clock, but could not find a clock anywhere. Just as she was about to start turning in circles, Drake gently grabbed her upper arm and stopped her.
“It’s just now one o'clock,” he told her, smiling. You aren’t going to find any clocks in a casino. It’s a trick they use to make sure that people stay longer. Remember, people trap.”
He slid his hand down her arm, and then clasped his hand over hers and pulled her toward him. “Of course, we could make good use of the time.”
She smiled and nodded, her pulse strumming through her entire body until she felt as electrified as the machines around her. They wove their way through the crowd, and by the time they got into the elevator she was sure that the sparks were positively pouring themselves out of her.
If she had been worried by his silence on the ride up, she didn’t need to be any longer, the minute the doors closed and it was just the two of them he grabbed her close and kissed her. She could feel every inch of his body in the embrace, and before the door opened again on their floor, she knew that he was just as aroused as she was.
When the door dinged, it opened and the pair stumbled out of the elevator, laughing as they ran down the hall to their rooms. As he fumbled to slide the card key into the slot, she leaned up and lightly nipped his earlobe.
He stopped where he was, the key still lodged halfway into the reader slot, and grabbed her, hoisting her up against the wall, and kissing her neck. “If you aren’t careful, I’m not sure that we’ll make it to the safety of the room,” she whispered.
“At this point, I could care less,” he told her, pulling back so that she could see the dark passion that now filled his gaze and she knew that he was not playing around. She could hear voices down at the corner of the hall, and she did not want to be caught in the act like some teenager.
Smiling coyly back at him, she reached down and used her free hand to operate the card reader, pulling it out of the slot and activating the door lock. “As kinky as that may sound, I think I’d rather try my luck inside.” She winked, flicked her tongue at his earlobe and ducked into the room.
She was no more than two steps into the room when she felt his arm coil around her and pull her back toward him as he kicked the door shut behind him with the heel of his foot. Just as she was watching it close the people walked by, and she instantly felt her mouth run dry and her body drop a few degrees. Although he was obviously not dead, she felt as if she had just seen a ghost.
Drake seemed to sense her tension, and using his fingers he pulled her chin back around so that she was staring at him in the face.
“Is everything still okay?” he asked, his face was smiling, but his eyes were a strange mixture of lust and concern.
Randa took a breath and tried to stop the squirming pile of worms she felt building inside of her. After all, she hadn’t gotten that long of a look, it might not be who she thought it was. However, if it was, she would need to warn Drake; but doing so would jeopardize their partnership.
Biting on the inside of her cheek, Randa made her decision and shook her head no. Before she sat down and explained to him every nitty gritty and difficult detail about her past she wanted to be sure that it had been Mike Grayson that she’d seen.
“Sorry, I just had a moment,” she told him. For a moment he studied her, and she worried that he was going to press the issue, so she put her hands around his neck and drew him down to her for a kiss.
When his lips touched hers, she forgot all about the potential problems, the electricity once again strumming through her body. After just a moment, she pulled his shirt up over his head and once again lightly nipped at his earlobe before starting a trail down the side of his chin, then onto his chest and down toward his abdomen, occasionally using her tongue and teeth to elicit moans from him as her hands undid his pants and pushed them down over his throbbing erection.
Taking it into her hands, she massaged the shaft as she looked up at him. His face was completely covered in dark lust now as he looked down at her in astonishment. She smiled, feeling the tension in him increase as she dropped to her knees and took him into her mouth.
As she did this his entire body went rigid and a stark gasp left him. He wove his fingertips through her hair and guided her head as she moved back and forth along the length of him, her tongue making intricate swirling patterns as she moved him back and forth in her mouth.
She took it out of her mouth and flicked her tongue nimbly at the tip. This time he groaned and visibly shook, but instead of letting her continue to give him head, he lifted her up and nearly tossed her on the bed. For a moment it took her by surprise, but as he stepped of out his jeans and underwear to cross the room, she began to quickly undress herself, the memory of Mike and her past quickly fading as Drake leaned down over her.
Chapter 7
For a moment, Drake had been sure that she was having second thoughts about joining him in the room. Randa’s entire body had gone tense and then she had a look of confusion and sadness that crossed her face. He had fully intended to explore the situation and demand to know what was going on, but when she began to kiss him, and then when she’d taken him into her warm mouth and slid up and down his shaft, all resolve had completely went out the window.
Just when he was sure he could not take any more, she pulled out and looked up at him, her tongue flickering across the tip of his penis. Sensations he had never felt before began to curl up through him.
He’d had sex before, but nothing had ever stirred up the level of passion that being in the same room with Randa seemed to. Everything she did was better than he had ever imagined it would be, and he was having trouble containing his passion. When he picked her up and tossed her on the bed, he had nothing on his mind but conquering the fire that was no raging within him.
Climbing onto the bed, he took her in his arms and pulled her on top of him so that she was straddling him on the edge of the bed. Guiding her down, she slid over the top of him, and he saw the pleasure light up her face.
Her mouth came down on top of his, her tongue working its way through his mouth in rhythm to the movement of his member inside her body. It was as if their entire beings were temporarily synchronized, and he could already feel the climax building inside of him. Leaning back a little bit, he placed his hands between them, they slid up over her abdomen and onto her breasts. He began to knead them, taking her nipples in between his thumb and finger and rolling them until he felt her body shudder beneath him.
Her pace increased into an almost frenzied state, and then just when he didn’t think he could hold back any longer she leaned back and gave a small yelp, her lower body convulsing. As he felt his own orgasm overtake him, he fel
t her spasm around him, and together they rode the wave of ecstasy until they collapsed on the bed, completely spent.
Before long he felt her breathing regulate beside him. She was pulled to him, her back to his chest, and he placed his arm around her. He realized that he felt more comfortable and relaxed than he had in a long time, and before he could stop himself, he shut his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
*
Drake’s eyes popped open. He was in the bed alone, and the room was dark. For a moment a panic set over him as he worried that they had somehow managed to sleep through the check in time.
Looking at his bedside clock he realized that he still had more than an hour. He let out a pent up sigh of relief and heard the squeak of the pipes as the shower was shut off. A moment later, Randa opened the bathroom door and stepped out, a cloud of steam following her as she tried to tiptoe across the room.
“There’s no need to be quiet.”
Randa was so taken by surprise that she visibly jumped up into the air at the sound of his voice. For a moment she looked like a cat that had been cornered by a dog, but then she laughed, and the sound filled up the room and made him chuckle a little as well.
“You almost gave me a heart attack. You looked so peaceful, I thought I would let you sleep for a little bit.”
“That’s fine,” he told her. “I didn’t mean to startle you. I just wanted to let you know that you didn’t have to worry about keeping the lights off or your voice down.” Swinging his legs over the edge of the bed he climbed out and went toward the bathroom.
A few minutes later he emerged, refreshed and completely cooled off to find that Randa had left the room. There was a note on the bed stating that she had gone downstairs and would meet him at the check in spot for the tournament.
