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2
XAVIER
Laura is gone, and I make quick work of the harpy in the thin robe.
“Don’t you want to watch my show?” she asks and runs her fingers down the lapel of my suit.
“No.” I don’t waste any more words on her as I step around her pouting lips and wide eyes. I came here for Laura. The same way I’ve come here for Laura for the past few months.
I spotted her by chance when I came to visit my friend Brock, who happens to own the entire casino, hotel, and half the town. The other half is mine.
She was running around trying to collect various items from the bar, one of the food vendors, and a handful of others when she bumped into me. Does she even remember that day? I do. It’s seared into my brain. She was a butterfly floating from flower to flower until she landed on me. An island of stone. And ever since that moment, I’ve desired her above everything else.
I know when I find something priceless. Something that I will do anything and everything to have. It’s a talent I’ve always possessed. Growing up in the gutter, that talent proved useful in deciding who to trust and what items to steal. Now? I use it to continue building my empire while destroying anyone who gets in my way.
Pushing past the lifers at the slot machines and the cloud of cigarette smoke that lingers like smog over LA, I enter the front office of the burlesque show.
TJ waves me inside. Most of the employees know me—or, more accurately, they know to let me do what the fuck I want or shit will get real. I enter the side hallway, the one where I have the best view of my little butterfly as she flits from task to task.
She’s standing still for only a moment, her eyes glued to the list that infernal woman gives her every night before the show. Laura nods as she checks off each task, then she makes a strangled sound.
“The shoes!” she cries, then turns and darts toward the casino door.
I return to the smoky den and watch her rush down the main aisle, her shoes squeaking on the polished marble. A pit boss gives her a raised eyebrow as she hurtles toward the high-end boutiques around the overdone marble fountain that Brock favors. I follow, using the whirring and blinking machines to hide my tall frame.
In record time, she rushes back out, a shoebox in her hands. Then, when she’s at the center of the casino, a server steps out with a tray full of watered-down drinks.
“Shit.” I rush toward Laura.
She hits the server, the drinks go flying, and the server falls back against a bubble craps machine. Laura isn’t so lucky. She’s about to smack hard into the marble when I catch her by the arm and pull her up just before she hits.
A small shriek rips from her as I pull her close and hold her until she regains her balance.
Looking up, her eyes widen. “You.”
“Would you like to go on a date with me?” I ask her again. This is her last chance. I don’t tell her that, of course. No reason to bell the cat, as they say. But if she doesn’t agree this time, I’m afraid I can’t let this go on. She’s too valuable to me, though I’m not quite sure why yet. But the tickling sensation at the back of my brain has never been wrong. She’s priceless. That means she’s mine. I want her to come on her own. But that might not be an option.
“I, um… I think I ...”
“Say yes.” I grip her chin lightly and tilt her head back. She’s so beautiful, but she doesn’t realize it. She’s taken Star’s words to heart, every negative comment settling inside her like a weight. I want to lift them all for her, carry her worries away. But she has to give me a chance first.
She sucks in a breath, and her gaze goes to my lips for a split second.
“Do you need a kiss to decide?” I lean closer. “I’ll happily give you a sample to make your decision easier.”
Her cheeks flame, her eyelashes fluttering as I move closer still. The noisy, smoky, boozy casino fades, and it’s just us. She has to make the choice. And if she chooses correctly, my plan can wait. If not, well … I’m not a man who’s used to being denied. Not in business or otherwise.
“Say yes,” I whisper, my lips only a prayer away from hers.
Her mouth opens slightly, her tongue darting out, smoothing the way for the word I want to hear.
“Laura!” the dancer shrieks from the stage door. “Where the fuck are my shoes?”
The spell breaks, and the entire casino comes back to life around us.
“I have to go.” Laura steps from my hold and swipes the shoes from the floor, then finishes her mad dash across the casino. “Here! I have them right there.” Laura hands them to Star, who snatches them away.
“You’re trying to ruin my show. I’ll be late for curtain you clueless moron!” Star is all seething anger, but I see right through it. She’s jealous. So jealous of my Laura with her big eyes, skin dusted with freckles, and hair that shines from any angle.
