Page 23 of Vex
"Ladies, Lord Vex." His smile was practiced, professional. "Ms. Daxkar, your private game is ready when you are."
His eyes lingered on Luisa in a way that made something cold and dangerous unfurl in Vex's chest.
The man's gaze was too intense, too searching, as if he was trying to place her face in his memory. Beneath him, Luisa went rigid, her fingers tightening in his hair as if she was fighting the urge to hide her face against his shoulder.
"Wonderful," Maera said, rising. "Luisa, darling, you simply must join us. It's ladies only tonight, I'm afraid, Lord Vex. Allow me to steal your … woman." She left just enough pause before the last word to make it sound unseemly.
"There is plenty of room for Luisa," Brant agreed with a strange note in his voice.
Luisa's entire body went even more rigid, every muscle coiled with tension.
Vex's hand settled on Luisa's thigh, fingers splaying possessively across the silk of her dress. "No."
It came out rougher than intended, carrying an edge of command that had nothing to do with their cover story.
"I have uses for her that don't involve cards."
Luisa's breath hitched against his neck.
Lady Eleyna's laugh was like breaking crystal. "How delightfully savage. You were exactly right about him, Mae."
Smoke curled from Vex's nostrils before he could stop it.
The tension ratcheted up. Maera and Eleyna exchanged a look, while Tallyer continued to watch Luisa with that unsettling intensity. Vex's dragon was barely leashed now, the part of him that wanted to unleash his fire and burn away anything that threatened the woman in his arms.
The civilized veneer he'd maintained his entire life felt paper-thin, ready to shatter at the slightest provocation.
"Perhaps another time," Maera said smoothly. Her gaze remained as calculating as ever.
If anyone was going to see through them, it was her.
As the women departed, Tallyer lingered for a moment longer, his attention still fixed on Luisa with an intensity that made Vex want to bare his teeth.
"Enjoy your evening," the pit boss said finally and walked off.
Vex didn't like the final look the man gave. It was too much like a hunter sizing up his prey.
And Vex was the only hunter that Luisa needed.
The moment they were alone, Vex stood, lifting Luisa with him. "We're leaving."
In the elevator back to their suite, Luisa remained pressed against his side, her scent filling his senses and making his control fray. Every time the elevator stopped at another floor, he found himself pulling her closer, as if someone might try to take her away.
When the door to their suite opened, Vex growled.
The attendant was puttering around the main room with comfortable casualness. He wasn't even pretending to be discreet anymore.
Vex's temper, already frayed from the encounter downstairs, finally snapped.
Even in his penthouse, he was playing a role. The winner claiming his prize. The dragon lord who took what he wanted.
But it didn't feel like acting.
The line between performance and reality had blurred beyond recognition.
His hands found her waist, pulling her flush against him as his mouth crashed down on hers. The kiss was claiming, possessive, designed to leave no doubt in anyone's mind about who she belonged to.
But beneath the calculated display, something far more honest was burning. His cock was hard and insistent against her hip, his body responding to her nearness with an intensity that had nothing to do with their cover story. The attendant was forgotten, the mission was forgotten, everything was forgotten except the woman in his arms and the desperate need to make her his in every way that mattered.
