Page 20 of Vegas Baby

“Wow, you play soccer, Mr. Hamilton?” The boy jogged up to him, his thin face eager. Howler recognized him as Anaya’s little brother Jaydeep.

“I am a bit rusty, but I’ve played a few games.” Popping the ball into the air, he caught it with one palm. “You’re quite good.”

“Yes, I am,” Jaydeep said with a mischievous grin.

“And you’re modest,” Howler said, amused by the kid’s cheekiness.

Jaydeep giggled at his comment when a woman called his name from somewhere in the distance. He glanced over his shoulder before he turned and looked at Howler, resigned. “I gotta go.”

Howler threw the ball to him and watched as the kid ran back the way he’d come. Jaydeep reminded him a lot of himself, cocky and full of bravado. Until things changed and he’d been forced to grow up.

Turning on his heel, he strode down the path in search of Raina. He wouldn’t wish his childhood on his worst enemy. But that was in the past, a place he intended to keep it.

“Heaven, pure heaven.” After what felt like the longest day ever, Raina slipped into the cool water, the azure lights in the bottom of the pool casting an illuminating glow over the surrounding space. Darkness blanketed the rough desert where it met the red-rock mountains in the distance, beautiful and haunting. She kicked off from the wall, swimming the length of the pool, trying desperately to relax after the uncomfortable interview with Mrs. Patel.

Raina came up for air at the far end and leaned against the roughened wall, wiping water from her eyes.

The shadowy figure of a man approached the pool and her breath caught once he came into focus. Howler had exchanged his suit for a pair of swim trunks than hung low on his lean hips, a line of dark hair on his abdomen disappearing into the material.

With perfect form, he dove into the pool. Despite his size, he barely made a splash on entry. She clenched the cement lip with her fingertips, and willed the spark of excitement to disappear. It was bad enough she’d married him. Why did she have to be attracted to him?

Howler emerged from the water feet from her, rivulets running down his high forehead and across the bridge of his nose.

“This is the life,” he said, floating on his back.

Yes, it was wonderful, until he showed up looking all fit, virile, and so damn tempting. She’d texted him as a courtesy, but hadn’t expected him to come looking for her. While she couldn’t wait to get in the water before, now she couldn’t wait to get out.

Raina began to swim to the other side of the pool and stopped short. A familiar figure approached the pool. Patel. Really? What had she done to the universe to deserve this?

You got drunk and conned a man into marrying you.

Patel halted a few feet from the edge and turned his back to the pool, talking low to someone on the phone.

Raina pushed off the bottom and backstroked his way. She came up against a warm body but didn’t have to glance over her shoulder to know Howler stood behind her. His large hand spanned her waist, bringing her back to his chest. Goosebumps broke out at the contact. As a child, she had a weight problem. In boarding school, she’d exchanged the comfort of food for an intense workout routine that had given her a flat stomach under the modest two-piece bathing suit. Any day she didn’t have to suck in her gut was a good day.

You’re supposed to be mad at him. But her treacherous body wasn’t on board with her mind’s outrage. “Why didn’t you tell me about the Scorpions offer?”

“Because it’s none of your business.”

“And was it your idea to invite Anderson?” she asked, leaning her head against his shoulder and whispering through clenched teeth. “We had a deal. He wasn’t part of it.”

“Once again, we didn’t have anything. You and Veer were drunk and made some dumbass bet. It’s not binding.” He licked his lips and shook his head, a drop of water from his hair splattering onto her cheek. “Veer invited Anderson. And like you, I’m not thrilled about it. If anything, his presence will only make this harder on us.”

She averted her gaze, unwilling to concede. A bet was a bet and she had a lot riding on this. Miller trusted her with a simple task, have Veer sign the paperwork. Not only had she failed, she’d deepened the hole. Time to build a ladder and climb her way out of it. “We had a verbal agreement which is binding.”

“Veer was drunk—as were you—and he has a video that proves it. The verbal contract is voidable if both parties are incapacitated. I have an attorney on staff.” The corner of his mouth lifted and he answered her silent question.

He’d already contacted his attorney and showed them the video? She wasn’t sure how to feel. While smart on his part, it pricked her pride. Yet there was an upside to all of this. If Veer could use the video, then she could use it as proof that she was incapacitated when they married and submit it as evidence for an annulment. Except she’d have to admit to what happened and someone on the team might find out. “I didn’t force him, or you, to drink.” Or did she? She’d yet to watch the video he’d forwarded to her, afraid of what she’d see.

“If Veer drops my representation, then it’s a moot point,” he said, his breath warm on her ear. She bit her lip, willing herself to remain unaffected. The rise and fall of his chest against her back, beckoned, his warmth enveloping her through the cool water.

Good luck with that.

A high-pitched little girl giggle cut through the air as Mrs. Patel, and Anaya’s little brother and sister cut across the lawn.

Mrs. Patel scooped up the little girl while her son Jaydeep ran ahead with his soccer ball. Raina wanted a family, sooner rather than later. At thirty-two and single, she had no prospect in sight. Except she married Howler. Once back home, she’d seek the divorce and continue to be on the lookout for the right man for her. The sexy man holding her intimately was so far removed from being the guy, it was laughable even if it wasn’t funny.

“I never asked. Do you have any kids?” He certainly slept around by his own admission.

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