Page 32 of Vegas Baby

Raina turned on the bathroom light and the towel started to slip. She reached for the edge and held it over her breasts. He could still see her half-naked body in the mirror, and a distinct red spot on her neck. In his enthusiasm, he’d given her a hickey, another throwback to his teenage years.

She squared her shoulders and nodded. “Yes, and it was nice, but it wasn’t smart on either of our parts. Unlike you, I’m not big on one-night stands.”

“Who said anything about a one-night stand?” You did. He pushed the contrary thought aside. Technically it wasn’t a one-night stand since he’d slept with her a few nights before.

“Are you suggesting something more permanent?” she asked, her eyes widening, panic in their depths.

“Hell no, I—” he snapped his jaw shut. He had no valid argument to the contrary. One thing was crystal clear, he still wanted to have sex with her. Really, really bad. Coming in her hand in the pool was the appetizer but he craved the entrée and the dessert. Except he did have some pride and his pride told him to walk away.

“That’s what I thought.” She clutched the towel tighter, her knuckles turning white, obstinate chin raised.

Why the hell was she mad at him? He was the injured party here. “In the pool, you agreed to one last fling.”

“No, you said one last fling. I didn’t say anything. I was, well, I was distracted.” She glanced over his shoulder, not looking at him.

Time to take the gloves off if he ever hoped to win this round. “By me. You were distracted by me, and the feeling was mutual. Come on, Raina, admit it. We have good chemistry.”

“We’re also getting a divorce because we,” she pointed her finger at her chest before turning it on him, “don’t work. We want two completely different things from life.”

“I’m not asking for a life-long commitment. It’s just sex.” He’d had the hots for a specific woman before but something about Raina set his body on fire. Either it was one hell of a hormonal explosion or physiological or both. She was off limits which made her unobtainable, thus more desirable?

“Like I told you before, I don’t do one-night stands. I don’t recall the night we got married, so technically for me, it doesn’t count,” Raina said, her low voice threaded with apology.

“It counts. We had sex, multiple times if I recall, which I’m starting to do more and more.”

She snapped her head up, face paling at an alarming rate. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Shit, wrong thing to say. His fantasy of a night spent between the sheets dissolved into pure wishful thinking. It was more than apparent nothing further would happen between them. “Let me rephrase that, I have impressions of us and those impressions are provoking, even better than the pool.”

She held up a staying hand, shaking her head and glaring at him. “I don’t want to hear about it. I can’t remember it and I don’t want to remember. It was a mistake, I thought we were both in agreement.”

Howler rocked back on his heels. He wasn’t going to accept the role of bad guy in this little scenario. “Ignoring it doesn’t make it any less of a fact. We have chemistry, admit it.”

When she remained mute, he crossed his arms, determined to get an answer from her. “I’m not moving from this doorway until you admit it.”

“You. Are. So. Annoying,” she said, stubborn chin jutted out. Dark hair curled about her face, color flooding her cheeks.

He curled his hands into fists, his desire for her warring with his own outrage. “Admit it, Raina.”

“Fine, there’s chemistry between us, but it doesn’t change anything. You’re still the opposition and we’re still getting a divorce.” Her cold tone cut deeper than it should.

Exhaling, he forced his fingers to relax. She still considered him the opposition. Which he was, and he’d do well to keep it foremost in his mind.

Raina tilted her head, the contained lawyer mask back on. “We came here with a mutual goal, get Veer signed, and we’ve accomplished our goal. Now it’s time to get back to the real world. I’m sorry if I put a damper on your plans, but it’ll be better all-around if we simply let things go back to normal.”

“Yeah, good luck with that.” She was pulling away, putting an invisible barrier between them and the rebel in him protested. Except there was no alternative save to stay married. An incredulous bark of laugher at the very notion burst out before he could stop it.

“You’re such an asshole,” she said, taking a step back and slamming the door shut.

He might be an asshole but at least he was being honest about his position, which was more than he could say about her. He hadn’t imagined her response, the sexy, growling moans she emitted with each stroke of his tongue.

It was a good thing the air conditioner was on high and he was still wearing his wet underwear, anything to cool his libido. He turned on his heel, moving back into the bedroom proper. The maid service had made the bed and the pristine white comforter looked more jail-like than welcoming. Stripping off his underwear, he dried off and got dressed in workout clothes. If he couldn’t have sex with her, he’d hit the gym, anything to distract his dick from the wet body on the other side of the door.

Chapter Twelve

“You two were bloody brilliant.” Anaya grabbed Raina’s arm, squeezing her elbow. Veer stood behind his wife, grinning broadly. They looked exceedingly happy, the complete opposite of how Raina felt at that moment.

“You’ll have to be more specific,” Howler said, shifting one leather-shod foot, his fingers flying over his ever-present phone.

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