by Lying Eyes
Lying Eyes
Audra Alexander wants the ultimate championship title, the bracelet and the cool ten million dollar cash prize, but when the chips stack up against her, Audra could use a full house and Max is ready to give her one. Only the one he has in mind doesn't have anything to do with poker.
A professional gambler, Max is a player's player. He's also considered quite charming with the ladies, but once he meets Audra Alexander for the first time, he's hooked. After an initial meeting, he follows her career in hopes of one day coming face to face with her again, and he gets his chance when he least expects it.
When Max and Audra meet in Sin City, Max isn't surprised at the way he responds to her. She catches him off his game and then does her dead-level best to keep him off of it. Until, of course, he plays his hand with every intention of winning hers.
Genre: Contemporary/Romantic Suspense
Length: 80,791 words
LYING EYES
Destiny Blaine
EROTIC ROMANCE
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Erotic Romance
LYING EYES
Copyright © 2009 by Destiny Blaine
E-book ISBN: 1-60601-389-0
First E-book Publication: March 2009
Cover design by Jinger Heaston
All cover art and logo copyright © 2009 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
DEDICATION
For the lucky and the skilled—behind closed doors and on the felt
This book is for you
LYING EYES
DESTINY BLAINE
Copyright © 2009
Prologue
Tunica, Mississippi 2005
Max Reynolds claimed the Tunica win with ease. He’d been the chip leader in the No-Limit Hold’em Championship since the wee hours of the tournament and the cards just fell his way from there.
Securing first prize and five hundred thousand dollars required little effort, so he collected his cash and then smiled for the cameras, shook hands, signed autographs and glanced at his watch. Waving goodbye to a few players he recognized from the poker circuit, he headed outside. He had a plane to catch.
That’s when he saw Audra Alexander.
She was twenty-one—barely. Since the tournament began, her name buzzed throughout the casino and she was pointed out to him on more than one occasion. The woman generated quite a stir and every man there seemed to have her name on his lips.
She was the young gun who claimed the ladies championship and not only did she win, but she also gained a quick nod of approval by those who watched her performance. She impressed some of the best.
Audra was young, too green to play poker at the professional level if Max gave an opinion. To make matters worse, she was by far the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. He didn’t have a problem with card playing gorgeous broads but something about this one made him uneasy.
She possessed the body of a full grown woman with curves in all the right places, not to mention spectacular legs that went on for years. Her chestnut hair and big brown eyes were rich in color, which only accentuated her little button nose. When she smiled, he assumed those around her grinned too. It would be downright deplorable if they didn’t.
He first approached her carefully because she looked distraught. She tried to buy her way to Memphis, or so it seemed. She held her purse open by one hand with dollar bills crumbled in the other. Big tears threatened to spill from her eyes.
“I have to make that plane. Someone must be headed for the airport.” With several pieces of luggage at her side, she certainly looked distressed and all the more vulnerable for it.
After hearing others talk about her, Max knew Audra played poker with venom in her veins. He decided this was the side of the young woman he liked a lot better. She appeared defenseless and he knew how to help.
He stepped closer and then stuck out his hand. “Hi, Audra? I’m Max Reynolds. I’m headed to Memphis right now so if you want to ride with me, you’re more than welcome.” He made a quick gesture over his shoulder, pointing out the car and driver waiting for him, and he was certainly pleased when she didn’t take long to accept.
She only hesitated for a minute before shaking his hand. Since everyone in poker was familiar with his name, it wasn’t like she faced immediate danger if she took him up on his offer. “Thank you, Mr. Reynolds. I appreciate it.”
And just like that Max Reynolds met Audra Alexander and he had a feeling his life forever changed. He felt it from the moment she gripped his hand. Oh sure, he’d been intrigued by her long before they met face to face. Too many people were far too interested in the newcomer. Now, he understood why. One touch from her and he was a changed man.
They rode in one of the casino limousines from Tunica, Mississippi to Memphis, Tennessee and he fell in love. Okay, so maybe it bordered more with lust at first sight, but love wasn’t out of the question, not with a woman like Audra.
The ride was pleasant enough and their time together clicked away as if the seconds and minutes didn’t matter, perhaps never even accumulated, but they didn’t pass unnoticed. He clung to each of them and chastised himself later for it.
He told her war stories about poker, taking the time to name drop. He even casually mentioned some of his secrets. Something he wished he hadn’t bothered to do later, especially since he shared a fear of losing to Scotty Nguyen at a final table or having Phil Hellmuth beat him at all. Both events happened within months of his Tunica win.
The young woman seemed eager to hear each word of the short stories he provided, and if her expression gave anything away, she relished every piece of advice the thirty-five year old man wanted to give. Until, that is, he tried to warn her away from the professional gaming element altogether.
“So, tell me, Audra, what’s a nice young lady like you want with a career in poker?” He tried to remain nonchalant and it was an effort since he wanted to know.
Her
glare burned through him that afternoon, almost as if she never heard the question. Then, he witnessed the determination, the need and yes, the lust she already held for the game. Poker ran rampant in her blood. It flowed red-hot after the win she claimed. The sport of it left evidence in her telling eyes. He understood how winning felt and beating some of the best, like she proved she knew how to do, provided a natural high.
“I grew up watching my dad do two things.” She stopped altogether as if revealing her past was too painful to share with a stranger, but then she continued forward with stark defiance. “He lost at cards and drank away his misery afterwards. I decided as a child the game could be mastered and I wanted to be the one to do it. Maybe it’s just my way of looking for a little retribution.”
He tried to store everything about her to memory. He wanted to be sure he remembered all of the small details. The way her hot chocolate eyes filled to the brim when she talked about her father, the way her smile spread wider and wider with each poker tale he told. Max etched everything about her in his mind.
The ride to Memphis took forty-five minutes but he’d spent hours since then following her career. Hoping, and yes, maybe even realizing, one day soon he’d be in the same tournament with her again, or at least the same city.
Chapter One
Las Vegas, Nevada
The World Series of Poker, 2007
The World Series of Poker is the biggest enchilada of them all. The tournament itself goes on for over a month but the contest earning the most notoriety and media attention is the WSOP Main Event. It’s the No-Limit Hold’em game where men are separated from boys and if women decide to ante up, then they better understand the score. A ten thousand dollar entry fee isn’t something the players take lightly, and those who enter are there to take home the largest of all poker wins.
Audra Alexander didn’t care who kept the tally as long as she made more marks on the invisible card. She came to Las Vegas to claim her bracelet, something she wanted as much as the title and the cash. She understood better than anyone just how high the chips stacked against female players but she didn’t think about it. She barely noticed the sex differences when she sat down at a table. She didn’t, but most of the men next to her did. It was their problem, not hers.
Only one woman ever pulled up a chair to the final table and a female player never claimed ultimate success at the Main Event. Audra didn’t care. She planned to make history and she wanted to do it with trip number one.
It was the third day of the contest and The Rio’s Amazon Room buzzed with commotion. In the near distance, slot machines rang out with spins to win determining hand-paid jackpots. Craps tables were packed with new money while onlookers watched old professional gamblers set the dice in hopes of keeping them hot. Gorgeous young women excitedly waited as a little steel ball bounced back and forth between the red and black numbers of a Roulette wheel, but in this particular room, only one game mattered. A lone winner would earn the most coveted title in poker, but first, thousands battled for a final seat.
Max seemed really pleased to see her when she joined his table and exchanged polite hellos. He greeted her with a warm double hand-shake after she placed her chip racks on the table. In fact, she thought he might wrap her in a tight hug because he seemed all too delighted to see her. She felt confident her body language stopped him before his arms reached for her.
Audra immediately felt transparent when she saw him, especially since he’d become the object of her poker obsessions and a few fantasies, too. A spark of nervous energy inspired a few hairs to stand up on the back of her neck. Just feeling his warm palm in hers, even if it was only for a moment, did things to a woman that should’ve disqualified her from the tournament.
Soon after she took her seat, Audra posted the big blind and waited. She planned on folding her cards once she saw them but no one raised the bet so she stayed in the hand. The dealer dealt the first three community cards and after she saw the flop, Audra knew she owned the hand. She felt it in her gut or at least she thought so, and she’d played enough cards to earn rest assurance, to an extent.
She felt fairly confident until the man seated at the opposite end of the table decided to talk her right out of a comfort zone. Naturally, he would.
“You gonna call me, baby?” Max tossed in his chips with a raise around the same time he let go of the question. The man with the notorious reputation emerged and he didn’t waste time doing it.
As luck would have it, Audra became the center of attention. She swallowed hard. She hated to be taunted at the tables but knew how to deal with Reynolds. Even though the man she first met in Tunica didn’t remotely resemble the tough-talking poker player staring back at her now, she’d watched him play. She was ready for him because deep down she knew she needed to prepare for moments like these and men like Max.
“If I decide to call you, you’ll know it,” she fired back while trying to maintain some level of composure. Just hearing him say the word ‘baby’ shook her a bit but it didn’t rattle her enough to avoid a feisty comeback. Maybe it was because she anticipated words exchanged or maybe it was possible to sit there and imagine him in his underwear, an old trick she used back in high school whenever she stood in front of crowds. No, she didn’t think stripping him down to boxers worked, absolutely not. If she let her mind move too fast then she’d picture him at bare bones and her hours there would be limited. She tried to focus and just breathe. Most of the time the concept worked, she had nearly twenty-four years to serve as proof.
A player’s player, Max wasn’t just a dominant force at the poker table, he gained the respect of a true card playing powerhouse. From what Audra had heard, his skills reached far beyond the casino floor too, and one thing seemed certain, he earned quite the reputation with the opposite sex. In fact, his notoriety for being a ladies man proved legendary. A point she found hard to ignore after she began following his career.
Crossing his arms, he leaned back in his chair. “I’m right here waiting for you when you do,” he continued to tease her. Midnight blue eyes pierced through her with fierce intensity. Some would say they were as cold as the icy waters he often represented, but Audra saw something else beneath them, too. Thank goodness for Ray-Bans. She made a mental note to remember them on a daily basis now, right along with her iPod. If she covered her eyes and ears, then ignoring Reynolds wouldn’t present much of a problem.
“Waiting on a woman,” her voice hitched and the words spilled out like a song, “I imagine it’s something you’ll never tire of, kind sir.” She tilted her sunglasses down on the bridge of her tiny nose and tried to find a seductive smile—one just for him. She hoped it worked.
The men around the table appreciated the war of words. Snickers were followed by a couple of sound effects, not to mention outright laughter. The man seated on her immediate left slowly rippled his chips. Already, he irked her. It was a decision she reached in record time right after she sat down. His careful gaze, creepy really, made her very uncomfortable. Soon after she’d joined the table, the young man tried to profile her as she removed her chips from the rack.
Most of the time, profiling wouldn’t bother her. Players always tried to sum up the competition, but today wasn’t a day like any other, which is why she tilted the rack over. She even took her time to fumble around before gathering the fallen chips. Max chuckled on cue when it happened. He realized it was deliberate. The profiler didn’t have the brains to understand. He took her for a novice; a dumb brunette who had the audacity to show up at his table with boobs.
“How much you got there?” Max nodded at her chips after an awkward silence lapsed.
“More than you can handle,” she fired back before peering down at her chunk change.
“You tell him, Audra,” one of the men commented.
“Put him in his place,” another player added. She appreciated the older man’s support. In fact, on further observation, she recognized him. She’d put him in his place once or twice. Two
years ago in Atlantic City—different town, same game. The world of poker often brought old friends and acquaintances back together for brief reunions.
Steady fingertips brushed over stacks of poker chips before she met his eyes again. “I have enough to make the call, if I decide you’re worth it,” she openly flirted with him. Whatever works.
She reminded herself who sat at the opposite end and tried to avoid stare tactics, not because she wanted to but because if she didn’t, she might cream her pants right there. The man had it in him to push a woman’s buttons. Max pressed hers without trying.
If anyone, male or female, spelled out beautiful, Reynolds did it without a problem. In fact, he likely inspired countless synonyms for the word. Sure, the man had a lot of self-confidence, which only upped the ante for women who wanted his attention, but his physical features were out-and-out perfect.
Regrouping again, Audra tried to think back to the way Reynolds played various hands on television. Finding mental clips from the big games at The Bellagio or the Australian tournaments proved simple enough in the past, but she wasn’t able to recall them now.
Her straight flush was almost unbeatable. That is, unless he held the mother hand—the royal flush. The way he seemed to mock her with daring eyes while teasing her with a deliberate tongue implied a significant meaning. Audra faced off with a true pro. The game’s finest.
Quick wit and dancing eyes undid the best of poker players, because regardless of his opponent, Max’s expressions and demeanor never changed once he made up his mind to take a player out. Max possessed those two qualities and nailed them down to a creative art form. She’d been fair warned by several women players who knew of his abilities—on and off the felt.
“Wha’cha holding over there in the hole, baby?” His words drifted across the table again. She felt them slide her way with sleek and arrogant sophistication. She thought about peering back at her hole cards but quickly decided against it after his comment suggested maybe she needed to take another peep.