“It’s a stain,” she explained. “The makeup artist said it wouldn’t come off unless I get mauled.”
As he stared at her lips, his expression grew dark once more. With so much focused attention, her body responded in kind. “Well, I’ll maul you later and see if I can’t nibble the stain off.”
After a few rushed kisses, they gathered up their things and left, making their way to the Escalade waiting out front. As they passed through the main hall, so close to the casino, Kate realized she didn’t hold her breath anymore while surrounded by the cigarette smoke. She’d become almost accustomed to it. The idea bothered her, though she said nothing to Liam.
Once outside, she took note of the spot on the sidewalk where she’d conducted her protests. It seemed like an aeon ago. Where had that woman gone? She’d never been the sort of woman to play “dress up,” to fritter away her evenings at society events.
Had she already forgotten who she was?
Guilt made the acids in her stomach bubble and she swallowed a sudden bad taste. Shehadforgotten. And here she stood, dressed in a lavish gown bought by the man she’d thought she hated less than two weeks ago. If someone had told her then she’d be sleeping with Liam Doyle, she would have thought them unhinged.
Maybe she was the unhinged one.
She tried to ignore the gut-wrenchingmea culpasounding in her brain as they drove to the Governor’s Ball at the Venetian Hotel. She wondered how the fates had led her to be a guest at two casinos in the same week. After years of avoiding them like her own personal plague, she couldn’t seem to avoid them now.
The atmosphere at the ball didn’t help. The conference room at the Venetian was stunning but someone, in their wisdom, had decided to make the evening’s theme “Monte Carlo Night.” Talk about redundant. Everywhere she looked she saw images of dice and poker chips and money signs.
It was enough to make her hurl in her new sequined clutch.
Several members of the press made a beeline for Liam the moment they entered the ballroom. He evaded them and steered Kate toward an unending table laden with all manner of sweets and fingers foods and a massive chocolate fountain. He picked up two small plates shaped like poker chips and handed one to her. She took it but put it back down on the table.
“Aren’t you hungry?” Liam reached for a cracker piled high with pink caviar and playfully held it up to her. “Open up.”
Despite her nerves, which ratcheted up a notch each second, she opened her mouth and accepted the cracker. She kept a bashful hand over her mouth as she chewed, and then wiped the corner of her mouth with a napkin.
He grinned as she swallowed, leaning in to whisper, “You’re sexy when you eat. Now I’ll be dreaming of feeding you all night long.” His tongue darted out and he moistened his lips. “Or maybe I’ll do something about it.”
“All I did was eat a cracker.”
“I know. Wait until I feed you my cock.”
Kate gasped, hoping the person next to them hadn’t overheard. Liam chuckled, clearly unconcerned.
“Doyle, aren’t you going to get this pretty lady a drink? She looks parched.”
Kate looked at the newcomer, a tall man with buzzed blond hair and sex in his smile.
Liam shook the man’s hand. “If I leave her alone with you, you’ll carry her away. Kate Callender, meet Alex Markov. He’s a total shark so make sure he doesn’t lure you into any dark corners.”
“Don’t tempt me, my friend.” Markov reached for her hand and kissed it. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Kate.”
Under other circumstances, the pleasure might be all hers. Markov, blessed with an intimidating build, much like Liam, oozed an old-world charm despite his youthful appearance. “Likewise. How do you know each other?”
“Alex and I go way back. We apprenticed at the same building company together. He headed north. Owns a few nightclubs in New York.”
“They pale in comparison to your casinos,” said Markov.
Liam grinned. “You’re such a bullshitter. Don’t listen to a word he says, Kate. He acts all modest, but contractors cringe when they have to go into a meeting with him. He makes them shit their pants.”
Markov’s eyes narrowed, but other than that he seemed content with the description. “My standards are no less exacting than your own.”
“True. So what brings you back from New York?”
“I’ve been scoping out potential sites. Thinking of doing some work here in Vegas.”
Kate listened as the pair talked shop for a few minutes. So, Alex Markov knew Liam as a young man. She might have to corner him and see if she could pry some information loose.
As they chatted, Alex glanced at her direction, his lips curled in clear interest. Despite their obvious friendship and his professional regard for the other man, Liam stood close to her, hand locked about her waist, a signal to his friend she was taken. His possessiveness was sweet and made her want to curl into him.
