Lucky Chase Read online

  Licking her lips, she continued to work her way up to his face. She stopped at his chin and mentally caressed his clean-shaven jaw. Blood pumped and thickened in her veins the moment her gaze connected with his.

  “I’ll stay,” she whispered, hoping he didn’t hear the tremble in her voice. Wiggling on the stool, she tried to rein in the wild mambo of arousal in her pussy.

  He lifted a brow. A sinful smile split his lips. Her stomach flipped. Entranced by his mouth, she became solely focused on mental fantasies of sucking his firm-looking lips. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that he knew how to kiss. It was written in the way he stood, proud and in control.

  His posture heightened the notion that he’d be one of those men who’d fuck her into stupidity. She wasn’t a mind reader, but the sizzle that kept sliding over her skin told her he would be trouble and probably worth every second.

  He pulled another card. She glanced down, having lost all interest in the game but unwilling to lose her perfect hand.

  “The house calls at twenty.” He watched her intently. Heat swarmed her neck and face. Every place his gaze touched left a small fire stamp on her skin, dampening her panties.

  Flipping her cards over, she smiled when he stared at her hand, his shock visible. “Twenty-one.”

  2

  Jared studied the caramel-skinned, buxom beauty in front of him with undisguised appreciation. He’d noticed her the moment she’d stepped into the ballroom with Max’s fiancée.

  He dealt a new hand without asking, unwilling to let her escape. She’d been the reason he told his niece to take a break. Sensuality radiated from each of her curves, and he wanted to get his hands on her.

  She swiped the tip of her pink tongue over her plump bottom lip and frowned at her cards.

  “It’s okay. Not everyone’s luck holds in these card games.” He wanted to smack himself after the words came out, but fuck if he wasn’t dying to hear her voice again. The husky tone had caressed his cock in a feather-light touch.

  Her eyes were filled with amusement when she glanced up at him. “I know.” She wiggled in her seat. His thoughts went straight to the gutter. “I don’t worry too much about winning.”

  She flipped another perfect game. Her pouty lips tipped up in a sexy come-hither grin. Fuck! He wanted to kiss her, touch her. Hell, he wanted to slide his hands up and down every curve he saw.

  Of course, he’d probably end up getting smacked for being fresh. But he was damn close to believing it would be worth the sting of her hand on his face to kiss her, if only to get a taste.

  “Nice, but it won’t last.” Desire thrummed through his body each time their gazes met. Arousal spiked and his cock hardened to an uncomfortable degree.

  “Oh?” She lifted her dark brows and curled her lip in a cheeky grin. Challenge filled her eyes. “What’s your name?”

  He grinned at the flash of fire he saw in her gaze. “Jared. Jared Thomas.”

  She leaned forward, her breasts straining against her flimsy low-cut top. “Well, Jared, care to make it more interesting?”

  Hell yes! But first he needed to know who the sexy siren was that would be gracing his bed that night. “What’s your name?”

  He watched her nibble her plump bottom lip before answering. “Luciana Rivas.”

  Mastering the nearly overpowering urge to grab her by the hand and haul her out of there was not an easy task. He noticed her empty champagne flute and motioned a passing waiter to hand her a full glass. She took a sip of the bubbly.

  He watched her lick her lips again, lips he kept picturing wrapped around his cock, sucking him into her hot mouth. He leaned forward on the table, closer to her, and inhaled. The sexy, light scent tickling his nostrils made him think of satin sheets and sweaty bodies. He’d never wanted a woman this quickly.

  Something inside him roared to life and urged him to toss her over his shoulder and take her to his bed, fuck her all night, watch her face when she screamed his name and finally, come deep inside her and take her as his in every sense of the word.

  If his balls weren’t already in agreement with his dick, he might worry, but right now, his brain and all other body parts wanted her under him, over him and taking him deep.

  “What do you have in mind?” he asked.

  Their gazes met. Arousal flickered to life in the depths of her whiskey-brown eyes. The longer they stared at each other, the brighter it blazed, beckoning him closer. His cock pressed at the zipper of his dress pants, ready for action. Hell, he sure was glad he was behind the table, because no matter how good his poker face, he wouldn’t be able to hide that bit of evidence from her.

  She shrugged. It was a dainty, sexy lift of her shoulders that pushed her breasts farther up her neckline. “You seem to be the expert here.”

  He narrowed his eyes. She sounded like she was making fun of him, but she couldn’t possibly know he was anything other than a hired table attendant.

  “I wouldn’t call myself a professional.” Oh yeah, he was a lying bastard, all right. “But I have experience.”

  Her gaze latched onto his lips and slowly traveled up to meet his. He ground his teeth and fought the cock-hardening look she gave him. She licked her lips. “Let’s see if you’re right in your assumption that my luck won’t last.”

  “What’s in it for me, gorgeous?”

  She leaned closer. Their faces were only a foot apart now.

  “What do you want?”

  You. Now. Taking my cock. Taking my cum. Forever. Having my children. Being mine!

  He should be worried over where his mind was going, but he couldn’t be. He was too busy staring at her mouth. He wanted to close the distance, to taste her plump red lips and allow her sexy perfume to fill his lungs. “Alone time…” He watched her eyes widen before he finished. “With you.”

  The interest in her eyes grew until her pupils dilated with arousal. She gulped but didn’t respond. He decided to taunt her into agreeing, into giving in to his wishes.

  “It’s all right. It’s clear you’re going to lose anyway. I know the game.” He grinned, and because he couldn’t stop himself, he lifted a hand and caressed her cheek. Her skin was baby-soft and smooth.

  Her eyes widened and then narrowed. “And if I win?”

  Gotcha. Tonight she’d be his. And he’d get that image of her filled with his cock made into reality.

  He felt like a lion that had landed on the perfect prey. Now to reel her in. “Whatever you want.”

  A small frown marred her brow. She was thinking hard about whatever it was she was going to ask for. “Fine. If I win, you must do exactly what I say after the final game is over.”

  “Deal.”

  He lifted her hand from the table to his lips, nuzzled his lips against the back of her hand and watched her. He was rewarded with her pupils dilating further until he could hardly see brown. Temptation pushed him to go for it and kiss her already, but this was one game he wasn’t willing to lose. “Let’s play.”

  His mind drew a blank when he tried to remember the last time he’d wanted a woman this much. Luckily his poker face was better than most, so he was able to remain outwardly calm, when inside all he wanted was to jump over the table and drag her, caveman-style, to his bedroom. “Best out of five?”

  She sipped her champagne. Her eyes and body tempted him like no other woman’s ever had. Which was a feat, because he never let himself be guided by his cock. He wished he knew what it was about her that was so potent. Looking at her sent a shot of adrenaline rushing through his system.

  “Sounds good.”

  That husky voice of hers was wreaking havoc on his discipline. He’d worked years at hiding his feelings from the world just so he could play the perfect hand. Nobody knew your game sucked if you never showed it. Besides, his experience taught him to keep shit to himself. Emotions, or at least letting them control you, could get a man killed.

  He dealt a hand. She grinned, flipped a perfect game and lifted her brow. Her c
hallenging self- assurance only pushed him to play another hand. She choked back a giggle. And won.

  “Give up yet?”

  Those were some war-inducing words. “Not a chance, sweetheart.”

  She appeared to be fighting the laughter from coming out. It took him a second to realize why. She won again. And again. She full on laughed, apparently unable to hold it off any longer. The sound was music to his ears.

  “So…” She sipped her champagne and peered at him with curiosity. “Do you think my luck will hold the rest of the night?”

  Lust coursed through him at her bold words, traveling down his body, urging him to get her out of there. Of course, he liked sexy, curvy bodies as much as the next man, but he’d never wanted to run his fingers through a woman’s hair and feel how soft the strands were like he wanted to now.

  The thought of stripping her out of the tiny top and short skirt threatened his tenuous control. A flare of longing filled her eyes. It disappeared so quickly he wondered if he'd imagined it. Air caught in his lungs at how vulnerable she’d looked for that flash of a moment.

  “It depends on what it is you want.” Mischief and boldness took over her gaze.

  What could she be thinking? His mind walked all kinds of sick and twisted turns down the path of getting her naked. Really naked. Really fast.

  One of his guests approached the table—a foreign dignitary he’d done work for, who happened to be in town for the weekend. The man’s predatory gaze was stuck on the woman Jared now considered his for the night.

  Good manners dictated he be polite to the man. But Jared wasn’t known for letting other men poach his catch.

  “This table is closed,” he stated, his voice flat, right before the other man had a chance to sit.

  His guest ignored him, took a seat, and focused on Luciana.

  “Weren’t you in Paris a few months back for the McKinley-James wedding?” the man asked, his gaze much too interested in her rack.

  Jared watched the color drain from her face. Her fingers tightened on the stem of the flute. She lifted it to her lips and drained the glass. Anger burned brightly inside him at the discomfort he saw set in her features.

  He’d heard about the McKinley-James wedding, and had even been invited, since he’d done work for the head of the European Union. But he decided not to attend in favor of spending time with his niece and teaching her the ropes as his new assistant.

  She placed a hand over her small clutch and nodded to the man. “I was, yes.”

  “I knew I recognized you. I don’t think I could ever forget your face.” He laughed.

  Even though her skin was naturally tanned, a blush crept its way to her cheeks.

  “Yes, well, it was an interesting affair.” She shifted and glanced at him. There was disappointment in her eyes.

  “I’ll say. I’ve never been to a wedding where—”

  She shot to her feet.

  “Excuse me, please.” She lifted her clutch to her chest as if ready to use it for a shield. A second later, she’d stepped away from the stool. A small smile flitted on her lips when she turned to him one last time. “It was nice meeting you, Mr. Thomas, but I need some air.”

  Shocked into immobility by the turn of events and her reaction, he watched her make her way toward the open French doors. Those doors led to the outdoor garden, where people had gone to have more privacy. His shock was quickly replaced with defiance.

  No fucking way was she getting rid of him that easily. They had a deal, and what he wanted, he got. And he wanted her—to get to know her better, to kiss her mouth, to slide his hands down every delicious curve on her body. To fuck her until she couldn’t walk any more. To hear her scream until she went hoarse. And that damn image of her full with his child was playing a cruel joke on him.

  Jared didn’t do the whole happily ever after with babies thing. He did sex. He did romance. He did motherfucking orgasms. This was the first time he’d imagined a woman having his child. More worrisome was the idea of getting her pregnant aroused him even more.

  “Hey, Jared, you should’ve seen that wedding—”

  With single-minded concentration, he watched her sexy body stroll outside. Irritation seared his tongue. He refrained from the urge to yell at the idiot who had ruined what had been working so well and marched around the table, leaving the man mid-speech. His sole focus was convincing her to spend the rest of the night with him. No matter the price.

  Lucky’s heart pounded so hard, she was going to hyperventilate. It would never go away. Her breakup with Nick would haunt her for as long as there were witnesses, photos, and videos of the ordeal. And damn, there were a whole mess of them all over the world.

  Frustration flourished inside her. Rising to a furious degree that made her want to hit Nick in the balls with a bat. She sighed, releasing some of the fury within her that the man who’d joined the table and interrupted her time with Jared had revived.

  He’d probably done her a favor. Jared had been so intense. His words. His looks. Everything about him set off an alarm inside her brain. Heading down one of the garden paths, she inhaled the scent of fresh flowers and pine. Thick hedges and baby pine trees lined the sides of the paved stone walkway. The moon was full, bright, and working in tandem with antique streetlamps to light the way.

  She stopped when she reached a glossy dark green metal bench in front of a fountain. A soft growl escaped her as she sat, the metal hard and unforgiving under her butt. Her mind kept taking her to the past. The past she didn’t want to think about.

  She studied the figure at the center of the fountain. The angel, whose wings curled protectively in front of him, held a woman in his arms. The way the artist showed the woman’s complete trust in the angel made it hard to look away.

  But Lucky wasn’t looking for an angel, or even a man, to depend on. All she wanted was to meet someone who wouldn’t lie to her. No more lies. Was that so hard? Her luck in the love department sucked big-time, and it appeared that finding a person to trust was not in the cards for her.

  “You left.”

  She jolted in her seat at the sound of Jared’s voice. Heart hammering in her chest, she turned to him. He’d caught her off guard, daydreaming about a man who wouldn’t lie.

  She almost snorted at her own idiocy. Like that was going to happen. The antique lamps over the garden kept the place well-lit and allowed her to see his features clearly. He seemed irritated.

  “What are you doing here?”

  He made his way toward her, hands buried deep in his pockets, with an unreadable expression on his face.

  “We had a deal.”

  If she were to compare his voice to something, it would be steel—hard and uncompromising. Her pussy quivered at his no-nonsense tone. She stared at his lips, watching him flatten them into a thin, straight line. Combine that with the way a muscle quivered on his cheek, and she was positive he wasn’t happy. His gaze was filled with shadowy promise and possessive intent. Arousal thickened in her blood.

  “The game ended.”

  He took another step, closing the distance between them. “You won.”

  Butterflies took flight in her stomach, dipping and diving until she swore there were flight lessons going on in her chest. She cleared her throat from the knot that had appeared out of nowhere.

  “I won’t hold you to that.”

  He held out a hand for her. “But I will hold you to your end.”

  Excitement buzzed over her skin, caressing her body with a thrill of anticipation. The amount of sizzling chemistry dancing between them was enough to burn down a bed…or two.

  She wanted to take him up on his offer and do some of the bad—okay, more like depraved—things she’d been visualizing while they’d played. This was what she wanted, wasn’t it? But…a one-night stand?

  She should be honest. It wasn’t her type of thing. Then again, relationships that ended so badly she erupted in hives every time she thought of the breakup was not what she wanted eith
er.

  So she wasn’t into one-night anything. At this point, she just wanted to try something different. To forget. She studied his outstretched hand and felt something push her to grab hold. She met his gaze and held it. Maybe it wasn’t the norm for her, but for tonight, she didn’t want to think. She wanted to feel.

  Satisfaction filled his gray eyes. His warm hand enveloped hers and pulled her closer to him. Their bodies were mere inches apart. He lifted a hand to her face and stroked a long finger lightly down her jaw. The hairs on her arms stood on end.

  He held her in place with his penetrating look. Her breath hitched in her chest from his intent gaze. She’d never had this kind of electric pull toward a man. She inhaled the scent of sandalwood, bergamot, and mandarin from the cologne he wore. It was a scent she would always connect with this very moment. Forever.

  Her pussy ached, and she had the urge to rub her nose all over his neck—heck, all over his body.

  “What would you like to do?”

  Growing need gathered in her core. His voice, that sexy churned gravel, turned her nipples into tight, pebbled points. She was going to go with her gut this time. And it told her to get her hands on his body as soon as possible. Like yesterday. Maybe that was her lust talking and not common sense, but she didn’t give a rat’s ass anymore.

  “Take me somewhere we can be alone.”

  3

  Anticipation to get closer to him grew. He twined his fingers through hers and guided her down a different path through the baby pine maze. The soft sounds of jazz and blues eased some of the nerves racking her mind.

  They drifted farther from the house and continued away from the gentle tones until all she heard were crickets and the low hum of the band.

  “Where are we going?”

  He stopped, turned to her, and cupped her face in his hands. Her eyes widened. Damn he moved fast. He dipped his head, stopping only when they were a hairsbreadth apart. Arousal zoomed down from her nipples to her pussy. It had been way too long since she’d been with a man.