Chapter 4
Brogan
Las Vegas.
The city of ultimate sin.
My kind of place.
As I lifted my glass, it would seem there wasn’t a pair of eyes at the roulette table that wasn’t watching every single freaking thing I did. The other players were running out of patience with me.
Fuck ‘em.
I would take all the damn time I needed.
As the dealer’s pinched face came into view, I resisted lifting my middle finger just because I could. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d stepped foot in a casino. Gambling was an art. It was one I’d been good at for years.
I stood holding the dice in my hand, rolling them between my fingers as I stared at the roulette wheel. I’d lost more than I’d won over the course of an hour, which pissed me off. I’d once been a damn good player, able to beat the odds.
Maybe the difference was the fact I’d spent the last several years languishing in a brutal prison. The odds were still against me. Time off for good behavior meant shit. I would have the stigma of a felony crime dangling over my head for the rest of my life.
A wave of rage tore through me, ugly visions almost derailing my determination to shove aside the brutality of incarceration.
“Sir, if you’re going to bet, you need to do it now.
” The voice of the pain in the ass dealer echoed, his stern tone riling me more than it should.
I was here to have a good time, the unexpected gift of four days of luxury something I planned on indulging in.
And no pompous pimply faced pipsqueak was going to derail my plans.
Dice roulette was my thing, a game I’d played for as long as I could remember. The lady wheel had always been good to me.
Until now.
I lifted my head, giving him the kind of look that said without words what would happen to the asshole if he bothered me again. The other players at the table, all dressed glamorously for the masquerade party, shrank away, realizing the kind of man I was.
I was the only one in the room who’d refused to wear a costume or even a mask, laughing at the hostess when she’d tried to stop me from entering the casino.
No one would ever prevent me from indulging in whatever proclivities I desired ever again.
I glanced down at my chips and smirked. I had twenty thousand left of the fifty my buddy had left for me at the dealer stand.
It was good to have friends in high places. The thought made me smile.
I continued to shift the dice between my fingers, more apprehensive than I’d ever been before. This was play money, not even my own, but I was the kind of man who refused to lose. I blew on the dice again, my nerves on edge, my gut telling me all the effort meant shit.
“Sir. I need to ask you to place a bet or hand over the dice.”
The brutal man inside of me was about ready to slap my hand around his throat, beating his head against the felted table when I felt a tickling sensation against my skin.
“Why don’t you allow me?” the soft, seductive female voice said from beside me. She entangled her fingers in mine, pursing her lips before pulling open my hand.
The mysterious masked woman had hair the color of gold kissed by the sun, her long curls floating across her shoulders dipping all the way to her waist. Dressed in a body hugging, gloriously red satin dress that accentuated everything God had given her, it didn’t matter that her face was covered by a glittering black mask.
I concentrated on her plump red lips as she dragged her tongue across them seconds before lowering her head, blowing across the dice.
It had been so damn long since I’d been around a beautiful creature that my primal needs almost took over. I wanted to drag her out of the room and fuck her like some savage beast in the wild.
But I curtailed my desires for now. The surest way of getting my ass tossed out of the fine establishment was fucking one of the other guests across a craps table.
“For good luck. I think you might be surprised,” she purred, the sound like smooth silk. Her words alone burned a hole deep within me, the tone creating a hard throbbing in my cock.
I gave her a single nod before wrapping my fingers around the dice, prepared to toss them. When she snagged my forearm, digging her long, crimson nails into my skin, my balls tightened. “Always bet on red. And by the way, one is my lucky number.”
One.
She took a deep breath, pulling the flute of champagne in her other hand to her lips.
The scent of her exotic perfume was intoxicating, much more so than the expensive glass of scotch I’d pined for.
I cocked my head, allowing my heated gaze to slowly shift all the way down to the floor.
The lovely woman was gorgeous, her voluptuous breasts and rounded hips making my mouth water.
Chuckling, I figured what the fuck. I shoved the entire thirty thousand I had left to red, number one. The people remaining at the table gasped. They were used to ten-dollar bids from worthless fucks who thought they’d find a better way of life in mastering the art of gambling.
I knew better.
“Red. Number one. All of it.”
Even the dealer looked at me like I had two heads.
Finally, the fucker nodded. “No more bets.”
As he spun the wheel, I was able to feel her weighted stare on the table, her breath skipping. I dared to take a second look, desire that had been shoved into a padlocked box roaring to the surface.
The damn ball tumbled around the wheel several times. I found it interesting I couldn’t care less. Yet I watched as the ball shifted then flipped into slot number one, a feeling of elation rushed through my bones.
The group around me cheered, clapping as if I’d won a three-hundred-million-dollar lottery.
I took a sip of my drink as the dealer shoved additional chips in front of me.
“Go again?” he asked.
All I needed to do was nod.
“Place your bets.” The dealer was more animated than before.
As before, the mysterious girl dragged my hand into hers, blowing on the dice. The odds of her hitting another homerun were slim and nil, but I was a betting man. What the hell? I shoved everything on the number she whispered in my ear.
And I won again.
And a third time.
At this point, a crowd had formed around the table.
When she performed her magic for a fourth time, a laugh formed in my throat.
As the dealer pushed my winnings across the table, dozens of the cheap plastic chips fell to the floor.
“Have them added to my account. I’m finished here,” I stated, grabbing my drink and turning in her direction.
The fact that the mysterious woman who’d helped me win a solid two hundred fifty k had disappeared pissed me off more than it should have.
I didn’t come to Sin City to fuck, at least so I’d told myself.
The hope was I’d heal, enough so I’d become a functioning member of society again. That wasn’t likely to happen, but I’d accepted the gift from an old friend anyway, determined to enjoy myself. After all, the man owed me for keeping his ass out of jail.
With the voucher for the chips and the drink in my hand as I left the casino, I realized I was constantly scanning the room in hopes of locating the buxom blonde again. Jesus. I was pathetic.
As soon as I left the massive ballroom, I thought I caught a glimpse of her just before she rounded a corner. What was left of the rational side of me insisted on calling it a night, refusing to allow my needs to surface.
I took long strides toward her, heading down a long hallway leading to God knows where. I caught single additional glimpse of her, even noticing what appeared to be a mischievous grin on her face before she rounded another corner.
When I reached the hallway, I heard her sensual laugh seconds before she popped into an elevator, the door closing when I was within three feet.
Huffing, I stared at the numbers as the steel box shot up to the tenth floor.
Maybe the sexy filly was waiting for me outside her hotel room door.
A grin popped across my face as I slapped the ‘Up’ button.
At least I wasn’t forced to wait long before hearing the ping of a second elevator.
After sauntering inside, I leaned against the back wall, folding my arms. I could be playing with fire, but that’s all I’d known my entire life.
I closed my eyes briefly, visions from the past few months creating a wave of nasty anger. Hissing, I shook my head. I’d been advised by just about everyone to let the bullshit go, but there were two things I refused to tolerate in my life.
One: Lies.
Two: More lies.
I’d have my revenge, only I’d bide my time before striking. Meanwhile, a little carnal entertainment might keep my extreme hunger at bay.
When the elevator door opened, I wasn’t certain if I’d run into a dead end.
I walked out, staring down the empty hallway to the left.
Yep. I’d been ghosted. I felt it. As I started to shift my attention to the right, I heard the same subtle, yet provocative laugh.
There she was in all her beautiful crimson glory.
The girl blew me a kiss before disappearing.
I’ll be damned. The little woman was playing cat and mouse with me.
She had no idea who she was fucking with.
By this point, my cock was so full I could barely keep it in my pants, the pain of confinement agonizing as hell.
I polished off my drink, finding a cart full of dirty dishes and adding my glass to it.
Then I continued down the hallway, the sound of my boots thudding against the floor matching the rapid beating of my heart.
There was no real reason to be excited, other than until now, I’d never enjoyed any games, but the cat and mouse scenario was enticing.