Vegas, Baby: Complete Series

by Fiona Davenport

  “You look fucking amazing.” Becket came up and wrapped his arms around me. Our eyes briefly met in the mirror before I turned in his hold to stare up at him. “Ready to conquer the poker world?”

  I nodded. “Damn straight.”

  We walked hand-in-hand out of the room and to the elevator. “Sorry we had to rush this morning.” I traced my finger up his palm. “I promise to make it up to you later.”

  “You don’t need to apologize. I had to get up anyway since I’m dealing at the tournament. But we’ll add that thank you owe me to our celebration of your big win. Plan for a long night.” He winked at me right as the elevator doors slid open.

  I loved how confident he was of my capabilities, but I wasn’t quite so sure that I’d win this one. “There might not be anything to celebrate. It’s going to be so hard to concentrate, knowing that I could be sitting across from the person who shoved me in that closet.”

  Becket pulled me over to a corner and cupped my cheeks with his hands. “Don’t give that fuckhead another thought. You won’t be seeing him ever again, let alone playing in a tournament against him.”

  “I won’t?” I reached out to grab his arms and held on as relief coursed through my veins and made me a little weak in the knees.

  “Knox already tracked his ass down, beat the shit out of him for me because I didn’t want to leave you alone, and handed him over to the cops. By the time he was through with him, the motherfucker was more than willing to explain to the cops how he figured he’d be a shoo in to win with you out of the way. So he drugged you and tied you up in a closet to stop you from registering. With his confession, they won’t need you in court,” Becket explained.

  I wasn’t stunned that they’d found the guy so quickly considering the level of security at the Lennox. But knowing Becket placed my need for him—even while I was sleeping and might not have noticed he was gone—over his desire for retribution left me speechless. “Oh.”

  His thumbs swept over the perfect circle my lips formed. “I can’t wait to see these wrapped around my cock tonight.” I thought about getting a taste of him and my tongue darted out to wet them, making him groan. “Are you sure you need to win this tournament?”

  The reasons it’d been vital to me only a few short days ago no longer seemed quite as important now that Becket was in my life. My parents might never understand the life I’d chosen to lead, but he did. And it’s not like they didn’t still love me anyway. “As long as I have you, no.”

  His lips crashed down on mine, claiming my mouth in a deep kiss. When he finally lifted his head, I was seriously thinking about tugging him back into the elevator so we could head back to my suite. Before I could suggest it, he blew me away with his declaration. “That’s something you’ll never have to worry about. You’ve got me forever, sweetheart.”

  “Forever, huh? I like the sound of that.” I twined my arms around his neck.

  “Only like? I was thinking more along the lines of love.” My heart raced at the depth of feeling shining from his dark eyes. “Because I love you, Lia.”

  “I think I’ve loved you since you returned my hundred-dollar tip, but I just realized that’s what I felt when I wasn’t scared to be locked in that closet. Not when I knew you’d tear the world apart to find me.” I felt something cool slide onto my finger in the middle of my confession. When I glanced down to see what it was, I found a four karat, radiant cut diamond solitaire engagement ring on my hand. “Isn’t there a question that’s supposed to go with it?”

  “Marry me.”

  It was more of a demand than a request, but I wasn’t going to argue when I was getting what I wanted—a lifetime with the man I loved. “Yes.” I stared down at the ring and shook my head. “Nobody will doubt that I’m yours forever when they see this, that’s for sure.”

  He lifted my hand and kissed my finger just below where his diamond rested. “Go big or go home, right?”

  “Now that’s a motto I can get behind, especially when it comes to diamonds.”

  Becket looked up at the framed poster for the tournament on the wall. “And poker too, right?”

  “It’s how I’ve always played. My grandfather taught me that you’ve got to take big risks to earn even bigger rewards.”

  Becket tugged on my hand and led me towards where the tournament was being held. “I know you said you don’t need to win the tournament, but you still want it. Right?”

  Part of the reason I’d done so well was because of my competitive nature, and I’d never been one to back down from a challenge. “Yeah, of course I do.”

  “Then let’s get in there. You’ve got asses to kick and a tournament to win.”

  Almost eight hours later, that’s exactly what I did. But the thrill of winning the almost million dollar purse paled in comparison to having Becket at my side when I claimed it.

  Epilogue

  Becket

  “Sweetheart, I really don’t think it would be a good idea for you to play in the tournament this weekend.” I tried to make my tone soothing and not wince when she squeezed the fuck out of my hand.

  Lia bent over, one hand on her back and the other on her swollen belly as she groaned in pain. “We aren’t having this argument again. I’m playing, Becket!” she snapped. “If your son would just hurry the hell up.” She struggled to straighten back up and I waited for her to ask for help, having learned my lesson when she punched me earlier…just barely missing my groin. She turned her head and glared up at me but put her weight on my hand and allowed me to assist her.

  “Do you want to walk some more?” I asked gently. She shook her head and I led her over to the hospital bed where I carefully helped her up. She sighed and leaned back, resting her head on her pillow. As I pulled the blankets up to her waist, her head lolled to the side and she watched me while I fussed over her.

  “Why are you being so nice to me? I’ve been a complete bitch to you over the last twenty-four hours.”

  I tried not to laugh but a chuckle escaped, earning me another scathing glance. “Sweetheart, you are having our baby. You get a free pass to do and say just about anything right now.” I grabbed a damp towel from the table next to her bed and wiped the perspiration from her forehead. “Besides, you’re my wife, the love of my life. That will never change.”

  Her gray eyes filled with tears, and I panicked as they spilled over her flushed cheeks. She could scream and curse at me all she wanted but tears? Fuck. I hated it when she cried.

  “Don’t cry, sweetheart,” I begged.

  “You’re just so wonderful,” she said with a sniff. Then a contraction hit, and she bared her teeth as her fingers tightened around my hand, the nails digging in like claws. “I’m going to kill you, Becket Parker!”

  When it passed and she was resting, I tried one more time. “Lia, the tournament is in three days. Even if the baby comes today, I don’t think you’ll be up for it.”

  Her expression turned murderous and I slammed my mouth shut. When I didn’t say anything more, she simmered down. I’d lost this round, and I knew it.

  “Lia?” I whispered, hating to wake her from her peaceful sleep. “Sweetheart.”

  Pax wasn’t so patient, and his piercing cry had Lia jolting up in bed. Her head turned toward the sound and when she saw me standing there with our infant son in my arms, her expression softened. “He’s hungry?” she asked as she hit the button to elevate the back of her bed.

  “Just like his daddy.” I winked as I handed him over. “Can’t get enough of your tits.”

  Lia’s face flushed red and she rolled her eyes, but her lips tipped up in amusement. Pax latched on and she relaxed, her face filled with wonderment as she watched him eat. She winced at one point, then snickered. “He’s barely eight hours old but he’s eating like it’s his last meal. Maybe he’s more like you than I thought.”

  I laughed as I sat on the edge of the bed and slipped my arm around her shoulders then kissed her temple. We sat for a while in comfortable
silence. I figured it might be a good time to bring up the tournament again, since she was so happy and content with our son in her arms.

  “About the tournament.”

  Lia lifted her head slowly and her gray eyes were narrowed in warning. “Yes?”

  I cleared my throat and shook my head. “Nothing.”

  “Sweetheart, if you want to make registration, we need to head home soon,” I murmured the next morning as I sat beside the bed and cuddled Pax to my chest.

  I glanced up at her and was surprised to see her nod and start to get out of bed. I was about to put my foot down and tell her there was no fucking way I was going to let her leave this hospital early so she could sit for hours playing poker.

  It turned out, I didn’t have to. Thank fuck because I would have been in a shit ton of trouble.

  “I think I’ll skip this one,” Lia groaned as she shifted and scooted back into bed.

  Since she was laying back with her eyes closed, I felt it was safe to grin in triumph. “Stop smiling, you big jerk,” she muttered, making me laugh.

  “I love you, sweetheart,” I replied sincerely.

  Her eyes opened and she smiled as she watched me press my cheek to the top of Pax’s fuzzy little head. “I love you, too.”

  Extra Epilogue

  Becket

  “Lia, baby, we have a problem,” I stated as I walked into the oversized closet of our master suite. We’d bought this gigantic house after Lia won the world tournament. At first, she’d thought it was too big for us, but after she saw the closet, she was much more amenable to the idea. I convinced her by assuring her we’d need the space because I intended to fill every bedroom.

  And five kids later, we’d done just that.

  “A problem?” she echoed as she stood up with her running shoes in hand.

  Whatever I’d been about to say flew out of my head when I saw her outfit. Or lack thereof. I shook my head and stalked toward her, forcing her to back up until she hit the wall. “No way,” I growled.

  “It’s ninety degrees out, Becket!” she argued, putting her hands on her deliciously rounded hips. I loved the way her body had filled out with each of our children, but she still seemed to think she had “baby weight” to lose.

  Well, she wouldn’t be working it off in that ridiculous getup. She’d dressed in a sports bra and a pair of skin-tight shorts. “No one sees what’s mine, Lia.”

  “It’s not like anyone is looking, Becket,” she huffed. “I need to get some exercise after two weeks of lying around a pool and eating everything in sight.”

  I grinned devilishly. “If you need exercise, you could have just asked rather than flaunting your sexy body.”

  “I wasn’t—”

  “Don’t pretend you didn’t know what would happen when I saw you in these clothes,” I quipped with a smirk.

  She looked as if she were trying to come up with an argument, but from the heat in her gaze, I had a feeling she didn’t have one.

  Growling in anticipation, I yanked her bra up and ripped it over her head. Then I latched onto a nipple while I dipped a hand into her shorts. She was soaked...and there was nothing between my fingers and her drenched pussy.

  I reared back and glared at my wife. “No panties?”

  “There would be a line,” she panted.

  “I’m starting to think you dressed in this shit just to drive me fucking crazy.” I cocked my head to the side, and a smug smile spread across my face. “Is that it, baby? You wanted me to lose control?”

  She licked her lips, but didn’t say anything.

  Dropping to my knees, I dragged her shorts down, then guided her legs to step out of them. Her pussy glistened and the scent filled my lungs, making me hungry. I pushed her legs apart before palming her ass and bringing her sex to my mouth.

  “Becket,”’ she moaned when she felt the first lash of my tongue.

  When I sucked on her clit, she mashed her lips together to muffle her cry of passion.

  “The kids are with Drew and Autumn, baby. No one to hear you but me. And I want you to scream,” I demanded before eating her pussy until I got what I wanted. “That’s it, baby,” I crooned. “Come on my tongue while you tell the world who owns this pussy.”

  My spine tingled, and my balls felt heavy. I wouldn’t last much longer so I surged to my feet as I unbuttoned my jeans. I grabbed her ass again and boosted her up, aligning our centers. Then I punched my hips and entered her in one smooth thrust. “Fuck,” I grunted. Lia was still coming down from her orgasm, and the walls of her pussy massaged my dick, shredding my control.

  I fucked her hard and rough, giving her what she’d been hoping for by wearing those scraps of fabric. I slammed one hand on the wall above her head and groaned at the streaks of bliss that blew through my body when her pussy squeezed the fuck out of my dick as she climbed back up toward a climax.

  “Was this what you wanted, wife?” I rasped in her ear. “Then show me how much. Come, baby. Milk my cock with that tight pussy. Oh, fuck, yeah. Fuck! Just like that, baby. Fuck!”

  “Becket!” she shouted. “Yes! Oh, yes!”

  Her cries of rapture washed over me, and I went a little faster, a little harder, until she was screaming in ecstasy. The feel of her climax tipped me over the edge, and I roared as I exploded inside her. I kept pounding in and out, dragging out our pleasure, until I was completely spent.

  I held her to me, staying inside her as I flipped us around and slid down the wall, landing hard on my ass. Lia bounced on my cock when we hit the floor and we both moaned. “Shit, baby. How am I still so fucking hard?” I groaned.

  “Who cares?” she breathed. “My turn.”

  “Fuck!” I shouted when she began to ride me with wild abandon.

  After we both came again, there wasn’t an ounce of energy to go at it again. It took me several minutes just to get my body calm enough to stand with Lia in my arms and move to our bed.

  Once we were settled with Lia snuggled against my side, I began to drift off.

  “Oh. What was the problem you came to tell me about?” she asked, immediately chasing away my fatigue.

  I sighed. “A wad of cash fell out of Jaclyn’s jacket when the housekeeper hung it in the closet.”

  It was Lia’s turn to sigh. “Again?”

  “I can't say I’m altogether surprised,” I murmured. “She’s your little mini me.” Our ten-year-old daughter looked exactly like her mommy and had inherited many of her skills.

  “Sure,” Lia agreed, sarcasm dripping from her tone. “I suppose her sleight of hand came from me, too?”

  She had a point. Jaclyn was as talented as a dealer as she was at the game. I couldn’t help but be proud of her. Which made it hard to be mad when she fleeced someone out of their money.

  “Do you think it was other kids’ lunch money again? Or the guys?”

  We’d been utterly shocked one day when we had realized that Drew and some of our other friends had played poker with our daughter one night. She’d taken them for every cent on them.

  I shrugged. “We’ll have another talk with her tonight.”

  Hiding my pride turned out to be easier than keeping in my laughter as our daughter explained that she’d taken her four overprotective brothers for everything they had in order to get them to stop scaring away boys.

  Our oldest, Pax, was standing in the shadows just outside the door to my office, where only I could see him.

  “They’ll think twice before threatening the cute, new kid,” Jaclyn announced with satisfaction.

  Pax shook his head, and I lifted my chin to him. We both knew that Jaclyn could win the shirts off their backs and they would still protect her, even when she thought she didn’t need it.

  Rock-a-Bye, Baby

  She’s meant to be his. Griffith Thorne knows it as soon as he spots the raven-haired beauty in the audience of his final Vegas show.

  Belle Dawson sees the way he looks at her and feels it in her bones. She throws caution to th
e wind and heads up to the sexy rock god’s suite. But can there be more for these two when he’s flying out of her life the next morning?

  Chapter 1

  Griffith

  Adrenaline pumped through my body like a hallucinogenic drug. I felt as though any minute, I would sprout wings and fly. There was no feeling as heady as performing in front of a screaming, clapping audience. Whenever I was on stage, I wondered why anyone turned to needles or snorting when they could just step in front of a crowd.

  I gripped the microphone and belted out the melody while my bandmates wailed on their instruments and sang harmonies that amplified the notes until they were ringing throughout the arena. As the chorus came to an end, I let go of the mic and returned my fingers to the strings of my Gibson Firebird.

  Louie, our lead guitarist, dueled with me, his strings electrified and practically magic in his hands. Bex’s hands flew across his drum kit, and my heart was thumping in time with every pump of his foot on the bass drum pedal.

  The music did a fast crescendo, getting louder and louder until we were practically shaking the fucking rafters. The crowd was going insane, jumping, clapping, singing their hearts out. Then we hit the final note, and there was utter silence throughout the arena. After about thirty seconds, the audience’s roar was deafening, making me grin like a fucking lunatic.

  I had the best fucking job ever.

  “You guys are the shit!” I yelled into the mic. “You want more?” They clapped and shouted. “More from Rising Phoenix?” Another boom of approval. I pointed my right index finger to the wings of the stage, and a couple sauntered out from behind the drapes. “How about from Stone Butterfly?”

  The audience’s reaction almost had me putting my fingers in my ears as I laughed. I’d met and become friends with Levi, the lead singer of Stone Butterfly, years ago, before either of our bands went gold, then platinum. We’d remained close, and I’d even been a groomsman in his wedding to Brooklynn Hawk a couple of weeks ago. They met when she signed on to be a backup singer with his band. Their love story was well documented on fan and paparazzi sites, not only because of the tumultuous nature but also because when they sang together, you had no doubt that they were made for each other.