Page 32 of Crime Lord’s Captive

“I have an IUD. I’m more worried about an STD,” Lyla said without tact.

Gavin looked murderous. “You think I’m that careless?”

“I don’t know what you use when you fuck your whores,” she said.

“I’m not fucking anyone.”

Lyla didn’t believe him. They had sex almost every day when they were together and he still had women on the side. Thinking of an abstinent Gavin was ludicrous. “So you’ve been tested recently?”

A muscle moved in his jaw. “You’re really trying to piss me off, aren’t you?”

“By asking you justified questions?” Lyla sighed and shook her head, feeling weary all of a sudden. “If Manny hadn’t thrown me at you, you wouldn’t have looked twice at me. How many women did you have at that time?” He didn’t answer and her stomach twisted. She shoved against him, but he didn’t move. “I’m not interested in replaying our history, Gavin. Manny’s not going to disown you if you let me go. He knows we’re not meant for each other.”

“Do you want to go home?” Ricardo appeared beside them. He didn’t look surprised by their intimate position.

“Yes,” Lyla pushed at Gavin, but he didn’t move. She met his glittering eyes. “Let me go, Gavin.”

“For now,” he said and released her, deliberately sliding her down his frame.

Lyla grimaced against her body's reaction. She was ashamed that her legs quaked as her feet touched the ground. Gavin stepped back and then scowled.

“Your dress is see through!”

Lyla shrugged. “You picked it. I thought that was the point. No one cares. It’s Vegas.”

“I fucking care,” Gavin snapped and slid out of his suit jacket and draped it around her.

She didn’t want to be encased in his scent or heat. “I’m hot,” she said as she tried to shrug off the jacket.

“You wear it to the car,” Gavin decreed.

She couldn’t spend another second with him. He was such a bullheaded ass. Nothing she said made an impression on him. He was intent on replaying their history. On top of the fact that their relationship had been based on Manny’s approval and Gavin’s infidelity, she had to remind herself about the guard who lost his life in the basement. He wasn't the first or last. Gavin was dangerous. Period. She was determined to get away from him and his propensity for violence. She wanted a simple life. She wanted a man who loved her more than anything in the world, who provided and cared for her. Once upon a time, she thought Gavin was that man. What a fucking reality check it had been to realize that she was living a lie.

They made their way through the club. Gavin tucked her under his arm and ignored her when she tried to get away from him.

“What about Carmen?” she shouted.

“She’ll go home with Vinny,” he said and walked her out of the club.

He took her hand as they walked through the casino with Ricardo several paces behind them.

“Did you like the club?” Gavin asked.

Surprised by his attempt at civil conversation she said, “Yes. The music is great, the bartenders are fast and the people that get in look like they should be on a magazine.”

His mouth curved. “Well said. It’s the most successful nightclub on The Strip. You sent me a good array of girls tonight. I hope they come to work for me.”

Lyla rolled her eyes. “What positions did you offer them?”

“Front desk, dancers, bartender. Doesn’t matter to me.”

Lyla was relieved to reach the hotel entrance. While Ricardo went to talk to the valet, Gavin turned her towards him with a grip on the jacket.

“You still want to be at my father’s house?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said emphatically.

He sighed. “I’ll send some of your clothes over.”

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