Page 31 of Vegas Baby

A shadow fell over the pool and a man and woman appeared. “Is this a private party or can we join you?”

Raina’s body went rigid at the question from the familiar voice, her nails biting into his forearm. He pulled her closer to him and squinted to see through the glare of the hot tub’s side lights. The Scorpions team owner, Anderson, leered down at them. Veer had invited the man and his plus one to the wedding, a stern reminder to everyone involved what was at stake if Patel hadn’t conceded. Anderson’s companion, a modelesque blonde who at first glance looked barely legal, started to remove her shoes.

“Definitely a private party,” Raina said out of clenched teeth.

“Are you sure? This could be fun. A little pregame warm up before the negotiations begin.” Anderson held up a small vial of cocaine and dangled it between his fat fingers.

The blonde zeroed in on the drugs, the tightness around her pinched mouth deepened, stripping the youthful illusion from her face.

Fuck. Howler recognized the sign of an addict. He clenched his hands into fists and forced out a breath. While every instinct said to beg her not to give in to the temptation, nothing he or anyone could say would change her mind. He’d learned the hard lesson a long time ago.

“We were just leaving.” In his line of work, Howler often walked a fine line between morality and the end game. To men like Anderson, women were a prize or a pawn, expendable to their whims. Howler could never stomach the seedier side of sports; drugs, gambling, and prostitution.

“Do you have to go?” the blonde asked, casting Howler and appreciate eye. “Anderson has the best blow and you’re really cute.”

“He’s also married,” Raina said.

If Howler didn’t know better, he’d think Raina was jealous but the entire situation had turned from uncomfortable to bizarre.

In typical dickwad fashion, Anderson laughed and rocked back on his heels. “Sorry, it still hasn’t sunk in you are married and to the competition. I hope this doesn’t influence your decisions. I can compete with a lot of things but I don’t have certain assets Raina can bring to the table on Miller’s behalf.”

“I don’t need to use my assets or underhanded tactics to negotiate a deal. You should try it sometimes,” Raina said, her anger over his rudeness palpable.

Anderson chuckled, unabashed by her sharp retort. “Cheeky, I like that. She’s a keeper.”

“Yes, she is.” For another man. A different conversation for a different day. It was more than apparent Raina could hold her own but that didn’t mean she deserved to get shit from that dickhead. Reining in his temper, he forced a smile. “Marriage aside, the only thing that will influence me in business is the best deal for my client. Come back with a better offer and we’ll talk. Until then, you—”

“Excuse me, folks, this area is closed for the night,” a security guard approached, a two-way radio in hand.

The blonde took the opportunity to snatch the vial from Anderson’s hand and danced away. “Come on Andy, let’s head to the room.”

“We’ll talk later. Howler. Raina,” Anderson said, eyes raking across Raina with marked familiarity. Anderson was old enough to be her father and his date’s grandfather. How cliché could the guy be?

Howler exited the hot tub first and snatched up a towel from one of the racks. Had anyone else shown up five minutes earlier, they would have gotten an eyeful. He couldn’t wait to get her behind closed doors. They had the rest of this night before life went back to normal. Once home, they’d be divorced and he’d never have sex with her again.

He held up the towel to block the view of the other two men. Raina climbed from the tub, head down, the red lace bra hugging her firm breasts. The straps of the skimpy thong underwear displayed her rounded hips to perfection and his earlier desire returned with a vengeance. Her ass had fit nicely in his hands and would again before the night was over.

She took the towel, still staring at the ground, turned her back to him and wrapped it around her chest.

Okay, maybe not. Snatching up their clothes, he followed her up the short path to the hotel room.

“Did that girl look legal to you?” Raina asked, concern underlying the question.

Anderson’s impromptu interruption still rattled him and by the way Raina was frowning, it upset her as well. Despite her stubborn streak, she was a kind, caring woman. His admiration for her rose a notch.

“She’s older than she looks, although if she’s a cokehead, it’s hard to tell,” he said, wishing the conversation hadn’t taken such a dark turn. What he wouldn’t give to roll back the clock to the moments before Anderson showed up and jacked up their little lust fest.

“Anderson should be ashamed of himself, but I can guarantee you, he’s not. What is it about rich, powerful men that make them think they can use women then discard them on a whim? It’s disgusting.”

Howler’s stomach plummeted even more. He extracted the room card from his pants pocket. The turn of conversation didn’t bode well for the activities he had planned. Opening the door, he allowed her to enter first. Throwing his suit onto the chair by the door, he took her dress from her hands, and slipped his arms about her waist. “Yes, it’s disgusting, but not all men in the industry are like Anderson or Miller.”

She put a hand on his chest. Her lips were swollen from his earlier kisses and he wanted to take her bottom lip between his teeth but the expression on her face spoke volumes. Determination lit her eyes, confirming his worse suspicions. “I never said you were.”

Unbelievable. Once again, she was accusing him of being on par with Miller. “I never said I was either but you the hell just did.”

She raised one arched brow and stepping out of his embrace, walked to the bathroom, separating herself by more than distance. “I never said you were like Miller. That’s all on you. This is a temporary marriage and what happened, should have never progressed as far as it did.”

“But it did happen,” Howler snapped, following close behind. He was getting tired of her veiled innuendo. He was as flawed as the next guy but he respected women and had always treated her well. Yet she still thought the worst of him.

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