After a few seconds, Lia found what she was looking for. She filled a glass with chilled water from the fridge dispenser, and swallowed several large gulps before leaving the tumbler on the drainer. As she leaned against the granite work surface she noticed the large, ornate clock on the kitchen wall. It was four in the morning. Just what was she going to do for the next hour, day, or even month?
Lia stretched and yawned, then commented loudly.
“Goddamn it. What the hell am I doing here?”
Then she remembered the hot sex she’d just had with Jake, and laughed out loud. “Guess it’s not all bad. But boy, does that guy have one serious attitude problem.” The nerve of the man, demanding she be his sex slave, until the house was sold and her debt repaid. She’d given him a month to contact her, but she’d heard nothing from him. Then, almost unbelievably, just as she was about to catch her flight to Florida, he’d turned up at the airport.
“The arrogance of the guy,” she muttered to herself.
As Lia made her way back through the large living area, she was drawn once more to the incredible view. She stopped and stared, drinking in the scene. Her thoughts tumbled from her lips. “You may have a wonderful home, Mr. Fancy Casino Owner, but you need a lesson in how to treat a lady.”
“Care to teach me?” Jake’s gruff voice growled through the darkness.
A scream left her lips, and she spun in his direction. She could just make out his masculine shape, almost hidden by shadow. His eyes mischievously glinted from the moonlight streaming through the window. He switched on a lamp, flooding the room in soft light. Jake wore just a pair of black sweatpants. His chest was naked, and temptingly sexy. “Jake, I—I thought you’d driven into Vegas.”
“I couldn’t sleep. I’m sorry if I startled you, but the views are more spectacular with the lights off. I guessed you didn’t see me when you went through to the kitchen. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have said what you did.”
Lia swallowed hard. She’d said some unkind things about him. True, but unkind all the same. “You heard?”
“Yes.”
Her and her big mouth. “What are you going to do?” she asked nervously, fearing the punishment he may administer for her disrespectful talk.
Jake tapped a finger against his lips in quiet contemplation as he watched her squirm. His eyes penetrated her from head to toe, making an intense shiver travel down her spine. “Nothing for now.”
“Oh?” Her brows knitted together. “I thought you might want to discipline me.”
“I’m minded to, princess, but I’m feeling benevolent at the moment.” Jake patted the empty seat beside him. “Come over here, Lia. We need to talk.”
Slightly wary, she walked across and joined him on the leather sofa. “Talk? What do you want to talk about, Jake? Can’t it wait? It’s four in the morning.”
“This million bucks you owe me.”
Lia felt her shoulders stiffen. “Oh, that again,” she said in a derisory tone. “I know all about the money, Jake. I’ll pay you back as soon as I have the check from the house sale. You know that.”
“That’s precisely the reaction I was afraid of—”
“I can’t do any more until then. I’m—”
Jake placed a hand on her arm. “If you’ll just let me speak, Lia. I think I may have the solution.”
“We already know what the solution is, Jake. I pay you the money, and then we go our separate—”
“Lia, for fuck’s sake, stop talking.” His eyes held hers, a piercing stare. “If you interrupt me again, I’ll put you across my knee and give you a bare ass spanking right this minute.”
The idea of Jake administering a bare ass spanking made her squirm on the sofa. He was incredibly strong, and his hands were large.
“Why, Lia, I do believe you’d like me to spank you.”
She petulantly folded her arms across her chest, and slumped back in the sofa. As she looked at him, she raised her eyebrows. “You’re mistaken.”
Jake grinned. “No, I’m not.” He shook his head in irritation. “But that’s beside the point. I’ve decided to forget about the money, and I want you to do the same.”
“You mean you don’t want it back?” She found it hard to believe what he was saying. Surely there had to be a catch?
“No. Listen, princess. I’m a gambling man, and life is all about chance. So I’m gonna lay my cards on the table.” He stroked a hand down the side of her face, and possessively tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “I like you, Lia. Truth be known I more than like you, yet I’ve put you in this impossible situation. The money will always come between us. Therefore, I’m writing it off.”
She opened her mouth to speak, but he placed the tip of his index finger to her lips. “Shhh, I’m sorry I’ve put you in this situation. I don’t want to force you to be with me, but by using the money as a bargaining tool, that’s exactly what I’ve done. So, when I leave for work in a couple of hours’ time, you have a decision to make. Stay or leave, it’s entirely up to you. I’d like you to stay because you want to. You’re right, princess. I’ve got an attitude problem all right, and need to learn how to treat a lady,” he quoted the exact words she’d used when she hadn’t realized he was there.
“So all your talk about having me arrested. That was just a bluff, right?”
Jake gently stroked the side of her face. “When I saw you at the airport ready to fly to Florida, I knew I had to do something. I wanted to be with you. So I acted irrationally and selfishly by using the money to make you come back with me.”
Lia could certainly understand his motivation, even if she couldn’t condone his method. Sometimes, snap decisions had to be made. She guessed Jake’s personality had spurred him into action. After all he was a gambling man. His cool blue eyes held hers. She felt their connection tenfold.
Christ, he wants me. This beautiful guy sitting beside me actually wants me. He doesn’t care about the money. How wonderful is that?
“But I waited for you, Jake. When you didn’t call I thought—”
“I know, I know, princess. I’ve been a selfish prick and I’m sorry, but I had to work everything through first. Things were complicated. I couldn’t get you out of my head. Everything about you drove me crazy, princess. Your eyes, your hair, the way you smell. Everything. It’s because of you that I managed to return here at all. I’ve been living in limbo for three years. That’s no life for a man like Jake Benetti. I want another chance at love, Lia, but only if you want it, too. I don’t want to force you to be here against your will. And from what you were mumbling out in the kitchen, that’s exactly how you feel.”
Now she felt guilty. He wanted to move on. He wanted a new start in life and she did, too. “Jake, I’m sorry you overheard me talking, but that’s all it was, talk. I guess I felt trapped, especially as I didn’t know what you wanted from me. But let’s be honest, you can’t just write off a million bucks.”
“The money’s not important, Lia. What’s important is a fresh chance, at a new relationship. Think of it this way. Your father lost twice that amount over the years at the tables. I really think I’ve had every dime owed me.”
“Jake, I don’t know what to say. I—”
“Don’t say anything just yet.” He held her hands in his, before gently kissing her lips. “We’re on the same wavelength, Lia. You must know that. We have the same sexual tastes, and we connect on an emotional level, too. We’ve both lost someone we loved, so we understand grief better than just about anyone. We each know how the other feels, princess.” He pulled her into his arms and she snuggled against his bare chest. “Let’s leave it as an open invitation, Lia. That way there’s no pressure.” He stroked his fingers through her hair, soothing her senses as she listened to his steady, comforting heartbeat. “The odds of you still being here when I return home tonight are fifty-fifty. Those are exactly my kinda odds.”
Chapter Twenty
The powerful headlights of the Mustang guided Jake back up the winding ridge road to the house he’d once loved. A house he could love again if Lia were to share it with him. Throughout the day at the casino, his thoughts kept returning to her. Would she still be there when he finally walked through the front door? He hoped more than anything else in the world that she would.
Finally, he turned the car onto the gravel driveway and killed the lights. His heart sunk as he stared at his home. Not a single interior light showed. There was no indication whatsoever of life. Was Lia inside? One thought alone kept him positive. Perhaps she was enjoying the night view of Vegas from the living area. Maybe that was why the place was in total darkness.
He slid from the car and strode to the front door. When he stepped over the threshold, the alarm began to sound. In that instant he knew she wasn’t there. It was a bitter blow to find she’d left, and his heart broke. Like a wild, untamed bird, as soon as she could, she’d fled the nest. The only consolation was he’d set her free himself.