Page 29 of My Billionaire Casino Boss

Feeling suddenly open, I decide to share my own feelings. “You know, ever since the casino started doing well, I’ve felt…aimless,” I admit, my gaze fixed on the ceiling. “It’s weird, right, but I miss the thrill of a challenge. Of the pressure of knowing it could all crumble at any moment. Now it feels…easy. God, I sound like such a jerk.”

I expect her to laugh, but she doesn’t. She turns to look at me, her sweet eyes filled with understanding. “Maybe you need to find a new challenge,” she suggests, her voice thoughtful.

Her words resonate with me, and I find myself considering them. Maybe she’s right. Maybe I do need a new challenge. “You might be right,” I say, turning to look at her. “I’ll think about it.”

We’re silent for a while, and then I turn to look at her. “Will you stay?” I ask, surprising myself. Lily just nods, and with her body curled up against mine, I’m more content than I’ve ever been.

fourteen

Morning Madness - Lily

Iwakeuptangledin Thomas’s sheets, and for a second, I panic. What if he regrets what we did? But then I look at him, and he’s already awake, smiling at me.

“Hey,” he says, his voice gravelly with sleep.

“Hi.”

He moves closer to me, and I can already feel the electricity sparking between us. He kisses my forehead, then my lips, and the sensation sends a shiver down my spine. His hands slide down my body as he deepens the kiss, sending waves of pleasure through me. Already, he knows how to touch me in a way that sends sparks of pleasure through me, and I moan softly against his lips.

We make love slowly this time, savoring every sensation, feeling, and sound. His hands find their way around my curves as if they were made for them; his lips whisper sweet nothings in my ear as he moves inside me with an easy rhythm that I wouldn’t have expected to feel so natural this soon.

When we finish, I reluctantly pull myself away to take a shower and get ready for work. We both need to be at the casino in an hour.

I step out of the shower, wrapping a towel around my body and another around my hair. The smell of something burning wafts into the bathroom, and I frown, stepping into the hallway.

“Thomas?” I call out, following the smell to the kitchen.

There he is, standing in front of the stove, a spatula in his hand and a look of concentration on his face. He’s trying to flip an egg, but it’s sticking to the pan, the edges blackened.

“Thomas,” I say, trying to hide my amusement. “What are you doing?”

He turns to look at me, a sheepish grin on his face. “I’m trying to make breakfast,” he admits. “But I think I burned the eggs.”

I laugh, walking over to him and taking the spatula from his hand. “Here, let me,” I say, flipping the egg with ease. “You’re not used to cooking, are you?”

He shrugs, leaning against the counter and watching me. “Not really,” he admits. “But I wanted to do something nice for you.”

I smile at him, touched by his gesture. “Well, thank you,” I say, turning off the stove and plating the eggs. “Even if they are a little crispy.”

Just as we sit down to eat, Thomas’s phone rings. He picks it up, frowning at the caller ID. “It’s Eric,” he says, answering the call. I look at him with wide eyes and make a series of nonsensical gestures I hope he interprets as “Donottell my brother I’m here.”

His expression changes from confusion to anger in a matter of seconds. “You did what?” he yells into the phone, standing up from the table.

I freeze, my fork halfway to my mouth. What the hell is going on?

Thomas hangs up the phone, running a hand through his hair in frustration. “Eric announced ourengagementto the media last night,” he says, looking at me with a mix of anger and apology in his eyes.

I feel my heart drop. “What? Why would he do that?”

Thomas shakes his head, looking just as confused as I feel. “I don’t know,” he says. “But we need to figure out what we’re going to do.”

So much for getting to the casino on time. I call in sick, and we spend the rest of the morning on the phone, yelling at Eric. He doesn’t ask why we’re suddenly in the same room, and I hope he’s too distracted by my wrath to think about it. I try ordering him to call off the announcement, but it’s too late. There’s no taking it back.

As we sit in the aftermath of the chaos, the dread threatens to suffocate me. This was supposed to be a simple deception, a way to get Hillary off Thomas’s back. Now, it’s turned into something much bigger, something much more real.

And I’m not sure if we can handle it.

We meet Eric for lunch at a swanky downtown restaurant. I’m still furious with him, but I’ve calmed down somewhat. I need to keep a clear head if we’re going to figure out how to navigate this mess.

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