Blaine, Destiny - Lying Eyes (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Lying Eyes

  She leaned forward and quickly warned her dance partner. “You might want to get out of here fast.” She nodded then and moved by him swiftly with her hands flying against Max’s belly. “Don’t you dare!”

  “Move, Audra.”

  “No! You don’t own me.”

  “And if I did, he’d be dead. I’m just going to teach the young stud where to keep his hands and it’ll start with rule number one—anywhere but on you!” He moved by her fast and shook off her attempt to hold him back.

  Over the crowd and the music, she shouted at his back. “You already fucked up once tonight! If you want to make it a habit then fine, you’ll be fighting your way through hell tonight because I’m leaving here and headed to another club. I hope you enjoy a jail cell tomorrow while the rest of us are winning your money!” She took off in another direction but it was enough and all she needed to say.

  She lucked up at just the right time too, because the music’s tempo decreased. As if on cue, her words halted him where he stood and the young stud, as defined, shot outside the club just in time.

  Max stopped, turned and pursued. He marched up to her with a set jaw and determined hand. Grabbing her wrist, he tugged her through the crowd. She had a hard time following him outside toward the waiting limousine because her days were seldom spent in high heels and a short skirt, especially one she all but poured over herself before she went out on the town.

  “I said let me go! You don’t own me!” She squealed and yelped the whole way. They quickly passed security guards, party-goers and several tourists. Couples stepped out of the way and cleared a path. As men and women, they watched with knowing eyes.

  “We’re together, she hasn’t accepted it yet,” he informed one man and then smiled for another. “Runaway bride.” He calmly made each reference with a genuine smile and every time he said something it only made her more enraged than the last. “Out on leave—psych ward.”

  “Runaway bride? Are you kidding me?” Her lips formed a tight line. “And if you want madness, I’ll show you psychotic!” She threw her fits continually and he shrugged them off like they didn’t bother him in the least.

  They weaved through the foot traffic with Max leading the way and Audra acting like a spoiled child one minute and a woman scorned in the worst possible ways the next. She spotted the driver curbside, the one Max always requested. She immediately tugged even harder before she sat down on the ground right in the middle of the sidewalk.

  “Get up, Audra.” His face turned red and his lips looked blue. Maybe they colored from the tight line of determination or perhaps pure, unadulterated anger. She was wagering on the fury.

  “Go to hell.”

  With a quick yank, he pulled her arms high and her body slammed against his chest. “Been there, for nearly forty years and never realized it until I had a taste of heaven.”

  “Damn you.” She fought back tears but defied them by reminding herself this was the last time he would make her feel foolish in public. “I’m never going to forgive you for this.”

  “Good. I like making up so we’ll have a lot of practice on the basics of a man-woman relationship.” As they approached the car, Max called out to the driver, “Mad woman on the run, open up and move to the side!”

  The driver followed instructions and got out of the way. Max held out his hand. “Audra…” His jaw flexed. He determined himself the winner of the very public lover’s quarrel.

  At least he still had the decency to help her into the car, she tried her best to ignore his hand but found herself using him to brace for the step inside. The way his anger boiled, she felt fortunate he didn’t just give her a shove and the way her temper raged, he was lucky he didn’t catch a high heel where she’d yet to see the sun fully shine.

  Quickly, she became combative. The door wasn’t even closed and she shook her forefinger at him. “Don’t you ever do that again! I mean it, don’t ever try something like that again!” she screamed from across the car.

  Max’s back was flat against the divider window. He tapped the window. The car pulled away from The Palms. He smoothed his hair back and reached for the ice chest. He had quiet confidence but she noticed the labored breathing. He was undoubtedly pissed the hell off and his red cheeks showed he easily boiled from the inside out.

  By expressions alone, she wasn’t sure if he planned to fuck out his rage or simply find something or rather someone, to hit. If punching or screwing was on his mind, he needed to find other options. She was far from interested in a beating, regardless of the form it came in or the tool used to deliver it.

  They rode down The Las Vegas Strip in silence but it was short lived. It didn’t take her long to decide Max was just plain nuts and she shared her words of discovery. “You’re an unbalanced lunatic. Truly, you are.”

  He looked like he was gnawing on the inside of his jaw. It was possible he fought the urge to give her the ass chewing she sort of deserved.

  “You’re an unreasonable maniac!” She crossed her arms and glared out the window. Her foot stamped against the floorboard of the car.

  “Are you done yet?”

  “I can’t believe you. Not only are you just arrogant enough to pull me out of a nightclub but you somehow believe you had the right to walk up to my dance partner and—”

  “You’re lucky I didn’t beat the pretty boy’s ass.” The revelation fell from a sexy mouth before his eyes fixated on her chest.

  Oh no, he was not going to look at her that way. Hell, no. The finger she once shook at him now poked four or five times at thin air. “No! You’re lucky I reminded you what was at stake if you decided to act like a stupid ass motherfucker!”

  “Audra, I’m not going to do this right now.” His monotone proved it.

  “Then stop this car and let me out because I am not going to have a discussion with a man who doesn’t have the balls to argue but he sure as hell had ‘em when he wanted to slap them against my ass…right before he tossed me out on mine!” She reached for the door and opened it.

  He yanked her back and when he did, the door slammed with her and she landed hard and fast against his side. She jerked against him but he held her tighter. “Screw you, Max Reynolds.” Her inside voice surfaced but it hitched before it hid under a true moan of defeat.

  A sigh of relief filled the air and he held her tight against him. “You speak as eloquently as you play cards, baby.”

  “It was sweetheart earlier,” she hissed.

  “It’s baby now, only because you’re acting like one. It seems I always forget that diaper bag.”

  She glared at him. Oh yeah, she was crazy mad now.

  The car stopped in front of The Rio and he blocked her from jumping out on his side so she moved to the opposite one and almost fell out when the door was opened for her. It would have been a mistake to laugh then but it didn’t go unnoticed how smoothly she brought sexy into a klutzy move.

  “Audra! Wait!” He reached for her.

  She smacked at him and missed. True anger took on a whole new meaning then. The woman knew how to make pissed off look good.

  By the time she hit the casino floor, he was on her heels again. “Just let me explain, okay?”

  Audra’s arms were swinging. She clutched a small purse in her right hand and her arms hung freely at her side. “No. How’s that grab you Mr. Reynolds? Hmmm?” She walked a few more steps and turned to retrace them. “In fact, let me ask you something. Has any woman ever said no to you?” She only gave him a second to answer and when he didn’t, she quickly added, “I didn’t think so.”

  He rubbed his chin and studied her. “No doesn’t sit too well here, if you want to know the truth.” He tried to grab for her but she quickly continued through the festive casino until she reached the elevator.

  She stepped in.

  He did too.

  Her hand went between the doors to prevent closure. “Get out.”

  “Hell no.”

  “I said get out!”

&nb
sp; “Audra, let’s practice this together. Ready? Say it with me now. No.” He thought this was somehow funny. Yeah, comical enough to aggravate the hell out of her. “In fact, let’s even spell it together…n-o.”

  “Arghhhh!” She acted like a brat but he certainly deserved it. If the cameras upstairs possessed sound capabilities then she was so screwed.

  “I like the grunts and groans better but I suppose an argh has some possibilities, too.” His true humor back, the anger he once possessed disintegrated.

  A woman with a cane slowly moved into the elevator. She smiled sweetly at Audra. “Why, you’re that woman who is winning the World Series of Poker this year.”

  Audra’s eyes narrowed and then she looked back at the little lady slumped over waiting patiently for a reply.

  Audra smiled. “Yes ma’am, I sure am.” Her demeanor switched in an instant.

  The older lady teetered on board. “Are you going up, deary?”

  The prime opportunity to bolt presented itself. “No, sweetheart. I have to check on something. Mr. Reynolds will ride up with you. He has great stories to tell about his poker playing days. He loves to tell beautiful women all about them.” She stepped off the elevator and smiled sweetly until the doors closed in front of her.

  “Prick.” She quietly moved to another elevator and waited for the next opportunity to present itself. After all, she’d had plenty of them, some she should’ve jumped at and others she should’ve ignored. Unfortunately, she always chased the wrong ones.

  Chapter Twelve

  Max heard the lock exchange and quickly struck a masculine pose across her bed. His palm rested against the back of his head and he crossed his ankles. She wouldn’t see him until she closed the door and turned the corner but he forgot one minor detail—he left the adjoining room doors open.

  “I’ve had it!” She rushed in and slammed the door.

  “Too late, sweetheart.”

  “It was securely locked when I left.”

  “I placed one phone call to have that tiny issue resolved before I left on my little scavenger hunt. Everyone here knows we’re together now so it didn’t take long to—”

  “We are not a couple, Max.”

  “Oh, yes we are.” He hopped up and grabbed her. He held her against his chest. She wiggled and squirmed and probably thought he was dumb enough to let her go. If she didn’t see the determination in his eyes then it was her problem. Wiggle away. “Keep this up, honey, and I may have to spank your little bottom.”

  Every muscle she ever toned twitched because he felt it ripple across her flesh. His words were deliberately delivered right into her ear. “And if you think that sounds good then wait until you hear my hand smacking against your bare ass. You’ll never run away from me again.”

  “Don’t count on it.”

  “Oh, but I am. If there’s one thing I’ve already noticed, Audra, it’s how well we fit together.”

  “I’m not a piece of some jigsaw puzzle, in case you haven’t noticed.” She bit out her frustration. “And we do not fit in any capacity.”

  “You’re wrong. We’re a match in every way that matters.”

  “I’m not happy about this, Max,” she stated the obvious.

  He hated to tell her but obvious bored him. He yawned for the proof-factor.

  “Then you should’ve left my bed and headed straight to yours but no, you had to go out and show-off that pretty little ass of yours and you knew I’d find you. My guess is that’s why you headed straight for Rain. You wanted to make a beeline straight for the club no man wants to find his woman.”

  “I am not your woman. Get that through your empty head.” Her forefinger tapped her own temple for show. “And for the record, we’re never going to be dubbed as one of the most romantic couples in poker.”

  He placed his hand over his heart. “I’m hurt.”

  “Cope.”

  A new vibration pulsed through the air. “You’re still with me, kid. Get used to it.” His tone switched to truly possessive. “We more than established it when you were in my bed and you proved it even more when you left it with a bruised heart.”

  “Screw you.”

  “You can’t be serious. All ready for me again?” He licked his lips. “Let me see.” He kissed her even though tight lips made it impossible to break through the barriers of the thin line he planned to cross. His hand propelled down her side. Ah yeah, he fully intended to slide his fingers right under her skirt but she just had to go and mess everything up.

  Her hand flew against his chest and she turned her head. “I want you out.”

  It was the seriousness in her voice that drove him to stop. “So now you want to sleep alone?”

  She glared at him. “You have a way of turning everything into a challenge, don’t you? This whole charade is some kind of twisted game, one where your only interest here is to come out the projected winner. After all, the great Max Reynolds always wins when his opponent is a woman, especially in poker,” she seethed.

  The confusion existed a second before he caught everything her code-speak meant. Women. He’d never understand them. “Audra, I don’t see gender when I play poker, I can promise you.”

  “You are such a bad liar.” She stomped over to the bar and poured herself a drink—scotch and water.

  “So now you’re going to drink a man’s drink?”

  “It’s your fault. Every single time I taste scotch on my lips it’s generally because a man—current case and point—drove me to drink in the first place!”

  Her eyes bathed him in a visual sweep and good damn of all times, he had a hard-on from the visual impact. The woman left him insatiable and she didn’t have to touch him to make him desire her.

  The rant continued. “You want me to believe when you sit down across the table from a woman, you don’t notice or pay attention to the fact you’re facing off with a female?”

  Taking a deep breath, he decided it was now or never. “Care to know why?”

  “Since we’re still playing stupid little childish games, why?”

  He moved toward his door because if he was going to leap, he might as well prepare to run. The little gal could stew over his parting words after he left. He put his hand on the hard, cool surface and gave the door a push. He studied her only long enough to take the memory of her with him.

  Softly, he told her his secret. “Every single time a woman sits down across from me now, in poker or just in a restaurant, I imagine she’s you. I wish you were there instead. It can be something as simple as a woman taking her chair or walking by with a little sway in her hips. It doesn’t matter. So you see, it’s not a gender thing. It’s an Audra thing. It has been like that since the day I first saw you.” He started for his suite and then quickly added more with a quick turn of his head. “The sad thing is I have a feeling it’s going to get a whole lot worse.”

  * * * *

  Despite everything, she loved him. He humiliated her but she didn’t mind to let it slide. She all but asked for it and really, no harm was done. She didn’t know anyone in Las Vegas anyway.

  Then again, she wouldn’t be a bit surprised if the whole fiasco showed up as clip of the week from the World Series of Poker or something. After a win, or even a seat at the final table, the media searched for skeletons and moments of weakness. She had plenty of both if anyone went on a search. Now, with Max in her life, she continued to draw attention to herself.

  Audra undressed and fell in the bed. She was totally worn out. It was exhausting business—Max and poker—and everything that went along with both. Keeping the pace wasn’t easy and she was going to have to do something about the way she responded to Max sightings.

  She didn’t need to bolt every time he hurt her feelings and going out on the town because he kicked her out of his bed wasn’t a good move. It showed weakness and it proved nothing in the end. Well, not necessarily. It proved she had a new weakness, and with it she found a name firmly attached—Max Reynolds.

 
* * * *

  Max thought about the best possible hand and then tossed his cards. Stan pretty much lured him right into the pot and Max even thought he had him until the river card brought down a King. Three of a kind, kings certainly beat his trio of pretty ladies.

  He didn’t even ask him. Once Stan raised the bet, he knew without a doubt. It was his job to know. It wasn’t his job to lose and he was losing. The day would leave him damaged and bruised and if he didn’t straighten up, he might as well forget a final table seat and watch Audra from the sidelines. He preferred to watch front and center.

  The day’s buzz surrounded her. While he only spotted her once or twice, the Audra-camp proudly spread the news throughout The Amazon Room. She shut out some big players. She sent home one after another and had the strongest lead in history going into the final hours of play. He wanted to be there too but right now, he needed a miracle.

  And he got one—her.

  When she was moved to his table, the air of confidence damn near walked her to the chair and there was little doubt she knew who she’d find there, and little chance she hadn’t heard the news of his near defeat. He was the short stack, a rare find at any poker table and probably one of the few times in his career. He quickly guessed, as luck would have it, she was brought in or moved over to his table to finish him off. He always suspected the seat assignments were for a little more than table balance.

  “Max.” She barely made eye contact.

  “Audra.”

  One of the old timers quickly said something to a man seated between himself and Max. The old fellow nodded a few times and then looked at Audra. “She’s going to be your kiss of death today, Reynolds.”

  “Or maybe my lifeline.”

  Audra kicked right into gear. “He needs a little CPR from what I hear.”

  “You lookin’ for a little mouth to mouth?” He crossed his arms across his chest and sat back.

  “Oh, you’re good.”

  And she was toast. He needed her off her game now or else he was going to lose his and he realized just how to use her for his quick resuscitation. “Are we talking cards here darlin,’ or something else?” His look was hungry then and frankly just too familiar. Once he spoke the words to confirm expressions and statements were intimately connected by an underlying motive, everyone paid attention.