She looked up. “Did you go?”
“I wanted to tell him to fuck himself and to give her the same message. But I guess I was curious. What could she possibly want with me? As much as I despised her, I knew it would always bother me if I didn’t go. So I swallowed my feelings and visited her.” He closed his eyes for a moment as he remembered the scene. “It was strange to see her, looking so small, in a hospital gown. She’d always been a stunner before. When she saw me, she began to cry. Nothing surprised me more than to learn the ice queen had emotions after all.”
“What did she say?”
“She apologized. Told me God had cursed her for her cruelty by making her barren. She never had that family she wanted so badly. And after a few years of trying, her wealthy husband paid her off and divorced her.” He took a few deep breaths. “Shauna handed me a fat envelope filled with money. Said it was her divorce settlement, that she’d never touched it. She wanted me to have it. Because she hadn’t supported me in life, she wanted to die knowing she was finally supporting me.”
“That’s amazing.”
“No, it’s awful, Kate. Because you know what I did? I took it! I took her blood money and I left. I invested it, and the next year I began plans for my first casino. Shauna’s money paid for my business. And I think I’ve been sick about it ever since.”
Waves of nausea and guilt poured over him. For a moment, Liam thought he’d have to toss Kate onto the bed so he could run into the bathroom and hurl his self-loathing into the bowl. He bit back his feelings, as he’d been doing so effectively for years, and managed to keep it all down.
He must have still looked sick because Kate ran her hand up and down his back, rubbing and soothing his muscles. Perfect. The idea of her seeing him at his worst was as appealing as a vomit popsicle.
Kate massaged the top of his shoulder. “Liam, you did nothing wrong in accepting the money. She wanted to make amends, and I guess it was the only way she could do so.”
“Some days I feel like my business is built on a foundation of shame.”
“It’s not. You built up your business. You are the success behind it, no one else. Plenty of people in your shoes would have climbed into a hole and died. But you turned your life around, Liam Doyle. You became a success. You should be proud.”
He grinned, no longer feeling like a helpless kid. “You know the reason I decided to build casinos is because of the money they make. I wanted to know that if I ever had a family, they’d want for nothing. So I studied the competition and recognized a lot of gaps in the market. I tailored my properties to cater to those gaps. Now I can’t keep people away. But does it make me happy? I don’t know anymore.”
She grabbed his hand and drew whorls on his palm. “Well, despite how I feel about casinos, I’m woman enough to admit you’ve created amazing hotels. The best on the Strip.”
“The best on the Strip. That meant something to me a few years ago. But now? Who the hell knows? Kate, since I opened Vice, I just haven’t been myself. I haven’t been motivated. And I’m sick to death thinking I might end up being the failure she always knew I’d be.” He rubbed his chest, trying to erase the pains that always seemed present.
“There’s nothing about you that says failure to me. You are an amazing man,” she said, sighing. “And I want you so much it makes me crazy.”
To hear her say the words almost erased all his pain. The flood of emotion made his cock throb. He had to have her again. Now.
“Liam, you have to tell me about your time on the streets. I won’t stop wondering and worrying.”
Raw need suppressed his sigh of frustration. “Just let it go, Kate.”
“But…”
“No buts. You know everything that’s fit to print.” He reached for the tie on her robe, untied it, and removed the garment. He gazed at her beautiful body, the gorgeous curves which provided him with the best solace he’d ever known. He removed his own robe. “Just let me be with you. That’s all I want right now.”
She stared at him, her face crinkled with uncertainty, but she lay back on the bed and held out her hand.
Liam situated himself between her comforting thighs, and together they forgot the world.
Liam shut the suite door after accepting the tray of room service breakfast he’d ordered. She huddled on the couch, wrapped in her robe, and grinned at him as he brought it inside. “I’ve never been so happy to see a tray of food,” she admitted. “I’m starving because of how you’ve used my body all night long.”
He didn’t say a word but offered her a heated look and deposited the tray on a table.
She tightened her robe and tripped over to the table, her bare feet loving the feel of the thick carpet. She moved next to him and put a hand on his shoulder. “Hungry?”
His grin didn’t reach his eyes. “I guess.”
“You should be. I know I worked up an appetite.”
Again, he said nothing, turning instead to the television in the corner. The morning news was on, but he stared at the report as if he wasn’t absorbing a word.
Kate eyed him. He’d been strangely quiet this morning. She feared their talk had scared him off a little. He’d still been affectionate upon waking, holding her close, kissing her as if she were a fragile doll. To see him retreat now scared her more than she cared to admit, and she felt the need to coax him back out of his shell, if she could.
Their talk had scared her, as well. Her dream last night had been colored with images of abandoned children and life on the streets. What had happened to him out there? She knew the question would continue to plague her.
