Page 66 of Cruel Redemption

“Mmmhmm.” She didn’t believe me.

I straightened my spine and tried to shake out the wrinkles in the silk Luka had made with his fingers. He offered me his arm.

“Shall we? We have a casino to open, baby.”

I grinned at him. “Carpe noctem.”

“Always.”

* * *

After a brief ribbon-cutting ceremony, a toast at the bar, and rolling of the dice at the craps table the Crescent Tower was open. Luka and I moved from patron to guest, toasting with champagne. We thanked everyone for coming. We sat for a few rounds of poker. Laughed with the casino commissioner. Raffled a car for charity. I felt as if I was floating the entire night.

Barbara spotted me in between blackjack hands.

“This is an amazing night.” She hugged me. She was wearing a glittery black dress. I’d never seen her with an ounce of sparkle on in her life.

“You look beautiful, Barbara.”

She laughed. “I’m just happy to be out without the children. Although, they said to tell you hi and Charlotte wants pictures of everything.”

I laughed. “Of course she does.” We surveyed the guests mingling, the drinks being poured at the bar, and the people swaying on the dancefloor. “It’s pretty incredible, right?”

“It is. And then some. Thank God, we got that legislation passed.” She winked.

“Our friend in the governor’s office seems to be agreeable to anything we want to accomplish at Noctem Global.” Anthony Gardner wasn’t as easy to run out of Louisiana as Anna Novikov was. Our options were to either plant a scandal and run him out or use the threat to leverage the legislation we needed him to pass. As a result, Luka and I had complete control of the treasure tech and the Crescent Towers was open.

“How are you Barbara? Looking lovely.” Luka joined us, kissing Barbara on each cheek. She grinned at him. He had to know the affect he had on women.

“I’m having a marvelous time. I’m going to the roulette table.”

“Good.” He faced me. I knew that look.

“Have a good time, Barbara. And thank you for getting us to tonight.”

She squeezed my hand. “You two are an incredible team.”

“What is it?” I asked Luka.

He rubbed the side of his jaw. “There’s something we need to do.”

I grimaced. “Now? The party isn’t over yet.” The bad was about to start their third and final set.

“After this dance,” he added. “Dance with me.”

I smiled, taking his hand. Luka walked me into the middle of the floor. I wondered what we looked like to the outside observer. I knew we were a stunning couple. But could they see past that? Did they know the bond we had? The history. The layers of pain and anguish. Could they see the beauty in how we had healed each other? Did they know how we burned for each other? Was it as obvious to everyone else as it was to me?

“What are you thinking about?” His hand pressed into my low back. We swayed to the saxophone.

“That I’m happy.” I met his eyes. I felt dizzy with love like the first time we danced at Katya’s engagement party. Was that really five years ago?

“About?”

I pinched my lips together. “You know exactly why I’m happy.”

He dipped me, making me lose my breath. He winked. “Well, tonight’s not over.”

“The honeymoon suite,” I replied.

---