How to Lasso a Billionaire

by Katharine Sadler

  "I haven't taken a day off in over a year, they can do without me for a few hours."

  "No time off in over a year? Why not?"

  Confusion wrinkled his brow for a moment, before it cleared. "I didn't have anything I wanted to do more than work."

  He spoke the words plainly, without regret, but they made her sad. "You love your work that much?"

  His jaw tightened and his gaze left her face. She expected him to deflect or change the subject, but he rubbed a thumb over her hip and sighed. "I guess I sound pretty pathetic, but yes, I do love my job that much. I'm doing exactly what I've always wanted to do, and I don't trust anyone to run the casino as well as I do." He studied her face, considering his words. "It's also true I haven't found anyone or anything that I've wanted to allow to become a distraction until you walked back into my life."

  "I don't want to be a distraction you regret, Jude Cassidy, but I do think it's well past time you remembered how to have some fun outside of work."

  He smirked. "You eat peanut butter and jelly for dinner every night, Brianne Mason. Forgive me if I doubt I'll agree with your definition of fun."

  She could have argued with him and she'd probably have won, but she opted for kissing that mocking smirk off his face instead.

  He froze for a moment in surprise, and she froze right back because she was just as surprised as he was. The impulse to kiss him had felt so natural, so right. In her sleepy haze, she'd reached for him and now she was kissing him like he was her boyfriend, not an old friend she was getting to know again. And he felt nothing like a friend anymore. He felt like someone she was falling for, so damn hard.

  Before she could pull away, Jude kissed her back and it felt so good she stopped caring about the risk to her heart and her sanity. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down on top of her, wanting him closer, wanting to get lost in him.

  He looked into her eyes. "Are you sure?"

  She knew he wasn't asking about the sex, he was asking about the line they were crossing, because this time sex wasn't just about the physical. The look in his eyes told her that he felt it every bit as much as she did.

  "No, I'm not sure," she said, incapable of lying to him. "I have no idea what I'm doing, but I know I want you."

  He pulled away and got to his feet, the loss of his body against hers like an arctic wind chasing across her skin. She wanted to kick herself for not just saying what she knew would convince him, but she wouldn't take it back. She wouldn't lie to him.

  "I want you," he said, his gaze hot on her. "I want you so bad I can't think straight." He shook his head, bewildered, and it made her feel better that he was as lost as she was. "But I've done this before, Brianne. I've had relationships that were only about the physical, and I can't do that with you."

  "You didn't have a problem the other night on the roof of your casino," she said, the words out before she could corral them, her lust holding the reins on her tongue.

  "I lost control. Gave in to what I wanted without any thought of how it would . . ." He ran a hand over his chiseled jaw. "I want to do this right. We know we're sexually compatible. I want to know if we're compatible in every other way."

  She already had a feeling they were compatible in every way imaginable, and it scared her. The closer she got to Jude, the harder it would be to walk away when the time came. Because she would have to walk away, no matter what he believed possible. There was no real future for them. "If this doesn't work out," she said. "Don't you want to have a ton of good sex to remember after I'm gone."

  He winced, but he recovered quickly and smirked. "I don't have sex on the first date, Miss Mason. I am a gentleman."

  She snorted and pushed herself out of bed. She felt the heat of his gaze on her body, covered only by her bra and panties. "If we aren't going to get down and dirty, we should get to work. You've got a busy day."

  "Not so busy that I don't have time for room service," he said. "We should try out the breakfast here to be sure we can give a full report on our experience."

  Her stomach growled before she could protest. "A room service breakfast is a luxury I can't turn down."

  After a delicious, and huge, breakfast, they rode to work in companionable silence. At least, she assumed it was companionable. Jude seemed perfectly at ease, but she felt off. With anyone else, she'd be chattering away about the sights on the strip and the day ahead, but she couldn't let herself fall into that kind of comfortable relationship with him. She couldn't let her guard down.

  She took a seat at her desk with a breath of relief. Back to what had somehow become her element. Behind her desk, she felt like she knew what she was supposed to do and how she should act around Jude. Not that she hadn't had fun with him the night before, but she felt a bit like she'd been pretending to be someone else, someone free and young and a smidge wild, someone . . . She watched her computer wake up for the day and she logged in while her brain raced.

  In all honesty, she'd spent the last four years taking care of Maureen and Addy, of the customers at the diner, and she hadn't spent much time on herself. The person she'd been with Jude, gushing over rock memorabilia and dancing and singing along to her favorite band, that felt as real to her as the responsible person she had to be in Towle, had to be at work.

  She drummed her fingers on the desk as she thought it over. She hadn't been running in years, hadn't played tennis, hadn't done any of the things she'd once loved, except for reading steamy romances. Now, she was living in one, but she didn't know how to be, didn't know how to act, because she'd lost sight of who she was a long time ago. And maybe, just maybe, Jude and Vegas were giving her a chance to get to know herself, to know the Brianne she'd become after four years of caring for her mother and her niece.

  She sighed and dove into Jude's emails. All of that might be true, but the only person she could be in that moment was a good little worker bee, working and getting paid.

  The day passed fairly quickly, work kept her mind occupied and she enjoyed keeping busy. Jude neither ignored her nor treated her like anything other than his professional assistant.

  "You're free to go for the evening," Jude said, shortly after five o'clock. "I'll pick you up at eight?"

  "That would be perfect," she said, grateful for the option to back out this time.

  She set up the away messages and texted Philip to pick her up, and she got back home well before five thirty with a couple hours to kill and no idea how to pass the time.

  She paced her apartment for several minutes before deciding she needed to get out and get physical. She changed into athletic shorts and a ratty pair of sneakers. She pulled on an old t-shirt. She'd be in a world of pain since she hadn't thought to bring a sports bra with her.

  It would be worth it to get a good run in. She took the stairs down to the ground level and looked around. Running on the tourist-packed strip would be an unmitigated disaster, and she wasn't familiar enough with the area to be sure she wouldn't get lost in the unending side streets. Not to mention she didn't know which areas might be dangerous.

  She lifted her cell phone and considered who among her contacts would be the most help. She considered Philip, but he was old enough to be her grandfather and she doubted he'd know the best place to run.

  Instead, she called Jude, fingers crossed that he wouldn't get annoyed about her interrupting his work. She smiled. Or maybe she'd enjoy pushing his buttons a little bit in retribution for him leaving her hanging that morning.

  "Brianne," Jude said, answering on the first ring. "What's wrong?"

  Was that panic in his voice? "Nothing. I'm sorry to bother you. I just have a quick question."

  "It's no bother," he said, his voice returning to its usual coolness. "What do you need?"

  "I'd like to go for a jog, but I've realized I have no idea where I should go. I was hoping you might have some ideas."

  "Call Philip and have him bring you back here. You can use the casino gym."

  She bit back a gro
an. "I appreciate the offer, but I'd really rather run outside if possible. I hate treadmills."

  "Go back inside," he said. "I'll be there in twenty minutes."

  "I don't want to keep you from your work. I can use the treadmill if it's the only option."

  "Brianne. You weren't wasting my time until just now. Go back inside. I'll be there soon."

  He hung up before she could say anything else. She huffed in annoyance. Why did he have to be so damn generous with her? It made it so much harder to remember why she couldn't fall for him. She stomped back inside and up the stairs to Isla's apartment.

  Her phone rang as soon as she stepped inside. She answered without checking caller ID first, figuring it was Jude.

  "Hey, Bri," Max said.

  "Max. Now's not a good time." Not a good time for her to scream at him, for her to ask him how he could have betrayed her and lied to her.

  "I'm in Vegas, Bri. I'm hoping I can stay with you at Isla's."

  "You're in Vegas? I thought you had a job opportunity in Idaho."

  "That fell through, but I've got a line on something better. Something right here in Vegas. I just need a place to stay until I'm back on my feet."

  "Max, Isla's place is tee-ninesy. There's seriously--"

  "It's okay. I can crash on the couch."

  "There is no couch. There's a bed and a kitchen. That's it."

  "Her cheap ass brother didn't set her up in a better place?"

  "Her brother isn't her caretaker," Bri said, thoroughly annoyed. "I think you should find somewhere else to stay."

  "Just give me Isla's address. I swear you won't even know I'm there."

  The doorbell buzzed. "I've gotta go." She hung up, but before she opened the door to Jude, she texted the address to Max.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Bri answered five more emails and then glanced over at Jude's still empty office. It had been two weeks since they'd spent the night at the Hard Rock Hotel.

  Two weeks of spending each night at a different casino, living like members of the one percent.

  Two weeks of Jude coming up with less and less plausible explanations for how their casino stays were free, until she just gave up on arguing with him about it.

  Two weeks of getting back into her running groove and remembering how much she loved to get her heart racing.

  Two weeks of living the fantasy.

  Two weeks of getting so addicted to sleeping in Jude's arms that when he'd canceled on her last night because he had a bad headache, she'd spent the night tossing and turning, unable to sleep without him.

  And two weeks of no sex. That's right, Jude was continuing to be the perfect gentleman and had barely crept past second base. No matter how she flirted or teased, he kept to his promise that he would win her over before they slept together again. Maybe he chose that path to protect his heart, but it had done nothing to protect hers. Every day she found herself falling a little bit harder for him, but she'd managed to keep their conversations at the surface level, to make their time together about having fun and laughing, and she'd almost convinced herself it was working.

  In the last couple days, Jude had started to push a bit for her to tell him more about her personal life. Just a couple days ago he'd showed up unannounced at Isla's and missed catching Max there by about thirty seconds.

  To his credit, Max had kept to himself. He spent the days and most nights out working a construction job. She'd been away with Jude every night, and she hadn't had a chance to sit her brother down and ask him how he could have lied to her and blamed his embezzlement on her.

  She'd tried not to worry about the past and had focused on figuring out what made her happy. Jude had taken her hiking the weekend before and she'd discovered it wasn't one of her passions. She'd had fun and would do it again, she just didn't love it the way Jude seemed to.

  She'd also learned she adored roller coasters inside casinos and rides that rose from the top of casinos, like the ones on top of the Stratosphere. She hated poker, but loved blackjack. She was never going to eat Sushi again, but she might just have to learn how to cook Ethiopian food since she wouldn't find it in any restaurant in Towle.

  She'd learned a lot about herself, but she'd learned even more about Jude, about the man he was when he didn't think she was looking, when she was sure he wasn't putting on a show to impress her. Though, she had to admit, the more time she spent with Jude, the more convinced she became that he was incapable of malicious subterfuge.

  Jude gave money and food to the homeless. He never asked Philip or any of his casino employees to work beyond their planned hours. He so often took her to see or do things he thought she might like that she wasn't all that sure what he truly loved, beyond his casino, hiking, jogging, and making her happy.

  And she'd learned that she loved spending time with him, so much that it didn't matter if they were sitting in the car stuck in traffic, getting lost in a casino maze, or going backstage to see her favorite band. She just loved being by his side.

  She drummed her fingers on the desk and looked back over at Jude's office. He didn't have any meetings scheduled for the morning, so it was odd for him to be half an hour late.

  Her cell phone rang, and Isla's name popped up on the screen. Bri swiped to answer the call. "Issy. I was just thinking about--"

  "Bri. I'm worried about Jude. Is he at work?"

  "Not yet."

  "He sounded off when I talked to him this morning. He hung up mid-call, and I can't get him back. Can you check on him?"

  "Of course. I just saw him yesterday and he seemed fine." Though he had canceled their night out because he had a headache.

  "He probably is fine. I'd just feel better if you'd check on him."

  "Yeah, of course," Bri said, already standing. "I don't have his address, but I'm sure Philip can take me to him."

  "Philip? No, sweetie. Jude's staying in the casino while his house is being worked on. He's in room 267."

  "I'll go check on him now."

  She changed the message on the phone and hurried to the elevator, toe tapping as it rose. She got to the second floor of the casino and jogged down the labyrinth of halls until she got to the right room. After all the rooms he'd taken her to, all the fancy restaurants where they'd eaten, she'd have expected him to be staying in the nicest room he could get, but the exterior, at least, suggested it was just an ordinary room.

  She knocked on the door and, when he didn't answer, she banged. Her heart thudded painfully when he still didn't come to the door. Could he have gone out? She dialed his number and put the phone to her ear, only to hear a ringing from inside the room.

  Damn it. She dialed another number and got housekeeping on the line. Rather than wait for them to come to her, she raced up to the fifth floor and got a universal key card from Glenna, a woman not much older than Bri, who reminded her she needed to bring it right back.

  She promised to do her best and hurried back down to the second floor, breath coming in desperate pants, as much from all the running as from the fear that twisted her heart.

  She let herself into Jude's room and didn't have to go far before she found him, in dress pants and nothing else, sitting on the bed. The room was smaller than Isla's place and it looked like a bomb had gone off, tissues littered the floor and every available surface. The rest of Jude's suit was laid over a chair, coffee half started.

  Jude looked at her, eyes and nose red. "Jude, why didn't you answer the door? Or your phone?"

  "It was too far," he said in a weak, raspy voice. "I just wanted the noise to stop so I could die in peace."

  Her previous fear meant her adrenaline was high and, seeing as Jude wasn't dead, had nowhere to go but to annoyance. "You couldn't at least yell to let me know you were alive?"

  "Throat hurts," he said, the words causing him to cough pitifully.

  She put a hand to his forehead, but he felt cool. No fever according to the ultra-scientific hand-touch test. "I have to return this key to housekeeping, d
o you think you can manage not to die while I'm gone?"

  "I'm not making any promises."

  She resisted rolling her eyes until she'd turned away from him and found his key card on the counter next to his wallet. "I'll be right back," she said.

  She hurried up to the fifth floor, returning the universal key card so that Glenna could do her job, but she took her time on the way back to Jude's room, making a call on her way.

  "I found him," she said when Isla answered. "He says he's dying, but I think he's just sick. Maybe a severe cold or strep or something? I'll get him to the doctor."

  Isla grunted. "I should have known. Jude is the absolute worst when he's sick. You know the saying, the bigger they are the harder they fall? Totally applies to Jude when he has the slightest sniffle."

  "Really? He's always so tough and rational."

  "He hates any sort of weakness. Anything he can't control, anything that slows him down. He totally falls apart when his body doesn't fall in line the way he wants it to."

  "Hopefully you're right, and it's nothing serious. I'll get him to the doctor."

  "Thank you, Bri. I know he's not your favorite person. You're good people to look after him anyway."

  She hung up and texted Philip for a ride to the doctor. She let herself into Jude's room to find him sitting on the bed, one arm through his shirt, the other bare, his phone in one hand. He didn't look up when she walked in, just continued staring at the phone, his other hand poised like he was about to type something.

  She gently pulled the phone from his hand and checked it, but the phone was still on the home screen. "Did you need something?"

  He lifted his head to her like he was stuck in a vat of molasses. His red, watery eyes met hers and sparked with something she couldn't name. He pushed to his feet. "I need to get to work." He swayed and sat back down.

  Irritation and surprise twisted his features. He looked like a kid annoyed that his favorite toy had been taken.

  "I think the tourists can miss a day of guided hikes," she said. "I'm taking you to the doctor."

  He grunted and pushed his arm through the other sleeve of his shirt. "I'm perfectly capable of making it to the doctor on my own." He buttoned up his shirt and stood to tuck it into his pants. "You should be at your desk fielding calls while I'm gone."