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Introduction:

Seeking a life outside of the small Kentucky Holler that she grew up in Daisy follows Pete to Vegas were he thinks he can score it big gambling. Things go wrong and Daisy pays a high price but in the end gets what she always wanted – a life outside of the Holler

Daisy

Seeking a life outside of the small Kentucky Holler that she grew up in Daisy follows Pete to Vegas were he thinks he can score it big gambling. Things go wrong and Daisy pays a high price but in the end gets what she always wanted – a life outside of the Holler

Chapter One

“Ow! Watch my head. Dang!”

“Ugh… geez. Over to the left, Daze.”

“Pete, wait. Give me… um, yeah… o-okay.” Daisy’s attempted restraint puffed out her flared nostrils. The sweltering heat, combined with a rising steam, fogged over the back windows. The cramped confinement gave her a little wiggle room, not much to work with. Pete’s thickness filled her to the point of discomfort. Awkward in her positioning, every dormant sensation along the inner walls of her vagina flared. Daisy licked her dry lips. She swallowed hard to force down the protest in her throat and decided to ignore the discomfort and wait for the pleasure their tryst would surely bring. Pete’s bottom-maneuvers forced her to move with hurried hip-thrusts instead of measured swirls. Her unquenched desire drained her of patience. Behind tightly shut lids, her eyes tear. Making love took work: with Pete it always did. Daisy threw her hips to and fro before rising and falling on his jutting cock, seeking to accommodate his fit.

“So good… Damn, Daisy. It’s so good, baby,” Pete grunted beneath her. His nails bit into the tender flesh of her buttocks.

Sure, it was great for him; she was doing all the work.

Daisy’s palms pressed flat against the roof of the car. It proved to be the only means to maintain her sense of balance. Pete’s cock’s reach went deep, awkwardly bent in her channel. Each upward dick toss felt as if he’d crack her pelvic bone. Bracing for the next, while dropping one hand to his sweaty chest, she again tried to coax him into a manageable rhythm. It seemed to work. Daisy took quick sips of muggy air into her constricting lungs when Pete slowed, and she found her groove. She rose and fell on his meaty cock with a better ease. Up and down she went. His hips slowed and it worked for her. If only he let her get it in like this on the regular, she’d be okay. Pete definitely had the right tools. He just needed to let her feel him rather than endure him. Daisy’s brows knitted together as she pumped hard. She knew what he liked. She put in work to ease her guy to the bliss they shared in sex. And her body, in time, welcomed the ride.

It felt better this way. Pete would become too excited, too quick. Daisy would barely get hers before he beat her wounded sex into submission and shot-off in triumph. At least now she could ensure her pleasure too. Or make him hold on longer to deserve his. Her love for him made the labor worth it.

Pete’s mouth parted into a silent but gaping ‘O’ of pleasure. She couldn’t believe how little it took to get him excited. A touch or kiss on the cheek and he his cock became hard as Gibraltar. She watched the play of emotion over his handsome face. A thin sheen of moisture coated his forehead. His short, shaggy hair, which normally covered his brow, was now tightly wound in locks the color of field oats. Loving him felt sexy when he was flustered and grunting beneath her. Even sexier were Pete’s eyes. Under blond lashes, his dreamy blue pair changed violet when desire rolled through and went clear as rain when he looked at her with love. She’d drown in those eyes if she stared too long. It was no surprise why the Doyle boys were a hot commodity in Hollow Creek.

Pete, like all the Doyle brothers, had olive skin tanned by the Kentucky sun. Growing up hard on a farm did that to most of the white men of Hollow Creek. Pete’s muscles were taut, precise, solid as granite, and chiseled to perfection along his shoulders, arms, and torso. Each hard angle on her man had been earned. Years of working side-by-side with his brothers had laid bricks down his abdomen. Daisy loved her redneck. She loved his body. Loved his dick. She loved him and he loved her. Pete Doyle could be every girl’s dream and angst in the Hollow. She leaned in and pressed a kiss to his mouth while she slowed her pace, riding his dick nice and easy.

“C’mon baby, give it to me.” Pete grunted against her lips, his teeth clenched. His hands rubbed up her bare thighs and palmed her ass. They were shockingly cool against her now-feverish skin, especially compared to the sweaty heat of the vinyl seat. The loving got so good, she feared the friction of their working bodies would ignite, combust, explode. Daisy sat back, hands to Pete’s knees, she sped up. Her breasts undulated, stretching the thin cotton of her baby-blue Hollow Creek High t-shirt, nipples hard, aching for his touch. Her throat torched and went too dry to ask for him to touch her; when her lips parted, all she released was a soft pleading cry. Pete could be selfish in how little he gave in return.

This had been one of her many frustrations.

The ’78 Cadillac, with flaking paint and cracked upholstery, rocked on its road-worn tires. The bug-splattered windows––from the day’s travel––fogged over as sweat ran in streams down her temples and the bridge of her nose. The mixed grunts and moans of his desire and her mounting frustration continued. So did the frenzied bounce on his pelvis, grinding her hips on the landing, then bouncing again hoping he’d find her spot once more. Like a flash fire, pleasure and pain became one. Soon the car became flavored with the scent of their sex: intoxicatingly sinful, addictively sweet and exactly what they both liked. Daisy dropped one hand and pressed it flat to his chest. Pete’s labored breathing and the thundering beat of his heart played under her fingertips. For her part, Daisy enjoyed the glide but wanted more. Her heated channel went wet for it. She threw her hips front to back, worked him hard and rode him harder.

“Fuck yeah… ah! Daisy don’t stop baby… ugh… don’t,” pleaded Pete. With an upward push of his pelvis and downward pull of her hips with his firm grip, he went deeper than she anticipated, causing her to cry out in pain.

“Jeessssuuuusssss Peeeeet!” Daisy shuddered through each orgasmic strike. Her heart beating, sputtering in frantic jerks. But she gave him more. She increased her bounce. One of her knees remained painfully pinned between his hipbone and the seat. The other leg hung off the back seat, her toes bent awkwardly against the floor mat. The feel of him made her shift and groan as his upward thrusting set her teeth on edge. Again, Pete went animalistic with his loving, and she’d have to adapt quick to keep pleasure from morphing to pain.

Instead of complaining, she endured. She groaned with him, hoping to find her groove before it became too late. Pete’s hand shot up, and he gripped her breast tight, giving it a squeeze.

“Damn it, Pete,” Daisy winced.

Daisy knew they’d crossed the point of no return. His heavy grunts and jerks always preceded the eruption. She tried to soothe him, running her hand over the hard lines of his heaving chest. She dropped the other hand to the backrest for control, then lifted awkwardly on her pinched, numb knee, still trapped in its cramped confinement. Daisy positioned to pump his cock dry. It worked. His seed flowed like molten lava, exploding in ash and fire through hot squirts that torched her womb.

“Yeeeaaaah!!!” Pete grunted as if he’d scored a touchdown, pounding his fist at the back seat. “Hell yeah!” he wheezed.

It was over.

She felt the protruding veins in his dick dissolve to jelly. Completely spent, he grinned up at her. Daisy rolled her eyes. Lifting her hips, his cock pulled free and fell over to his thigh. It jerked through aftershocks and spasms, leaking, semi-erect.

“Where them paper towels at?” Daisy sat on his knees in a huff. Pete winced, cursing under his breath. Daisy dug in the dark for their bags stowed in the well of the seat.

“Lay here, on me, Daze. Damn. We just finished. Let me at least hold you.”

“Nah, we won’t make it to Vegas until sometime tomorrow, and I don’t want to be all icky.” She grabbed the soft roll and peeled off a sheet. Gripping the headrest of the passenger seat, she rose and wiped, then peeled more to clean him. Pete sat back, smiling. A wide, Cheshire-cat grin split his face.

“What’s so funny?”

“You. We could’ve got a motel ya know.”

“Un-uh, we agreed to save every dime for Vegas. How much we got now?” Daisy asked, moving aside so he could lower his legs from the seat and give her room. She found her panties. She pulled them up. Then she dropped the wads of used towels into the little plastic bag she kept for trash.

“Four hundred and eighty bucks, oh and um, twenty-seven cents.”

“So what you think? We play the slots first. I saw on the travel channel that the machines fill up at night. They like work on a timer. In the big casinos they spill in the morning. So we just check for the slots that look to have been over-worked and then we in.”

“I don’t think it’s going to be that easy, Daze.” Pete yanked up his jeans, not bothering with underwear. “If that were true, folks would have caught on. The casinos would have lines stretched all the way out of Nevada. Nothing in life comes that easy.”

Daisy’s eyes rolled under fluttering lids. Pete’s words stung. Even worse, Daisy knew he was right. Why couldn’t he just let her have her dreams? It’s typical of men in the Hollow. If they couldn’t conceive it, there was no need in believing it.

“Where are we?”

“Casey, Nevada,” Pete said.

“Casey? Wonder what goes on in a town called Casey? Don’t seem like much of shit. Probably as dead and boring as the Hollow.”

“Yeah, maybe.” He rubbed the feeling back into his groin through his Wranglers. Daisy was the only girl he’d been with that could drain him until his dick and brain were both numb. Pete once told her that. She looked over and knew his cravings. He told her those too—often. He craved her. He’d do anything for her. This runaway idea had been all hers. Pete reached over and touched her thigh, his fingers walking the curve.

How could he want to go at it again? Sex in the back seat of his car offered nothing but torture. She ignored the ogling look he gave her and instead focused on the night outside the window. His hand dropped away.

“C’mon,” said Daisy, opening the car door. They’d driven off the highway into the desert on a dirt road that wasn’t on the map. Pete decided to park near decayed trees. This is where they’d crash for the night. She found it funny: in mid-July, the desert could be so cold, then dangerously hot during the day. The night sky drew her attention. It’s as if the galaxy had exploded with stars, more stars than she ever saw in Kentucky. They twinkled like diamonds on black velvet, so beautiful and clear. Daisy knew a good omen when she seen one.

“It’s cold babe. Come back inside,” said Pete. Finally, he too left the backseat.

“Lookit there.” Daisy pointed at a constellation she didn’t know. “What is it, Pete?”

He walked around the back of the car. “Orion’s Belt.”

“Really?”

“Yep, that’s it.” Pete gave a one-shoulder shrug.

Daisy knew he wasn’t sure, but she liked making her guy feel like he could be the smartest in the world. He had his ways of making her feel equally important. She hugged him and kissed him on the lips, rubbing her nose with his. “How about we snuggle out here for a while, under the stars?”

“Get the blankets. I’ll fix a sandwich,” Pete smiled. He dug in his pocket when he spoke to her.

“You so greedy,” Daisy laughed.

Daisy rushed to the back of the car. She waited for him to come and unlock the trunk. She gathered two fleece blankets before slamming it down, hard. If she didn’t, the latch wouldn’t catch and it’d spring back up. She really hated his car. Pete called it Betsy. She had a different name: Piece Of Shit.

Her guy crawled back inside again, rummaging through the cooler. He probably found bread and the ham to make himself, yet again, another sandwich. It’s smart of her to stack up on cold cuts, chips, bottles of water and beer. Saved them money. Daisy went to the front of the car and snapped the blanket out flat to the hood. The Cadillac was longer than her full-size bed at home. And the warmth from the covered engine brought forth an unexpected comfort against the night-breeze. The desert air had a fragrance. The smells of soil and decaying cypress. She inhaled deeply, loving the tranquility and freedom of the outdoors.

“Pete, c’mon!”

Pete slammed the back door shut, stuffing his face. He plopped on the hood. The metal compressed as he gathered the blanket under his bum.

“Dang it!” Daisy cursed. She struggled to fix it. She hurried back to the car and got their pillows. When she climbed on the hood with him, he had finished his sandwich and was polishing off his beer.

“You’re going to have gas eating that fast. I swear I’ll put you out of the car tonight if you do.”

Pete laughed. “You worry too much.”

“I love you. It’s my job to worry.” Daisy winked.

“Come here, sexy.”

Daisy climbed over. Pete dropped back on the pillows propped against the windshield. Daisy found that she fit between his legs perfectly. She pulled the blanket over them. There was no other place she’d rather be. The stars flashed in the sky like Christmas lights. It looked so different from home. “We ‘gon’ do it, Pete. Get it all, huh?”

“You having doubts?”

“No, but Jessiemae said—”

“Fuck Jessiemae. I told you to not listen to that gossip-hound.”

“She’s my friend.”

“She’s a leech.”

Daisy bit down on the inside of her cheek. She wanted to tell him that it was Jessiemae that gave her the money to bail his crusty butt out of jail when he and Scooter got drunk and raced up and down Blackshear Drive. But she didn’t. It had been Jessiemae that gave her the money for—for the one secret between them. The one secret that still made it hard for her to sleep at night. Pete had no idea how much of a friend Jessiemae could be.

“Hey, I’m sorry. Okay? I didn’t mean to snap at you.” He gave her a squeeze, “I just don’t want you going and getting second thoughts. We stick to the plan. We get a thousand in Vegas and then we head to Washington. In Port Angeles I’ll get work, a good job. Hell, with the money I’ll be making with Ed, we’ll open your nail salon in no time.”

“What if we get more than a thousand?” she smirked.

“We stick to the plan.”

“But think about it, Pete. It’s Vegas. It’s not Hollow Creek. We could easily make ten times that amount with one pull. Or even more. I’m just saying we don’t have to think small. The sky’s the limit, you know?”

“Yeah, I can see that.”

Daisy yawned. “You call your mom to let her know we okay?”

Daisy squealed when Pete squeezed her hard, which meant ‘no.’ It was 2008 and there was a black man running for president, but no one told the town of Hollow Creek. You’d think she had horns like Satan himself with another one sticking out of her ass for how his mother hated her. And her parents felt the same way about him. In fact, everyone over thirty in their town regarded interracial couples with disdain. She and Pete were only out-hated by the feelings the county and its residents had against gays. It didn’t matter. Nothing could separate them. Many had tried. All had failed.

“We can call our folks when we get to Vegas. We might have some news.”

“News?” Daisy’s lids lowered, weighted with fatigue. “You mean if we win?”

“I’ve already won. I got the finest, sweetest gal in all of the Hollow. Open your eyes.”

Daisy’s lashes parted a fraction. She blinked away sleep. Pete wiggled his finger. A diamond rested on it. She shot up, grabbed his hand and gaped at the solitaire. “PETE!"

“Will you marry me?” he asked, rising behind her.

Daisy pulled the ring from his finger. She eyed the tiny gem.

“It’s half a carat,” he whispered in her ear. “Cost me a pretty penny at Wal-Mart but worth it. Now give me your hand.” She held it out. Pete rolled the ring in his palm and slipped it on her finger. “Daisy, will you be my wife?”

Daisy couldn’t swallow the knot in her throat. She struggled with the word but managed to get a hoarse reply. “YES.”

Pete touched her face. He kissed her, softly. He drew her tongue into his mouth, sucking it, possessing it. “I love you.” He moaned within their kiss. Daisy giggled, kissed him once more then turned in his arms, resting on his chest. Her hand went back up for the ring inspection. If he’d asked her in Hollow Creek, she would have certainly said no, just as she did at the thought of being barefoot and pregnant, living in a trailer with him like most young couples their age did after high-school. But now, on the road, headed to their fortune and future, the sky was the limit. She’d be his wife and live the life she knew she was destined to have. Hell, she might pop out a kid or two after they made their way.

“We win big in Vegas, the first thing I’m going to do is replace it with a bigger rock. Like the one those stars wear in those magazines you can’t stop reading.”

“For real? I love it, Pete, but I do want a bigger diamond. Something with dazzle!”

Pete smiled. “I know you do.”

Daisy grinned. She dropped her head on his chest. Things couldn’t be more perfect. Another good omen. When her eyes opened, she saw a light streak across the sky. Her head shot up.

“Pete! Did ya see it?” Daisy squealed.

“Yeah, I saw it.”

Daisy closed her eyes and wished hard, harder than she prayed before the time she sneaked out of the back screen door and ran through the Jefferson’s backyard to meet him on the street. Sure, she was legally an adult then, but her parents never got the memo. Instead of telling them her plans, she left a note and stole away.

“You wish?”

“I did, and part of it has already come true.” She turned and kissed his chin. “I’m so happy.”

Pete pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Me too.”

They laid in silence, heads turned up to the night sky. Together they drifted in each other’s arms, just as they did on the prairie back at Hollow Creek. Dreams. They had their own and ones they shared. Both were ready for the world and all the adventure Las Vegas would bring.

***

“Mr. Keane, the poker room has opened. The banker needs your signature, sir.”

Aiden Keane sat in a large leather office chair facing a wall of monitors. People from all walks of life passed over the screens. Thousands of guests pulled levers, turned over cards, placed bets in hope for the pay-off that odds predicted were well beyond their reach. His private security room to the back of his suite became a duplicate of the one in the galleys of his casino. A coin of solid gold, dating back to the 1800s, rolled from his index finger over each digit until it reached the pinky, then he began to roll it back. Finger play. Aiden was restless.

“Mr. Keane?”

“That will be all.” He scribbled his signature and answered in a discontented voice.

A silence fell over the room, disturbed only by the soft sound of the door closing with Carlene’s departure. Aiden’s eyes, like the green ice eyes of his father, darted from one monitor to the next. Boredom. It ate away at his patience like a cancer. Maybe it was time to leave Las Vegas. But wherever he went, boredom would surely follow.

Aiden Keane was a self-made man—a man of means. He owned three of the major casinos on the strip. The Shamrock had been his latest and greatest, a contemporary 50-story casino-resort, with a 70-foot man-made mountain and five waterfalls. The Shamrock had two shopping malls inside, a golf course where former presidents played, and the largest winning casino in all of Vegas.

What does a man who’s done it all, has it all, acquire next? As Aiden stared at the fortune-seekers milling around his slot machines and game tables—like mice in a maze—he chewed over that question. The gold coin flipped, dipped, and rolled from one finger to the next.

Boredom. There had to be a cure.

Chapter Two

Lights.

To Daisy, Las Vegas was an explosion of electricity, one big ball of light and energy, a trillion blinking, glaring, twinkling, flashing lights. She mused that if the Strip was lights, then the inside of the casinos were bells. There were so many dings, beeps, and whistles one sound out blasted the next, until they blended into one long, monotonous tone. And she loved it.

Daisy held her empty white bucket with its green Shamrock close to her chest. The rolls of chance spun under the plastic display at the Wheel of Fortune slot machine. Her body tensed with anticipation. Ding! Daisy’s breath went solid in her lungs. Hope prevented her from inhaling or exhaling. One cherry, two cherries, and an orange—it was over. She lost. Her nostrils flared. She glared at the busted dream. “Muthafucka,” she mumbled. Daisy’s gaze shifted over to the right at the sound of dropping coins clinking against the metal tray. This proved to be a greater irritant than the losing spin. There sat a silver-haired woman with more colorful jewelry than Liberace. She had lids caked with blue eye shadow and long pink acrylic nails. The woman repeatedly tapped the spin button with the tip of her nail.

Ding-dong-ding—silver-dollar shaped coins dropped. The witch won again.

“How the hell does she keep wining?” Daisy mumbled under her breath. Win or lose, the troll inhabiting a fifty-plus-year-old woman’s body kept playing. And that was clearly the key. Daisy needed more money to really get the machine hot. A dollar here and there did nothing. She glared. She could win; she really could. She had that feeling—it was more like an itch. Daisy felt compelled to scratch. Her losing streak hadn’t been her fault. The old woman apparently knew something Daisy didn’t.

Lights flashed red and yellow over the top of the machine. More coins than Daisy had ever seen a single person win dropped into the tray. To Daisy’s horror, the woman dismissed her winning to play more. How is that fair? The machine was evidently hot. This woman got her payday. The time had come for someone else to take a turn, namely her. Daisy looked around to see if anyone else noticed. She wondered if she should get the casino manager. Wasn’t this breaking some house rule? It wasn’t fair! Why would she hoard the machine if it weren’t the lucky machine?

“Excuse me, ma’am.” Daisy forced a smile.

The woman kept playing.

“EXCUSE ME.”

The woman blinked as if she were wakened from a trance. She greeted Daisy with a warm smile. “Yes, sweetheart?”

“How much longer you gon’ be? You been playing that thing since I got over here.”

“Well I-I—”

“Oh, fuck it!” Daisy grabbed her bucket and shot to her feet. She threw it in an empty chair as she passed anther slot machine. Her mother would drop in a dead faint at the disrespect. Soon her anger shifted to embarrassment. Daisy stopped. She looked back. She should apologize. The casino was at fault. The place was making her crazy. Losing was making her crazy. Her eyes lifted to the sign at the entrance of the casino: Shamrock, Where Dreams Come True.

“Yeah, right,” Daisy chuckled.

Daisy glanced back. Another person had taken the seat she left. The woman she insulted kept playing. Everybody had luck but them.

“Can I get you a drink?” The bubble of jealousy popped. Before her stood a cocktail girl and a serving tray.

“Yeah, thanks but no thanks.” She stalked off. The dark brown layers of her hair shadowed her face and swayed over her shoulders. Daisy tucked the long tresses behind her ear in frustration. She checked each aisle she passed. “Where is he?” she mumbled, nipping at the gloss on her bottom lip.

“I WON!!!” a lady screamed two aisles over.

Daisy rolled her eyes. “Of course you did.”

With a heavy sigh, Daisy headed through the maze of slot machines in search of Pete. Maybe he was getting lucky.

***

“Table thirteen, sir. Got a pair of sharks on the grift.”

Aiden rolled the golden coin through his fingers. He observed the security monitor closely. The dealer received a tap to his shoulder. The man stepped back for the security dealer to take on the game. The new man dealt each player a card. The game was Blackjack and the card-shark on the swindle was a counter. This one technique proved to be smoother than the last. He’d cleaned three tables before he got tagged. He had a knack for balancing his winnings with his losses. Still, no man was that lucky. The problem today the casinos were taken by grifters in all shapes, sizes, and nationalities now. A week ago he had an Asian woman in her sixties. Before that it had been a black kid barely 20. And they were smarter with technology on their side; the hunt for the game versus the gamer was an exhausting merry-go-round ride.

“Take him.” Aiden’s ordered. His gaze switched away from the monitor with disinterest and landed on a beauty who strolled along a less-populated part of his game room. He caught only glimpses of her face. By the way she stopped and checked each aisle, he figured she searched for someone. She wore a faded pair of jeans that rode at the curve of her heart-shaped hips. Her red halter tied at the neck and fit nicely to her tiny waist under a perfect rack. Natural. Fresh. Those were the words that came to mind when she finally turned into the angle of the camera lens and Aiden got a better look. His vision sharpened, lingered on her face. He absorbed the details, until she moved on. So did he.

“What level threat, sir?”

Aiden pocketed his lucky coin. “Break his knees for starters. Find out if he’s working alone and who sent him. Looks like one of Jin Mei’s boys,” he ordered, then turned and walked out of the security room. Sure, his method was barbaric. But in Vegas, baby, things were never as they seemed, especially at his casinos. “I’m walking the floor,” he announced on his stroll to the elevators. His men didn’t wait for the door to close before they went into action.

***

“What you drinking?” A brunette plopped down on the bar seat next to Pete. Immediately, he was reminded of pears or peaches. A fruity, feminine smell lingered, reminiscent of the fragrant lotions Daisy loved to wear.

Pete cut his eyes to the woman at his side. “Beer,” he said gruffly.

“I’ll have an Appletini,” she announced as if Pete had offered. The bartender nodded and began to fix the drink. Pete looked from him to her, ready to object when she turned and gave him a good view of her manufactured tits. Pete guessed them to be bigger than grapefruits and just a tad smaller than watermelons. Anything over a mouthful was a waste of damn time, in his opinion.

“Beer? Yeah, you look like a beer drinker,” she giggled.

Pete’s frown deepened. She couldn’t possibly be for real. He’d heard of airheads and even banged a few, but this giggle-box seemed a little too wired.

“You like what you see?” she asked, running the tip of her pink tongue over the top of her ruby red lips. Pete eyed her from the chin up. He took her in, from her freckles to her brown eyes, then down the bridge of her nose where he noticed the inflamed skin around her nostrils. She wiped at her nose several times and fidgeted on the barstool, agitated visibly by his delayed response.

“So, whatsup? You looking to party?” she pressed. The lime-colored martini had been placed before them. Her hot pink nails plucked the red stem of the cherry and pulled it up from the center of the glass. Her tongue uncurled and she ran the cherry over its tip before drawing it into her mouth. He looked away and smiled. With an amused shake to his head, he drained the rest of his beer.

“My name is Candy. I taste like it too,” she purred, then threw back the drink as if it were lime Kool-Aid.

“So you’re a hooker?”

Her eyes narrowed. She bared too many teeth, in anger. “Fucking hick. Fuck you! Fuck off!” she huffed and stormed away. The eruption of anger drew the attention of the few patrons lined along the bar. Pete flushed with embarrassment. He glared after her. So what did he say to piss her off? The truth?

“Never call a hooker a hooker, sweetie,” A soft voice broke from the other end of the bar. This time, a blonde with sparkling eyes and a heart-shaped face looked up from her drink. She gave him a seductive wink. Rising from the bar, she tossed a tip to the bartender.

“So she was a hooker?” Pete asked.

The woman headed down the length of the bar. “Welcome to Vegas. Hookers and gamblers are just the appetizer.” She looked him over and then directly back into his eyes. “You look green. What’s your name, sweetie?”

“Green? Why, because I’m not interested in buying a whore?”

The woman laughed. “No, because you let her stiff you with that drink.”

Pete looked to the drink. “Shit,” he groaned.

“I’m Andy, by the way.” She extended her hand.

He looked her over. She wore too-tight jeans and a black tank under a jacket that showcased her nicely proportioned chest. “I’m, um, Pete,” he said, shaking her hand.

“Well, Pete, don’t worry. I’m not a hooker. They call me X-tacy when I’m on stage. You know, with an X?” She traced the letter in the air between them with long, blood red fingernails. “Come check out my show. There’s something in it for everyone.”

“No thanks!” said Daisy. She stepped up to the bar with her hands to her hips. Pete shifted on the stool uncomfortably. The last thing he needed was Daisy getting worked up. For one so pretty, Daisy turned mean as a rattler if jealous.

The one called Andy looked from Pete to Daisy. Her smile spread evenly over her lips, her eyes assessing. “Like I said, welcome to Vegas, sugar. Maybe you’ll change your mind.” She eyed Daisy. “Maybe not.”

“Move on, okay!” Daisy snapped. Andy nodded and walked away tossing her yellow-gold locks around her shoulders.

Daisy slammed her hand on the bar. “Okay, what the hell was that Pete?”

“You heard her. Her name is X or Andy or somethin’.”

“I’m tryin’ to win us money and you in here flirtin’ with some ho!”

Pete sighed. “Daisy, I told you to chill. We need to cool it. We’re down to $120.”

“That’s why I came to get you. I won $40.”

Pete eyed her. “How much did you put in?”

“$60, but Pete—”

“That’s it. We need enough to get to Seattle. Ed expects us in three days. No more of this shit.”

“I got an idea. A good idea, Pete! Please listen. Just listen, okay?”

Chapter Three

Aiden eased into a seat. He pulled over the glass ashtray cut into the shape of a shamrock. From the side pocket of his suit jacket, Aiden removed his cigar. He rolled it between his thumb and forefinger, then flicked his lighter. The flame licked the blunt tip until it ignited with sizzling heat. An amber orange glow brightened when he took his fist toke, filling his jaws with the bitter ash taste of the tobacco. The release was a milky puff of three-ringed smoke that floated above the head of the bartender. His eyes lowered to observe the couple at the end of the bar.

“Here you go, Mr. Keane. Dry from your private stock.” Maurice placed the whiskey glass on the bar. The brown beauty with Southern twang whined to her boyfriend. Her voice carried over the two men to his left debating the game on the flat screen TV. He found her interesting. Different.

“What’s your idea, Daisy?” sighed Pete.

“Jobs. We can get a job here. Work the casinos. You know, raise enough money to win more money and then get married. It’s perfect, babe, if you think about it. Perfect. See, I’ve been watching these fools up in here. They stuff the machines to make them pay.”

Aiden smirked. He took another drag from his import. His vision zeroed in on her bouncing breasts. They heaved and fell with each excited breath she released.

“I don’t want to work in a casino, Daze. Especially to gamble. That’s not a plan.”

“Neither do I, but $120 aint enuff money to get back on the road with. We can stay at the motel and save up. Two, three months, and we have more than enough to get our own place when we go to Port Angeles.” She wrapped her arms around her boyfriend's neck and whispered in his ear. “A little condo or something cool like that, where you can get it anytime you want it. Think about it, babe. ’Cause I aint fuckin’ on your cousin Ed’s couch.”

Pete smiled. “We need money, huh?”

“Yes we do!” She kissed his cheek, rubbed his shoulder. “C’mon, baby. Money is at the root of all our problems. Imagine what we can do if it’s our own thing. Ya know?” She fingered the locks at the crown of his head. “What-chu thinking? Tell me.”

“You wearin’ my ring, right?” Pete sipped his second Budweiser.

Daisy checked her finger. The small diamond sparkled. “I sure am.” She extended her hand and wiggled her finger under his nose. “It may be small compared to JLo’s diamond or the rock Mary J. Blige got, but it’s so damn cute. My man takes good care of me.”

“Well, that ring means you my responsibility. If we go to work, then it’s on me. If we stay, that is. I’ll get a job until we have enough money.”

“Pete, I can work too. They have plenty of nail shops around here. Hell, they got them right here in the casinos and stuff.”

“Aint gon’ happen. Not in this town. Too many freaks and weirdo’s.” Pete slammed his beer down on the bar. Aiden flicked an ash. The bartender’s eyes lifted to the couple. Pete sighed. “It aint safe for you, Daisy. It’s my job to protect you.” He took her hand and kissed her ring. “Besides, I made a promise to you when I put this on your finger. I plan to honor it. You won’t regret leaving Hollow Creek.”

“Never, babe. Never.” Daisy dropped her arms on his shoulder. She played with the hair at the back of his nape. She kissed him on the lips in a sexy way that made Aiden’s brow arch. “Now, can we at least try that forty I won? I think I know a machine that’s got our name on it.”

Pete ran his hand down the curves along her side. “Let’s do it.”

Daisy backed away pulling Pete from his barstool. Pete popped her on the ass and she giggled, hitting at him playfully.

“You lookin’ hot in those jeans,” he smirked.

“Don’t even try it. We got business to tend to. Win me some money and I’ll let you take them off me.”

Pete removed a baseball cap from his back pocket. He pulled it down on his head and then dropped his arm around her shoulders as she slipped hers around his waist. “Let’s hurry up and win, then.”

Aiden flicked more ash into the crystal tray. He watched the couple with interest until they disappeared between slot machines.

“Place dead, Boss? No action?” asked Maurice, wiping down the bar.

“It’ll pick up.”

“You planning on hitting the tables? You always seem to get the players going,” Maurice half-kidded. Aiden recognized the truth in what he said. He blended with his customers pretty much unrecognized, except for the gold-diggers. Those bitches seem to have a nose for his kind of wealth.

Rolling dice could cure his terminal case of boredom. He’d hit the game room and draw in the crowd or sit at the poker table and throw the keys of his Ferrari up to make it interesting. Was it legal? Well, the winnings were reported; the losses not so much. Being golf buddies with the Gaming Commissioner had certain privileges.

“Yeah, I think I’ll do that,” said Aiden with a smirk. The little country accent of the dark beauty lingered in his ear over the winning chimes of the slots. She’d caught his attention twice now. That in itself was interesting. Very interesting.

Chapter Four

Daisy checked around the casino floor for Pete. The money had dried up. She knew he would be pissed. She lost sight of him when he disappeared in the sea of people, heading to the bathroom. Hungry, tired, and disappointed Daisy sulked. They had one more night in their fleabag motel. She figured they’d spend it in bed until they figured out what to do next. Maybe they had enough left to order a pizza or something.

The Shamrock had acclaim for being the grandest casino in Vegas. Daisy had to admit, something about the place got her juices flowing. The spinning globes over banks of slot machines announced million-dollar prizes. The sounds of dropping coins filled her with hope. She yearned deeply for a big win. She tossed the bucket on top of the stack of empties. The place was cold, too. Vegas held such extremes: blazing hot outside, frigid cold inside each casino. Daisy rubbed warmth over her goose bumps while she wandered. She checked out the game tables. She wondered why anyone played anything other than the slots. Roulette, for instance. It looked like a waste of money. It was obvious that the casino controlled where the ball dropped. And then there were the card tables, which all looked boring as hell. No pizzazz in it at all. A bunch of fat, sweaty guys hunched over, staring at cards and concentrating in silence. No thanks.

Where the hell did Pete go?

Daisy climbed the carpeted stairs, eyes searching the crowd. Then she heard peals of laughter followed by cheers. Her eyes scanned the tables for the source. There was only one. People were shoulder-to-shoulder, circling. Another cheer erupted like a blast of fireworks and confetti. Several men started digging in their pockets to remove bills to add to the game.

Now that looked promising.

Daisy walked the length of the table, rising on her toes to peek over shoulders. She found it impossible to get a good read on the source of the excitement. What she saw were clear red dice tumbling over casino chips. Then the stickman announced that Mr. Keane was hot on six. Finally there came a shift, a break in the line. Daisy seized the moment and pushed her way in. At the head of the crap table was a man, and not just an ordinary man. This one had the look of a movie star. He wasn’t pretty, or beautiful, but stunningly masculine. If she were a director, she’d cast him as a mafia boss or secret agent. Daisy couldn’t take her eyes off him. He looked smooth. There was such ease in the way he released the dice with a flick of his wrist. His dark suit, dark shirt and tie were impeccable—not a speck of lint. His wrist gleamed with a watch that had to be made of platinum and diamonds.

His physical charm had been just as striking. Daisy noticed how his coal black hair tapered around the ears was finger-combed from his face in deep waves. He had dark brows over a brooding forehead and a strong jaw line with a dimpled chin. Daisy bit her bottom lip when he moistened his in the most sensual way. Then his gaze lifted and locked in on her.

Maybe it had been her imagination. Maybe he wasn’t staring. She was wrong; he winked at her. Even as the other women by his side squealed for his attention, and the pit boss pushed a tall stack of his winnings toward him, he held her stare. There had been a lethal calmness in his eyes. Tension coiled in the pit of her stomach, and heat suffused her body. She feared her face, no matter how brown her skin, turned a scarlet red.

Suddenly, reality popped. Every sound that had been muted before now became amplified. Daisy returned her focus to the green-felted table with bets being dropped from all sides. The stickman moved the bets to the right position on the marked lines and then pushed the red cubes of dice down to the shooter. Daisy stole another glance. She wanted to see the magic happen. And from the looks of him, he made things happen. The stranger paused and again fixed her with an intense stare. A couple of others followed his gaze and focused on her. Did she break a rule? Was this a private table? Pete would be pissed if she got them thrown out because she was acting ‘country’ as he called it. Before slipping back, the man spoke.

“I need a little luck. Join me.”

There was an authoritative coolness in his voice that commanded her attention. It sent a tingle through her. Perhaps it was his height that made him seem so intimidating, or the hard brilliance of his evergreen eyes. No. It was none of those things. It had to be the slight cynical curl to his lips that made her uneasy. As if he’d been waiting for her. Now everyone at the table looked at her. Daisy couldn’t speak. She couldn’t move. She couldn’t believe that he singled her out.

“Um, I don’t have any money,” she mumbled, backing away. Others laughed. Daisy smiled, not sure if they were laughing with her or at her. The stranger with the green eyes didn’t. She wondered if he ever laughed. Did he survive on that sexy smirk alone?

“It’ll be painless. I promise,” he said.

A floor man stepped behind her. “This way, Miss.” He took her elbow, as if royalty had asked for her presence. She allowed it. She was hand-delivered to the tall man that smelled like money.

“What do I do?” asked Daisy.

He stepped behind her. She was warmed in the cool casino by his nearness. His palm opened in front of her while he placed his free hand to the bend of her hips and whispered darkly into her ear.

“Your name, sweetness?”

“D-Da-Daisy,” she swallowed.

“Daisy.” He rolled her name over his tongue as if savoring a fine wine. A chuckle at the base of his throat barely surfaced, but she heard it. His hand tightened to her hip, his fingers applying just enough pressure to make his presence known. It sent a current of his desire through her in a way no man had ever done before.

“Blow for me,” he said, in a sinfully thick accent.

Scottish? wondered Daisy. Her eyes dropped to the clear dice lying on the golden shamrock stenciled on the felt. Not Scottish. Irish. She looked back over her shoulder into his.

“C’mon lady! Blow on the damn dice! Let’s go already!” A portly man on the other side of the table grunted, snapping Daisy out of it. She realized what was expected of her and leaned forward to blow over the dice cradled in his hand.

“I’m Aiden, by the way.” He spoke again, and she looked back into his eyes. He leaned into her, holding her hip, which she didn’t mind. His closeness pressed a wall of masculinity into her. He winked again and let the dice fly.

The box man waited until they rolled to a stop. “Winner Six! Pass line bets wins!”

Several people cheered while others groaned. Daisy couldn’t tell if she’d done a good thing or a bad thing. She looked back at Aiden. His face was so close, she could feel the sharp smell of his cigar on his breath. “Did you win?”

“It appears so. Can I have a little more?” he said, his mouth close to hers. “Luck, that is.”

“Sure, it’s fun.” Daisy leaned away. She enjoyed the game immensely. She also enjoyed the way he hovered, though she pretended not to notice. It was just flirting. Besides, she was learning something. This could be a good way to turn things for her and Pete. What could be the harm?

“Work that magic for me one more time.” His hand went down her hip then drew respectfully away. He placed the dice in her hand. It would be her throw next. Daisy swallowed the lump in her throat. She shook off the nervous flutters that sent tremors through her hands and then smiled up at him. Was he some tycoon that dropped gold coins wherever he went? Could a little more encouragement prove lucrative? He had touched her. It was a brush of his hand, but a girl knows when a man intends more in his touch. Pete would be pissed if he saw that. Daisy withered as a sobering pang of guilt stabbed at her heart. Not for just allowing it, but also for secretly liking it.

“Give me room,” said Daisy. He stepped back with his hands raised. Daisy exhaled. Finally she could process a thought.

"Comin' out! Bet those hard ways. How about the C and E? Hot roll comin', play the field. Any mo' on yo?" The stickman might as well have been speaking French. Daisy watched the bets stack up in an assortment of colorful chips. She realized that there was a science to the strange chant. She looked over at her handsome benefactor. He just stared on, unconcerned about his fortune in her hands. That was sexy. She shook the dice in her cupped palm. She said a quick prayer. She hoped she didn’t blow it. Daisy let it roll…

***

Pete pushed his way out of the men’s room. It was worse than game day at the stadium. He figured all the free drinks kept the never-ending line growing. He checked his wristwatch. He couldn’t believe how late it was. Time stood still in a casino.

Pete hadn’t told Daisy, but he’d stashed an extra three hundred he’d borrowed off his cousin, for emergencies. That meant they could stay in the thirty dollars a night roach motel a little longer while he searched for a job. He might even treat her to a buffet. A man in the bathroom said the seafood buffet at the Rio was good. He continued his stroll. His girl was right. She always was. They needed cash. It was his job to find it for them. She deserved the best. Walking through the slots, Pete scanned the faces glued to the machines. She wasn’t going to last long on the machines with just forty dollars, so he figured she was probably hanging around the bar. The sounds of laughter and cheers perked in his ears. A large crowd had formed around a game table. It left the other tables barren in comparison. Pete ignored the players. Whoever the lucky sap was, his winnings wouldn’t do shit for him. He headed to the bar instead. Empty. Confused, he wished they had more than one cell phone. Daisy’s phone had been on her mom’s plan, so she’d left hers behind. She said she felt like it would be a leash for her parents to guilt her into coming back home. Sometimes Daisy’s thinking confounded him. They needed the fucking phone.

Pete circled the casino floor. He soon found himself drawn to the game table once more, just to take a peek at what the excitement was about. But getting a look over the shoulders of on-lookers and side betters proved not worth it. Until he heard: “I did it!! I did it!!!”

“Lady wins, lucky number six,” announced the stickman.

Pete knew that voice in his sleep. He forcibly pushed aside the men to get in. He found his Daisy jumping up and down. His eyes dropped to the stack of chips pushed over toward her.

“What the hell is going on?” snapped Pete.

“Pete!” Daisy gasped. She turned and handed a pair of dice to a sharply dressed man behind her. Their eyes met and Pete disliked him immediately. “Oh baby, you should have seen me. I won. Well, he won, but I did it for him!” She pointed to the man whose stare never wavered.

“What’s up, man?” Pete glowered.

“Daisy. She’s as pretty as she is lucky.”

Pete put his arm possessively around Daisy’s shoulder. He felt pride at the way she hugged him back. Her arm eased around his waist firmly. The stupid grin on her face didn’t fade. The man reached in the pile of chips, then handed Daisy a yellow one. “You earned it.”

The table thinned. Apparently the game was over. The floor man retrieved the other winnings for his boss. Daisy accepted the coin and turned it over.

“A thousand dollars!” she gasped.

Pete frowned. “We can’t take that.”

“You can.” He looked directly at Daisy. “Maybe our paths will cross again someday.”

Daisy put the chip in front of his eyes to break the glare that Pete shared with the man. He couldn’t even deny the appeal of a thousand dollar coin. When he looked up again, the stranger had moved on.

“A thousand dollars. He gave us a thousand dollars. Baby, do you see this? Omigod!! We did it! We got it! A thousand dollars!” she squealed, then hugged his neck tightly.

“You did it.”

Daisy grabbed his hand. She pulled him away from the table. They went to the cashier booth. Daisy was so excited, she bounced on her heels. The woman counted out ten crisp hundred-dollar bills. She took the cash, turned, and waved the money like a fan.

“Daisy, jeez!” Pete snatched the bills and shoved them in his front jean pocket. “You don’t want to let everyone know you won. It’s dangerous.”

“Oh, okay. Sorry, baby,” she gushed.

Pete smiled. “I didn’t think you’d do it. I really didn’t. But you did! And you know what?”

“What?”

“Let’s get married. Let’s do it before we head to Port Angeles. I’ll buy you the prettiest dress.” Daisy leapt into his arms in front of the cashier booth, kissing his face and nearly knocking his cap from his head.

“I love you so much! I do.”

“I love you too, Daze.”

“Pardon me?”

Daisy and Pete froze. There stood a casino worker in a green sports coat with the hotel’s gold shamrock insignia on his lapel. The man waited to be acknowledged.

“What is it?” Pete asked, alarmed.

“Mr. Keane would like to invite you both to dinner at the Lucky Charms restaurant upstairs. As his personal guest.”

“Mr. Keane? Who’s that?” Pete asked.

Daisy held his hand. She stared on blankly. “Somebody important, I suppose.”

The casino manager looked from both their wide eyes in disbelief. “Mr. Keane is the owner of the Shamrock Casino, sir. Now please, this way.”

Pete looked to Daisy. “Owner? You met the owner?”

“No, I didn’t. I was just playing at the—” She looked back to the tables and thought of Mr. Green Eyes. She remembered the name the stick man used. “Oh, wow. He was the owner?”

“Who, dude shitting thousand-dollar coins?”

“Pete!” she said, hitting his arm.

“Tell him we decline.”

“No!” Daisy glared at him. “I want to go. It’s the least we could do.”

The casino manager’s eyes went to Pete, who frowned at Daisy. She poked out her lip in a pout. If he didn’t give in, she’d give him hell the rest of the night. And he craved her. He could rush through the dinner and get her in bed probably in the next hour. “Fuck it. Let’s get it over with so we can get the hell out of here.”

“Thank you, baby!” Daisy pop-kissed his cheek.

The casino manager smirked. “Right this way, Sir. Miss?”

Chapter Five

Nice. That, and whoa-we-done-made-it-now, were the first thoughts to come to Daisy’s mind. Elegance was in the simplicity. She’d heard that on the Travel Channel. The Lucky Charm restaurant was reservation-only. Daisy had read all about the extravagances of the Shamrock in the lobby of the casino. She had no hope of sampling any. Even if they were to win their thousand, a night here would take that times four.

The place catered to celebrities and millionaires, not a pair of backward yokels out of Hollow Creek, Kentucky. Pete felt it too. His questioning gaze slipped to her from under the brim of his baseball cap. When she looked over at him, he smiled. She knew he struggled to remain confident. When you take a fish out of water, instinctively it wiggles and thrashes to jump back in. She felt the pull in Pete’s eyes for them to jump back into the universe where they belonged. But why would she? He knew her dreams. She talked his ear off on the road out of the Hollow about eating in a place just like this.

The Lucky Charm proved to be all she imagined. The placed smelled of polished refinement with a hint of class. Expensive. There was soft lighting in the entrance hall. Visibility was dimmed to a candle-soft yellow. Above them, lamp fixtures were nestled in cone-shaped sconces, casting light-beams that manipulated shadows and set the scene for seduction. It’s what a place like this did to a girl like her—seduced her. The walls were darkly paneled, which was a nice touch to the black-cherry leather chaise trimmed in copper where guests could wait. Together they approached the host’s stand. She stepped over the mirrored surface of the marbled floor and saw her wide-eyed expression reflected back.

Daisy found it hard to curb the giddy bubbles that popped and fizzed in her stomach. She batted her eyes and smiled sweetly. Such a treat. She looked to the man standing at the four-foot tall podium. A small green-and-gold desk lamp shone down over the ledger he studied. The yellow luminance cast the maître d,’ dressed in head-to-toe black attire, in an interesting light. Almost creepy. He was lean, sinewy, with a receding hairline, pale white skin—odd for a resident of a desert town. The man had a pointed nose, shaped like the beak of a Toucan.

Pete cleared his throat. That’s right, baby, take charge, thought Daisy. She figured the man intentionally ignored them. When a pair of beady eyes flipped up above gold-rimmed spectacles, then dropped in abject dismissal, she was proven right. Daisy narrowed her eyes. The casino manager had stopped to speak to someone on his staff so they were presently unescorted. She fumed. Growing up in the Hollow with the town divided into haves and have-nots, she’d taken her fair share of backhanded compliments and blatant disrespect. Especially when she snagged the most popular football jock from the most respected farming family. Mrs. Doyle had envisioned a different type of girl for her son. The rumors got so bad her father had the nerve to forbid her from dating him. She didn’t care what her dad thought; therefore, she sure as hell wouldn’t care about this jerk. Who did this asshole think he was?

“I know you see us standing here,” said Daisy. Pete squeezed her hand; a silent order to behave that further irritated her. She snatched her hand away. Her mama said that you didn’t have to get loud or ghetto to get your point across. Daisy agreed. But mama never said to take no shit from some beanpole with a funky attitude, either. The words rose in her throat and reached her lips as she prepared to give the man the business, before he spoke.

“Reservation?” His voice came across nasal and dry.

“The lady and gentleman are guests of Mr. Keane’s.” The casino manager appeared at their side with an apologetic smile. She noticed the crypt-keeper had a new awareness in his scarecrow eyes.

“That’s our reservation,” said Daisy in triumph, the corner of her mouth lifting in sass. Now she understood. Aiden Keane was the Messiah. Evoke his name and the sea of pretension parted. She liked the way this one now had a spark ignited under his uptight ass.

“Of course, of course. Your table awaits.” He gave a polite bow of his head then snapped his bony fingers. A short, handsome Asian man appeared instantly from behind the wall partition. Daisy stifled a laugh. Were they kidding? So they kept the employees hidden in an assembly line to be summoned by this fool’s command?

“Enjoy your evening.” The casino manager extended his hand to Pete. He shook it firmly and then strolled off.

***

“C’mon, babe. You heard the man. Your table awaits,” Pete smirked.

Daisy tossed her hair with flare, then strutted ahead of him with her chin turned upward. Pete watched her go, amused. She was going to really enjoy this. He couldn’t help but take pleasure in seeing her so excited. They were escorted to the back of the establishment, along a clear path that separated the diners from those that ate near a bricked-in fireplace, which emitted no heat. The room had floor-to-ceiling windows, offering a panoramic view of the strip. Pete’s was drawn to the evening sky. A dusky purple from the setting sun made it the perfect backdrop for a special evening. It would have been nice if he could have brought Daisy to a place like this. He always thought she was destined for more. This place was her style, not his. He smiled. He’d just try to get through this dinner so they could go and do his favorite pastime: layup.

Pete had to admit the place was pretty swank. It smelled fancy. The patrons had real money. The kind of money that folds and wasn’t palm-sweaty from trying to squeeze every cent out of it. In truth, it made him a little uncomfortable. He wasn’t a hillbilly. He’d eaten out plenty: Red Lobster, The Sizzler, even Bennigan’s in Louisville. Daisy demanded to be treated a certain way. He couldn’t count the number of nights she would rattle on about some exotic location or dream place to eat. His girl lived through the Travel Channel. So he would do this for her. Besides, he got a kick from watching her nervously check her hair and bat her eyes at the other patrons they passed. Pete could watch her all day and fuck her all night. He removed his hat from his head and shoved it in his back pocket, in a small attempt to groom himself as well.

“Isn’t it cool?” asked Daisy, sliding over in the booth seat.

“Yeah, it is,” Pete answered. He joined her in the private booth big enough for eight. Dimpled cherry-colored leather seating circled the table.

“The wine list, sir.” The waiter handed it to Pete. He looked up and nodded his thanks. “Mr. Keane wants you to enjoy your evening with compliments of the Shamrock.” Both he and Daisy were rendered speechless. “That means everything is paid for.” The waiter cleared his throat and continued. “My name is Keiff. May I suggest the Charms ***********ion for your dinner this evening?”

“Ah, yeah, thanks.” Pete said, looking over to his girl. Daisy grinned at him and nodded; she agreed. “In that case, since it’s on y’all, give us two bottles of whatever you pick.”

It was the waiter’s turn to blink. Daisy nodded that she agreed again. She was all nods and grins now. Pete ran his hand over her knee, under the table. The air was charged with her excitement.

“Very well.” The waiter walked off and Daisy moved in closer. “Do you believe this? Get a load of this place! Jeez.”

“Nah, I can’t.” He opened the leather folder and checked the wines, then tossed it, reaching for the menu.

“Wonder if we won something? You know like on those reality shows. Like when you go somewhere and cameras are hidden and they kind of set ya up.” Daisy leaned forward so her long bangs fell over her left eye. “Pete, we could be on camera right now. I bet that’s what this is.”

“Don’t know, but a menu without prices means we can’t afford it. I hope this aint a set-up,” Pete mumbled.

“Set up? What-chu mean?”

“Daisy, you can be so naïve sometimes. They do stuff like this. Try to hook you into staying in their hotel. By the time we get back downstairs they’ll be picking that grand out of your purse.”

Daisy squinted at the faces of the wait staff and diners. “You think they tryin to set us up?”

Pete shrugged. “It’s possible.” He scanned the ***********ions and found them all too complicated. He’d prefer the pizza and beer back in their motel.

“I don’t think so, Pete. I mean they gots to know we aint got no money.”

“I don’t see anything I want on this menu. How about we do the buffet instead?”

Daisy checked the menu. “Get the lobster, babe. You always like it at Red Lobster. We can’t go wrong with seafood. Besides, this meal is free. Don’t you want to have a special dinner with me?”

“I guess. Maybe we can get it to go?” he half-kidded.

Daisy cut her eyes. This was a dream, her dream, and Pete always tried to talk her out of it. She wasn’t going to cave this time.

“A place like this don’t have no to-go bags,” Daisy mumbled. She swept the restaurant again. What if the restaurant had a hidden camera? She wished she had a chance to freshen up her lip-gloss or had chosen something cute to wear. Noticing his pout, she tried again to up sell his dinner choices.

“Babe, this stuff sounds good… wha-chu talkin about?” She put her menu in front of him. “Halibut with oyster mushroom and lemon butter sauce or a 28-ounce T-bone with sautéed mushrooms and roasted corn tomato salad. So what you in for, fish or steak tonight? Bet they do a steak better than Bubba does on the grill.”

“Ya think?”

“Mhmm.”

Pete sat back. Daisy dropped her head on his shoulder. “Aren’t you tired of living off ham and cheese? Let’s enjoy it. It’s our celebration dinner, the one we have before we get married. The last one we have as just Daisy Johnson and Pete Doyle.”

Pete’s head turned, and she was able to look up into the clear blue of his eyes. He leaned in and brushed his nose with hers. “Don’t you get it, Daisy?” he smiled. “With you, I’d eat ham and cheese every day.”

Sweet. Pete had always been strange that way. He was the kind of guy that would fall asleep right after sex while in your arms or catch an attitude that would have you suffering through a week of the silent treatment over the simplest infraction. Then he’d say something so sweet, so loving, it would make her want to fuck him senseless. Daisy lifted her face to kiss him softly. “I love you, Peter Joseph Doyle.”

“I love you too, Daze.” He kissed her nose. “And you’re right. Fuck it. We might as well enjoy it.”

“How about sushi!” she asked, her eyes wide. “For an appetizer?”

“Isn’t that raw fish?” Pete frowned.

“Tempura.”

“Temp-what?”

“Silly, I saw it on the Travel Channel. Long as we order tempura, it’s cool. Just shrimp and crab stuff, all cooked.”

“Where is the wine?” Pete frowned. “Looks like I’m gonna need it.”

Daisy laughed. “You are.”

Chapter Six

Aiden Keane arrived. He stepped out of his private elevator and strolled through his restaurant, rolling the golden coin over his fingers. Stopping in the shadowed entrance to the private dining alcove, his eyes did a complete sweep. The restaurant manager tripped over himself to land at his side. The man fixed his suit and adjusted his tie. “Sir, we’ve seated your guests. Please follow me"

Keane’s other hand went up and the man fell silent.

“I see them,” said Aiden. He flipped back his jacket to bury his left hand in his pant pocket, as he worked the coin between his fingers with the right. He should have said he saw her, because his eyes closed the distance between them and her beauty radiated like a lighthouse beacon. She sipped her wine and smiled at something the young man next to her whispered in her ear. In his mind, he could hear the soft chuckle that escaped those sexy plump lips of hers. Several seconds passed and his eyes never left her. Boredom. In the Keane family it always made for very, very, bad boys.

The manager and the other diners faded. Aiden walked through the restaurant, focused on the flower he planned to pluck. Twirling the coin, his green eyes sharpened and held her in sight.

“Shit, it’s him,” mumbled Pete.

“Him who?” Daisy returned her glass to the table. She looked out into the restaurant. It was him. He moved and others stepped aside. She’d never been so captivated by another. Pete could have been in front of him waving a burning flag and Aiden Keane wouldn’t have blinked. He focused solely on her. Daisy’s pulse raced from his boldness. She feared and innocently yearned the liberation in his confidence. His eyes were striking. Daisy felt powerless to look away. She prayed Pete didn’t notice. She meant no disrespect. Aiden Keane demanded things of any woman lucky enough to be snared within that captivating stare. She felt weak. She had to respond. He brought with him an air of authority. There was something else. His hand? It sparkled. A golden item moved between his fingers. Daisy tore her gaze away from his. The shiny thing broke the spell. She focused on it with a wildly beating heart. A coin?

Daisy’s gaze slowly climbed his frame as he drew near. The smile in his eyes carried a sensual flame now. It wasn’t as calculating as before. Aiden tugged on that invisible thread of attraction, the one she’d felt secretly from the moment he lifted his eyes to hers over the dice game. Pete! She looked to Pete to see if he noticed Aiden Keane’s effect on her, and her stomach soured to find that he did.

“He probably wants to say hi.” Daisy released a nervous chuckle. Aiden stopped before them. Daisy lowered her gaze to her wine. Was it hot in there? Or just her? She shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

“Welcome to Shamrock,” their benefactor said.

“Thanks,” Daisy answered first. She shouldn’t have. Her voice came out hurried and girlish in pitch. Pete looked at her and she rolled her eyes, wanting to smack herself. She had to get it together. There was no reason for her to be flustered. Amusement flickered in Aiden’s half-smile. He sat without being invited. Daisy understood that her intimacies from earlier had opened this door.

“So this is your hotel?” Pete asked, drawing the stranger’s attention back to him. The spell was broken, and Daisy could breathe again. Pete frowned at her exhalation; he forced Daisy to scoot over.

“I’m Aiden Keane.”

“Hi!” Daisy said. She dropped her hand to Pete’s knee under the table and rubbed softly to cool his temper. He didn’t like the way the man kept staring at her, and worse was the way she stared back. She could feel it.

“I’m Pete. You met my fiancée, Daisy.”

“That I did,” Aiden smirked. “She has an eye for the dice.”

“She sure does, and I have an eye on her,” Pete said. He dropped his arm heavily around her shoulders. Daisy squirmed. She bit down hard on her bottom lip to keep from telling him to let up. Pete must have sensed it: he tightened his hold and she stilled. She cut her eyes and saw the glare he fixed on Mr. Keane. Aiden Keane didn’t seem pressed to explain himself further or the reason for the dinner invitation. It was as if he waited for something. For what? The busboy arrived and cleaned away their plates. The sommelier refilled their glasses with the second $300 bottle of wine. All the while, no one spoke.

“So you the owner, huh?” Pete unclenched his mouth. “What you got some Howard Hughes complex? Giving away money and stuff.”

“Pete,” Daisy whispered, mortified. She cringed over the heavy dose of sarcasm in his voice. She was sure that Aiden did, too. Aiden’s penetrating stare shifted from Daisy to Pete. It hardened.

“Not quite. I own several casinos on the strip. I like to join in the fun every now and then.” They returned to Daisy and softened. “Looking for entertainment.”

Daisy couldn’t believe it. Was this man flirting with her in front of Pete? How old was he? Forty? No, mid-thirties? He had to be older than her and Pete that was for sure. She crammed against Pete with his hold tightening on her shoulders. She had to do something before Pete lost his cool and embarrassed her.

“Thanks again for the tip.” Daisy forced a demure smile. “We-we really appreciated it.”

“You staying here?” Aiden asked her.

“Here?” Pete snorted. “No. A little too ritzy for us. We got a place downtown Vegas.”

“Right, downtown,” Aiden smirked.

A cold, congested look settled on Pete’s face. Daisy felt the sting too. Downtown Vegas had the seedy hotels. It spoke volumes about the kind of trip this was for them. Mr. Keane’s gaze moved out into the restaurant. Daisy followed his line of sight. She caught the exchange between him and the manager with just a simple nod. The guy next to her was unusually quiet. Daisy knew that wasn’t a good sign. Maybe it was best to end this little flirtation, or whatever it was. She felt tired. She had a lot to do to get ready for their wedding. The manager made his way over.

“Yes sir, Mr. Keane?” The man who approached the table said.

“Mr.?” Aiden cut Pete an expectant look.

“Doyle,” Pete ground out.

“Mr. Doyle and his fiancée will be staying with us at the Shamrock. Make sure they are accommodated with a Tower suite, as my guests.”

“That’s too generous,” Daisy gasped.

“Hey man, we can’t accept that. We pay our own way.” Pete lowered his arm and bumped her with his hip. “Let’s go Daisy. Can’t accept your offer, dude.”

“Of course not.” Aiden’s deep voice stopped them. “I haven’t made an offer, yet.” His hand rested on the table. Daisy and Pete paused. The word ‘yet’ hovered between them. Daisy’s eyes slipped to the golden coin. When he spoke with his thick Irish accent, Daisy found herself awed by it. But there had to be a reason for the attention, the careful placed words, the stolen glances. She wanted to hear what it was. Had she mistaken the never-ending stares for flirtation when there was something more? Did they win something? Money? The coin bobbed and dipped between Aiden’s fingers, glistenined in the dim lighting.

“Tell me, Pete. What would you do with a million dollars?” he asked.

“A million dollars?” Pete leveled his eyes, frowning.

Aiden quirked a brow. “Yes. One million dollars.”

Pete heard a soft wheeze release from Daisy’s gaping mouth. He didn’t even look at her. He could only imagine the drool on her chin. This man was fucking with them. Had to be.

“Never thought about it,” Pete answered.

“Pete!” chirped Daisy. He cut his eyes at her and she bobbed her head like one of those dolls in the gift shop. “We talk about it all the time. A million dollars? You’d open your Sports Bar and I—”

“What’s your game, man?” Pete cut Daisy short.

Aiden set the coin to a spin on the tabletop. Their focus lowered to the coin as it glided over the polished wood.

“Gambling. Made a fortune off of it.” Aiden’s gaze lifted to Pete’s, and a dark smile eased across his lips. “Seen a few people come through the casino doors, then walk out millionaires. Seen even more lose it all. Let’s say I’m curious.” The coin fell flat. Aiden’s hand covered it. “My game, Mr. Doyle, is chance. I can give you one. So I ask again, what would you do with a million dollars?”

“We’d do what other people do, I guess. Make our lives better. Get married and stuff.”

“Right, but you two are on your way to doing that regardless of money—correct?” Aiden gave a pointed nod to the ring on Daisy’s hand. She lowered it from the table. Pete felt a tinge of anger over the action. She blushed.

“Yes, we are, thanks to the thousand dollars I won today,” She said. “Thanks to you.”

“Sure. Thanks. Now let’s go, Daisy.” Pete gave her a nudge.

Daisy threw her hands up. “Pete, please. Look at this place. Let’s stay. I want to. It’s obvious he’s giving us a chance to play more, to win more.”

Pete saw more than he wanted to in her eyes and heard it in her voice. She had that ‘don’t make me stay in the roach motel another night’ look. Well, exactly what was he supposed to do with his pride? This slick older dude had given his girl her dreams twice already. Now he dangled a huge carrot. Why? He looked back to Aiden Keane and his eyes, like those of a hawk, watchful and predatory. The manager returned during the silent stand-off. A silver keycard was placed before them. Daisy ran her fingers over the metal card.

“May I suggest, Mr. Doyle, that you call it? You stay here at the Shamrock. It falls the other way then you and the pretty lady take leave. Your choice. That and a little chance.”

Daisy shook her head fiercely trying to get Pete’s attention. There was no way in hell she wanted to gamble with a night in the most expensive hotel on the strip. But Pete liked the offer a lot better if it were left to chance and not to this man who couldn’t keep his fucking eyes off his girl.

“Heads and we stay,” he said.

“Pete, no!”

“HEADS.” Pete gave her a stern look. Daisy removed her hand from the hotel key. Satisfied for the moment, Pete quirked his brow at Aiden. “So what’s up? We staying or not?”

Aiden lifted his hand; his girl's eyes bulged out of her skull. Pete dared the same look.

“It appears you are staying,” smirked Aiden.

Daisy snatched up the hotel key. Pete wanted to check the coin but Aiden removed it and flipped it between his fingers. Pete looked over to Daisy with disappointment in his heart. Was she into this guy and the things he could do for her? Did money mean that much?

“Care for another wager, Mr. Doyle?”

Daisy tried to still her beating heart. She could kick Pete’s ass for the testosterone play. This wasn’t one of those goofball friends of his he could jerk around with. This man, well, he had been different. She barely heard the question on the table before Pete responded.

“What, you got more coins in your pockets?”

Aiden’s eyes gleamed in amusement.

“How much did you win tonight?” Daisy asked. It was time to end the pissing contest before she was back in that funky motel. “I kept rolling the dice and you kept winning, but I just couldn’t tell.”

“Not sure. I gave it all back to the hotel.”

Her eyes froze on his lips when he spoke. Despite her resolve to ignore the attraction, a tinge of desire tickled her below with the way each syllable formed over his lips.

“All a game for you, huh, man?” Pete threw cool water over the flame between her legs.

“Like I said, it’s business.” He studied Daisy thoughtfully. “My next wager is all about pleasure.” The huskiness lingered in his voice.

“Pleasure? What kind of pleasure?” Pete asked.

“You two like to gamble, I take it.” Aiden cut Daisy a sharp look.

“Well, I do, but Pete gets bored with it quick,” she answered.

Pete shrugged. “Just don’t like the odds. Honest man, if you were to really give out the kind of money you advertise, you’d go bankrupt. If I’m going to gamble, I want the chips stacked in my favor.”

“So you’d gamble if it’s in your favor?” Aiden asked. “Question is, what do you really have to lose?”

“I get it. You want to spot us some money to gamble with? What, for publicity or something?” Pete asked. Aiden sat back. The humor sparkling in the depths of his eyes started to grate on Daisy’s nerves. The longer it went on, the more she got the feeling that he was toying with them. Pete in particular. Baiting him. That had begun to really put a damper on her thoughts of his sexy demeanor. This wasn’t about publicity for the hotel. This man made it personal. She sensed it. But Pete either refused to see it, or tried to talk himself out of the mounting anger he felt at the attention he kept showering her with.

“Money, the kind that can give you the American dream. Think about it. What’s it worth to you? Enjoy your stay in Shamrock. We’ll meet again.” Aiden eased out of the booth, shooting Daisy one last parting glance before he strolled away.

“What the hell did that mean?” Pete snapped.

“I dunno.”

“What’s wrong with you?” Pete asked. He stared so hard at her, she was sure he’d read her mind. Daisy grabbed her wineglass and drained it in a pathetic attempt to extinguish the inferno that blazed like a wildfire in her gut. He didn’t mean what she thought he meant. She lifted her gaze and saw his broad shoulders disappear out of sight.

“Nothing. Let’s go get our things from the motel and check in.”

Pete picked up the key. "This is heavy for a hotel key," he mumbled. He rubbed the shiny finish with his thumb. “What do you think he meant by pleasure?”

“I dunno, Pete. C’mon, let’s go.”

He looked at her once more. Daisy sighed and forced a sweet smile. “Dude was being an ass but screw him. We got the room and each other, plus a thousand dollars. We got more than we thought we could. Now don’t you want to celebrate?”

To this, Pete did soften to his pliable, agreeable state. He drank down his wine and nodded. “Let’s roll.”

***

Bags in hand, Pete stood solidly at Daisy’s side. The elevator, layered in golden mirrors, climbed silently. A Neil Diamond tune played softly from unseen speakers. Daisy read Pete’s stony expression reflecting back at her off the elevator doors. Two bottles of wine and the silent treatment later, Daisy feared her night with him would be a bust. It was her fault. She knew that since she was guilty of so much. Aiden Keane was in her thoughts as each minute stretched into the next.

“What’s wrong, babe?” she asked, trying to sound light, jovial, hoping that he would just let his disappointment in her go.

“Still trying to figure that dude out.”

“Pete, let it go already. Good grief. The guy is gone. Let’s just let it go.”

“What did he mean about pleasure?”

“You know what he meant.”

“No. Why don’t you tell me? Seems like you two were having a different conversation.”

“Huh?” she gasped. The elevator stopped. The mirrored doors parted to the private floor. The Tower suites were accessible through a private VIP check in. Daisy had declined the bellhop services. After one look at the Louis Vutton, Gucci, and Burberry luggage on his cart, she decided to carry her own TJ Maxx twenty-five dollar Pierre Cardin. The floor was as grand as she thought it would be. The carpet was again the Irish green, the walls olive with a cream-colored trim. Their floor only had four suite doors. Daisy walked along, her eyes seeking 5033A. She chose to ignore Pete’s question. She wasn’t going to let his attitude ruin it for her. This was the moment she’d been itching for since that key was placed in her hand. She dropped it into the slot. The little green light blinked; there was a soft click. Daisy pushed down on the door handle and it gave. She slowly opened the door to their private suite. She couldn’t bring herself to cross the threshold.

“What’s the problem?” Pete groaned. “Go in.”

“Oh, sorry.”

Daisy let her luggage handle go after the third step. The carpet was a plush moss and the walls a leaf green with golden stripes in the wallpapering. To the left, through the open bathroom door, were polished marble floors, golden, with a soaking tub, glass enclosed shower, private toilets, night-lights under his-and-her sinks. Daisy’s eyes stretched wide. A flat-screen TV and telephone were in the bathroom.

“Daze, move.”

She did, like a windup toy. His voice remained the only way she could process thought or provoke action. Daisy went through the suite and stopped before an ottoman, dining table and chairs, a private desk, and flat-screen wall-mounted television. The bed was king size, with the thickest mattress she’d ever seen, covered with a cream and green duvet and pillows stacked against a large headboard. Pete came behind her. His hand dropped on the wall. Inadvertently, he hit a button and surprised them both by the automation that made the drapes part.

“Tell me this isn’t paradise. Tell me!” Daisy breathed.

“Yeah, it’s cool.”

“Cool! Pete. Look at it? Look. Wow. I didn’t imagine this. I mean I imagine this all the time, but… I guess I just didn’t believe it could happen. Not truly.”

Pete did as she asked and took a long hard look. Daisy gave him a moment to take in this suite, standing before the open window with the night covering and the room reflected in the glass. Pete looked so good to her. She bit down on her bottom lip. She wanted to get wrapped up in his arms and just enjoy it. Her body was a lightning rod for sensations: joy, happiness, excitement. They churned in her, fueling the heat that warmed her skin. Daisy took a step toward him. Pete’s eyes searched hers and she stopped. She knew her guy. He was wounded. His feelings were hurt. Why? Look at the payoff her flirtation brought.

“Pete, I love you, okay? So much.” Daisy put her hand on his chest. She stepped closer. Her hand glided down his pecs, nice and slow. “We’re getting married tomorrow. Tonight is your last night as a free man.” His eyes lowered to her hand. She touched his jaw with the other and then ran the pad of her thumb over his bottom lip. “Talk to me. How do you want to spend it?”

Pete swept her up into his arms. She grinned. To see her happy did soothe him. But he was angered too, so possessively angry that it made it hard to just go with the flow. She grabbed his face and kissed him. All other thoughts of betrayal flared. He slipped her his tongue; she wrapped her soft thighs around his waist. Her mouth felt yieldingly, moist, within his kiss. The tentative stroke of her tongue sent the blood rushing to his groin. That was it. He had to have her. Show her.

Pete walked them over to the bed. Daisy dragged her petal soft lips from his hungry kiss to pepper his face with soft kisses, trailing them down his neck. She gave a little gasp when he dropped her on the bed and fell on top of her, giggling. He could make love to her later. Right now, he wanted her. His dick burned and beat out a drumming urgency to get buried deep inside of her. Daisy understood that without his explaining. She undid her red halter. Pete worked the top of her jeans down her curvy hips and the length of her soft brown legs.

“Wanna take a shower? The bathroom has a Jacuzzi tub and a TV.” Daisy giggled. Pete ignored her. He snatched off her panties and threw them aside. He undid his zipper and released himself with a silent grunt. He had no control. She drove him crazy. She always did.

“Pete, c’mon baby. Let’s do it right. Slow down. Don’t….” She tried to flip over and get off the bed and soften his pace. He grabbed her ankle and dragged her over the duvet; she gripped the cover, pulling it with her. He then came up behind her. Immediately, he exhaled from contact with the soft tender cushion of her ass against his hard aching member. Daisy looked back to object. Pete thrust hard into her, reducing her protest to a whimper. She moaned and he covered her to run his tongue up her spine. She was hot, tight; her channel stretched and accommodated. Pete withdrew. He pulled her hips upward and forced her to her hands and knees on the mattress with her legs parted for him. She was so slick, so wet, so ready. His next thrust sent him ball-deep. Daisy rotated her ass, increasing the pleasure. Grunting, Pete kept going, hitting her spot with power thrusts. He drove his long member in and out without mercy. Her skin still had that tangy, fruity smell from those perfumed lotions. It made him want to sink his teeth into her shoulder. He leaned into her to twist her nipple.

Daisy moaned, but she gave him what he wanted. Complete submission. Working his cock in and out of her with purposeful thrusts, his buttocks clenched. Her pleasurable sighs and pants made it impossible to maintain control. He squeezed her breasts hard and she cried out, but he didn’t stop. Her channel grew tight around his plundering cock, so unbelievably warm and snug. Pete dug his toes into the carpet and grunted hard.

“Pete, no, wait. Don’t come yet. Please! Wait for me…”

Pete heard her. He wanted to satisfy her. But all the pent-up emotions, fear and insecurity, made his control slip. He fell over her on the mattress and beat his dick in and out of her until he jetted every drop. Her hair stuck to his sweaty face. He lifted himself away, spent.

“Oh, babe. I needed you.”

Pete didn’t respond. He kissed her shoulder and withdrew. He fell over to her side. He took the time to really take in their surroundings.

“You’re right, Daze. This place is nice. C’mere.” Pete smacked her ass playfully. He saw anger and disappointment in her eyes, but she came over to him willingly. His arm moved so she could fit against him. “Didn’t you tell me to drop the attitude?” he asked, silently relishing in the fact she felt what he did when she flirted in his face. “Drop yours, after the crap I had to put up with tonight.”

“Why does it always have to be your way, Pete? I love you, but damn. I get so sick of this. You need to grow the hell up.”

“What? Where you going?”

“To take a bath,” she tossed back at him. “The one you could have joined me in. Just scratch your balls and go to sleep. It’s what you do anyway.”

Pete threw his arm over his eyes and chuckled. Okay, he wanted to punish her and he did. He’d make it up to her later that night. The wine finally took hold. With his frustration fueling the need to escape, he welcomed sleep.

Chapter Seven

“Why are you here, Andy?” Aiden let his irritation show. “You’re only to come when summoned.”

“And you haven’t summoned me in weeks,” Andy noted. She strutted through his dark suite, following him to his bar. “I had Joss let me in. What’s the deal? I haven’t heard from you, Aiden. Did I do something wrong?”

Aiden lifted the crystal top of the decanter and poured his brandy. Andy’s hand landed gently on his back, then moved away uncertainly. He turned and looked down at her. For a few months, he’d screwed her brainless, and still she had no idea who he was. Just what his dick wanted. That possibly was his fault since he offered so little, but lately the routine of getting his cock waxed by his faithful honey didn’t seem so appealing.

“Aren’t you due on stage?”

“In another hour. I got time.” She licked her top lip.

Aiden sipped his brandy, then nodded and walked off. Andy sighed behind him. When he sank into his leather chair, he could hear the click of her heels as she sashayed over. The bangles on her wrists clinked.

“Okay, Aiden. I’m just going to say it.”

“Please do,” he said, swirling his brandy.

“It’s been over a year since we met. I know you bang other girls but you and I? Well it’s obvious we got something special.”

His brows rose. “Is it?”

“Yes, it is.” She crossed her arms over the tits he’d bought her for her birthday. “I want a bigger commitment. A real commitment. If I’m your main lady, why am I still shaking my ass on a stage for strangers?”

Aiden smirked. He brought the glass to his lips. He let the smooth burn of the brandy numb his tongue. Sucking back the after-taste, he lowered it the snifter. “Andy, you haven’t been a lady since your first trick.”

“You asshole! I told you that story in confidence. If I’m a whore, you—”

“If?”

“Why do you do that? You and I know I’m the only woman willing to put up with your moody, non-committal, chauvinistic attitude.”

Aiden shrugged. She had a valid point, but still he didn’t care. She was what she was, and it is what it is.

“Leave, Andy.”

She, of course, refused to be dismissed. Aiden struggled with his temper. “Leave before I get up and toss you out on that champagne ass of yours.”

“You keep treating me like shit, Aiden, and expecting me to be here to stroke your ego. I’m not your fucking wife!” Andy lowered before him. She touched his wrist. “But I can be or whatever you need if you stop acting like you don’t care. ’Cause I know it’s an act.”

“When I want to see you, I’ll call you,” he said. “That’s always been the deal.” Andy sighed. Rising, she turned to leave, but stopped herself. When he lifted his head, her lips were up against his. Aiden’s head was forced back as her tongue darted in and out of her mouth. He possessed it for a brief second, then his mouth went lax against hers. She stroked his cheek and drew back. “Why don’t you let me come back after my set? Let me take care of you?”

He stared into her eyes, a hard, passionless stare that made her sigh in defeat.

“Fine. Call me when you want me, Aiden.” She turned on her heels and switched away, picking up her purse as she reached the door. Aiden set the brandy glass aside. After a quick check of the time, his eyes went to the phone. He pushed up from his chair and crossed the room.

“Mr. Keane, sir. How can I help?”

“Our guests in 5033A. Did they check in?”

“Yes sir. An hour ago.”

“Under what name?”

“Doyle. Peter Joseph Doyle.”

Aiden dropped his hand in his pocket. “I want a hotel account set up for Mr. Doyle.”

“The balance, sir?”

“A mill.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Send for Donovan.”

“Sir, he’s left for the day.”

“Have him here in twenty minutes.” Aiden ended the call. He strode over and picked up his brandy glass. Now he had something to look forward to.

***

“I was born for this,” smiled Daisy as she slipped into the bubbling warm waters of her bath. The suite came with scented bath beads. They fizzed and foamed into a lavender pink lather. Her long locks were pinned to the top of her head. She picked up the remote and surfed channels, stopping on videos. She’d never taken a bath with a TV front-and-center. Daisy couldn't wait to share the details with Jessiemae. Soaking and relaxing, she felt a pang of guilt. She shouldn’t have been so hard on Pete. Though he was a selfish prick, he was her selfish prick, and if they were going to be married she had to get Pete and his ways under control.

“Pete? Pete! Baby, come here! Come join me!! They got ESPN!!”

Nothing.

Daisy sighed. She sat up in the waters, splashing pink bath suds over the side of the tub. Did he hear her? He was sleep. She knew the drill. Before reclining back into her warm comfort, she caught a glimpse of something interesting. A leather folder. She picked it up and flipped through the menu. She was still starving; wine did not equal dinner. The things on the menu meant they didn’t have to leave the hotel room, ever, to be satisfied. She nearly creamed herself when she read the last page. There was an in-room massage, manicure, pedicure, and hair styling. Life didn’t get any better than that. Then the phone rang. It was built into the wall. Daisy set the folder aside, curious. She brought the receiver to her ear.

“Yes, hello?” She relaxed back, letting the cool jets massage her aching sex.

“Daisy?”

“Mr. Keane?”

“I hope I’m not calling too late.”

“Oh, no, it’s cool… I was taking a… I mean it’s okay. The room is nice. Thank you.”

“I’m pleased you like it.”

“Yes, we both do,” she said. She lifted in the tub to look at the door. Pete could walk in and it would be all she needed. “Why are you calling?”

“I was hoping you and your fiancé could join me again. There’s something we need to discuss.”

“I don’t understand.” She felt the screams of panic in the back of her throat. What if he pulled the plug? Demanded they pay? Pete said it was too good to be true. Got damn it. She should have never gotten her hopes up.

“I have an offer that you might find interesting. We can meet in the casino bar.”

“Well, I can ask Pete. But does it have to be tonight? I mean we just got settled in, and—”

“You’re getting married tomorrow?”

“Huh? How did you know that?”

“Your fiancé asked the concierge to make the arrangements. I apologize. Did I spoil the surprise?”

Daisy sank back into the water. Pete was going to surprise her. Here she was thinking she’d have to do all the planning. That was like him to go and do the unbelievably sweet thing and act like a total frat boy all in the same day.

“Daisy?”

“Sorry, no. It’s okay. You didn’t spoil it.”

“Good. Will you join me?”

“Why didn’t you tell us at dinner?”

“I think you’re more receptive to it now that you’ve seen that I deliver on my word.”

She swallowed. There’s something mysterious in the inflection in his tone and the personal way he spoke to her. Again, warning bells went off in her mind. This would be another thing to piss Pete off.

“Okay, I’ll get Pete.”

“Meet me in thirty minutes?”

“Sure. Bye.” She hung up. Daisy stepped out of the water. Her feet landed on the lambskin bath rug, She grabbed the thick terrycloth robe with the embroidered golden shamrock. Wet and nervous, she tiptoed out into the suite.

“Pete?” she whispered, approaching the bed. Pete had climbed under the covers. His mouth gaped in an open snore. She walked over to shake his arm and wake him. Something stopped her. Remembering how angry he’d been the last time they met with Mr. Keane, she held back. If there was a game to win more money, Pete might blow it with his jealousy. She figured it best that she meet with the man and hear the deal. She could soften Pete up for it later. Quickly Daisy dashed to her suitcase and dragged it silently to the bathroom. She needed to hurry. The bubble of excitement had her stomping on clouds.

***

Daisy had no choice but to groom her hair into a ponytail. The bath had left it limp and frizzy. She did, however, take time to do her face. A little lip-gloss and liner went a long way for her natural beauty. She chose a sundress made from a pattern that she and Jessiemae had swapped. She considered going into design school, but it turned out it required more work than she could imagine committing to. Three years after graduating from high school she hadn’t finished one goal. But for kicks, she made some pretty cute outfits for friends and family.

Her dress had been designed nicely. It had a peasant-girl bodice with a thin sleeve that circled her shoulder instead of rested on it. Indigo-blue, the skirt dropped sweetly off her hips and swirled around her knees when she walked. She used a cotton-silk that she ordered from a fabric store online. It had cost a fortune, even on sale, but it felt good on her skin. Rich. She’d been saving it for a special occasion. Pete knew it. Yet she chose to wear it to meet a stranger in a bar, behind his back. Again, she was pushing it. Daisy squared her shoulders and continued on.

Thank God Pete hadn’t awaken.

He’d be out for the night. She was sure of it. When he slept, the world could be ending, and he still wouldn’t know it. Daisy strolled through the casino alone. The familiar dings and bonks from the machine and the colorful light display of flashing slots weren’t as nerve grating as they had been earlier. Hell, things couldn’t be any better. A top-notch suite, a thousand dollars to head to Port Angeles with, and a surprise wedding tomorrow, plus the promise of a little something extra got her juices flowing.

“Miss?” A hotel employee walked up to her. Shocked, she stopped. “Yes?”

“Mr. Keane asked that I escort you. This way, please.”

“But how did he know I was here?”

The man turned on his heel and stalked off. Daisy followed. Her gaze went up to the globes in the ceiling. Was he watching her on the security cameras? The feeling of being under surveillance unnerved her. She didn’t like it. They crossed the casino to the bar where she and Pete had been just hours before. Daisy didn’t see Aiden Keane. The guard veered to the right and she hurried her steps. There was more to the bar than she originally noticed. Private booths. The one in the far corner had a hand resting on it and a gold coin moving gracefully between long fingers. The pungent burn of a cigar floated toward her as the smoke blew out in a misty swirl.

Daisy smoothed her dress, her breasts sitting up at the front. She sucked in her diaphragm and stepped forward. And there he was. His eyes were half-open. He drew on the cigar and gazed at her from under dark lashes. The escort nodded and withdrew. Aiden Keane gestured for her to join him, extinguishing his cigar. She sat across from him and smiled.

“Pete’s asleep. I figured I’d hear your offer and tell him.”

Aiden had been surprised at her arrival, alone. He was also pleased to see she’d dressed for him. Though he’d hoped she’d be receptive, he was prepared to place the wager between them both. He didn’t want a companion, wife or another woman clinging to him for a payday. He just wanted to play a game.

“I see. Maybe we should do this in the morning when your fiancé is present.”

Daisy took care to remain calm, but a distinct hardness in her eyes and a touch of annoyance in her voice revealed her inner conflict to him: “Why? He aint the boss of me.”

For Aiden, the prolonged anticipation of sealing the deal with this beauty chipped away at his cool. But he kept it to himself, wanting to prolong the moment. The idea was a stroke of genius. It formed when he saw Pete lay claim to her at the craps table. They were the polar opposites of anyone in his world, or were they? At the heart of it everyone had a price. Why not have a little fun testing theirs.

“Yes, I doubt any man is.” His voice, though deep, was crisp and clear. “May I ask where you’re from?”

“Kentucky.”

“Where in Kentucky?”

“A place you wouldn’t know.”

“Try me.”

“Hollow Creek. Population 2800 and counting. We got three gals in town pregnant,” she said with a sweet smile.

“Aww. It’s sweet in Kentucky, isn’t it?”

Daisy glanced up into his eyes. His gaze roved and appraised her lazily. They stopped at her natural bosom, tastefully raised at the front of her dress. She shifted uncomfortably.

“So what is it?” she asked in a hoarse whisper then cleared her throat and collected herself. “Something in the hotel? You want us to play some game, do some real thing or something? I saw on the Travel Channel that you guys have lotteries and stuff. Is that what this is?”

“No, Daisy. Not quite. Though the million dollars I offer is quite real.”

“A w-w-what?”

“A million dollars. For you and Pete. That is, if you accept my offer.”

He looked her over again. The very air around her seemed charged with that spitfire spirit of hers and fresh country beauty. Aiden leaned in and over the scent of his extinguished cigar. He caught a whiff of that sweet Kentucky skin that lingered on his palate. He likened it to a fresh baked apple-pie, the promise of home and heart. He didn’t come across many like Daisy, though he was sure plenty visited his casinos. He had to be careful not scare this one away.

“I believe everyone has a price. I believe that for a price, you can have anything you want.” Aiden withdrew to make sure she was watching him. “Right now, I want you. One day, one night, you and I, and you’re a million dollars richer.”

Daisy pressed away, as far away as her booth seat would allow.

“Me?” She blinked and refocused her gaze. Stunned her voice failed her. She was by no means blind to his attraction. Her curiosity, as well as her vanity, had been aroused in the face of it. But was he crazy? A million dollars to just to be with him? Did he mean…? Did she even hear him right?

“You, Daisy. I propose that you make your destiny with a little help from me.”

“Sleep with you?”

“Among other things.” He gave a sardonic chuckle.

“I don’t understand this. Why would you offer me a million dollars to sleep with you? To cheat on Pete?”

“That is not my intent. In fact, I’ve already transferred the million dollars to your fiancé’s casino account. The banker will meet with you in the morning to finalize the draft. I fully want him to know and agree to my deal. It would have to be agreed upon by you both.”

There was a maddening hint of arrogance about him that made her want to strike him. But the smoldering flame in his eyes held her still. This attraction they shared would be perilous. However, a million dollars could make a wise man foolish. This sexy billionaire had chosen her above all the other women flaunting themselves around him. Could she do it? Would Pete even allow it? And what would Aiden Keane put her through if she agreed?

“I have to know what you really want. I mean, what this is really about?”

Aiden stopped twirling this coin. His expression stilled and grew serious. “Someone once told me that love trumps all in the game of life. I say bullshit. Greed is the wildcard. What do you think? Is it better to live poor on principle or rich on your terms?” He chuckled softly. “You’re beautiful, smart, and strong, Daisy, but a thousand-dollar coin won’t bring you your dreams. You’ll get married, get a job and so will Pete. You’ll make a few babies and maybe end up back in Kentucky, all the while thinking of the one chance you had in your grasp to change it all. We all have to make choices. Life’s a gamble. I’m gambling with a million dollars too—” His eyes again dropped to her breasts and he moistened his lips. “—to indulge my desires. Will you do the same?”

“I won’t cheat… I mean… I don’t know what you think, but I’m not that girl.”

“Sleep on it. You aren’t a married woman, yet. Remember the deal is that you both agree. And if you’re going to do something like what I propose, the time is now, don’t you think?”

“I think you’re some rich jerk that thinks he can buy people.”

Aiden nodded. “Prove me wrong. Turn me down. My offer expires this time tomorrow. The funds will be removed from Mr. Doyle’s account. I can’t wait to hear what you decide.”

Shocked into silence, she watched him ease out of the booth and drop that coin of his in his pocket. He cast another sideways glance as if he wanted to say more. But the rabbit-dazed look to her eyes made him think better of it. He tipped his head to her and strolled out. Daisy stared at his half-finished whiskey glass, wondering what had just happened.

***

Pete rolled over, and then stretched under the cool sheets. It was bright. Really bright. He blinked awake and looked over to the un-slept side of the bed. Alarmed, he jumped up. Daisy was there, seated by the open window, watching the sunrise. She had on her pretty blue dress she was so proud of making. The heels of her feet rested on the edge of the chair and her arms were wrapped around her shins. She finally looked at him. Her eyes were heavy and red rimmed with exhaustion.

“What is it?”

“Couldn’t sleep.”

“Close the curtain. Come here.”

“No, Pete. You have to get dressed.”

“Huh?”

“We have to talk,” she said. “Before the banker gets here.”

“What do we have to talk about? What’s wrong?”

“That depends, baby. On what I have to tell you and how you take it.” She rose, but her smile didn’t reach her eyes.

Pete turned back to the bed, looking for his pants amongst the covers. Daisy crossed her arms over her front in a protective way.

“Good news, baby. We’re going to be rich.”

Chapter Eight

For a minute, a brief one, Pete thought he was still sleeping. A double blink of his eyes and shake of his head brought him fully awake. “We’re rich?” Pete leaned forward with elbow to knees and clasped his hands. His bare-feet rested flat on the plush green carpeting. “What-chu mean?”

“Just rich. That’s what I mean. Rich,” she said.

Daisy’s hair was smoothed back in a neat ponytail and though her eyes were heavy with exhaustion, Pete found her beauty exceptional. His Daisy. He worshipped her. His mom had asked him once what made that gal so special. He simply replied, “She just is.” He noticed the way she was twisting her engagement ring, curling and uncurling her toes, chewing on the inside of her cheek. Something was wrong.

“Is this a joke? Why are you dressed up? Did you go downstairs and win some money?”

Daisy’s mouth parted to speak, and then she stalled. She dropped her eyes shyly. Shyly? His Daisy was never shy. Now Pete knew something was wrong.

“C’mere.” He extended his hand to her. When she hesitated, Pete frowned. Then she changed her mind. She came to him, took his hand and sat on his lap. Pete pressed his lips to her shoulder. From under a questioning brow, he peered up at her. “Now tell me what you did.”

“I didn’t do anything. It was Mr. Keane.”

That name was like nails across a chalkboard. To say Pete was sick of the rich bastard would be an understatement. The last thing he wanted to do on the day they were to be married was fight. He’d treated her selfishly last night. His first thought when he woke of was her and how he’d make it up to her. He wanted his girl to have the best. So what if she enjoyed the treats the hotel had to offer? He’d been ready to let go of his jealousy and put Aiden Keane out of his mind. Now she was bringing him up. Suddenly the dress made sense. Had she met with him while he was asleep?

He drew back. “Where were you? The truth, Daisy.”

She rose from his lap and turned away. She couldn’t look him in the eye.

“DAISY!”

“Let me explain….”

She gauged the weight of her words, choosing them carefully, which meant she was hiding something from him. That realization, and the fact that she’d sneaked out to meet with another man, had his anger spiking his adrenaline.

“I was taking a bath when he called. He said he had an offer. I tried to wake you and you wouldn’t.”

“Bullshit!”

“Pete, let me finis––”

Pete shot up. Snatching up his pants, he put them on. The Doyle men didn’t take kindly to three things: a motherfucker messing with their car, their money, or their woman. Back at home, no one would dare step to her. Daisy remembered when they'd broken up for two weeks once, and Pete heard that Earl VanZant had tried. He kicked his ass from east to Sunday just over the speculation.

“You creepin on me?”

“No-no-noooo…”

“Then tell me why the hell would you meet with another man, that man!”

“Cause he has a million dollar deal, that’s why!” she shouted back.

Stunned. Pete’s mouth gaped. His eyes bulged as he stammered a reply. “A million dollars?”

“Yes! A million dollars. It’s already been delivered—wired to an account for you. Here, at the casino. The banker will be here any minute for us to sign the papers.”

“Why? Why would he do that?”

“See that’s what I want to talk to you about. He has this offer and if we accept it, we rich. He thinks that love can’t win out. But I know it does. Our love wins. Look at us and how far we’ve come. Our love is special,” she reasoned. Pete watched her approach as if really seeing her for the first time. His bafflement was all over his face. She had to do something quick, say something to make him understand. Daisy rushed through the explanation. “He says if I… we, um. Well I have to hang out with him and… well, for a day. And then he will give us the money.”

“Hang out? A day? Daisy, say what-chu mean.”

“I am. He says he wants me to be with him for a day, to see if we can survive it apart, I guess. To test us. If we pass the test, the money is ours.”

“He propositioned you?”

His choice of words caused her breath to hitch in her throat. “Pete…”

“He wants you to whore yourself to him for a million dollars?”

“No! It’s not like that!”

“The hell it isn’t. He gave me the money, so what am I, your pimp?”

She froze on the last word. Daisy shook her head wildly. Her lips moved. Nothing came out but weak gasps. He paced in front of her, full of rage. Did he hear her? It was a million dollars—a million dollars. She hadn’t imagined his reaction would hurt this much, but really, what was there to consider?

“Would you calm down and listen.”

“Listen to what, Daisy? You explain to me how you’d rather sleep with a stranger for a million dollars than be my wife?”

“NO!” She reached for him and he slapped her hand away. She stepped closer, desperate, eyes pleading. Her bottom lip quivered. “No. It’s our chance. Don-cha see, Pete? It’s our turn to have what we talked about.”

“What you talked about!” He pointed an accusatory finger at her. The spark of hope extinguished. He was too angry. He was just a bullheaded country boy that would risk everything over his stupid pride.

“One day out of our lives won’t change the lifetime we have together. I don’t want him. I love you, only you.” She touched his chest and he snatched her up by the wrist.

“Shut up!! Don’t you say another word!!” he shouted in her face. In all the years she’s known him, he’d never threatened her. Not once. “I don’t care if it’s 20 minutes or 20 days, I would never sell you to a man. Do you understand? Do you know what that makes you? What it makes me?”

“Poor,” she said weakly. “Dirt poor. It makes us our parents. Struggling for the rest of our lives. Pete, please… please listen to me. Stop and think about it. It’s a million dollars.”

He let her go. Her wrist burned from his manhandling. She stepped back from him when the knock at the door came. He smirked and turned away.

“Pete, no!”

But it was too late. Pete was at the door in a flash, yelling, and flinging it open like a madman. “Get the fuck away from here or I’ll break your fucking necks!!” He shoved at the guy in a suit. Behind him stood another. Daisy reached Pete in time to grab his arm and prevent his swing. She dragged him backward with all her might, her eyes pleading with their visitors. The casino manager dusted at his lapels, and the other man behind him, darkly dressed like a mortician, just stared. It was as if they expected it. Had Aiden made these deals before?

“Can you come back? We need an hour, or maybe more. Please. Aiden said we had the day.” She rushed the words out in a hushed tone. Closing the door halfway, she checked behind her for her angry boyfriend. He had walked off into the back of the suite. Daisy could hear things being tossed about. Returning her attention to the men, she locked eyes with a pair of grey ones under a dark Fedora. The man stared at her with such intensity, she frowned. He tipped his hat and turned and left. The other man accompanying him followed. Relieved, she closed the door softly, then dragged in a breath of courage before walking back inside to face Pete. She returned to find him packing their things.

“What are you doing?”

“We’re leaving. Now!”

“NO!”

Pete’s hand froze on the zipper of the case. He glared blue orbs of fire at her. His lips were pale and stretched into a thin angry line. “No?"

“No. You aren’t thinking this through. You’re angry.”

“You saying you will do it without me? That you’d leave me for him?”

“No. I couldn’t if I wanted to. The deal is that we both agree. I’m saying that before you pass on the million dollars. You have to take the time to think about it. We have to really be sure. Pete, I can’t do it. I can’t live poor for the rest of my life. I don’t want to.”

“What’s wrong with being poor? You act like we eat out of garbage cans. Back home we had family and love. We had each other.”

“We had nothing. It was you going to The Rusty Steed every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night. Getting drunk, racing cars with your brothers with me stuck between babysitting for my sisters or working at the church. We couldn’t even afford our own trailer.”

His expression flushed as if he’d been unexpectedly struck in the face. “I’ll provide for you, Daisy. Give me a chance,” he said meekly.

“I know you will. I know you will work yourself to the bone to give me everything I need. I know it.” She wanted to touch him but held back. He had dreams just like her. Why couldn’t they have them come true now? “I’m just sayin.’ That’s all. I don’t think that you should have too. I think you should open that sports bar. We could go to LA instead of Port Angeles. You can help your brother fix up his mechanic shop back home so he can make more money. We can have a house, on the beach, ours. We can do whatever we want. Don’t you see this is the chance we talked about? This is the test. Can we love each other enough to sacrifice? To really sacrifice for it?”

Pete sat down on the bed. His broad shoulders sagged. His weepy eyes were glazed over with anger, frustration, and torment. She saw him thinking on it. That was an improvement. At least he wasn’t railing against it. “Hey,” she put her chin to the bend of his shoulder and rubbed his back. “I don’t even think he wants to sleep with me. It’s a game to him. I think it’s the test of what we’ll do. He’s too arrogant. He thinks we are some country bumpkins that will get scared and run. We aren’t that. Are we baby? We can turn this.”

“I don’t know if I can live with it, Daisy.”

“We do it and we leave. We don’t even look back. We just go. Get married somewhere else. Hell with the money we can go back home and get married in my Dad’s church. We can do it up baby, our way. And he’s put it in your name, so—”

“Don’t sell me, Daisy. I’m clear on how far you’ll go to not be poor with me.” He snatched away. He put his hands in his hair as he walked from the bed. “I love you. I left my family for you. I’ll do anything for you... but this… this….” He looked around for his shirt and put it on.

“Where are you going?” A suffocating sensation settled in her throat at the sight of him leaving.

“I have to get out of here. To think.”

“Pete. He’s coming back in an hour. We have to––”

“I said I’m going out!” he snatched up his keys and left. A deep, unaccustomed pain settled in her chest. She had hurt him. God help her, but she didn’t mean to. She’d do it to make their lives better, not to destroy them. Daisy rose to plead her case, but the door slammed behind him. She closed her eyes, reliving the final scene. This was too much; for Pete it was just too much. He couldn’t see the big picture. She didn’t know how to make him. She went to the phone. She started to dial but stopped herself. If she told Jessiemae, it would be all over town, and it could get back to her mother and father. For the first time, she considered the shame of what she wanted to agree to. If they did it––and she prayed they would––no one could ever know where the money came from. All they would know is they won it in Vegas.

Lowering the phone, she put her hands in her lap. Aiden Keane was a powerful man. He really had no desire for her. She could flirt with him and maybe a little kissing. She wouldn’t have to necessarily do the deed. Seal the deal. That’s it! She’d find Mr. Keane and clarify. If sex could be removed from the bargain, Pete would agree. She just had to convince Mr. Keane too.

***

Aiden tapped his fingers on the surface of his desk. Donovan McBride was an old friend and his trusted attorney. He stood well over six feet, a tall, austere-looking man always dressed in black. A dark Fedora rode his head with the front tipped forward. It covered his brow and cast his eyes in a shadow. He appeared with Keane’s banker at his side. Aiden checked the time. He wasn’t expecting them this soon. He figured the Doyle couple would stall him out.

“Is it done?” he asked. The chair dipped back with his lean.

“No. The boyfriend won’t agree to it. She’s asked for a little more time.”

Aiden nodded. “Interesting.”

Donovan shot the banker a look and quirked a brow. The man left without objection. He put his briefcase down. “What is this about, Aiden?”

“What do you mean?”

“You drag me here last night to draft up this deal. Are you that bored, or just heartless?”

Aiden stared at him.

“They’re kids, Aiden. How old is she? 15? What do you expect them to do if you dangle a million dollars in front of their face?”

“Grow up. See life for what it is. Make a choice. We all had to make them, Donovan. Get our hands dirty in some way.”

“Not true.”

“Then they can prove me wrong. Turn down the money and return to hillbilly land. Makes no difference to me,” he shrugged, bringing his chair back up.

“I’ve seen you in action over the years, friend. This one makes no sense. You’re the one with bachelorhood stamped on your forehead. Why play this game with this one? You can have anyone.”

Aiden removed his coin, the only thing in the world that had meaning to him. He rubbed the metal between his fingers. Its gold sparkled in his dimly lit office. Donovan took a seat, but Aiden barely noticed. He considered love and all it didn’t mean to him.

“It’s not all a game. You saw her. She’s quite something, this… Daisy.” His eyes lifted to drive the point home.

Donovan shook his head. “Fine. We have more important matters to discuss. The Gaming Commissioner is under investigation. That could spell trouble for you.”

“Indeed.”

***

The casino racket was mind-numbing. Pete headed for the doors, hands shoved deep in his pockets and his cap pulled down low on his head. He beat a path for some normalcy, a place where ‘winning’ didn’t mean everything and losing didn’t make you less of a man. A wall of heat greeted him; the cool comfort of The Shamrock had gone. But it didn’t matter. Even in the humid summer outdoors, he felt a sense of relief. Pete breathed deep, welcoming the hot air into his lungs. From under the shade of his cap, he peered at the faces he passed. They all had the same starry-eyed look his Daisy had. It was the same hunger as they hurried to or from a casino with pamphlets in their hands and coins in their pockets. Fool’s gold is what it was.

Shaking his head, he walked with no plotted course. He just walked. That bastard offered a million dollars to take his girl. That’s what it boiled down to. How could he compete with that? Where would he begin? He could start by finding Aiden Keane and pounding the fool to sleep, snatching Daisy from his clutches, and going home. There he could control her. In Hollow Creek he was king. Here he was just some broke-down hick from the sticks.

But Daisy would never forgive him. She’d always blame him, and he’d lose her. He was sure of it. Stopping, he looked up to see he was at another popular casino. The crowd moving in and out its doors was large enough to disappear into. Pete did just that, found a bar, took a seat and ordered. When he reached in his pocket, he felt the wad of bills tied by a rubber band. It was his secret stash, the money Daisy didn’t know he kept to get them to their dream. Those sweaty worn-over bills would never get them as far as Daisy wanted to go.

“Twenty,” said the bartender. The man leaned against the bar, resting on his hands, eyeing him curiously. Pete peeled off a bill and gave it to him, then a tip.

“Where you from?” the barkeep asked.

“Nowhere,” Pete said. He returned to the bitter chill of his beer, downing half the bottle with a single swig.

The man smirked, “Ah. I’ve been there before.”

Pete’s eyes lifted. This was his fourth. And it wouldn’t be his last. He was sure of that. He lowered the frosted bottle, and his eyes went to the game on the screen, seeing but not seeing.

“You lose big?” the man asked, cutting into his thoughts.

Pete frowned. “I could. I could lose big.”

“Name’s Doug.”

“Pete.”

“Pete, I’ve seen many come sit in that seat and drink the same beer. I usually can read ’em. Like I can read you right now.”

Pete’s eyes dropped to the moisture rolling down the green glass of the bottle. It dripped to a ring on the hotel napkin. “Well, don’t read me. It’s not your business, friend.” His request came out like an echo from an empty tomb.

“Too late. You got a neon sign over your head. It’s a woman. Right? Your woman?”

The question caught him off-guard. His attention returned to the ebony-skinned guy. He drew in a sharp breath and let go an easy one. “Yeah. It is.”

“She run from the altar?” he asked.

“Not exactly.” Pete shifted. The stool was now uncomfortable and the man’s insight even more unnerving. But still he wanted to speak. He wanted someone to see the burden and give him some hope. “How far would you go to make the woman you love happy?”

Doug favored him with a snide smile that widened. His teeth were stark white, sparkling against his dark skin. Pete wasn’t into dudes, no way, but he figured the ladies really dug this one.

“Depends on the woman. Certain women require certain things. Gotta be careful what you sign on for.”

“And if you could give her all of her dreams. The one thing she wants most in the world, even though you know it will hurt, I mean cost you. Could you do it?”

“As opposed to what?” Doug asked, shaking the martini and then filling the glass. He dropped a pierced olive into the clear liquid and delivered the sparkling drink to the senior citizen sitting down the bar.

Pete twirled the neck of his beer bottle. It rolled over the damp napkin in a semi-circle. “As opposed to her later resenting you and then you losing her. I guess.”

“Well, my friend, if her dream is outside of what you can afford to give, you’ll lose her anyway.”

“I couldn’t take that. I love her.”

“Then, hey man, do what it takes to keep her. I’ve had that one, the one I couldn’t let go of. So I get it. Word of advice bro, be prepared.”

“Prepared?”

“You in Vegas, baby. All that glitters aint gold.”

Chapter Nine

His hard stare filled her with trepidation. Daisy had changed into a pair of jeans and a white top. Her hair was loose, falling limply to her shoulders. When she asked the concierge for the executive offices, it took her 10 minutes to locate them. Then she was escorted in and told to wait in the outer lobby. But she soon entered the office. She had to. She wouldn’t let him turn her away. Too much was at stake. Her eyes cut over to his visitor. The man in black rose, and the employee, butler, or whatever he was looked back at her with a scowl. Aiden Keane, seated behind a large desk, just stared on.

“I need to speak to you,” she said, her voice cracking between words.

His handsome face rested between his thumb and forefinger, his elbow on the arm of the chair. He wore a dark shirt with a starched collar and probably dark slacks underneath. Daisy felt as if a net was thrown over her, a net of her own making, woven out of greed and desires she didn’t want to name. And although her mind was strong, her love for Pete solid, her body played traitor in this game of cat-and-mouse. Because the depth behind Aiden’s stare warmed her and enticed her, it drew her to him in ways that scared her.

A million dollars…

They could leave this place and really have the life she wanted. All she had to do was survive Aiden Keane. And time was running out.

“We’re done, Donovan.” Aiden spoke in a voice, with a now-familiar husky Irish-accented speech. It made her blush and avert her eyes from his. It was his eyes. Because when she looked away, her mind owned her body once more. The man he called Donovan collected his things. He approached and stopped before her. Daisy looked up at him, half-expecting some action from him. He just tipped his hat and walked out.

Alone with Aiden, she swallowed hard. “I didn’t mean to interrupt. But, um… this is important.”

“I understand, Daisy. Come in,” Aiden said, rising.

She walked over the polished marble floor, past the orange square-shaded floor lamps that offered cool lighting over the dark décor of his office. The furnishings were in shades of black and deep mahogany. Sinking into the soft leather of the sofa, her eyes never left him. He took a seat in the matching chair at its side. He didn’t seem like a bad guy. Surely, he was reasonable.

“It’s about our deal. Er, the terms of the deal.”

“I’m listening.”

“I get it, ya know? You want us to prove that our love is strong. Right?”

He smirked, “Right.”

“See, Pete has it all wrong. He thinks you want to use me or sumthin.’ I mean he don’t get that this is a game, a test. Not something… bad.”

Aiden just stared at her. Averting her eyes, she rubbed her palms over her thighs nervously. “I kind of want to clear the air, so I can tell Pete not to worry. That nuthin’ will happen that will hurt me… us.”

She’s trying to hustle me. Interesting, thought Aiden. He tore his gaze from the temptation of her mouth. It lingered briefly over the firm swell of her breasts, outlined beneath her thin top. He struggled to bring himself under control. In truth, he didn’t find the hustler staring back or the harlot. No, it was just an extreme naiveté that made her so damned corruptible. Tasty. The bastard in him wanted to take part in her corruption. It made his balls tight in the seat of his pants.

“It’s pretty clear, Daisy, as to what I expect.”

“Right. But um… I wasn’t,” she said shyly. “I’m going to be married, Mr. Keane. I love Pete, and I’m gonnna be his wife. We just want our chance to be happy. You can understand that. Can’t you?”

“Fine, then go be happy. You have a suite and enough to marry. Enjoy your stay in Shamrock.” He started to rise and she grabbed his hand. This he liked.

“Please don’t go. I mean. Can we talk?” Her fingers slipped from his, but that soft touch made the muscle in his jaw twitch. He wanted more of it, to run his hand over her skin, hear her whimper beneath him. He sat back down. So Daisy wanted her payday? Just like them all. Aiden considered his interest in her burned intense for him because of that spark of defiance in her eyes. The sooner he took her to bed, the better, he mused. He would be in control like he was in all his affairs. His lovers never held his interest. He had no expectation that this brown beauty would be any different.

“Mr. Keane, I can spend the day with you, but I can’t sleep with you.”

“Then there is no deal, Daisy.”

“Whyyy?” she whined, her eyes searching, pleading. “You don’t know me. You aren’t in love with me.”

Aiden laughed aloud. Even though he could admit his response was harsh, she amused him deeply. “Come now, Daisy. Get the Kentucky grass out of your ear. This will not be about love, not if you accept. And if you do, I’ll have you every way I can conceive of.”

She blinked hard to banish the shock from her face. “I’m not some country bumpkin tramp for you to screw with! Who the hell do you think you are?”

“Tell me, Daisy. Is this your plan? To sulk over the unfairness of our bargain the entire time you’re with me. Or is there a chance you could behave like an adult? A woman. Because if not, I’ve misjudged you, and the deal is of no interest to me.”

“Did something in your past make you so bitter and hateful toward women, or is it just me that inspires your cruelty?”

Aiden was surprised at the witty comeback. He didn’t believe her capable of it. Maybe there was more to Daisy Johnson from Hollow Creek, Kentucky than he first considered.

“I’ve been clear.”

“Well, I am an adult, Mr. Keane. You’re the one acting like a child, a spoiled brat that thinks he can have his way. Sure, I wanted the money. But I don’t want you. I never even considered you.”

“Really?” he smirked.

“Really! To hell with your bargain.” She moved swiftly, escaping the sofa, but not fast enough to escape him. He caught her by the elbow and snatched her back. He had to stop himself. Remind himself that she wasn’t like his stepmother. His father had sacrificed his company, the respect of his peers, and the relationship with his only son for his obsession over a woman who had married him for money.

“Let me go!” She jerked in his hold.

He did and spoke through gritted teeth. “If you agree, Daisy, you will be mine. And you will come to me willingly. I will take you how I please, as I please… and you will enjoy it, sweetness. Make sure that is clear between you both before you wander back here again. Time is short and so is my patience.”

She stumbled back as if the man were Satan himself. It did give him pause to see fear in her eyes. Though brief and fleeting, he felt a flush of shame for showing her his anger. How she got him to show any emotion puzzled him. When she turned and fled, so did any reservations he carried. He dropped his hands into his pockets and stared at the closed door. In the cold solitude of his kingdom, he could not hide from himself. Daisy had affected him, and he felt equally trapped.

Daisy felt like a fool, a complete fool. She rubbed her teary eyes, then fumbled with the key to their room. She’d searched all over for Pete. He was nowhere to be found. For all she knew, he’d packed it up and left her. It would serve her right. A raw numbness had crept in, and Aiden Keane’s final words kept repeating over and over in her head.

If you agree, Daisy, you will be mine. And you will come to me willingly. I will take you how I please, as I please… and you will enjoy it, sweetness. Make sure that is clear between you both before you wander back here again. Time is short and so is my patience.

She pushed in the door and walked through, not bothering to see it shut. Emotionally exhausted and more confused than ever, she’d thought she could have it all. There was no such thing.

“Daisy.”

Her head snapped around. Pete sat on the bed. He’d been there all along, waiting for her. He rose. His cap was pulled down on his head and he had a small smile on his face. She gulped hard. Hot tears rolled down her cheeks. She had never been happier to see him. Running for his arms, she threw hers around his neck.

“Pete, I’m so sorry. Forgive me please, pleeeease.” She mumbled the words through her breaking sobs.

“It’s okay, Daze. I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have walked out on you.”

“No, you were right. I was wrong. You don’t understand, I—”

“Let me talk.” He kissed her and then kissed away her tears. “Let me finish.”

He reached behind him and removed a folded document. The contract. His contract. Daisy frowned, looking down at it. “I love you, Daisy, more than the money, more than my pride. I want you to be happy, and I want us to have the life we talked about. Take it.”

She took the papers, unfolded them, and saw his signature. “We don’t have to do this.”

“Yes, we do. It’s already between us. The moment he proposed this, it got in between us. I know you love me. We can get through this. See? I trust you Daisy. Trust me.”

She covered her mouth, shaking her head. The soreness in the pit of her stomach churned hotly and her emotions boiled over. She should tear the papers up. Tell him it would never matter. But he was right. Inside, she’d still want it, long for it.

“I don’t know what to do.” Her voice broke over a sob.

Pete frowned, unsure about the source of her conflict. He misread it. Taking her face, he held it gently between his hands. “Hey, you won’t lose me. Like you said, it’s just a day with him. You don’t have to do anything with him that you don’t want. Right?”

She held her breath, then nodded. He hugged her, pulled her close, and she hugged him back, accepting Aiden Keane’s proposal.

***

Aiden dropped the phone on its receiver. He pushed up from his desk and strolled through his suite. Walking into his office, he went to a wall panel and drew the doors apart. Monitors were hidden behind. He switched them on. Daisy stood next to Pete, signing their agreement. Pete rubbed her back as she penned the final signature. When she finished, her eyes went up to the black globe over the bankers window, as if she knew he was watching. Pete kissed her cheek, but she just stared, stared at Aiden. Then she blinked away and walked off with her fiancé. Aiden watched her go. He had won. But seeing their bond, somehow still intact, the winning seemed hollow. Well, Aiden Keane knew the difference between winning and losing. Daisy and Pete would soon know the same.

Chapter Ten

The water dripped again.

The constant dip-dap matched the thump-thump of his heart. The low drumming gave way to a hollow echo for his ears only in the starlit room. From the bathroom, in the darkness, a faucet made of gold dripped and dripped again.

Dip.

Dap.

Dip.

Pete laid upon the starched sheet with the heavy duvet covering just at his waist. He tucked his arm behind his head and waited. This was comfort, what people paid more money for than he made in weeks. So why couldn’t he sleep? The answer was simple. In the darkness, the quiet, he could no longer hide from his heart. His eyes were fixed to the ceiling. His chest was tight with regret for leaving the Hollow.

Dip.

Dap.

Dip.

At seven, with the rise of the sun, she would be summoned. The contract said she would return to him at the exact same hour the next day. Twenty-four hours of her with another man. Twenty-four hours. Twenty-four. Twenty-four hours…

Dip.

Dap.

Dip.

Pete’s eyes slid over to rest on Daisy. She laid on her side with her back to him, her face covered in the shadows. He’d taken her to a nice dinner. They actually caught a show. It was some French circus he couldn’t pronounce. It was the freakiest circus he’d ever seen. It included body contortionists, acrobats and themes that had him checking the playbill to make sure they weren’t in some X-rated flick. For a brief moment, he’d forgotten. With her safety under his arm, laughing, pointing at the dancers, he relaxed and forgot. She snuggled him and talked on and on about how she’d seen the production on the Travel Channel. How she wished they could have caught some Blue Men at Bally’s before that show closed.

Pete had listened as she went on. He considered that life wasn’t that different since they’d signed those papers. They weren’t that different. The two of them hadn’t changed. She was still his girl, bugging out on things she’d never seen—gorging on new experiences. He was still that guy, proud to have her on his arm, and fiercely protective of her happiness. He was the guy that could walk away from his family and friends in search of her dreams. They weren’t that different. They were still Daisy and Pete.

Then reality landed like an anvil with the curtain call. For the rest of the night he couldn’t escape it. And time ticked on, just like the dripping faucet. Daisy wanted to make love. He did too. He really wanted it. But when he touched her, when his hand went across the smoothness of her skin, that magic didn’t strike him as it had before. And she didn’t question him. She just laid silently in his arms. It scared the shit out of him. Could he lose her still?

Dip.

Dap.

Dip.

He would remain in silence if it weren’t for the faucet dripping and his fears whispering. Unable to stand it a minute more, he snatched back the covers and rose in an angry huff, marching through the suite to the bathroom.

Daisy’s eyes opened when the mattress shifted. She heard him mutter a curse, then felt the chill of separation. He couldn’t sleep and neither could she. Her stomach had been churning since dinner. She wanted to make love to him, but he wasn’t into it. She could tell. So she laid there next to him, forcing her eyes to close. Forcing herself not to dream, to keep thoughts of Aiden Keane at bay, and trying to forget his vow to take her over in the morning.

The mattress dipped again. Daisy felt Pete ease back in. Maybe she should reach for him and say something? She loved him. She could say that. She was sorry for hurting him, she could say that. Maybe she should tell him that nothing would change. Maybe? Daisy lifted on her pillow. Her eyes focused in the dark, peering at him from over her shoulder. A second before speaking, her voice faltered. He turned and rolled on his side, giving her his back. Her eyes drooped sadly. She turned back over. Maybe she shouldn’t. What could she say at this point anyway?

***

Aiden Keane sat on his balcony, savoring the drag of his favorite cigar. Night wind blew flakes of ash. Below, the city that never slept sparkled with nightlife. Held several inches from his lips, the blunt burned amber flickered orange, then simmered. He reclined his head, letting his eyes go to the fading stars. A thick, milky wave of smoke curled up out of his mouth into his nose. Then he exhaled. He lifted his whiskey glass to his lips, and his dark silk shirt fell open, pushed aside by the action.

“Aiden?”

Her voice came from behind. He’d forgotten she was there. Waiting. Then came her touch. Her hand went to his shoulder, soft and firm at the same time. She kneaded her fingers into the tension knotting the muscles that pained him, before walking acrylic cotton-candy-pink nails down the front of his chest. When she leaned in, she brought in the scent of apricot and the vodka she loved to drink. Her lips, coated with that sticky gloss he hated, brushed his ear.

“Come inside, baby. I’ve been waiting.”

He knocked away her hand, stirred his whiskey, and took another sip. Andy walked around him to the deck railing. She leaned back against it, her eyes searching. Her bleached hair blew forward. She scooped the wild strands behind her ear and arranged her features into an understanding smile.

“What is it? Have I done something? We used to be so good, baby. So good. Remember?”

“I have a job for you,” said Aiden. Green eyes with a predatory stare lifted to connect with hers. Andy stood upright, alert. In all the years he’d known her, he’d never employed her.

“A job?” She gave a nervous chuckle. “What kind of job, sugar?”

Aiden smirked. His eyes darkened, giving her a long once over. “The kind you’re good at.”

***

Pete felt the burn of the sun warming his cheeks. Squinting, he put his hand up instinctively to the glare coming in from the wall of the windows. Sleeping with the view of the city at night had been calming. But sunrise was a bitch.

“Mornin’.” Daisy came around the wall brushing her teeth.

“Mornin’.”

“You don’t have to get up.”

“I’ll walk you to his room,” he mumbled, unable to look at her. The words just fell out of his mouth without inflection. He heard a soft sigh escape her and cared little for it. What was her source of frustration? That he wasn’t jumping for joy for what she was about to do? He’d just rather get it done and over with.

“Pete?”

“Yeah?” He looked around for his underwear.

“Do you trust me?”

Pete froze. Trust? That word did a replay. His eyes cut towards her, then away. She stood there holding her toothbrush, a ring of toothpaste suds around her lips. With jeans, barefeet, a button down yellow blouse, something was missing. The sexy was missing. In fact, she put her hair back from her face in a single braid, which she only did with him.

“Are you dressed?”

“Yes, I am,” she replied with a half-smile. “I wanted you to know. I mean I wanted to say it last night. I’m not going to do anything to destroy us. I have a plan.”

“I don’t want to talk about this.”

“Pete, listen to me. I get he’s attracted and stuff.”

“And stuff?”

“I won’t do anything to encourage it. See? I look like I’m going to do laundry, not some romantic thinga-mah-jiggie—”

“Stop it!!” he yelled.

Daisy blinked at him, hurt. Pete felt the sourness return to his gut. Finally, he did look up to her. “I made peace with it, Daisy. But don’t stand there and pretend it’s not going to happen. You and I both know what a million dollars means.”

“I don’t want to do anything to hurt you, us. I don’t.”

“Are you saying you won’t go through with it?” he asked. Pete braced for her answer.

“Well, no. I’m saying that—”

“Then hurry and finish. We have to go.”

Pete rose and pulled up his underwear. He felt her eyes on him and got angry. What did she expect from him? He signed the fucking contract. Agreed to hand over his pride. Now he was supposed to make her feel good about being sold to another man. He shot her another withering glare, the first one he’d given her since they’d gone through with it. That look was hard enough to make her back away. When she retreated, Pete dropped back on the mattress. This time the pain wasn’t in his gut. It was his heart.

Pete was quiet in the other room. Withdrawn would be a better word. Daisy wiped the cool rag over her face. She took a long, hard look at herself. Quiet and withdrawn had been how he was since they signed the contract. She knew it would only get worse. Was she making a mistake? Could he get over this? Could they? She dropped her head and tried to think it through. She also tried to let go of the seductive pull that the thought of Aiden’s money had for her. She’d be rich, live differently. She tried hard. And each time she did, she couldn’t let go of the want.

She lifted her head when she saw him come in. The cell phone they shared was in his hand. “I want you to take this with you. If something goes wrong, if you need me, I’ll be here in the room. I won’t leave it. Do not leave this hotel with him. Do you understand? Promise me.”

She looked to the phone, confused.

“PROMISE ME.”

“I promise.”

“Good… good.” He placed the phone on the sink and turned, but Daisy grabbed his hand and stopped him. She pulled it to her waist and he didn’t resist. She was grateful. She didn’t want to leave things this way.

“I love you.” She rubbed her face against his jaw. “I don’t want to get married in this town. After this is over, we leave. I don’t ever want to come back to this place. Hell, let’s leave the west coast. We can live east, be near the family and all. And we can go home and get married, I’m sure your momma will come around. And my daddy can marry us. And then we go anywhere you want, okay?”

He kissed the side of her face. A cooling sense of relief went through her. They breathed in sync for a minute. His breath against her cheek, her breath against his, face to face. She ran her hands up his powerful arms. He was so strong, so firm. So sweetly sensitive.

“I do trust you, Daisy. I do. When this is over, it’s over. We’ll be okay,” he whispered.

Daisy’s eyes burned with the promise of tears she didn’t want to let go. If she cried, he wouldn’t let her out the door. Hugging him tight, his arms circled and squeezed her tighter. They would be all right. All she had to do was beat Aiden Keane at his own game. She could do this. She could.

***

Aiden’s eyes went to the door. With a small smile, he strode though his office. The coin that flipped between his fingers was forced back into his pants pocket. The subject of his thoughts for the past twelve hours had finally arrived. His eyes cut over to the clock. It was two minutes after seven. She arrived late. Was he excited? Was it the game? Of course it was the game and the thrill; he figured this feeling that had come over him since he’d decided on the million-dollar bargain would eventually fade with his erection. That didn’t mean he shouldn’t relish in it now.

Aiden’s hands closed on the cool steel, and he drew the double doors shut. Before him stood the young couple that would soon be a million dollars richer. Daisy looked nothing like how he’d seen her last. She wore jeans that were rolled to just below her knees, and an oversized button-down shirt that covered her goodies. No makeup. Her bright brown eyes were oval pools of repudiation.

“Good morning, Pete.” Aiden let his name fall off his tongue with a snide glide. “And Daisy, good morning.” He returned his gaze to her.

Pete glared.

Aiden drank Daisy in with his eyes. She couldn’t hide from him. It was amusing that she tried. “You look lovely.”

Her eyes went to Pete. His cheeks burned hot. Aiden stepped back, moistening his lips. “Come inside, Daisy. I’ve been waiting.”

She paused. Daisy’s eyes continued to bounce from man to man with uncertainty. Fear, or something else he couldn’t name, held her back. Aiden waited, confident of her next move. Slowly, her hand slipped from her fiancé’s and she walked inside. Aiden sized Pete up. He wore his baseball cap down low to his face so it was hard to read him, but he felt the conflict. He could sense the anger Pete was trying to conceal. Gone was the solidarity he saw in the two of them when they held hands. Pete wasn’t really as into the bargain as he pretended to be.

“You can pick her up from here this time tomorrow,” said Aiden. Then he shut the door in Pete’s face.

Chapter Eleven

Daisy walked through Aiden’s suite. It looked nothing like she’d envisioned, but it fit him exactly. Very spacious, neat, no personal clutter or photographs and few furnishings: it had an empty lofty look. She could smell the faint scent of tobacco and leather.

“Nervous?”

Daisy shook with nervousness and her palms felt hot and damp. Turning under his penetrating stare, she faced her fear. He seemed pleased by her discomfort. She guessed that too was part of his game. Toying with her. Did he really want her to despise him? Why? There he stood, a man that could have any life he chose. Yet, he’d been cold, distant, and mean. Why?

Daisy looked him over. He wore a loose-fitted white linen shirt over herringbone brown linen pants. His skin, the color of cocoa butter, was flawless, and his eyes, the deepest green she’d ever seen, only made him all the more handsome.

“Daisy?”

“I’m fine, thank you,” she mumbled.

“You ready?”

She drew in a breath and the contents of her stomach lurched to her throat. She nearly puked. He stepped to her and instead of stepping back, she stuck her hands in her front pockets.

“I asked you a question.”

“Mr. Keane, I—”

“Yes?”

Daisy swallowed the bile rising in her throat and refocused. Was she supposed to just do it? Here and now? How could she get out of it, stall him? Damn it. She expected more time or something.

“Are you ready?” he asked firmly.

She nodded but stepped back. Her instinct told her to keep her distance. There was such a strong pull with this man, one she didn’t want to dwell on. The closer he came, the more she felt it. He smiled, and it did make the coldness she felt in his stare lessen.

“Then shall we?”

He moved to the side and gave a nod to the door. Daisy understood. He wanted them to leave. She never considered that she’d go anywhere with him. She thought to the bedroom, possibly, but nowhere else. Pete told her not to go anywhere with him.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

Aiden just stared at her. She chewed on her bottom lip; her eyes darted from his face to the door. “I really don’t think—”

“Daisy, it’s my fantasy. You’re just along for the ride, remember?”

“Will I be safe?” she asked, her voice breaking on the last word.

“No harm will come to you. You have my word and my reputation.”

Thanking God that Pete gave her the cell, she held tight to her little straw bag. Together they left his suite and went to a private hallway. There was a stairwell that took them up to the roof. When the door opened, Daisy’s eyes stretched in shock.

“A helicopter ride?” she grinned.

“Before breakfast, I thought I’d show you the desert. Seen the Grand Canyon?”

“No. I wanted to, but we… we haven’t had the time….” The blades on the black helicopter, with a shamrock on the door, whipped up and began to spin. The gusts nearly pushed her back into him. His hands went to her shoulders.

“Let’s go. There’s a lot I want to show you.”

“Why?” she asked, turning on him. Aiden blinked at the question, but Daisy wanted to know. “Why do you want to show me stuff? I thought, well I thought you… um.” She looked up into his face. Her words were cut short by the forceful winds. It blew strands out of her neat braid. He stood there as if unaffected, his eyes searching hers. She looked back at the helicopter. “I guess it’s okay, for a tour. I guess.”

“Trust me, Daisy. You’re safe.” Then he touched her elbow and gave it a little squeeze. Daisy nodded her agreement. She walked with him. Together they boarded. Daisy forgot all about the anxiety or the impropriety. Her focus was now on the adventure of a lifetime. Once inside, Daisy’s ears popped from the deafening whiz of the whipping blades. It was Aiden who fastened her seatbelt: she was too nervous and excited to think of it. He winked and then fastened his. He remained oblivious to the way she gripped the armrest of her seat. Daisy had never flown before, in anything. This experience was mind-numbing. When they lifted from the roof, she let go a sharp breath.

“Nervous?”

“About flying? Un huh,” she nodded, her eyes wide, her chest tight.

Aiden smiled. “It’s okay. You get used to it quick.”

The helicopter dipped, and she pitched forward. They flew around the building. They flew over the traffic of the strip and headed out toward the flat red lands with the mountains approaching fast. He was right. Soon the light feeling of being airborne faded. The drumming beat of her heart began to slow to a manageable pace.

“So, you do this often?” she asked, looking over to him. He moistened his lips and looked her in the eye. Daisy smiled, not sure what else she was to say or do. But she could easily explain this to Pete. It was the perfect set-up. If he was going to spend the day showing her the city she could avoid the trip to his bed. Her head turned back to the window to avoid the uncomfortable silence.

***

Pete returned to his suite. Tossing his cap, he paced the carpet. It had been only thirty minutes. Thirty minutes equaled a chunk out of his life, their life that he could never get back. He ran his hand back and forth through his hair, blowing air out of his nose, out of his mouth. He couldn’t stand it. Walking over to the phone, he snatched it off the receiver and dialed.

***

The phone in Daisy’s straw bag began to ring.

“You can’t talk on it while we’re in the air,” said Aiden. “It’s not even supposed to be on.”

“Okay.” She reached in and saw it was the number of the hotel. Quickly, she turned it off. It must have been Pete. How long had she been gone? Twenty, thirty minutes?

“Something wrong?” asked Aiden.

“No, no. It’s fine.” She looked away. “Everything’s okay.”

***

Pete slammed the receiver down so hard he thought the cradle would crack. “Fuck! Fuck!!!” he grunted. Grabbing the base, he yanked it from the wall. He turned and threw it into the opposite wall. “Fuck this!” He grabbed his room key and marched out.

***

Aiden watched Daisy out of the corner of his eye. He hadn’t said much, and that wasn’t like him. In fact, he could easily lure her into a conversation to glean everything he wanted to know. Namely, the game was to know how to have her as his, in any way he chose. Something held him back. Was it an attack of conscience? Fuck no. He was born without one.

He could deal with gold-diggers. It was evident she was one. Hell, she’d sold out her boyfriend and agreed to his terms for money. That proved his point. She looked over at him and gave him a sweet smile, then pointed at something beyond her window. Uncomfortable, he shifted in his seat. That smile and her apparent sweetness unnerved him.

“Daisy?”

“Yes?” she said. “Ooh, look, is that a wolf? Omigod, it is!! It is right there running… see?”

Aiden’s gaze hardened. He didn’t bother answering. He needed to get back to the matter at hand. “What do you plan to do with the money?”

“The money?” she repeated, barely listening, her forehead pressed to the helicopter glass.

“Yes. What I’m paying you,” he snapped.

Daisy looked back at him. She frowned at his tone. “Oh. Well, we’re going home and gonna have a church wedding. My father’s a minister.”

“Minister?” Aiden scoffed.

“Un huh. He has the biggest church in the Hollow. After that we might move to Chicago or New York or sumthin.’ I’m gonna open a nail salon and Pete’s gonna open a sport’s bar.”

“Really?” Aiden chuckled.

“Did I say sumthin’ funny?”

“You seem to have plans.”

“You thought we’d take the money, buy a car and some clothes and hang out until it was gone. Huh? That we didn’t know how to make a plan? We had one before you decided to play this game, and we’ll have one after.”

Aiden’s eyes dropped from hers to her mouth. He found it had become a habit, watching her lips move when she spoke with that Kentucky twang. “I always thought you were more calculating than you put on,” he said.

“You really want me to dislike you, don’t you?” she shot back.

He said nothing.

“Honey, I don’t care what you think of us, I really don’t. What you don’t get is we are willin’ to do whatever it takes to be happy.”

“Whatever it takes?” he asked with renewed interest.

Her eyes fluttered away. “I mean, we will work hard for our dreams.”

“Yes, I absolutely get your meaning.”

***

“I don’t give a shit! My girl’s upstairs. I want you to call his suite and tell her I said to come down or I’ll call the fucking police! He’s holding her against her will.”

“What’s going on here?” A man in a suit and tie walked out. Pete had seen him before. He thought back, remembering. It was the man that came to see him with that contract. The hateful contract that he was such an idiot for signing.

“I know you,” said Pete, taking a step toward him. Security stepped between the two men. “You, you were the one that wanted us to sign the contract. You work for him.”

Donovan looked him up and down. “Let him go.”

The guard standing between Pete and the guy before him stepped aside. Pete’s nostrils flared. “I want to see Daisy. Fuck you and your money! I want to see her now! Deal is off. Do you hear me? The deal is off!”

Donovan gave a side eye to one of his men. Pete caught it. He leveled a finger at him. “Lay a fucking hand on me and I will take you down!”

“Mr. Doyle, I’m Donovan McBride. If you would care to follow me, we can discuss this.”

“Is everybody around heah fuckin’ deaf? I want Daisy brought downstairs now!”

“Yes. We heard you. But I’m giving you an option. Follow me or them.” He nodded behind Pete. He looked back. Men, tall, big, brooding men filled the end of the hall. The three of them stared at him behind dark shades and earpieces. Their hands, clasped in front of them, were the size of bowling balls.

Pete looked back to the attorney whose cool grey eyes never left him. “Where is she?” he asked.

“This way.”

***

“It’s beautiful, Mr. Keane,” Daisy said in wonder.

“Call me Aiden.” He hated repeating himself.

Daisy refused, and Aiden sensed the reason. Before the night ended, he was sure she’d be saying his name over and over. Daisy’s eyes were glued again to the window. She looked down, out at the mountains, anxious to see the canyon. The helicopter ride, according to her, was spectacular.

“I just can’t believe how far it goes! I mean it’s like a hole in the bottom of the earth, ya know? I see it on TV before. I read about it in high school once. They think it was a meteor that did it and killed off all the dinosaurs.” When she turned, he moved in closer than she’d anticipated. He saw her eyes widen in surprise. Daisy scooted away a little. “I also read that the Indians… um, the Native Americans, have been living here for like thousands of years, but of course the government forced them into reservations and made it some kind of national park or landmark. Really shitty thing to do.”

“You read a lot on history?”

“History?” Daisy laughed. “NO… no…I love places, lands, things I’ve never seen. I watch the Travel Channel a lot.”

“Travel Channel. You find it interesting?”

“Bet you’ve never even looked at it,” she mumbled, returning her eyes to the view.

“Oh, I’ve had my hotels featured. So, yes, I’m familiar.”

“Yeah, well imagine looking at it from my eyes. Girl that aint neva been nowhere.”

Aiden looked her over. “Did you ever see my hotel on the Travel Channel?”

“Yep, but it sure is a lot nicer in person. Me and Pete aint neva slept so good. And last night we saw a show, Cirque du Soleil. ”

“Which one?”

“Huh?” she said straining to see something below.

“Which one?”

“Zumanity.”

“Ah, yes, the show for lovers. I’ve seen it. It’s good.”

“Man is it eva. I swear that thing was so sexy it—” she bit her bottom lip and looked away. “It was a good show, yes.” When he didn’t say much else, she looked back. He was staring out of his window now, actually looking at the sights instead of her. She dropped her eyes to something shiny. It was a golden coin that he rubbed between two fingers. She saw it before on him. Strange. He was a strange man. When she looked up their eyes met. She smiled, and he gave her the stony glare again, the softness gone. Shaking her head, she looked back out of her window.

“Call him. Tell him I said the deal is off. The deal isn’t valid if we both don’t agree. And I don’t agree with it. Ya got it. So call him.”

“Have a seat, son.”

“Fuck you. Call me son again old man and I'll show you I'm not.”

Donovan smirked. He walked over to the leather sofa chair and sat. Dusting off invisible lint from his crossed pant legs, he looked up with the patience of a pope. Pete hated the way the man stared at him, as if he were the one that was the freak. Aiden Keane was a freak. There’s no telling what he had planned for Daisy.

“Call him!”

“I can’t. He’s not here.”

“That’s bullshit! I saw them less than a half hour ago.”

“Then you must have seen them leave,” said Donovan coolly.

“No! Daisy wouldn’t leave with that man.”

Pete paced the floor staring at the attorney. “She wouldn’t.”

“They left by helicopter from the roof. I expect them to return tomorrow at the contractually agreed-upon time.”

“What? What? No fucking way! He kidnapped her.”

“I suggest you go back and read what you signed.”

“Fuck that! If I take that contract to the police, both your asses will go to jail. You can’t sell a person!”

Donovan chuckled. “Did you read it? Nowhere does it mention the selling of a human being. Just a service.” He leaned forward with elbows to knees. “Son, did you even stop to think why your signature was needed?”

Pete stopped pacing. His stomach grew ice cold. “I-I-I…”

“You didn’t. Listen kid. I know him. He won’t hurt her. But you sure as hell shouldn’t have agreed to something you didn’t understand. Let that be a lesson to you. That contract is issued by you. Requested by you. You, son, will be in just as much trouble as Mr. Keane if you go to the police with these wild tales of him buying another human being.”

Pete chewed on his bottom lip. “I didn’t arrange this.”

“This is a personal services contract. Sell, loan, barter… whatever you prefer to call it, you agreed to it. It’s done.” Donovan rose. “Now, personally, I don’t care what you do from now until…” Donavan drew his sleeve back and checked his timepiece. “Twenty-three hours from now. I suggest you do it away from the executive offices and stay out of my sight.”

“Please, sir. We didn’t understand. I mean, you can call him. Tell him to let me talk to her. I have to make sure she’s okay.”

Donovan patted Pete’s shoulder. “She’ll be fine.”

Pete watched him go. His hands clenched and unclenched. He tried to breathe, but the air wouldn’t fill his lungs. On the verge of madness, he stormed out. He couldn’t think of anything else to do.

Chapter Twelve

She’d finally seen the Grand Canyon, hovered over it in fact. An abyss of rocky depths for as far as her eyes could see. The view was breathtaking, literally. She’d gotten vertigo after gazing upon it too long. Daisy itched to share this experience with somebody. She wished she could call Jessiemae and rave over it or call her sisters and brag. She wanted to find anyone willing to listen and tell them what she’d seen.

Daisy’s thoughts filtered back to Pete. Her hand rubbed the phone. Her conscience nagged at her. He called. Why did Pete call? Was there something wrong? Shouldn’t she try to call him back? Daisy didn’t want him to know she left the hotel, but she figured he already did. So the harm had been done. If she called, he’d demand she’d return, and if she refused—well, there’d be no making it up if she refused. It’s best to leave things as they were.

“Daisy?”

The helicopter landed. Aiden stepped out when the door opened. He reached back, his hand extended out of his dark sleeve toward her. Strong and long-fingered, when she laid her hand in his, it felt unusually soft under her palm. She accepted it and his help to climb out of the cabin. Landing on her feet, she spotted the limo beyond him. It had dark tinted windows and a black sleek design. The driver stood outside of it in his uniform. What was it? A hundred degrees out? The man hadn’t broken a sweat.

“Shall we?”

Daisy dared a glance up to Aiden’s face. His heavy lids barely concealed the lust behind the green. It filled her with a little excitement and trepidation. There was still a small part of her brain that insisted that she had taken leave of her senses, but it was easily pushed aside by the closeness of him and his smell. The way his strong scent bloomed in her nostrils made her want to lick her lips. Pete didn’t wear cologne. She would have to get him some, some of this. This man smelled beautiful. Daisy smiled. Thankfully, he drew back, allowing her to walk at his side. She didn’t bother to ask where. They were now in Arizona somewhere near the canyon so she assumed it was breakfast. He was probably taking her to some swank restaurant with a magnificent view. She was grinning and salivating at the thought of it. She was starved.

Aiden allowed her to enter first. He slipped his driver the signal. The man nodded from under the shade of his chauffeur’s cap that he understood. Miss Daisy Johnson was in for a day she didn’t imagine, and he was in for a night of more than the same. Donovan had asked about his arrangements and the amount of trouble taken. Actually, it wasn’t any trouble; he had an assistant to see to these things. However, his dear friend had a point. The women Aiden kept time with never got this treatment. He’d vacationed some, and even taken one to Ireland with him when he went there to tend to a family matter. But he never had any interest in a seduction. Daisy’s corruption inspired him.

“I don’t get you, Aiden,” Donovan said. Cubes of ice bobbed in his vodka and orange juice.

“Of course you get me. Who else has kept me out of court and jail all these years?” Aiden smirked, blowing up a ring of smoke.

“If she’s just a whore, then what’s with all the seduction?”

“Who says she’s a whore?”

“That contract you had her sign says she’s a whore,” Donovan snorted snidely. “Which is why you made the little deal, isn’t it?”

“I don’t know what you mean.” Aiden cut his eyes away.

“Coming up on that time again, this month right?”

“Let it alone, Donovan.”

“Your father’s suicide over that broad he made rich. What day is it?”

“Tomorrow.” Aiden’s jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed.

“Ahh, yes. So you want a whore to commiserate. Dangle a little gold and watch it turn to brass, eh?”

“She’s a kid,” Aiden shrugged. “Barely twenty-one.” Yes, it was true. He had wanted to convince Daisy of her evil and greed toward money and show Petey boy what he was in for. But inside he knew Daisy was not Carlotta. The woman that broke the man he’d worshipped as a kid.

If she’s a kid, then cut this shit and send them on their way. That money means nothing to you. And trust me, friend, breaking her won’t either.”

Aiden’s eyes lifted with a cool, predatory ease. “Yes. But it will be fun, and I have nothing better to do with my time.” He put the cigar back in his mouth and rocked against his overstuffed chair, smiling. Donovan shook his head. He returned to the bar for another drink.

Daisy hadn’t turned out to be quite what he’d expected. But she had signed that contract. She obeyed his order not to use her phone. She looked at him with those eyes, and he wanted her, wanted to strip of her of that fake innocence and get to who she really was. Carlotta and what she did to his father had nothing to do with it. The key to boredom meant exploring the unexplored. His dick stirred at the thought of it. Climbing inside the limo, he had to shift to adjust himself. She looked over at him and smiled sweetly again. He chose to ignore it. Greeted by the polished smell of a new car, Aiden welcomed the icy cool air-conditioned breeze that blew the heat from his cheeks.

“Mr. Keane, that was so much fun! It was so beautiful. Thank you. It was very generous of you to show me the canyon.”

“Did you drive through Arizona on your way in from Kentucky?” He found himself uncomfortable with her gratitude.

“Sure did, but I was asleep mostly. Pete did the driving. I hate his car,” she confessed.

“Why is that?”

Daisy smiled, thinking of Pete’s clunker. He called it his love machine. She’d lost her virginity in the back of that car; it should be special to her. “Oh I dunno. It’s ugly and icky. You just have to see it.”

She rubbed her hands up and down her thighs, looking around. Finally she turned back to him. She saw he waited for the question. She didn’t ask.

“Aren’t you curious as to where I’m taking you?”

“Breakfast, right? Then back to the hotel in Vegas?”

“We’re going to breakfast and a hotel, yes.”

Her smile grew brighter. Aiden frowned. He expected her to be alarmed. He expected her to play the damsel: her thing was all this innocent bullshit. She sat back and relaxed.

“Cool. I’m starving.”

Chapter Thirteen

“Watch it, buddy!” grunted a short, potbellied man.

Pete kept going.

The casino had come alive. In fact, it was crammed with a noisy crowd, milling about even noisier machines. The people wore white shirts with some logo on the front, possibly a convention. Who gave a fuck? He didn’t.

His mind was a cluttered mess. The meeting with Keane's attorney had left him reeling. He returned to his room and read the contract. Read the fine print. He was such an idiot. Those assholes had it drawn as if he and Daisy initiated it. What had been done could not be undone. There was nothing left to do but wait. And if he had to wait, he’d get drunk as he could to make it through.

Pete sat at the bar in a corner seat before he realized he was off his feet. “Heineken,” he mumbled, pulling the bowl of pretzels down toward him. He popped some in his mouth, crunching, but tasting nothing. This time, the barkeep was Mexican. Different than last time. Good. He wasn’t in a chatter mood. The man pried the cap off the green bottle. Icy tears sweated down the label as the man slid it over. The cool barley taste was great going down, just what the doctor ordered. His eyes fluttered shut at the relief it bought.

“Hey. Pete, right?”

Pete swallowed. He lowered his beer and his eyes shifted to the voice. She stood there smiling, her blonde hair hanging over one eye. She wore a too-small pink top, cut horizontally in the center to reveal her perky titties, with low-waisted jeans that showed off her pierced belly. It was the girl he’d met when he and Daisy had first arrived.

“It’s me. Andy, remember? How are you?”

“Fine,” he mumbled. His eyes slipped away. To his irritation, she took the seat next to him.

“What’s with you and bars? You some kind of alcoholic? Or just prefer that to spending money in the casino? Ya drink for free at the tables, sugar. Why throw your money away like this and—”

“Look, I’m really not in the mood,” snapped Pete.

“It’s your girl, right? I saw her leaving with Mr. Keane.” Andy covered her smirk as she delivered this news.

“You saw her?” Pete’s head shot around. “When? Where?”

“The roof. That’s where they were headed. We got rooms up there for the dancers. I saw them leaving.

“Did he force her?”

“Force?”

“Force!”

Andy smiled. “No, sugar. Of course not.” She grinned. “Aiden Keane doesn’t have to force a woman to do anything.”

Pete’s blonde lashes lowered to conceal his hurt. Andy moved her bar seat closer. He wished she’d move the fuck on instead. He wanted to slink into the nearest corner and be miserable alone. He let his eyes wander in search of one. Then he abandoned the thought. He could have been alone in the room, their room, and he couldn’t manage it. So maybe he didn’t know his wishes after all.

“Hey, you okay?”

Pete slammed the empty bottle down on the wet-ringed napkin. “Another.”

Andy looked to the bartender and nodded. She turned on her stool. “Let me guess. Aiden Keane got to you too?”

“Got to me? What do you mean?”

“I’ve worked here for some time, sugar. In fact, I dance at a couple of his spots. I know the man. I know his game.”

“Do you know where he took her?” Pete asked.

“He probably took her to one of his other hotels. He has them all over the map. My guess is he has her somewhere isolated so he can have his way with her, and you, my sweet prince, can’t stop him.”

“I don’t want to hear this,” Pete groaned.

“Thing is, she aint no victim sweetie. I bet you think you failed her by playing Aiden’s game.” She watched with satisfaction and Pete winced. “Oh yes, I know all about his games. He does this all the time. You didn’t fail her. It was her choice. Right?”

“What the hell do you know about what I did and didn’t do?” snapped Pete.

The bartender looked up at them. For the first time, Andy didn’t look so confident. She stammered out a reply. “It’s his setup. Like I said, he’s done it before. The woman he chooses knows all the nasty little details before she goes. In fact, I saw them down here the other night. Sitting over there.” She pointed to a corner in the bar where an Asian couple now dined. Pete followed her red-manicured fingernail. “She was in that booth with him, giggling. Letting him touch her hair and hands. She had on the cutest little blue dress.”

Pete remembered waking with Daisy wearing the dress she said she’d been saving for him. She had worn it instead for a man she didn’t know. And the memories kept coming. How she begged him to go along with it. She had played on his heart to convince him of the inevitable. But his Daisy wasn’t that manipulative. Sure she had her ways, but she was loyal to him—faithful to him. She was a good girl, not some jezebel.

“When I saw them, I knew she had signed on board, like we all do. Aiden Keane and those green eyes, sugar. There’s no escaping it. Not even if you want to.”

“What happens? I mean when he takes them… these women.”

The beer was placed before him but he could barely touch it. He just stared at the label, watching dewdrops roll over the shamrock on the label. Andy moved in, her scent as strong as the words she whispered into his ear.

“He’s into kink. He uses them… in ways you don’t want to know. Wants to be the first to really break them, so no matter how hard they try when they’re with another guy, even their guy, they have to always think of him. Trust me sugar. It works.”

Pete closed his eyes.

“Now listen, prince. You’re a sweetheart. A cutie, too. No need sitting here pining for a woman that would allow herself to be used and abused. No need. How about we party? In fact, I got a show in another hour. Aiden owns the spot. A gentleman’s club. It’s in the rough part of Vegas though. That’s where he does his dirty dealings out of. You can enjoy the show. My show. Then…” she ran her hand down his back. “Then, you know, whatever happens—happens.”

Pete’s eyes opened, glazed over with his drunkenness, his pain. He’d never seen another woman worth betraying his Daisy for after he fell in love. Daisy’s whore-bag friend, Jessiemae, tried to fuck him many times, but he didn’t take it. He didn’t even tell Daisy. And when Jessiemae told him that Daisy had killed his baby, he knew that bitch was lying out of spite. “No thanks. I’ll pass.”

Andy rose from her chair. She got up against him. Her bubble tits pressed into his arm. “Awe, Pete, c’mon, even if you don’t want a taste. Do you really want to sit here at the bar and stare at Charlie here all day? Or would you like something else to take it off your mind?”

Pete could see the sparkle of devilment in her eyes. She had a point. He could easily drink himself numb in a tit-bar as he could in any other place. “Fine. Let’s go.”

***

Daisy emerged from the limo to a half-finished hotel. The four bottom levels had plastic tarps covering large holes where there should be windows. They flapped in the hot summer wind, sounding like many birds taking flight. Her eyes continued upward. The upper level looked finished, but it sure as hell wasn’t the restaurant she’d envisioned. Then she saw the clover and knew what the place was.

“Another Shamrock?”

Aiden put his hands on her shoulders. The touch of his hands felt almost unbearable with tenderness. She didn't like enjoying it.

“What do you think?”

“It’s a hotel? Yours?”

“Yes. You said you liked the Shamrock so much, I thought you’d like the honor to be the first to see and explore the Shamrock’s sister hotel.”

“It’s not finished,” frowned Daisy.

“Let’s see if that’s true.” His hands slid down her arms. Then one stopped to hold hers, fingers laced together. It was the first time he had tried to hold her hand, and the first time she didn’t flinch at the thought of it. Her plan was foolproof, so there was no way it would go as far as he thought. He pulled her along behind him. She stepped over the grass and cobblestone pathway in her tennis shoes, looking around. She noticed that there was nothing but desert-land as far as the eye could see and the road that lead them out of it. Why build a place here? She prayed silently that it wasn’t as blistering hot inside as it had been out.

Inside, she found the bottom level depressingly ordinary. However, there was an elevator that waited, open. Planks of wood and tools were about. The cement floor was covered in sawdust, which when disturbed, tickled her nose. Together, they left footprints over the dusty surface.

Aiden stepped inside the elevator. He reached around her to press the top button to the 23rd floor. He continued to hold her hand. It was a tight grip, as if he expected her to run. She looked over at him again and saw those hard lines around his eyes and mouth. Was he mad at her? What had she done to him to make him so moody? And if he didn’t like her, why bring her here? Be with her, like this? He gave her a tug and pulled her closer.

“Is everything okay?” she asked.

Aiden’s eyes returned to her. He blinked away his scowl in a flash. His smile was so bright, she thought his teeth sparkled. “Just fine,” he said, releasing her.

“So why a hotel way out here? In the middle of nowhere?”

“It won’t be the middle of nowhere when I’m done with it.”

“But it’s so close to Vegas. It’ll be your competition, won’t it?”

Aiden smiled. “Well yes, I guess it will.” The elevator dinged. The doors parted. Daisy peeked out, not sure what awaited her. Pete’s warning of leaving with this man blared in her subconscious. Now she was in a desert in an abandoned hotel.

The first to greet her was the cool air-conditioning. Aiden let her step off first. She hesitated briefly at the extravagance. It was exactly like the Lucky Charm restaurant in the Shamrock. She could see her face in the floors, they were polished so beautifully. A man in a blue vest, pink shirt and dark slacks stepped out to greet Aiden.

“Mr. Keane, it is good to see you sir. Please come this way.”

Aiden’s hand pressed against the hollow of her back. Daisy realized how she must look in such an elegant place. Again she’d had no idea she was going anywhere, and the clothing choices had of course, been her own. But now, she sure as hell didn’t want to appear like the country bumpkin he thought she was. Fixing the front of her shirt, she tried to walk with her head high. These people didn’t know her. Hell, even people with money dressed down to keep folks away from their celebrity. But a little lip-gloss would have gone a long way.

Aiden frowned as he watched his guest. Daisy walked tall with her nose up in the air. He studied her as they moved through the tables. Then he realized why. He had to stifle a smile. She really was something. He observed her as she unfolded her napkin and placed it in her lap.

“You hungry, princess?”

“Yes, Mr. Keane. I am.”

He snapped his fingers. A chef appeared, his prep station near. Daisy looked up at him, then to Aiden. “Tell the man what you’d like.”

“Can I have a menu please?” she asked, baffled.

“Whatever you wish I can prepare.”

She looked again to Aiden to confirm. He nodded that it was her choice. She looked around the restaurant and then back to him.

“Okay, I’d like an omelet. Whites, no yolks, with wild chanterelle mushrooms, goat cheese, sweet onions, basil aioli, a little sun-dried tomato, spinach and pancetta. Oh, and some crepes with blueberries, and a mimosa, and um…. oh, and Maryland crab cakes too, please.”

The chef looked to Aiden, not having blinked at the order. Aiden smiled. “Coffee.”

He nodded and backed away.

“Did he get that?” Daisy asked. She watched him speak in another language to other cooks lined up.

“He has it.”

Her eyes returned to Aiden. “Guess you’re wondering how I knew what to order huh?”

“It crossed my mind.”

“I watch this show called Top Chef. You see it?”

“No, can’t say that I have.”

“You should watch it!” she exclaimed. “You need to know what’s the latest in these kitchens—”

“I have people that—”

“—anyways, each episode they have guest judges. ”

“Really?”

“Yeah, and last episode I saw before we left home they had the guy from Spago—Wolf Punk….”

“Wolfgang Puck,” he corrected.

“Yes! That’s him! Well, when he was there, he said a true chef can please his guest no matter what the order. So he ordered that. Off the top of his head. And this girl found everything and had it for him in like five or ten minutes or something. Cause they have to do it on a timer and stuff. Well, Wolf Puck….”

“Wolfgang Puck…”

“Yeah, yeah, he was impressed. I said to myself: Daisy when you go to a five-star for breakfast you got to try it. But with class, you know. Not chicken or fried shrimp. I swear, country folk always go to a restaurant and order chicken or fried shrimp. My daddy would take us to The Sizzler for Easter dinner and order chicken. In a steak house! I was so embarrassed! No class…”

“Sizzler?” Aiden frowned.

“Yes, The Sizzler. Don’t pretend you don’t know The Sizzler. All kinds of folks love it. When Oprah came to the Kentucky Derby she ate there. I know cause my friend Jessiemae was there too, and she said Oprah just walked right in and ordered like normal folk.”

“I see.”

Daisy clamped her mouth shut. She’d been talking a million miles an hour. She needed to slow her roll. Speak when spoken to. All that jazz.

“Don’t stop.”

“What? Don’t stop what?”

“Talking.”

She looked up at him, surprised. “You like it when I talk?”

“I do.”

“Pete says I never know when to shut up. I tend to say too much, and not let other people speak. Mama said I was mouthy at two. She said once I said my first word, I never stopped. Guess I’m nervous and all.”

“A woman like you shouldn’t have to be quiet. You have a lot to say Daisy. My guess is if you had your say to someone who wanted to listen, you wouldn’t need to rush them with everything you know.”

“I don’t do that.” She frowned. “It’s not about me trying to be smart. I just like to talk about the things that make me happy or the things I’ve learned. I’m not bragging or conceited.”

“I apologize. Of course you aren’t.”

Water, coffee, and her mimosa were brought to the table. A slice of orange on the cut-crystal flute was decorated like a rose. Pretty. She had never had it served to her before. She and Jessiemae had made it once and got drunk off the champagne.

She stared at the glass.

“Something wrong with the drink?”

Daisy’s brows drew together. It just occurred to her: maybe she shouldn’t be drinking around him.

“One glass won’t hurt,” he smirked as if reading her mind.

She picked it up and sipped it. It was so yummy, she licked her lips then sipped some more. Then she drank down half the glass.

Aiden laughed.

She grinned.

“Now tell me more about Oprah at this Sizzling place. It sounds fascinating,” he chuckled.

“Well if you think that is cool, check this out…” She leaned forward, and Aiden leaned in to hear her. Daisy dropped her hands on the table and leaned in further. “One year after the Derby, Colby Kemp drove through Hollow Creek and used the bathroom at Wal-Mart, and guess what. He didn’t wash his hands! You know Colby Kemp. He owns all those buildings in New York City. Jessiemae saw it.”

Aiden laughed aloud.

Daisy frowned. “I’m serious! It aint a joke. It’s nasty, just nasty.”

Chapter Fourteen

“I’d like a number one with an orange juice, and—” she looked over at Pete. He shook his head no. “And give me a chicken biscuit on the side.”

“Okay, that will be five dollars and sixty-eight cents. Please drive around.”

Andy revved her Mustang around the curve to the first drive-up window. Pete barely looked over. He stared out of the passenger window at nothing. He should have gone back upstairs and stayed in the hotel room. What if Daisy called? What if she was in trouble? His heart sank. He knew. He knew she was where she wanted to be. His sitting there waiting on that call that would never come would drive him crazy. At least he’d be out doing something else. Anything else.

“Here, sugar.” Andy shoved the chicken biscuit at him. “On me.”’

“I’m not hungry.”

“You've been drinking. It’s barely ten in the morning. You have to eat. Take it.”

He looked down at the offering then back up to her. “Breakfast on you, huh?”

“I’m generous that way. Besides, you need someone to take care of you. It’s obvious your girl’s not on her job.”

Pete accepted the biscuit. Peeling back the shiny paper wrapping, he took a bite, and did feel better. Andy smiled at him. “Good huh? They got the best.”

“Yeah,” he smiled. “Best breakfast I’ve had in a long time.”

***

“This is the best breakfast I’ve had in a long time, if ever.” Daisy sipped her second of mimosa and then dug back in. Aiden enjoyed watching her. In fact, he enjoyed talking to her. She dabbed the corners of her mouth with the napkin and swallowed. “Do you eat?”

“I rise early, eat early.”

“Huh? You knew we had this date.”

Aiden chuckled.

“It’s rude to take a girl out on a date and make her eat alone. That’s just rude.”

“Date? This isn’t really….” He looked around and realized the setup and arrangement. This was a date.

“I think it’s cool to open casinos and all….” she began, regaining his attention. He watched her fork more of the fluffy eggs in her mouth. “But if you really want to make a killing, you should open nail salons.”

“Really? Why nail salons?”

“The Koreans or Asians got the corner market on nail salons and beauty supply stores. They’re going unchallenged. Let me tell you, Mr. Keane, every city got a hood. In every hood there’s a beauty supply store and black women will spend money on hair and nails before they buy a new dress. We can always work something in our closet.”

“Is that right?”

“Yep. I’m thinking I will open one and then hire them. You know? Cause Jessiemae and me gots a theory.”

“What’s that?”

“See, the Koreans bring them young girls over here illegally and pay them only a little money, then keep it for themselves. Like slavery. That’s what it is. So I’m thinking if we go to them and offer them a real wage and a way to stay here legally and get them licensed so they can earn a trade, they’d jump on it. Because Koreans can do nails. Let me tell you. Then once we get set up in our own operation, we can move on to beauty supply stores.”

“Sounds like a good business plan.”

“For real? You think so? Do you?”

He did. He was impressed and perplexed. The more time he spent with her the more Donovan’s words came back to him. They were just kids. They had a future. What was he doing?

***

“So what you doing in Vegas, honey? Do you like this town?”

“No. It’s not for me. Too many soulless people,” he mumbled.

“Soulless? You some kind of Christian fanatic or somethin’?”

Pete looked over to her. “I’m not a fanatic. But I know hell when I see it. And since I came to this fucking place, that’s what it’s been like.”

Andy looked away. She didn’t understand why Aiden wanted to screw with these kids. What was the point?

“Well, I’m going to show you a little fun. Some good times. So relax. Vegas aint all that bad.”

Pete dropped his head back. Andy’s car left the glam of Vegas and drove through more gritty urban streets.

“Tell you what,” Andy perked up. “I get a lunch break around two. We can grab something to eat at this little place I know about. It’ll cheer you up. Some good southern cooking.”

“Whatever.”

***

“Ms. Johnson, my name is Angela.”

Daisy looked up from her plate. She swallowed hard. “Okay?”

“If you’re finished, we’d like to start.”

“Start what?”

Angela looked to Aiden, who stared directly at her. He leaned forward. “It’s a date, remember? You have to dress for the occasion.”

“Dress? What does that mean?”

“We will begin with a facial, then hair and nails. When you are done, you can model the clothes for Mr. Keane.”

“Now wait. I didn’t agree to this.”

“Yes you did,” snapped Aiden.

Daisy looked at the beautician. She then touched her braid with the loose hair falling about the sides. “A hairdo, and clothes? Why would you do that?”

“Why not?”

“If you’ll come with me, miss,” Angela said.

Daisy nodded. She rose. She wasn’t too worried. Her plan would surely save her from the fate she saw in his eyes. But it just didn’t feel right to have someone pampering her while she left Pete behind. A pang of guilt stabbed her heart. She hesitated for just a moment, then moved along behind Angela.

Daisy’s chair was turned to the mirror. Her eyes couldn’t believe the sight before her. All morning she’d had women oiling, massaging, pressing, curling, plucking, waxing her.

“Do you like it?” asked Angela.

“Huh?” she stammered.

“I asked if you liked it.”

“I do.” A deep voice sounded behind her. Daisy’s eyes flipped up to find Aiden had arrived. She hadn’t seen him in the last two hours. Now he stood there, staring. She grabbed the collar of the robe and held it tight to her neck. She wore nothing under her robe. The waxing and skin treatments called for it. Daisy told herself he couldn’t know that and turned back to the mirror. It wasn’t her. The person looking back was stunning, but this wasn’t her. Even in all her experimenting with makeup and hair-weaves, braids and relaxers, she never achieved this.

Her hair had been tinted a dark chestnut with honey-blonde highlights throughout. Her skin was blemish-free: she looked unreal. They’d applied soft earth tones with her makeup. It was barely seen, except for the smoky tinting above her eyes. If she hadn’t been staring so hard at herself, she would have noticed that Aiden had requested the women who performed the transformation to leave. He closed the door and locked it behind him.

Daisy touched her face. Her skin felt as soft as cream. “Well, I’ll be.”

“You seem surprised at your beauty. Why?”

“I don’t know. It’s so different, I guess. I mean they even cut the hairs in my nose.” She giggled.

Aiden stepped behind her in the mirror. “I doubt that you had many.”

“Trust me. I had some.”

He shook his head. “Well, we aren’t done. I have a few dresses I’d like to see you in. We need to find the right one. And I’m a shoes man, so we’ll definitely need a pair of those too.”

“You talk like I’m some pet project.”

“Project? No. Haven’t you had a man pamper you before?”

“Sure, Pete does it all the time,” she shrugged, looking away from Aiden’s eyes in the mirror.

“Sure he does.”

“What does that mean? Sure he does. You should have seen how he proposed,” she said flashing her ring on her finger. “He planned it really romantic, under the stars. I even saw a shooting star when he was finished.” Daisy surprised herself with the confession because it was true. It didn’t take money to make that night magical, just the moon and the stars, even on top of his rusty Caddy.

“I didn’t mean to imply he wasn’t romantic, Daisy. I just think you’ve always wanted to be more. It’s nice watching you evolve. That’s all.”

“I wanted to have more. Not be some glamour queen. There’s a difference.”

“I see no difference.”

“That’s because you see what you want to see. Pete sees me. And he doesn’t need to dress me up to do it.” She rose from the chair. “Okay, where is this wardrobe you want me to try on? I guess we dressing for dinner or sumthin’?”

Aiden blocked her pass. She lifted her eyes to his. Again, he stepped closer than invited. His finger went up under her chin and tilted her head back. She allowed it. “I see you, Daisy. If I didn’t, I would have never made you this offer. If you prefer to wash the makeup off and put back on your clothes, it wouldn’t make me want you any less.”

Daisy’s thoughts were mush, like her racing heart. She swallowed hard and blinked twice. Did plan to kiss her? He shouldn’t. She couldn’t. She gripped the collar of her robe tightly.

“There’s sumthin’ you should know,” she said softly.

“Tell me.” His face came in close. His breath, warm and soft, blew over her lips. And his lips looked so tender and lickable, she licked her own. Daisy realized what she was doing and pressed hers together. When his other hand went to her hip, she panicked, letting go the front of her robe to push at his chest. His eyes dropped just as her robe fell open to reveal the inside swell of her breasts. Quickly, she gathered the terrycloth of her robe together and closed it again.

“I’m on my period!” she blurted.

Aiden frowned.

Daisy stepped back, hitting the make-up counter. She’d played her card to soon. She had a plan. The oldest one in the book. It was how she kept the boys off her until she decided who would get her cherry. She thought of it when Pete gave her the phone. It’s her get-out-of-this-and-still-get-the-money trick. Any guy cringed at the thought of it. Mr. Prim and Proper surely would.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Keane, but you never asked. It came on this morning. So, well… we can’t, you know?”

Aiden wiped at his mouth and smiled. Then he laughed, stepping back. His eyes danced with merriment. Daisy watched him as he shook his head. He laughed harder and she grew angry.

“Why is it funny?”

He waved off her fury. “Show me.”

“Huh?”

Aiden dropped his arms. “If you’re on your period, then my guess at you being nude under that robe would be proven wrong. Show me your panties.”

“I will not!”

“It’s no different than walking around in a bikini bottom.”

“I don’t walk around in bikinis,” she snapped.

Aiden smiled. “Daisy, Daisy, Daisy. You never cease to amaze me. Quite the little minx, aren’t you?”

“I don’t care what you think. I’m on my period! So we can’t—”

There came a knock at the door. Aiden smiled and Daisy glared. She hated his arrogance. He went to the door and unlocked it. “Yes?”

“Excuse me, sir. I have her clothes and undergarments.” The fashion assistant passed him the clothes through the door. Daisy ran her hand back through her hair, nervously chewing at her glossed lips.

“Thanks. I’ll make sure she has them.” Aiden closed the door and she wanted to die. She couldn’t believe how stupidly she’d played this. And to her horror, he went through her things and held out her thong.

“Give me those!” She reached across and snatched them from him.

“Don’t bother getting dressed. They’re waiting for us.” Aiden opened the door wider.

Daisy held her things to her chest. “Mr. Keane, I don’t think… well… if you think I can do this… I mean, I’m about to be married.”

“Daisy, whatever happens between us will be consensual. If you choose not to, it’s your prerogative. It’s always been about the choices you make. Now, shall we?”

Daisy put down the clothes and tightened her robe before walking through the open door. Aiden smiled. He watched her leave.

Chapter Fifteen

Bass reverberated through his chest into his bones. The drumbeat matched the wicked swings of the dancer’s hips as she strutted along the mirrored stage. Beams of light flashed on her from different angles, smoothing her skin to perfection. Or was it just a reflection from the body glitter she wore? Her left nipple had a piercing as did her navel. When she slid down the front of the pole, hands to knees, and parted her legs, he saw her pussy was pierced too.

Pete said nothing.

The dancer eased back up, her eyes glued to him. She gave him a knowing smile, believing her goodies were what he’d ordered over the drink he’d been holding in his right hand. Thrusting her hips at him, she backed up in heels so high, he figured one fall and she’d break that pencil neck of hers. Soon her lithe body snaked around the pole, and one leg went up, hooking around it, then the other. Her legs wrapped along the glistening steel before she gave a slow slide. The same routine the four girls before her pulled. Pete sipped his drink.

Pete had a never-ending tide of drinks brought his way. He didn’t even think of the bar tab. What did he care? He was rich. Hell, after Daisy was through with her performance, he could buy and sell this place. He gave a bitter chuckle. Daisy. He checked his watch. Time flew as fast as dollar bills in places like this one. The dark walls and nonexistent windows did a pretty good job of keeping the world at bay. Add to that the parade of pussy that was supposed to tempt a man like him.

The crowd thinned. The girls were working hard. And until Andy made her announcement that he was hers, he’d spent the first few hours ignoring them or simply telling them to walk away. Alone at a table that wobbled whenever he set his drink down, he stared up at the stage. The music switched and the DJ told the dancer to move her ass for the next girl coming up. Pete wiped at his brow and blew out another breath. The drinking wasn’t working. Nothing was. He couldn’t get Daisy off his mind.

“Hey, sugar,” sighed Andy. She kissed his cheek. She sat next to him wearing only a g-string. Pete got up-close-and-personal with her breasts.

“You hungry? Mattie can whip you up some hot wings.”

“You said Keane owned this place?” he asked.

From where he sat he could see men in business suits come and go out of the back room. Not the kind that seemed to spend their days in strip clubs paying for lap dances.

“He sure does.”

“Strange he would. Since he’s a billionaire and all.”

Andy laughed. “Everybody gets dirty, sugar. Don’t you know that?”

“Not everybody,” he mumbled. Pete felt her staring. He tried not to give her much more.

“I’m about to go on next. Gonna order you some wings before I do. Enjoy the show,” she said, kissing his cheek again. Pete said nothing. His eyes however, followed her as she went, watching the sexy sway to her hips and ass. His boys at home would be emptying their piggy banks to get a little time with X-Tacy, as they called her. But truth be told, she was no Daisy Johnson.

***

Aiden let the coin dip and slip over one finger, then the next. He sat patiently, waiting for her to appear. Well, not exactly patiently. His foot tapped in anticipation and his jaw muscles locked. The coin bobbed and dipped a little faster. She’d been behind the curtain for ten minutes. These dresses he’d picked out himself; what the hell was the problem? Finally, the curtain parted and she emerged shyly, with her hands over her breasts. Aiden smiled. The yellow-green fabric was so thin it was barely there. The dark curls trimmed to a thin strip over her pussy that could be seen easily, just like the nipples she covered from him. It left little to the imagination. The silhouette of the curves she tucked in jeans and big shirts was on full display. Aiden’s wolf salivated. Daisy’s discomfort was dismissed. He beckoned her forward with his eyes. She stepped out and turned to face herself in the mirror.

“I-I-I can’t wear this,” she said, unable to cover enough of herself, now seeing what her complete lack of underwear revealed.

“You don’t like it?”

“No,” she said softly.

“Very well. Try on the next.”

Daisy cut her eyes up to his reflection in the full-length mirror. “No.”

“What?” he blinked.

“You heard me. There’s a rack full of clothes back there. Beautiful things.”

“And?”

“And you pick this?” She turned and cared little to what she revealed. He’d reached her breaking point. “I’m sick to death of the game. Our deal didn’t call for me to hand over all my pride. This is the tackiest piece of them all. And the others are worse. I won’t do it. You want me to model clothes? Well then, I’ll pick out which ones. Other than that, you can go to hell.”

Aiden stared at her.

Daisy folded her arms and glared back. “What do you expect? Apparently you think small town means small brain. You’re trying to debase me, humiliate me. I’m not stupid. And frankly, Aiden, this peep show is pathetic, even for you.”

“All right, Daisy. Help yourself.”

“I choose?” she asked.

“You choose.”

She smiled. “Be right back.”

He watched her run back behind the curtain. Chewing on his bottom lip, he continued with his coin play. His chest was tight with indecision.

Daisy reappeared in a black spaghetti-strap dress. It tastefully outlined her figure, her curves. She picked out stylish pumps to match. Fixing her hair, she turned and gave him a suggestive look. He had to admit she looked very nice. “Well?” she said, hands upturned

“Sexy. I liked the other better though.”

“Yeah, well of course you did. There’s nothing to that dress. This….” She turned and checked it again in the mirror. “…now this is class.” She walked in a full circle, inspecting her figure from all angles. “It’s not quite right is it?”

“No. It’s not quite right.”

She looked up at him in the mirror. “Mr. Keane? Where are we going next? It will help me decide.”

“An early dinner.”

“Ah, okay. Be right back.”

She rushed off. Aiden waited.

Daisy re-emerged in a red strapless dress with a puffed hem. She put on a pair of red and gold wrap-around heels that made her feet sparkle. “Tah-Dah!” she grinned. She loved the dress. She loved the feel, the fit. Hell, she loved everything. “I bet I could sew this.” She stepped up to the mirror smoothing her hands over her flat tummy.

“You sew too?”

“I sure do,” she announced proudly. She dropped her hands to her hips, nibbled on her bottom lip. “So what do you think?”

“Red isn’t my favorite color on you. Again, that first dress—”

“Is out of the question. Be right back!”

She rushed off.

Aiden’s phone rang. He plucked it from his front pocket. “Keane here.”

“Hey, sugar, it’s me.”

“What do you need?” he said dryly.

“Just reporting in. You still want that favor?”

“Is he with you?”

Andy looked over at Pete from her seat at the bar. He sat there while Peaches flapped her butt cheeks at him from the stage. “Oh yes, he’s with me.”

Aiden smiled. “Good. Then do what I asked.”

He looked up just as Daisy re-emerged in a dress that was made for her. Andy said something else, but he didn’t hear. Lowering the phone, he shut it off. Daisy smiled and stepped to him.

“I bet you like this one.”

Aiden found it hard to speak. The dress had been cut from royal purple chiffon silk. Material draped across her breasts from either side of her hips and up to her neck. The split of the material from the waist left her belly and back exposed. But it flowed fluidly off her heart-shaped hips to the floor in layers. In deep and soft shades of purple, it moved light as a skirt of feathers as she stepped over to the podium.

Aiden sat upright.

“I like it.”

She cast a look over her shoulder and smiled. “You sure? There’s more.”

“No. No. That’s the one.”

“It’s beautiful. I’ve never worn anything more beautiful,” she agreed.

“No, Daisy. It’s not the dress. It’s you. You’re beautiful,” he heard himself say again. He rose, despite the warning voice in his head, abandoning his senses, having to be near her. Daisy turned and looked at him curiously.

“Where’s dinner?”

“My yacht.”

Her eyes stretched. “Yacht? Where?”

“Santa Monica,” he said, taking her hand in his. He walked her down the little podium, so that she stood before him. Daisy was careful of her long hem with each step.

“Another helicopter ride?”

“No, we’ll take my jet.”

“For real?”

He touched her hair, moving thick strands aside, tucking them behind her ear, ears he’d love to dress in diamonds. She didn’t pull away from his touch, and he appreciated that, especially since he planned to touch her again. “I’m going to kiss you, Daisy. Now.” His voice was soft and sensuous as the silk she wore. The tone made her shiver, visibly. Still, she didn’t turn from him. She was trapped in the same sensual haze that cocooned them both.

“No… please.”

Aiden touched a finger to her bottom lip. He stared at her. Daisy pressed her lips together and her eyes slipped from his. So far it had been harmless flirtation. She’d been under no illusion; she knew his kiss would damn her, bring her closer to what he really wanted: sex. Yet there’s something indefinable about Aiden Keane. She couldn’t explain it. He made her want to dismiss her principles and just follow the yearnings her body was starved for. That realization frightened and thrilled her. Silently, she shook her head, watching him, waiting, her breathing growing shallow. His hand went just under her cheek around the curve of her neck. Ever so softly, it made a caress of her skin. A fierce pull of sexual awareness was found in that simple touch.

“So beautiful,” Aiden said, his fingers reaching to stroke the fine hairs at the nape of her neck. “I have to be honest,” he said, his face now closer.

“About?”

“You.”

“W-what about me?”

“You disturb me, Daisy. You have since the moment I first saw you. Every time I think I know who you are, you smile, laugh, say something to undo it all.”

Daisy frowned deeply. “Why is that disturbing?”

“I don’t like the way that feels.”

“That makes no sense.”

A low groan escaped him as he fastened his mouth on hers and initiated a slow tasting that stirred emotions in her she’d never considered having for any man. Her lashes drifted down. Daisy’s internal focus remained on the feel of his warm, firm lips easing hers apart. The determined thrusts of his tongue were flagrantly erotic. It was good. He was good. Oh, so good.

Those juicy lips of hers parted wider, either to object or sigh, as he brought the hand she’d put between them down, and behind her back. He held her neck firm and deepened his kiss. Aiden knew by the tremor that shook through her body, which was now pressed to his, that she was close to capitulating. She murmured a weak protest and he eased the pressure just a fraction.

“Don’t stop,” he pleaded, not wanting her to abandon the passion sparked between them.

Daisy’s lids fluttered open at his plea for the kiss to continue as his tongue rolled over hers. She was startled to see streaks of dull color spread across his cheekbones. She shuddered with feminine triumph when he was reduced to moaning with hunger. Giving in to the delicious feel of him, she used her free hand to touch him as well.

To tempt her further and draw her away from the hold of that punk kid she clung to, Aiden devoured the last of her resistance. Heat coursed through his veins when he felt her soft moist lips continuing their sexy brush against his as she masterfully kissed him back. She was good at this. And he liked it. She responded to his kiss with an intensity that inflamed his lust and made his dick throb against his leg. She was so damn tasty. He had to draw away to fill his lungs with air. She drained him so. She blinked as if drugged, and he ravished her mouth before she could return to her senses. He released his grip to her wrist and let his hands roam. His hands on her body echoed his need to have her: so strong, so demanding. She whimpered when the force of him became too much. He needed to be between her pretty thighs. He let go a deep growl and bit her bottom lip in his excitement. Daisy shoved him back from her. Her hand touched her mouth, the sting evident to her bottom lip.

Aiden had lost control.

Daisy’s eyes were glittery pools of closely-held tears, and he knew she’d back out of the agreement. He saw it on her face. He feared the words would escape her mouth and confirm it.

“Wait. I’m sorry.” He took her hand quickly. “It got out of hand. I don’t know how it,” he panted.

“You hurt me,” she said, trying to wrench her hand free. Aiden grabbed her face and forced her to stay. He wanted to tell her how badly he wanted her to forgive him but couldn’t formulate the words.

“Daisy, you just… you do things to me… it got of hand. I never….” He kissed her bottom lip and she stiffened. She then soon relaxed as he peppered her lips with small kisses. “I don’t know what came over me.”

“It’s okay, Mr. Keane. Just—” she turned her head from him. “Just let me go, please.”

“Daisy.”

She broke free of his hold, backing away from him. Her eyes were huge against her toffee-colored face. The vulnerable-little-girl-act was just all part of her charm, he told himself as he wiped the taste of her from his mouth. He hated his weakness for her. What the hell had come over him? Was it the same sickness that his father suffered that made him weak for Carlotta? Like Carlotta, Daisy was quite the actress too. “You agreed to my terms, Daisy,” he said in a flat, brittle voice. He was careful to keep his anger caged behind his penetrating stare. “Do you want me to return you to the hotel? Do you want me to undo the deal? Say it and it can be done. Your choice.”

She looked him up and down. What was that? Was that pity in her eyes? Why the hell would she dare pity him! He drew in a breath and his bottom lip. He refused to give into the desire clawing at his gut for her, to lower himself for her! She had no power over him; it was time he reminded her of that and reminded himself of that. Hell, it had only been a fucking kiss.

“Have you changed your mind?” He ground out each word through clenched teeth.

She blinked away her tears and forced a smile of bravery to her face. “No. I haven’t.”

To convince him, Daisy walked back into his arms and kissed him softly. She kissed him with so much tenderness that she felt his lips and jaw muscles loosen. As his eyes closed, she slipped her tongue between his lips. She didn’t understand why he was so harsh with her on their first kiss, but she found the man in him within the second. She drew away before the kiss grew into something more. Her body was behaving in ways she didn’t recognize. He was as addictive as she’d feared. Stepping back, she found that he had eased down the zipper on the side of her dress without her even feeling the touch. She quickly zipped it back up, realizing how quickly things could change.

“Now. You believe me now? Good. It’s out of our system, and we don’t have to do that again,” she said, looking away.

Aiden reached for her hand. She felt the pinch of her engagement ring. She was ashamed. She’d forgotten she still wore it. He looked down at it, then at her. “Take it off. You won’t be wearing it where we’re going.” He dropped her hand.

Daisy looked down at the precious jewel. Pete’s love was in her ring. If she was going to do this—anything—with Aiden, she couldn’t wear it. She nodded and pulled it off. Aiden gave her a satisfied smile.

“Let’s go.”

***

Andy was a club favorite. When she took to the narrow stage, the men whooped it up, clamoring to put money in her g-string. Pete had to admit she was entertaining. A really good dancer, Andy was in complete control of every muscle in her body. He sat through her set, amused. She would stop and wink at him, as the barkeep brought him another drink. What was it, his fifth, his sixth? He’d lost count. It was finally working. His mind was numb. He felt nothing. The song ended. Andy waved and blew kisses to her fans, her large breasts bouncing as she collected the sweat-stained bills thrown at her feet. Gathering her load, she came down and over to him, panting.

“That’s it sugar!”

“It?”

“Done for the day. I’m all yours. In fact, we got a private room here that you can relax in while I shower.”

“I’m cool right here.”

“C’mon. Paying customers take a seat here. Right now you’re stealing cable.”

He frowned. “Stealing cable? What’s that?”

“It’s what we call it when a guy like yourself gets a free peepshow by watching what another guy’s paying for. Let’s get you in a private room. I’ll get us some more to eat, some beer. It’ll be our little party.”

Pete shrugged. He still had hours to wait for Daisy to return home. Besides, he was nodding off at the table.

“Whatever you say, Daisy.”

Andy smirked to hear him call her his girlfriend’s name. She didn’t object. She’d be whatever he wanted if it made Aiden happy. She helped Pete get to his feet and walked him to the room she’d arranged just for them.

***

Flying. She’d thought it would be much more enjoyable than it was. Daisy looked over from her seat to the window. She had to admit the helicopter ride was a lot more adventurous. In his private jet, they sat in comfort, but silence. All she saw were dark storm clouds. The turbulence was enough to bring the bitter taste of bile to her mouth. Daisy tried to remain calm about it. But when the aircraft dropped several feet, she was puffing her cheeks like a blowfish in labor.

Aiden couldn’t help but notice.

“Something wrong?”

“Th-the plane,” she wheezed, on the verge of hyperventilating.

“What about it?”

The plane dropped again and her stomach lurched. Daisy whimpered. She gripped the armrest. Aiden undid his seatbelt. He moved to the seat alongside hers. “I forget you aren’t used to flying,” he chuckled.

“Not funny, and I’m not a child. I’m fine.”

He reached for her hand but his coin dropped to her lap. She looked down at it. Before he could take it, she had it between her fingers. It looked old. “Why do you carry this? Is it real gold?”

“Can I have it back, please?”

She handed him the coin. From the corner of her eye she saw him tuck it safely in his shirt pocket. The plane shook and she winced. “Maybe we should land,” she said, then licked her lip. It still stung from his bite earlier.

“It’s just pockets of wind, nothing to fear. You see, when the plane hits these air pockets, the pressure pushes against it—”

“Okay stop!” she threw up her hand.

He smiled. “You are scared, aren’t you?”

“Look at it. It’s raining out there, and flying aint natural. My granny used to say if God had meant for man to fly he would have given us wings.”

Aiden let go a genuine peal of laughter, and Daisy smiled with him.

“Besides, it’s raining.”

“You’re safer in here than you are on the ground. Trust me.”

“T-t-t-talk, then.”

“We are talking.”

Daisy jumped when the plane shook once more. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it. The tension between them was instantaneously gone. She found him agreeable again.

“Tell me about your childhood?”

“Didn’t have one.”

Daisy held his hand tightly, hoping the turbulence would pass. “Nonsense, you weren’t born a mean ole Irish man. Someone hatched you.” When he didn’t speak, she opened one eye. Looking at him, she saw the hard lines return to his face, but he still held her hand.

“You serious? You didn’t have a childhood? Like Michael Jackson?”

“I was sent away from home at eight to boarding school, and then kicked out of there when my father died.”

“Why?”

“Just was,” he grumbled.

“Are your parents alive?”

“No.”

“They die young?”

“My mom died in childbirth. My dad raised me alone until…”

“Until what?”

“Until he killed himself,” he said flatly.

The plane dipped once more, but she ignored it. Turning in her seat, she rubbed his hand. Aiden looked down to her touch, then at her. “That’s awful, Aiden. I’m so sorry. Why would your dad kill himself?”

“Why do you care?”

“I do care. Tell me what happened.”

“It’s none of your business.”

Daisy blinked at him, shocked. His mood swings were exhausting. How any woman could put up with his moodiness was beyond her. “Wow, you really can be a cranky tough guy huh? You’re just a hurt kid inside—”

“Enough, Daisy,” he warned. “What you see is what you get. Trust me. It’s no act.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I’m over it.”

Daisy sat back in her seat. When she looked back at him, his eyes were closed. He sat perfectly still, but she saw he was anything but over it.

“The coin. Was it your father’s?” she pressed.

“Yes. From his private collection. I swiped it when I was eight before being shipped away. Good thing I did. The bitch sold everything off after his death. He made his fortune as a collector and trader. He went into debt by overextending himself. It’s all I have of him.”

“The bitch?”

Aiden refused to explain further. Daisy didn’t want the conversation to end on that note. She touched his hand, rubbing his knuckles. “How much is it worth?” she asked.

“To me? More than my hotels and casinos.”

“Thanks for telling me about yourself. I wanted to know about you.”

“I’ve never told anyone that story, other than Donovan.”

“Is he related to you?”

“No.”

“Why did you tell me?”

“You asked.”

Daisy smiled. His hand squeezed hers, and then their fingers intertwined. For the rest of the flight, neither of them let go.

***

Andy sashayed through dark doors into the red-light room. The sofas were black and soft, like velvet; the walls were a crimson red. Pete slouched on a center cushion with his head back and his mouth open in a silent snore.

“Drunk?” she frowned. She looked up at the camera, then back to her watch. “No, sugar, I need you awake for this party.” She walked over and tapped his face several times. Pete blinked awake. “Eat something. It’s still early.”

“I should go back to the hotel, sleep it off.”

“Noooo… you should stay and party. With me,” cooed Andy, winking at him. Pete put up his hand and tried to rub off his headache. “I don’t know…”

“Here, eat this,” she said. She put the burger to his lips. “It’ll make it better. Then we’ll have some fun. Promise.”

***

They’d flown out of the storm, but she could smell the rain mixed with the sea. Through her windblown hair, she saw the swell of dark clouds moving in. “Are you sure this is a good idea? I mean the storm is probably coming.”

“Storm’s headed out to sea. We won’t be that far out. C’mon.” He pulled her behind him. She wore his jacket over her shoulders. The beautiful hem of her gown ruffled as she went. She tried to step delicately around the raised front. The moment they boarded the boat, she understood what ‘sea-legs’ meant: she didn’t have them.

“This is beautiful,” she whispered when she stepped through the passageway. And it was. A table set for an intimate dinner had candles lit to give warmth and coziness to the scene. The place settings were Nautical blue and trimmed with gold. It looked exactly like one of the boats on the travel channel. Aiden led her to the table and helped her to her seat. She noticed how he kept checking his watch.

“Is everything okay?” she asked.

“It is now,” he said, taking a seat across from her. The charm had returned. She was glad. He’d been way too intense the past hour. To see him relax allowed her to relax, too, as much as she could. The boat bobbed and swayed. She tried to act like the motion couldn’t be felt, but her stomach still did somersaults.

“I’m sorry, but you were right about the weather. It’s best we not set sail at this time.”

“Oh,” she sighed, relieved. “Well that’s okay. Can’t see much at night anyway, right?”

“Sailing at night is an experience I would have liked to share with you. The moon is brightest over the sea.”

“Really? but it’s not even four yet? How long...”

He smiled. “We have all evening, remember?”

"Um, yeah, right."

The wait staff, a man and a woman, arrived with dinner and a bottle of wine. The bottle was presented first to Aiden. Daisy felt like royalty, watching him sip and nod. It was what he wanted. Then her glass was filled with the dark wine. The food uncovered for her was steak and lobster with asparagus, over a tower of creamed potatoes. The sight of it had her mouthwatering.

“Divine,” she said, wanting to use that word.

Aiden picked up his fork and knife. Daisy did the same. They fell into a comfortable silence while they ate, but as she sipped the wine she loosened up. The tension of what would happen after dinner began to fade. In fact, she put it out of her mind.

“So, are you missed terribly when you leave Shamrock?”

“Missed?” he repeated, amused.

“You know. Hey, you’re the owner, so I’m sure you have to be on hand for things. In Ocean’s Eleven, the casino owner was like the God of the place. Ya know?”

He smirked, cutting his steak, but said nothing. Daisy grinned, stuffing her face. “Did you see the movie? Best casino movie ever. Hey, I got a question! Is the mob still in the business? You know Joe Pesci and Robert DeNiro kind of mob?”

“Casinos are legit now. If the mob is in, they pay taxes just like the rest of us,” he winked.

“Gangstas are sexy,” she smiled. “I would never want to be around them, but I just think it’s cool how they are. I got a huge crush on Al Pacino before he got all wrinkly. Like um, Scarface and Michael Corleone… whew… hot!”

“So you’ve always been attracted to white men?” Aiden asked.

Daisy froze. The fork was raised halfway to her mouth. “Huh?”

“White men? Pete’s white.”

“Well, I like men. I mean, I got a crush on Terrence Howard and Denzel so… um, I like black men. My daddy’s black. Of course I do.”

Aiden chuckled. “What about Irish men?” he asked, his eyes narrowing on her.

“I’ve just recently noticed how attractive an Irish man can be,” she sassed. “Your turn. You always been attracted to black women?”

“Yes.”

“Really? Why?”

Aiden touched his wine glass and stared at her. Daisy wondered what thoughts went through that mind of his. He was like a spider with a fly. She flew dangerously close to his web, as he watched and waited patiently with those calculating eyes. “I’ve never considered why, but if I had to guess I think it’s based off your first love. Sometimes those first loves stay with you.”

Daisy blinked, first surprised to hear he’d ever been in love, and then, that it was a woman of color. “What happened to her?”

He chuckled. “We were eight. Not sure where she went after that. My nanny was her mother and she was let go when my father married.”

“Oh, how sad.”

“And Pete is your first love?” he asked, cutting into his steak.

“Yep. First everything. First kiss, first… well, first everything.”

Aiden looked up at her, and her eyes lowered in embarrassment. “Pete’s a good guy; he’s neva cheated on me. He puts up with my crap, and I can be selfish at times.”

“Never cheated, huh?”

“Nope. Never.”

“But he’s willing to let you be with another man?”

“He loves me,” she said sadly, her mood souring. The soft drumming of rain began to sound above deck. The wind across the waters set the boat to rocking. She tried to ignore it.

“Why do you say you’re selfish?” Aiden asked.

Daisy looked up. She sighed. “I was the one that pushed for this.” Her eyes swept the room and returned to his. “I was the one that convinced him it was best for us. It hurt him. Me coming here. I know he’s hurting, and still...”

“And still you came with me,” Aiden finished.

“Yes. Selfish.”

Aiden checked his watch. “More wine?”

“Yes. Please.”

***

Pete strolled back in the room, zipping his pants. That piss sobered him some, enough to really see the setup, and her. “What is this room?”

“The boom-boom room.” laughed Andy.

“People come back here for…”

“Private shows.” She patted the couch next to her. “Have a seat.”

He checked his watch. It was just after five in the evening. He wished it were later. Andy sipped her champagne. “Want a glass?”

“Nah, I’ve had my fill.”

“Suit yourself,” she shrugged. She sashayed over to the wall panel. He reached for a cold fry as she turned up Maroon 5. Holding her drink carefully, she turned around and waited until Pete’s eyes lifted to hers. Andy gave into a slow dance. Pete watched. What man wouldn’t? When her eyes fell upon him, he knew what she wanted.

“So your girl has been with him all day.”

“Yeah,” he said dryly.

“You seem to be handling it better now.”

“What choice do I have?”

Andy smiled. “True.” She downed her champagne.

“You know she’s sleeping with him. Fucking him. Getting turned out.”

“Okay, Andy. You made your point. Daisy’s cool. She wouldn’t take it that far.”

Andy walked over to him and dropped the wine glass on the table. She ran her hand up and down her midriff, then cupped her breasts. “You sure about that?”

***

Daisy wasn’t very good at the game. Two glasses of wine made her even more awkward. All day she’d been trying to find ways to delay the inevitable, escape it. Now her mind and body braced for it. She drank the last of the wine and looked up at him, not sure how to begin, what to say.

“Where’s the bathroom?” she asked.

He nodded past her. “Down those stairs to the suites at the bottom.”

“Excuse me.”

He watched her rise but didn’t object. Daisy left the table, her legs wobbly. She grabbed her purse and went for the stairs. Quickly she descended. She had to call Pete. She had to be sure. If he told her that he wanted her to come back, even if he was angry at her leaving, she would do it. She just had to be sure. Opening one door, she saw a room of monitors. Frowning, she closed it and tried the next. It was the bathroom. Inside, she fiddled with her phone and turned it on. She waited impatiently for the bars to appear. Two finally blinked on. She dialed the hotel.

“Hi, can I have Pete Doyle’s room, please?”

She slapped her forehead. She could have just asked for the room by number. But the operator transferred her immediately. Daisy turned and checked herself in the mirror. Again she was surprised at her appearance. The dress was spectacular. She looked like a dream.

The call went to voicemail. She jabbed at the keypad to get back to the front desk.

“Shamrock Casino.”

“Oh, I was trying to reach my fiancé. His name is Pete Doyle. Can you have him paged?”

“One moment, ma’am.”

Daisy leaned against the sink. She’d been in the bathroom five minutes now. It was taking forever. After another five minutes, the woman returned asking if she wanted to leave a message. She sighed sadly. “Well, no, I guess not. Can I hold it a little longer? He may not have heard you or—”

A soft knock at the door stopped her. She looked back.

“Daisy, you okay?” Aiden asked.

“Yes. Yes. I’m fine.”

She closed the phone and put it back in her purse. She held her breath as she opened the door. Aiden stood there, concerned.

“Sorry, girl stuff.”

“Aww. Is it your period again, making a surprise appearance?”

She looked up at him, shocked, and he narrowed his eyes on her. She tried her best to ignore it as she squeezed out past him. He caught her hand. She looked back.

“How about that tour?”

“Tour, yeah. Okay,” she said, relieved.

He walked her to the room she’d come to earlier. He allowed her to look inside. “And what is this room?” she asked, stepping into the smaller dark cabin.

“You asked before if I was missed when I left. I have security feeds to all my entertainment rooms in Vegas.”

“Cool. So you can keep tabs on it even when you’re on your yacht.”

“Have to. The city never sleeps and neither does my business.” Aiden softly closed the door behind him. “Have a seat.”

Daisy sat down at the controls. He walked over and flipped several switches. The casinos came on. She recognized several of the game rooms. She saw it all on the twenty screens before her. “This is amazing.”

“You haven’t seen anything yet.”

Aiden checked his watch. He looked back at Daisy, who was pointing out various people on the monitors. “Well, maybe we should go,” he said, stepping over to screens he hadn’t turned on. She looked over at him and frowned.

“What are those monitors for?”

“These?”

“Yeah.”

“I have a club downtown. You don’t want to see it.”

“Why not? What kind of club?”

“A gentleman’s club.”

Daisy nose wrinkled. “Eeewl. You right, I don’t want to see it,” she laughed.

“Maybe I should check to see if everything’s okay. I have more drama there than in the casinos.”

Daisy shrugged. She looked back to the casino monitors. He flipped the next set of switches one by one. The dancers were doing their thing. He pressed the button to where Andy was and found them. “Isn’t that Pete?” he asked.

Daisy looked over. “Huh?”

“Guy here, he looks like your fella.”

Daisy rose from her seat. She walked over and squinted. Andy was rubbing her body up and down his. Her hair and face was in the way. All that could be seen was his hands up and down her back. “That’s not my Pete,” smirked Daisy. But when her eyes returned to the monitor, her protest stopped.

***

Pete flipped Andy over on the sofa and forced her thighs apart with his own. Andy threw her leg up and hooked it over his hip, trying to help him out of his shirt, as she trailed kisses to his neck and shoulder.

***

“Pete?” Daisy gasped.

“Is that him?” Aiden asked, watching her face.

“What is that?” Daisy demanded. She backed into the chair behind her.

Aiden flipped the switch and turned the monitor off. “Are you okay?”

“Did you do that? Did you make that happen?” Daisy asked, her bottom lip trembling.

“Of course not. How could I make that happen?”

Daisy put her hands to her head. “I want to go. Take me back to Vegas,” she said, trying not to cry. She ran for the door.

“Wait! Wait,” said Aiden, taking her by the hand. She burst into tears and he pulled her to him. “I’m sorry, Daisy. I am.”

***

Andy fiddled with his buckle, trying to free him from his pants. Despite the fog he was in, he backed away from her touch. He looked at her. She lifted and tried to reach his mouth.

“I can’t. I’m sorry,” said Pete, drawing away.

“What? Wait…”

Pete sat back up and put his hands to his face. “I’m sorry.”

Andy sat up at his side and rubbed his back. “Here, sugar. Have some more to drink—”

“No.” He rose and stepped away. “I need a ride back to the hotel.”

“I don’t understand. I mean it’s not like she isn’t doing the same.”

“She’s doing something we agreed to. Something I told her I was okay with. This is something different. I love Daisy. I won’t cheat on her in some whore room!”

Pete stormed out. Andy watched him go. She fell back on the sofa, laughing. Shaking her head, she looked to the monitor and winked.

Chapter Sixteen

Aiden gave her a drink of water. Her eye makeup was smeared; the gloss was gone from her lips. She kept wiping at her running nose. What he’d done to Daisy was cruel and possibly unnecessary. Prior to that, she’d seemed to be enjoying him. Therein lay the problem. He didn’t like the attraction, the bond they seemed to share. He’d prefer her to think him a bastard. Tired of the games, and uncomfortable with her pain, he looked away. Just like in life, he cheated, and he’d be rewarded for it.

“I can take you back.”

“It’s my fault,” she sobbed, staring down into her water.

“What’s your fault?”

“Pete. What he did. What I drove him to.”

“It’s not your fault, Daisy. That’s what men do in those places.”

“You don’t understand. I’ve betrayed him, and its karma. Karma for all I’ve done.”

Aiden sighed. He rose, needing a break from her. Daisy’s hand went to his, stopping him. “Don’t go. Don’t…”

Aiden touched her face. He wiped his thumb just under her eye to remove the tears. She stared at him, unaware the half-hopeful, half-uncertain expression in her eyes and the slight tremor of her lower lip made her impossible for him to resist. His hand went lower and she made no protest or effort to resist him. Her lips were warm and firm, demanding a response he had no wish to deny. He slid his hand to her nape, gently tugging her head back so she was angled to his satisfaction while his mouth continued ravishing hers. He felt her trembling against him. He stroked his tongue persuasively against the tremulous line of her lips, insisting she allow him access, until, with a little gasp, she capitulated.

Daisy’s blood surged through her veins. Her breasts felt heavy and ultra-sensitive as the swollen peaks of her nipples jutted to attention, straining against the silky material of her dress. She lost all notion of time and place. The dull ache from Pete’s betrayal began to fade. It was this man, strange and powerful, who desired her, and who had control. She was now only aware of the warmth of his skin as she lifted her fingers to trace his jaw; the musky scent of his cologne swamped her senses. She wanted this kiss, his kiss, to last forever. It was so different than the other kisses she’d experienced, so heart-wrenchingly different.

Aiden’s hand was on her breasts. He pinched her nipples hard, which elicited the sweetest moan from her. Aiden dragged his mouth from hers, his eyelids heavy, her mouth close and her lashes fluttering. He stared down into her desire-darkened eyes, breathing roughly.

“So sexy. How could you let him mistreat you this way? Does he not know how?” His eyes dropped from her hers down to her breasts. “Does he not see how delicious you are?”

Daisy swallowed and looked away. There was the million-dollar prize, Pete’s betrayal, Aiden’s strong, sexy presence, and the indefinable attraction to him that she couldn’t hide. It was all there for a reason. But when she looked back, she couldn’t decide which impulse to act on. It was happening so fast. What made sense last night now had her confused.

“I think… I just need a minute to catch my breath… ya know?” she said.

Daisy feared the darkness and lust she saw in his eyes and the sly smirk that curled on his lips. She thought he’d release her. Instead his mouth crushed hers, fusing with hers in a wildfire passion that was hot and shockingly primitive. Daisy clung to his shoulders, anchoring her nails into him. Nothing she’d ever done with Pete prepared her for the bolt of white-hot passion that shot through her when he grabbed her by the ass and pushed her hard up against his frame. When they broke again, she swayed in his arms. Aiden turned without a word and pulled her along to the doors at the far back of the boat. Daisy could guess where they would lead.

Daisy barely knew him; the sensible voice in her head reminded her over and over. But her desire and body had formed an alliance to beat back her doubts, exerting their own will instead. She did not speak––couldn’t. Her throat seemed to have sealed. She did believe in love. She’d seen a great example of it with her mother and father. Why was she doing this if love was what she had when she left the Hollow? What would she have once Aiden Keane was through with her?

The door closed behind her. Darkness. Daisy clutched her hands together, unable to look back at him. Soon the lights began to brighten in the corner, as if turned up by a dial. This was it. If she wanted to call it off, then she should do it now. He was behind her before she could open her mouth. His hands squeezed her waist; her eyes closed. One large hand slipped around to the front and stroked her mound through the thin chiffon of her dress. Daisy’s eyes flew open to the naughty touch, the brazen way he moved his hand against her and the sinful sensations his fingertips brought. Aiden pressed a kiss to her bare shoulder, then ran his tongue over the spot.

Daisy didn’t want to think. It was easier not to. Her eyes drifted shut again when he released her. His fingers sought the tiny tab of her zipper, taking it down. The dress seemed to come un-glued to her skin, peeling open and loosening at the hips. She hadn’t worn underwear. The thong she had on was too high-cut for the open waistline of this dress. The bra he’d provided didn’t work with the halter neckline. So when he opened the back of the dress and she felt the coolness on her rump, she knew he had a complete, unobstructed view.

Daisy pressed her lips together. Her heart beat violently in her chest.

Aiden’s hands, strong but soft, long-fingered and gentle, pressed into the small of her back and then spread slowly, circling again to the front. This time, underneath the fabric, they went lower to the apex of her thighs. Daisy’s eyes opened when his hands met, and together they pushed, forcing her to part her legs. She could feel the length of him pressed into her backside. She did as he silently commanded and his hands made their descent. Daisy gasped when he touched her. She then sighed when his fingers stroked and toyed with her clit.

Aiden flicked his tongue at her earlobe, his breath hot and steamy on the inside of her ear. “I’ve wanted to do that all day… touch you… like this,” he groaned.

She whimpered when he squeezed her clit while his other finger pierced her hole. Lifting on her toes in her heels, she clenched her fists.

“The things I plan to do to you, Daisy. Pete doesn’t know what he has. But I do.”

Daisy closed her eyes. She turned her head as her hips began to move beyond her control. She found herself grinding down on his palm and probing finger. She didn’t understand her body any more. How it knew what to do. Or was it her? Was he just plucking strings that had never been plucked before? He eased a second finger in her. She had to lift and spread to accommodate the fit.

“So tight, so warm. Take down the front of your dress,” Aiden ordered.

Daisy didn’t know how she could manage it. Right now every sensation in her body pooled to his finger fuck. The rest of her was weak and listless.

“Do it, sexy,” he said again, giving her another finger, then another, her channel stuffed to capacity. She sucked in a breath and lifted her trembling hands to her neck as her chest heaved and fell. Short gasps of breaths escaped her. The clasp gave and the halter-top fell. He kept going with one hand but removed the other from her clit and went for her nipple. She didn’t realize it had as much feeling in it as her pussy, and she threw her head back, letting go a soft cry. Then it happened and she lost it. She reached behind her and grabbed his neck to hold on as her body shook violently through an orgasm of his doing.

Daisy cried out. She had to clamp her mouth shut for fear of it.

“It’s okay, sexy. You’ll be doing that quite often tonight.”

Aiden removed his fingers and turned her. Daisy felt a wave of dizziness as her knees buckled. Lucky for her, he held her firm by the waist. Her dress was bunched around her middle, and he moved the fabric down off her hips, leaving her in nothing but her heels.

Daisy managed to open her eyes and focus when he didn’t touch her again. She discovered it was because he was studying her body in ways that made her cheeks hot. Aiden’s eyes lifted to hers with such intensity, she was forced to match his stare. The thought that he was going to touch her, caress her, caused her to shiver. Each nerve ending became acutely sensitive as she waited for the touch of his skin. There was still a part of her brain that insisted she’d taken leave of her senses. No matter what she told herself, what the moment bought, which impulse she blamed for this night, she’d regret the moment of greed that led her to Aiden Keane’s arms.

“You’re exquisite,” Aiden said walking her back to the bed. The mattress hit her lower calves before she went down.

Aiden wanted her so badly it had become a physical pain. But he slowed himself, deciding to savor every moment as if it were his last. He soon realized he didn’t want it to be. He forced this revelation to the back recesses of his mind.

He rubbed her nipples until they hardened, then inclined his head to capture one swollen nub in his mouth. He felt a surge of satisfaction at her muffled gasp when he stroked his tongue back and forth over her ripe morsel. Oh yes––he liked the way it moved against his tongue. To his delight, she got into it and arched her back toward him so more of her breast could fill his mouth. He sucked hard and crashed furiously with her on the bed. She gasped from the weight of him. When her legs parted and he was offered her wet, barely-touched sex, his plan for calm and control went away. He could come back for seconds and thirds. The erection banging against his zipper demanded satisfaction. He needed to be inside her now, to bury his shaft deep and feel her muscles close around him.

Aiden's desire consumed him with an urgency that demolished his self-control. He liked to be in control. So little in his early life had been of his choosing; as a man, nothing escaped his control. But with her, damn it to hell, he was just raw need and conflicting emotions. Groaning, he drew back. She opened her eyes and scooted back against his sheet. Both innocence and desire were on her face. That sweet innocence that tempted him, mocked him, made the bastard in him dastardly but made the man in him want her love. He had to look away from her face as he searched for condoms and shed his clothes. He would have her, and it would be done. Her power over him would fade with his post-coital erection, just as it did with the countless women before her.

Daisy covered her breasts with an arm. She shivered and watched him undress, and again her pussy betrayed her by quivering and pulsating for him. She watched him step out of his boxers and reveal the full length of his bobbing penis, erect and pointing accusingly at her. Daisy closed her eyes, unable to gaze upon it as he sheathed it. Then he returned to her, stretching out alongside of her. When he didn’t immediately mount her and take over, she opened her eyes. His mouth went back to hers softly and she relaxed, realizing he was going to slow his pace. She lifted her arms around his neck and he moved over her, guiding her legs apart. When the engorged tip brushed her hole, it sent the breath rushing from her lungs. He lifted without entering, then lowered, kissing under her chin. His hands stroked her breasts again, rolling her nipples between his thumb and forefinger, until the pleasure was unbearable and enough distraction for him to thrust into her.

Daisy scratched his shoulder from the force. He buried his face in her neck and thrust again, and then she cried out, her inner walls stretched, but not soon enough. The next thrust sent a jolt of intense pressure through her, and it was pleasure like she never imagined followed.

Aiden’s muscled buttocks rose and fell as he kept going until he was ball-deep. Daisy’s hands had pressed to his chest to lessen his hurry, but it proved unnecessary when he was finally in her. His hands went under her butt cheeks and she lifted her trembling thighs to hook them around his waist. He pumped in and out of her. She clung to him, her body now beginning to understand his, her mind reeling. His grunts were so primitive and sexy in her ear, she licked her lips. She imagined her worry was for nothing. This wasn’t so different. And though her muscle aches were delicious, making her weak all over for him, she thought she could handle Aiden Keane.

Then he rose back on his knees, and her eyes lifted in confusion. He pulled her down and she took him deeper if that were possible. He parted her legs into a V and held them there by her calves, banging his cock into her. Daisy shut her eyes tight. Her breasts shook from the force. He was going fast and long, and she was barely able to stand it.

“S-s-s-l-l-looweerr…” she groaned, lifting her hips to withstand the force.

Aiden stopped abruptly, and then dropped her legs to the side. Her thighs shut. He gripped her hip as she laid sideways with him in her and fucked her again. With thrust after thrust, she was reminded what it meant to be his. In this position, she found pleasure and began to groan, but before she could make that her own, he rolled her to her stomach and got between her thighs, never slipping out. Daisy blinked and tried to find her voice, but only a croak escaped her throat. He lifted her ass and began to take her from behind. His cock jerked in her when he shot forward and went deep. He paused so she could withstand it, then drew out slowly before another powerful thrust nearly brought her down from her knees.

Daisy’s mouth was stretched in a silent cry for mercy. Aiden worked his hips, stretching her further and then pumped her pussy, loving it slow. Relief cooled the inferno sparked by the friction. The soft feel of his balls hitting her hot feverish clit sent ripples of sensation through her as his dick slid in and out of her. She held on, enjoying it even more.

Daisy moaned. “Aiden… give me more….”

Aiden was sinking into the dark abyss that was raw sensation. He wanted to fuck her into oblivion. He could stop himself. He couldn’t please her for his hunger, though her moans and groans made him think she was enjoying it. Now, with her perfectly-shaped ass up in his face, he wore out her tight hole and wanted to roar like Tarzan. He slapped at the sides of her ass cheeks. It got even better. It was now a rippling sensation that vibrated all the way through the silky walls of her clenching vagina. He couldn’t help but hold on as he began losing control.

“Daisy, Daisy, Daisy… ah… shit!” Aiden fell on top of her and pounded with all his might. She was so damn good. He punched the headboard as he exploded inside of her.

Losing control.

***

Andy could barely hold Pete up against his hotel room door. She fished out his card key from his back pocket. After he’d refused her, he’d made his way to the bar and begun to drink again. The final round put him down. Now she just wanted to deposit him and go to Aiden’s suite and wait for her reward. Helping Pete inside, she nearly lost him when he became dead weight. But together they managed to make it to the bed.

“Daisy,” Pete groaned, pulling at Andy.

“Let me go, Sugah. Sleep it off. She’ll be back real soon.”

“Daisy, please...” Pete pulled her down to the bed. Andy grunted when he brought her down with him. Pete rolled to the side and threw his leg over her. Pinned beneath him, she frowned. “Daisy don’t go. Don’t,” he mumbled right before releasing a snore.

***

Daisy’s eyes flipped open. She thought she heard her name. Heard Pete. Then reality came crashing down, what she’d done, what he’d done. Every muscle in her body was sore. And Aiden Keane laid right next to her. She was wrapped tightly in his arms. Looking into his sleeping face, Daisy wondered why he clung to her so. She moved and his eyes opened. He looked directly at her. She froze.

“Where are you going?”

“Nowhere,” she said softly.

Aiden smiled. Kissed her shoulder. Then rolled on top of her. “Wait,” she said, not wanting to encourage him.

“I need you, Daisy. I want you,” said Aiden. He brushed his lips over hers. Daisy laid there under him, unable to speak. His kisses went to her eyelids. She closed them and gave in, caught up in the swirling mist of his sexual prowess. She was unable to resist.

Aiden rubbed his lips down her throat and lower. Daisy blinked her eyes open when he went even lower. And it wasn’t until his face was between her sticky thighs did she believe it. Pete would never, especially not after sex. It wasn’t something guys did. Then his tongue flicked at her clit and she didn’t care what guys did. She only cared what this guy did. He sucked on her bud as she dug the heels of her feet into the mattress and clawed at the sheet. Her butt bounced up and down on the bed, her pelvis thrust toward him, as he ravished her sex with his tongue. Daisy’s back bowed up from the mattress. Aiden reached with a hand and grabbed at her breast. He pulled her upright. Seated and wheezing, he dragged her down the bed, until he was on his knees at the foot of the bed. The sheet tangled around her waist, covering his face as he buried it deep into her delta. Daisy hitched her leg up between his shoulder blades. She pressed down on the top of his head. Tossing her long tangles from her face, she rocked against his feasting and felt the coil of ecstasy unwind in her core, until a burst of a million sensations exploded from her channel. She screamed through the best orgasm of her life and fell back on the bed, writhing in bliss.

Aiden tore the sheet away and got inside of her before she knew what was happening. Her pussy was still convulsing over the last episode. But he was warm and thick, and she struggled to recall if he wore a condom. Was he bare? She opened her mouth to object and his tongue, salty with the forbidden taste of her, tunneled deep instead. He fucked her at the side of the bed until she was listless and reduced to nothing but a quivering ball of emotions. Satisfied, he withdrew. He picked her up and placed her on the sheets wet with their sex and covered her. She curled up into a ball and he came up behind her. He surprised her by holding her.

“Daisy, sweet Daisy.” He gave a dark chuckle. “Do you feel different now?”

Daisy’s eyes closed. She felt his kisses to her back.

“Rest, beautiful. I’m not done with you yet.”

Chapter Seventeen

Daisy head dropped to the left, then the right. The sway of the boat moved through her like the waves that lapped at the hull. No longer asleep, she felt the constant motion amplify. Daisy’s eyes parted. Focus was slow to come. But the familiar aches of Aiden Keane remained, taunting her, reminding her of all she’d done. The things she’d allowed him to do were on instant replay in her head. She dropped her lids again, so tired, but her mind refused her any peace. How long had she been asleep? An hour? Less? All she knew was each time she managed to slip into numbness he woke her and…

Groaning, she rolled in the sheets.

He was gone.

Daisy blinked, more than surprised. Was it time for them to head back? Maybe she’d overslept. Shivering, she sat up in the dimly lit room. Her eyes did a complete sweep of it before landing on the mirror. She stared at her reflection. A woman she didn’t recognize––a temptress with disheveled golden-streaked hair, mascara-ringed eyes, and cherry-stained lips swollen from him biting and sucking hard on them during deep, soul-drenching kisses. The eyes of the woman staring back at her were glazed and heavy-lidded. She didn’t see desire, or the passion he drove through her reflected in them. No. Desire was rapidly draining. The woman staring back at her looked convicted, condemned and without a soul.

“Daisy, sweet Daisy….” He’d chuckled. “Do you feel different now?”

Daisy put her hands to her face and blew out deep breaths, huffing and puffing through the flashbacks of the night. Running her fingers back, she smoothed her hair, then hugged herself.

She needed to shower.

She reeked of his cologne, and sex.

It was nauseatingly strong. Snatching back the covers, she padded over the carpeting to the closet-sized shower. A huge shower head dropped from the center of the tiny cubicle fitted with mosaic tile. She turned the round, silver knob and cool water flowed.

Each drop felt like ice as it went over her body. She shuddered. But the shock of it soothed her aching limbs. She let it trickle between her legs and further relief cooled the throbbing lips of her vagina.

“Mmm,” she breathed. Her head went back and the water filled her nose and ears, as it ran down her face. She needed a shower. A cleansing. Everything would be okay. She was okay. Lathering and scrubbing every inch of herself, she felt her strength return. Then she exited the shower and dried herself best she could. The fancy hairdo gone, the makeup gone, it was just Daisy staring back at her. How she missed her.

She felt it. Movement. The boat wasn’t swaying, it was moving. She looked down at her wet toes then back over her shoulder. “We’re moving?”

Wrapping the towel around her, she walked out into the cabin. He’d told her they were going to remain docked. Why were they moving? Daisy checked her watch, rubbing her thumb over the foggy bezel. It was just around three in the morning. Time to go, to return to Pete, and figure things out. Her heart burned at the thought of his betrayal. Here she was torturing herself over what she might do that he’d agreed to, and he was… he was… doing what he pleased. She closed her eyes to keep the tears from spilling and tried to put Pete’s betrayal in perspective. She knew when she saw him last that he didn’t want this. If anything, she’d driven him to it. Well, part of her was relieved. He cheated and she cheated. They could get past it. What was done was done.

They were still in love.

Daisy picked up her dress. The gown she wore yesterday seemed ridiculous to put on now. Where were her clothes? Damn it! Did she bring them on the boat? She felt a slight shift and lean and then a low grumbling that seemed to be coming from the carpeted floor. They were either slowing or stopping. Daisy grabbed the robe she saw conveniently placed on the chaise. It wasn’t until she tied the sash that she realized the black and silver robe was a woman’s kimono with a perfect fit for her. She looked down and discovered a pair of black slippers, with a fluffed yet exposed toe and a two-inch heel.

Had he placed them there for her while she showered?

She dipped a foot inside each mule and ventured out. These gifts she would gladly return for her clothes and a trip back to the hotel. Her heels echoed against the polished wooden steps as she climbed to the next deck. At the center was the table where the dinner had been served, now cleaned away. The wine bottle and glasses remained. She wasn’t a drinker, but she was beginning to understand people who were.

“You’re up.”

Her head shot around. He wore dark pajama bottoms and a long matching satin robe. His hair was wet and slicked back. He’d obviously showered somewhere else on the boat.

“Are we still at the dock?”

“No.”

“Why?”

He gave her a one-shouldered shrug. Instead, his eyes drank in her curves under the wrap of the kimono. Daisy felt the phantom strokes of their earlier tryst, just from the sweep of his eyes perusing her.

“Why, Aiden? Why did we leave? We should be heading back, right? Pete is worried about me.”

“He didn’t look worried when we saw him last.”

That hurt. He could’ve kicked her in the gut it hurt that much. “He is,” she said weakly.

Aiden smirked. “Right.”

Aiden reached for the wine bottle and drank directly from it. She watched him, confused by his behavior. What else was there left for her to give? She’d already given him her soul. Yet, his meanness came off him like radioactive waves poisoning the air.

“What’s wrong with you?”

He ignored her. Of course that was of no surprise. She wondered sometimes, with the cruel ways he looked at her, if he saw her at all. All day she got glimpses of the human being trapped inside his elegant façade. But his cruel indifference was maddening. Either way, she just wanted to get away from him.

“Can we please head back now?”

“No,” he said with a sardonic smile.

Daisy shook her head. “When did you decide?”

He put the wine bottle to the floor. “Decide what?”

“That your life would be just this?”

“You mean rich?”

“Are you? Really? You have a lot of things, but you seem more miserable than the poorest man in the Hollow.”

“Misery loves company,” he smirked.

“No, it doesn’t. It loves to make other people miserable,” said Daisy. “Look, you’ve gotten what you wanted. I just want to go back to the hotel and—”

“And what Daisy? Go back to who you were?” he asked, rising. “That’s not going to happen.”

“What do you care if it happens? My personal life, my life after this is none of your business, just like your life is none of mine.”

“I do care.”

Daisy frowned. “That makes no sense. You spent a whole day making it pretty clear that you don’t.”

“You’ve gotten to me.” He touched her hand.

“Yeah, I felt how much I’ve gotten to you.” She snatched her hand away and stepped aside. Then she stopped. She looked back at him, really looked at him. “That’s it, isn’t it?”

Aiden said nothing but she smiled.

“I did get to you. Past your games, past all this. I got inside.”

Aiden laughed. “No sweetheart, not even close.”

“Yes, Aiden. I was there, remember? How you kept holding me back there in bed? Whispering about how I make you feel. All those kisses and caresses was you feeling something other than the anger that leads you by the nose.”

Aiden’s gaze darkened.

“Well, that’s too bad, because even now I still love Pete.”

Aiden laughed in her face, his eyes reduced to menacing slits. “This aint a romance novel, Daisy, and I’m not your prince or pirate rescuing you for some gold treasure. Neither is Pete after last night.”

Daisy tried to step around him but he blocked her pass.

“I’m not done with you yet.”

“We’re done. I won’t take you abusing me for sport. I may be young and naïve, but you’re old and a bully!”

He sighed. “Look I—”

“Don’t you dare apologize for being what you are. At least I’m no longer confused about it.”

He snatched her by the wrist. Shocked at the force he used, she tensed. He dragged her to the deck door, threw it open, and forced her out with him into the night. The wind blew her hair wildly about her face. The wet strands stung her eyes. The sky was starless; dark clouds still stirred. A glowing full moon was partially uncovered, waiting until the next cloud moved over it. If it weren’t for the deck railing lights, they’d be in complete blackness. Daisy held tight to his hand as he marched her to the back deck. She feared the lapping black waters at the hull, but they weren’t moving any more. That meant they must be anchored. Daisy looked up to see the Santa Monica shoreline in the distance. Lights and buildings, they weren’t that far. Thank heavens.

Finally, Aiden let her go. Daisy rubbed her wrist, staring after him. She was baffled by the way he paced from one end of the stern to the other.

“Why did you bring me out here? Take me back to Vegas!”

“Damn it!” He picked up a deck chair and hurled it off the boat. Daisy stepped back, stunned. Was he going to attack her? Throw her off next? Why did she open her mouth back there? He was why. It was the way he teased her, taunted her, after making her feel so many sinful things in his bed. He was the devil. She was cursed. His eyes turned on her. Razor sharp with their cruelty, it was like a sickness in him. He was poisoned by so much rage. When he focused on her, she stopped her retreat. Suddenly, the hard lines in his face softened, and the darkness moved over his face. In came such deep grief and sorrow.

“You know why I do this? Do you!!”

“Do what?” she asked in a small voice.

He shook his head as if she was missing the point. Well, she was. He wasn’t making any sense. It was the booze. He was stone drunk. Drunks were mean. She should run for it to escape that meanness before it was too late. But she didn’t. She never ran from a fight. That was a huge problem in the Hollow. She never knew when to just walk away. Instead, she took a step forward.

“Do what, Aiden?”

“This!!! All of it!!!”

Daisy looked around them. There was nothing but them, a boat and an ocean. What did he see? “I don’t understand—”

“You know why you don’t understand? Do you?”

“No,” she said, shaking her head.

“Because you can’t. Because I can’t.” He wiped his hand down his face. Daisy witnessed the torture on his face. She just wanted to escape. What did he expect from her?

“If you don’t want to talk to me, Aiden, that’s fine. I don’t want anything from you. I just want you to take me back to the hotel. Please.”

Aiden looked away, out to sea. It seemed easier for him to speak without looking directly at her. “I can’t talk about it. How much does any person remember when memories fade? How much do we make up to fill in the gaps?” He turned completely away from her but continued. “I was eight when she came. Eight years old and I could see it the moment she walked in the door. How weak she made him.”

Daisy swallowed. “Who?”

“Her wants took over our life. She didn’t want a kid, so that meant I had to go. She didn’t want the house he built for my mother, so that meant we had to move. She broke him, crushed him under her red high heels, ground his pride and manhood to dust.” Aiden spat. “I watched for the next six years as the man who was my hero became a pathetic sniveling piece of SHIT!!!”

Daisy pressed her lips together. She looked back and wondered if they were alone. It felt like they were alone.

“And then when the money dried up, so did the last of her compassion for him. She walks, and, and he—” Aiden wiped his mouth. “He hangs himself to get her attention. The stupid bastard.” Aiden kicked the chair next to him and clenches his fist. Daisy jerked, retreated out of reflex but remained standing next to him. Then he whirled and pointed a finger at her. “You don’t have any idea how it feels to lose everything!”

“You can’t say that. You don’t know me.”

“I know enough.”

Daisy waited a second, then another. He looked away from her, and she took a step forward. The salty sea-breeze was the only good thing about the muggy night. It carried the scent of an approaching rain. She felt as if the air around her was charged. The hairs on the nape of her neck stood on end.

“You can’t go around hating everything and everyone because of this woman. I’m no genius, Aiden, but even I know that’s insane. You have to let it go. What you hanging on to it for?”

Aiden laughed. “Let it go? Really, Daisy? Just like that? Okay, fine! I’m done!” He turned and looked to the now uncovered moon. “You hear that, Dad? Daisy here has cured me! I’m a changed man. No more hate for me. No sir! Not me! I have seen the error of my ways!”

“Don’t do that!” Daisy snapped.

Aiden looked back. Daisy’s eyes glistened with fresh tears. She drew in her bottom lip to stop its tremble. “Don’t make fun of me. It’s petty, even for you.”

Aiden’s first reaction was to apologize, but the words wouldn’t form. He just wanted to hurt her, and he knew that was wrong. He knew it because he desired her too. He desired the return of the time when he was innocent again. He desired to stop the darkness before it crept in and became a part of him.

Daisy stepped in his face. “Is that why you offered me a million dollars? Why you wanted to dress me cheap? Were you trying to turn me into her? Make me into her?”

“No.”

“Don’t lie to me, Aiden!”

“I don’t know.” He turned from her, ashamed.

Daisy closed her eyes. She felt the knife twist in her gut. She’d walked right into it, eyes wide shut. It wasn’t just his fault. It was hers, too. Pete had tried to warn her. Hell, her mother tried to warn her when she talked of running off into the world. That people like him existed for people like her. Sometimes she could be stupid. When she opened her eyes again, she saw him sitting on the deck. His head was bowed; he looked as lost as she felt. Yet through it all, she felt compassion for him, that and something else. It surprised her. She walked over and knelt at his side. “Aiden?”

His eyes lifted to hers.

“Why did you tell me about her? The truth. It’s obvious you don’t like talking about it. But what is it you want from me? I don’t understand.”

Aiden looked away. She touched his face then lowered her hand. “You can’t exorcise a demon by becoming one.”

“Another of your Hollow Creek philosophies?” he said snidely.

“No, Aiden. That’s just me talking to you. I’m trying to be a friend to you. Are you too arrogant to have a friend?”

He lowered his eyes. She knew he heard her. Part of him wanted somebody to care. Isn’t that what they all wanted, a person to care for and about?

“Do what you want, Aiden Keane. I get the feeling you will anyway. But if you keep pushing people away, you can’t blame it on that woman who hurt your daddy. You have to blame that on you.” She rose and he grabbed her hand. His grip was strong and unyielding. Daisy looked down at him as he brought her palm to his mouth. His lips softly brushed the inside, warming her skin.

“No, Aiden. Stop.”

He pulled her around to him. She came along stiffly, trying to pull away, as he undid the front of her robe. She pushed down on his shoulders to step out of his reach, but he grabbed at the material, forcing her to stay. The wind blew the kimono back, leaving her nude before him.

“Aiden, stop! Please!”

He pressed his face into her lower belly and rubbed his nose into the nest of hairs over her sex. “Aiden, please, let’s just go, no more of this.” Currents of pleasure moved through her, below, and she parted her legs just a little. She began to pant, her no meaning yes and her yes meaning no. Aiden grabbed her thighs and his hands slipped around the curve of her hip to cup her butt cheeks, then squeeze. Daisy gasped. He brought his mouth to her; when his tongue flicked her clit, the walls of her vagina clenched through another jolt that shot to her core.

“Yes, Daisy. Don’t fight me… you’re mine. Don’t you know that now?” He groaned, pulling her down. She went, parted her knees to straddle his lap in a deck chair wide enough to accommodate them both. She should stop him. Her mind yelled at her to do just that. Her heart pleaded for her to let go, but he made her feel things. And she wanted a little more. Just a little more, then it was over. She’d never have to see him again. She didn’t belong to him. She never would.

Aiden licked up between her breasts. Daisy eased down on his stiff rod. The familiar fit of him was such a pleasure. She closed her eyes and let her head fall back.

Aiden wanted more of her, wanted to be inside her completely. He reached beneath her. He used his own strength to lift her so her legs went over each arm of the chair as she faced him, her ass in his hands. Aiden controlled the ways she rose and fell on his cock. His eyes lifted from her breasts to her face and saw the rapture. Beyond her, the storm clouds parted once more and the full moon was large in the sky, like a big, glowing ball of light forcing away the darkness. It’s how she felt when he had her when he was buried deep inside of her. Her pussy was so warm, tight and so snug, it made their connection unbreakable. She had the power to make him forget, to push away his darkness. He wanted more of it, whatever it was. He wanted to possess her and drain her of it.

Daisy’s hair, frizzed, blew away from her face. Free of makeup, she was the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen. He drove her hard on his cock, determined to have all of her, and felt her tense under the assault. Daisy responded by moving as best she could in the awkward positioning, holding on to his shoulders. Her breasts lifted, arching toward him, her dark berries for nipples beckoning. Aiden attacked one, then the next. He sucked hard, then soft, ignoring her whimpers and groaning, himself. He wanted to fuck her between her pretty titties but he couldn’t let go of the way he held her. He would have her that way the next time. He was certain there would be more. With his lust came a maddening sense of entitlement over the girl he told himself meant nothing.

Aiden grunted and lifted them from the chair, holding her close. She clung to him, so filled with him she barely knew of the position change. Aiden went to his knees careful not to hurt her, oblivious to the pain the drop to the deck sent through him. Slowly, with her creamy thighs locked around his hips, and her moving on his dick, he laid her back on the cool deck. He pumped and ground himself into her.

The wind picked up and with it came the rain. Sprinkles fell at first, then more: Aiden didn’t notice. He kept going. Forcing one of her legs back until it touched her shoulder, he opened her wider to him. Grunting, he merged himself with the softness that set his blood to boiling.

She kissed him back. Kissed his face, and under his neck. The rains came harder, washing over them. And all the while, with his encouragement, he forced her to stretch muscles she didn’t know she had. All the while, God help her, she loved it. She loved the way their wet bodies glided over each other, the heat and passion the movements drove through her. He rolled to his back and pulled her on top. He slid the robe from her shoulders and watched her ride him in the moonlight. She thrust her hips back and forth, her body now alive. She pressed her hands to his hard chest for balance as she took him in and out.

She understood him better now—how he must resent this wildfire passion, and his shocking level of need, just as she did. And yet like her he could not fight it. She knew it was even worse for him because she saw how much he despised and detested being weak. But he was. They both were. And both were damned for it. No matter, the urge was greater than them both and as she worked her hips back and forth, seeing him moan beneath her, nothing else mattered.

The rain came.

It fell so hard, it felt like needles piercing her skin. Puddles formed on the deck. His face was covered in the pour and yet he thrust upward, harder, begging her for more. How that excited her: she went mad for him. Then he shot upright and held her to his chest. Daisy wrapped her arms around him, holding tight. It wasn’t her orgasm, but his that gripped them both, with such force she nearly drowned in its current.

They held each other. Her legs wrapped tight around his waist. His tongue rolled slowly over her wet nipples as his cock spurted and jerked out the last of him in her.

The rain continued.

Aiden’s kisses went under her neck. So soft, so teasingly gentle, she forgot who this man was, and wasn’t.

Daisy moaned in ecstasy, her chest pressed into his. Her heart beat against it and his beat back. Soon the combined melody soothed the beast and his temptress. He didn’t let her go. Daisy opened her eyes and looked up. The dark clouds moved away, as if the rain was caused by the combustible nature of their passion. Now a trillion sparkling stars, like diamonds on velvet, glistened over them. She brought her face back down and he kissed her, but she turned from the kiss.

“Aiden, I have to go,” she said in his ear, weakly. “Please. Take me back.”

Daisy sat back and he looked up at her as if he wanted to say something. Ask her something. But he didn’t. He slowly released her and she rose, achingly sweet, off of him. Nude, she grabbed her wet robe and soaked slippers, turning for the staterooms. She was careful not to look back.

Aiden sat there staring ahead. Alone. He wiped his hand down his face and closed his eyes before rising and joining her.

Chapter Eighteen

The boat docked after her second shower. Aiden returned her things. She was now in the worn jeans and yellow top she wore when she joined him nearly twenty-four hours before. He walked back in, dressed sharply in all black, and smelling rich and powerful. His hair, smoothed back from his Irishman’s tan, stretched over his high cheekbones and handsome face. He barely looked at her as he searched for his keys.

Daisy rose and he walked to the deck door and held it open. Together they disembarked and walked slowly to a covered ramp where a limo waited for them. It was only five in the morning. Neither of them had any sleep. Neither of them had any rest. Aiden removed his phone from a pocket and began taking calls, speaking to people that worked for him as if she wasn’t next to him. It stung how cold and distant he’d become, and how quickly. But part of her was relieved. Something had happened on that boat, something she didn’t want to consider. It was best they left it at that.

The plane ride was more of the same. She sat to the front of the plane eating fruit and watching the satellite television feed. He sat to the back, talking on the phone, and laughing at whatever they said. She liked it when he laughed. He seemed more human when he did. Twice, she braved a glance back and each time he was staring directly at her. So she stopped looking. Then he came up the aisle. He extended his hand; it gleamed. She blinked in surprise.

“You dropped it on the boat. Must have fallen out of your bag.”

Daisy had completely forgotten her engagement ring. She nearly burst into tears with shame.

“Thank you,” she said softly, taking Pete’s engagement ring and placing it on her finger. He sat down next to her and she cleared her throat. Trying to think of what to say.

“Aiden?”

“Yes.”

“You told me something about you that was personal and—”

“Let’s not discuss it.”

“I know what it’s like to have something in the past you want to change. I mean I committed such a big sin.”

Aiden looked over at her. Sin? What was she talking about? She sat there with her head bowed slightly, picking at her bottom lip with her teeth. She shifted and looked over at him shyly.

“Remember when I said I had bad karma?”

Aiden nodded.

“Well, I wasn’t kidding. I mean, I did something really selfish once. I did it solely for me. Pete don’t know it. I was scared and I thought I’d be like my mom and my sisters that I’d never leave the Hollow. My best-friend, Jessiemae, said it was a quick easy fix. The way out, so I did it.”

“What did you do?”

“I had an abortion.”

Aiden didn’t blink. She looked over as if her confession was ground breaking, and when he looked into her eyes he saw it was. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because I know the kind of man you are. You hate to be weak, and what you told me out there, I guess you think it makes you weak. Now you know my secret. I trust you with it. You can trust me. Stop pushing people away, Aiden. You deserve love too. Maybe you can find something special, like I did with my Pete.”

Aiden smiled. “You can trust me with your secret, Daisy.”

When they arrived at the hotel, Daisy couldn’t hide her relief. She felt like she’d aged ten years. With each step she took away from Aiden Keane, part of her youth returned. Aiden gave her a nod, but that was all. He was swarmed by staff. When she looked back at him, he just stood there staring after her, watching her as the doors to the elevator closed for good. She blew out a deep breath.

“It’s over.”

***

“Mr. Keane, I—”

“You see that woman?” he said, cutting off his security chief. The man turned and saw the doors to the elevator close on an attractive young black woman.

“Yes, sir.”

“Her name is Daisy Johnson. When she wants access to my penthouse, you make sure she has it.” He checked his watch. He estimated that Daisy and Pete would be over within an hour and she’d return to him. He was heading upstairs to wait. Looking forward to it.

***

Daisy fished out her keycard. She dropped it in the door slot and the green light blinked. Turning down the handle, she walked inside. It was quiet. Tomb quiet. She wondered when Pete would return. But when she looked around, her mouth fell open. She dropped her purse. He lay there in his jeans, face in his pillow—but that woman. The whore! She slept next to him, snuggled close, in their bed.

Daisy stood there, frozen, rooted to the spot. Rage like she’d never known boiled up in her. She shuddered with fury. He brought this woman back there. To their suite? Some skank-ho bitch he found in a strip joint. He brought her to their hotel room. Pete did it to throw it in her face. To hurt her. And it worked. Tears shimmied on her long lashes, threatening to fall. She turned and went to the bathroom, grabbing the ice bucket.

Pete nearly jumped from the bed.

Ice-cold water thrown over him had him gasping for air. At first, he thought he was drowning. The woman next to him squealed. Before the fog cleared, he heard Daisy screaming. She flew across him and attacked someone, kicking, biting and scratching. It was happening so fast, he was knocked on his ass. The woman was trying to fight back, but Daisy had her by the hair, dragging her off the bed, pounding her fists into her face.

“Stop it! Daisy, stop!” He grabbed her, but she threw him off with her country-girl strength. Pete tried again to get a hold of her. It was Andy that was taking the abuse, trying to fight back. Daisy delivered the ass-whipping of her life.

“Daisy, stop it. Damn it!!” He threw her to the floor. Andy’s blonde extensions were in Daisy’s clenched fist.

“Get out of here, bitch, or I’ll kick yo’ ass!” Daisy shouted.

Andy grabbed her things and ran for the door. She was through it so fast, Pete barely saw her go. He stepped back, soaking wet, and looked at her. “I can explain.”

“How could you do that to me?” she screamed through her tears.

Pete’s head was pounding from the alcohol. He looked to the bed and tried to remember. “I-I-I didn’t.”

“I saw you!! I saw you!!” she shouted at him, shoving him out of the way. Pete blocked her. “Wait. Wait a damn minute. Let me explain damn it!”

“Do you know how much you hurt me?” Her tears were like daggers piercing his heart.

“Daisy, I didn’t betray you. I couldn’t. You know me.”

“I saw you! Stop lying to me! At least admit it!”

“That’s not what you think it is. She helped me to the room. I had too much to drink. I guess I just passed out.”

“No, you asshole. I saw you at the club.”

Pete blinked and stepped back. “What?”

“In that red room, with her riding your dick, and you flipping her over on the sofa. I saw it with my own eyes! You cheating bastard! You make me feel guilty for sacrificing to change our lives for the better and all the while you cheating on me with some fleabag ho! If you didn’t want me to do it, why did you sign the damn contract! Why hurt me like this? You said you loved me!”

“Wait a minute. How did you see it?”

“I can’t believe you’d do this to us.” She paced.

“Answer me damn it! How…” Pete stopped. “Mr. Keane showed you, didn’t he?”

“Cheating on me with that skank-ho bitch!”

“Answer me!”

She stopped and glared at him. “What?”

“Aiden Keane showed you that set-up and you fell for it.”

“He owns the place you went to.”

“And you think that was a coincidence? I know he owns that place. And that skank-ho you threw out of here, she works for him. You met her, remember? Down in the casino lobby? At the bar!”

Daisy frowned. She looked to the door then to Pete.

Pete nodded. “That’s right, she works for him, Daisy! He sent her to me. Had her take me there and get me liquored up. Then he turned on the monitor.”

Daisy shook her head. “No. He didn’t do that.”

“How the fuck do you explain it! I was lured into that room just at the moment you are standing before the screen. If you had finished watching that little performance you would have seen that I walked out. I could never cheat on you. I love you. LOVE YOU!!!”

Daisy stepped back against the wall.

Pete glared at her. “Your turn. Tell me how much you love me. Tell me what happened with you and Aiden Keane.”

Daisy’s eyes flittered around the room and Pete felt his chest swell. “You did it didn’t you? You slept with him.”

“I thought… I tried to call.”

“Where did you go?”

“He… when you left he wanted me to see the helicopter. I…”

“We agreed you wouldn’t leave.” Pete said, his voice hollow.

Daisy’s head spun. Her chest felt like it had caved in. She knew Pete. He wasn’t lying to her. He didn’t cheat on her: he couldn’t have. It wasn’t who he was.

“Why did you leave with him?” Pete shouted.

She shook her head and tears dropped on her cheeks. “He said we would just go to the Grand Canyon and back. And then we went to breakfast. He wanted me to wear a dress and… and… and he wanted me to see his boat… I tried to call here. The hotel, but you weren’t here! It was happening so fast, Pete. It really was. And then he showed me… I mean, I didn’t know she worked for him… I was so hurt and confused. And he just, I don’t know. It just happened.”

Pete dropped to the bed. She went and sat on the wet mattress next to him. “It’s over. It’s over with and we can just go. Let’s just go. Let’s just get the money and go.”

“I got a question,” he said, staring down at the floor.

“Pete, please. Let’s just take the money and go.”

“Was it once?”

“Huh?” Daisy drew back.

Pete looked over at her. “How many times?”

“It wasn’t like that.” She flinched. “I don’t remember.”

“How many?”

“Stop it… you agreed… you said I should—”

“HOW MANY, DAISY!!!” he shouted at her. Tears streamed down his cheeks.

“I don’t remember. One, maybe two….” she reached for him. He shoved her back and the ring he’d given her scraped his hand. He stared at it. “Pete, please. It wasn’t like that. I just did it and it was over. I didn’t feel anything. I swear. I just want to go home. Please.” she begged, sobbing.

Pete backed away from her. “You wore my ring while you were fucking him?”

“No… no I took it off.”

Pete didn’t wipe his tears. He turned and walked out. “Pete, no! Don’t do this! It’s over. It’s all over.” She ran after him. In the hall, she grabbed his arm. The maid looked over at them but Daisy didn’t care. He shook her off, and she dropped to her hands and knees. She was sobbing so hard she could not stand. “Pete!!! Don’t go. I want to go home. Let’s just go back home.”

Pete stepped in to the elevator. Daisy leapt to her feet, running the rest of the way. The doors closed before she could stop them.

“PEEETE!!”

Pete wiped at his tears. He was going to kill the son-of-a-bitch. He’d buy a gun and put bullets in him. He was going to kill him. It was all set up from the beginning. To destroy them! But why? Why them? Why his Daisy? Why? Stepping back into the corner of the elevator, his heart exploded in his chest. He slipped down, as he considered what they’d done. Pete slid to the floor.

***

Aiden heard the door. He turned from the bar, smiling. “I’m in here, Daisy.”

“Daisy?” said Andy, twisting in. Her hair in tangles and her face red and scratched. She did the best to groom herself. Aiden lowered the glass, taking in her appearance. “What the fuck happened to you?”

She threw her purse at the sofa. “Daisy. That’s what. The crazy bitch attacked me.”

Aiden put the glass down. “What are you talking about?”

“She came back, Aiden. She found me in bed with Petie-boy.”

Aiden’s brow rose.

“Interesting. Caught in the act?”

“No. The kid is clean. He wouldn’t touch me. She just assumed.”

Aiden nodded. “Well, good work.”

“Good work? Good work? Is that all you have to say? Look at me! Look at what she did to me.”

Aiden smirked. “She’s tough, all right.”

“She’s fucking insane.”

“Come now, Andy. Don’t pretend. It’s not your first cat-fight.”

***

Daisy went back to their room and found the door locked. “Shit,” she sniffed, trying to process Pete’s reaction. She leaned back against the door. Pete was just angry, hurt. He needed time. What she needed to do was be ready to work it out when he came back. That was all. But first, she wanted to speak to Aiden.

She wanted him to clear it up. Maybe get him to make Pete understand that it was nothing. It meant nothing, and that they could move on. She’d gotten close to him on the boat. He would help her. She knew he would. Walking to the elevator, wiping at her tears, she rode up to the penthouse level. The elevator paused until she gave her name, and then they allowed her to go up to his suite. When she arrived, she found the door half open. She could hear voices.

A female voice? She pushed the door wider and walked in, listening.

“Take your money and go, Andy.”

“Go? What do you mean go? I didn’t set Petie-boy up so you could screw his girlfriend for money.”

Aiden just stared at her.

She fixed her hair. And skirt. Licked her half-painted lips. “C’mon, sugah. Aint it obvious?”

“No, it isn’t,” he replied dryly.

“I get you, Aiden. We understand each other. We’re a team. A match made in heaven,” she grinned at him.

Aiden frowned.

Daisy walked around the corner. “More like a match made in hell.”

Andy jumped and whirled. Aiden just looked on.

“So this is your girlfriend?” Daisy asked with her arms folded. “Suits you, Aiden. Both of you are disgusting.”

“Get out, Andy,” said Aiden.

“No. Stay, Andy. I want you to hear this. If I ever catch you near Pete again I will snatch you bald and break my size nine off in your ass. You got that, sugah?” Daisy turned to glare at Aiden. “And you! How pathetic, a million dollars just because the best piece of ass you can get is this tramp?”

Aiden rose. He grabbed Andy by the arm, snatched up her purse and shoved it on her, then forced her toward the door. “Go!” he said.

Andy looked at him, hurt, but did as she was told. Daisy made to follow, but Aiden went after her.

“Don’t you touch me!” she shouted at him, stepping back.

“It’s not what you think.”

Daisy laughed. Angry tears made her irises glisten. “It’s worse than what I think. You won. You turned me into… what was your stepmother’s name again?”

“Daisy.”

“Don’t touch me!!” she hissed. “So it was all funny, huh? Just a big game. Something to scratch that itch of yours?” Her eyes dropped to his groin, then went back up. “How did you manage to keep from laughing when you were screwing me over all day? Or did you get your chuckles when my back was turned?”

“You agreed to this. Don’t stand here and play victim.”

“No Aiden, I never agreed to you destroying Pete. Abusing his love for me, making him blame himself for my greed. You had it all worked out before I walked over to that crap table. A plan. The biggest hustle. I was just the sap. How does it feel? Tell me! I want to know. Gets your dick hard, does it?”

“What did you think would happen when you took the money?”

“You’re evil.”

“Daisy, wait. I didn’t mean to hurt you. Things got out of hand.”

“Oh, don’t cop out now. Don’t do it now, Aiden Keane. It’s so beneath you. C’mon, admit it. You like it like this. Women on their knees, broken, weak, sniveling after your money. That’s why you chose me, huh? Huh! Poor country bumpkin with Kentucky grass in her ass, just ready to be plucked, fucked and turned inside out. So, you felt you can scrape me off just as you did that pathetic creature Andy.”

Aiden paled. He didn’t speak but he tried to step closer to her.

“You come any closer to me, and I’ll scream rape. Do you hear me? I’ll scream it to anybody that’ll listen. Cause that’s how I feel. Like I’ve been raped.” She shook all over and the tears she held back sprang from her eyes. “I hate you!! I hope you suffer in as much misery as you’ve brought into my life! Your father didn’t kill himself for that woman Aiden. He did it to get away from you!”

Aiden drew back, stricken, as she stormed out.

He backed away, running a shaky hand through his hair. At the bar, he picked up the crystal decanter to pour. The tremors in his hand caused the amber liquor to swirl and splash. He threw it against the wall, then the glasses, then flipped the bar in his rage. Huffing through his anger, he picked up a chair and heaved it at the glass wall, causing the entire pane to splinter in jagged circles. His security men ran in and he whirled on them.

“GET OUT!! NOW!!”

***

Pete walked in a daze through the casino. He bumped one shoulder, spilled a woman’s drink, nearly sent an elderly man to the floor. He didn’t see any of them. He kept walking. Before he knew it, he was out the casino doors onto the hot pavement. He wasn’t walking anymore. He was running. Running fast.

***

Daisy crouched in the hallway outside their room, holding her knees to her chest. She sat there shivering, sobbing, rocking, and waiting. Pete had to come back. He had to forgive her. She just wanted to go back home. Go back to the way it was. Go back to Hollow Creek and watch him race his junk car with his boys. Or hear her daddy from the pulpit. She missed her nieces and nephews, her mama’s peach cobbler, and Jessiemae’s jokes. She just wanted to go home and forget Vegas, the million dollars, forget all about Aiden Keane.

Chapter Nineteen

Aiden reached for the phone. “Keane.”

“Sir, you have someone demanding to see you.”

“A woman?” he asked, his voice cracking. His heart lurched at the thought Daisy had returned.

“He says his name is Pete Doyle.”

Aiden sighed. “Send him in.”

He sat back at his desk, waiting. The door opened and Pete came inside. He was visibly angry: his cheeks burned scarlet and his eyes were glassy.

“What can I do for you––”

Pete pulled out a gun.

***

“Hi, momma.”

“Daisy?”

She sniffed. “It’s me.” She had finally found a maid to let her in the room. She spent most of the long wait pacing for Pete to return. When he didn’t she did the next best thing. Call home.

“Sweet Jesus! Charles, its Daisy on the phone.”

Daisy dropped her head and tried not cry.

“Where are you baby-girl? Yo daddy and I ’ave been sick with worry. Tell me where you at.”

“I’m fine, momma.”

“You don’t sound fine, Daisy. Tell momma what’s wrong.”

“I just wanted to he-heah your voice, that’s all. How’s daddy?”

“He standin’ right heah, baby. We want you to come home. Tell us where you at. Is Pete with you? The Doyle’s are sick with worry.”

“Momma, you think when you done sumthin’ wrong, but you thought it was for the right reasons… you think God really forgives the sinner?”

“Daisy, baby please… tell me what’s wrong. Please.”

She sniffed. “I love you and daddy. I jus’ didn’t know what was important. That’s all. Me and Pete fine. We comin’ home tomorrow. I see you then, okay?”

“Daisy! This yo daddy. Where you at baby-girl?”

“Hi, daddy,” she wept.

“Daisy!!”

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

“Daisy, it’s okay. There aint nuthin’ you done that will make me love you less. I just want to bring you home. Tell me where you at.”

“We coming home. I promise. We leave tomorrow. Okay?”

“Daisy.”

“I promise, daddy. I love you.”

She hung up the phone and wiped at her eyes.

***

Aiden stared down the barrel of the gun. It wasn’t the first time in his life he had one pointed at him. But this was the first time it was pointed by someone who didn’t know how to use it. Pete’s hand trembled as he wiped his nose.

“Why don’t you lower the gun?”

“W-what did you do to her?”

“What you signed the contract for.”

“You tricked her! You used her!”

Aiden shook his head. “Everything we did, she consented too.”

“Shut up!!” he shouted. “Shut your fucking mouth. Daisy would never consent. You showed her video of me with that whore and you tricked her!” The door opened; two of Aiden’s security team entered with their guns drawn. Cameras were on Aiden in his office. Pete whirled to point his gun at them.

Aiden rose. “Leave,” he ordered the men.

They looked at him like he was crazy.

“Leave!” he shouted.

His security backed out the door. Aiden snatched the gun from Pete so smoothly, all he could do was blink at Aiden, shocked. He tossed it to the sofa.

“I’m going to cut you a break, kid.”

“Fuck you! Fuck you!!” Pete shouted at him.

“She wants more than you can give her, Pete. It’s the only reason she gave herself to me. Why she accepted the offer in the first place.”

“She did that for us! Daisy and I were fine until you poisoned her. I’m taking her home, and you stay the fuck away from her or I will kill you, you son-of-a-bitch!”

“No. She did that to escape what you were trying to offer. It’s not the first time she’s done something to escape it.”

Pete blinked at him confused. “What are you talking about?”

“Daisy. It’s true. She is special, so special.” He leveled a wicked smile on Pete. “She deserves a life free of washing your socks and cooking your meals.” Aiden stepped in his face “She knows it. It’s why she aborted your kid back in Hollow Creek. Jessiemae helped her do it.”

Pete sucked in a deep breath but forgot to exhale. He felt like that gun had been turned on him. “That’s a lie,” he stammered.

“Daisy told me, Pete. She and I connected. It’s over. Do her a favor, and leave. Go back to Hollow Creek, and I’ll take care of her here.”

Pete swung. He hit Aiden Keane so hard, he was sure he broke his jaw. Aiden was knocked on his ass. “I don’t give a fuck how much money you have, you’re still a piece of shit!” Pete spat.

Aiden smiled, rubbing his jaw.

Pete backed away.

“Go ahead, Pete. Take her. What we’ve done, she won’t forget! Especially the next time you try to follow in my footsteps, so to speak.” Aiden chuckled.

Pete stepped back from Aiden Keane. He stepped back and stormed out.

Aiden, still on the floor, fell flat to his back. His security team stepped back in, circling him as if he were insane.

“Want me to pick him up, boss? Teach him a lesson?” His security extended his hand. Aiden used it to rise. He spat blood and licked the swell of his bottom lip.

“Kid packs a helluva punch,” he smirked, rubbing his sore jaw. “Let him go.” He waved it off.

The men nodded and walked back out.

Aiden blew out a deep breath. He should’ve let her go. He couldn’t. He wanted her and demolishing Pete was the way to have her. He was sure of it. He looked to the gun on the sofa, shook his head and went back to his desk. He picked up the phone and dialed Donovan. He needed to give Daisy the freedom to return to him.

The door closed. Daisy sat up on the bed. She’d finally stopped her tears. She’d showered, braided her hair put on a robe, but her eyes were still puffy, almost swollen shut. Pete marched in. He barely looked at her.

“Hey. I’m so glad you’re back. I’ve been waiting so we can talk. I’m thinking we should leave in the morning.”

Pete went to collect their luggage. She watched him, confused. “Pete, you hear me?”

He dumped several of her shoes out of his suitcase and retrieved his clothes from the dresser. He put them inside, leaving her things on the floor. Daisy got to her feet.

“Whatcha doing?”

“I’m going home.”

“Okay… let me pack for us.”

“NO!!” Pete shouted in her face.

Daisy jumped and stepped back. She saw hate in his eyes. “Pete?”

“If you come back to the Hollow, I will tell everybody who’ll listen what a whore you are!”

“No,” she said, shaking her head.

Pete nodded. “I will tell your father’s congregation how you spread your legs for a million dollars.”

“Pete, please.”

“I don’t ever–ever—want to see you again! Do you hear me?”

“Don’t say that.” She reached for him and he shoved her back. She fell on the bed.

“Stay away from me and Hollow Creek! Don’t ever come back! Ever! You as dead as our baby you killed, you greedy bitch!” Pete snatched up his keys and his duffel bag and stormed out. Daisy screamed in pain. She rolled over on the bed sheets, curling up tight.

Chapter Twenty

Daisy sat at the center of the bed, staring blindly out of the window to her room. She hadn’t eaten or bathed since Pete left. She hadn’t done anything. She just sat there. She felt nothing. She ignored the knocking at her door. But eventually the door did open. A man came walking through. It took her a moment to come out of her daze to see him. He wore a dark Fedora on his head.

“Daisy?”

“Yes?” she said softly.

“I’m Donovan McBride.”

She looked back out the window and said nothing.

“I have something for you.” He put the envelope at her feet. Daisy’s eyes dropped to it. “Tell Aiden Keane I don’t want his money.”

Donovan stared at her. “You need to reconsider that.”

She looked over at him. “Go to hell!”

“Whatever you lost, young lady, you paid for dearly. That money is yours. No matter how you came about it, it’s part of you now.” He tipped his hat. “Mr. Keane left you a message inside.”

With that said, he was gone. Daisy hugged her legs and tried not to cry. Eventually her eyes did lower to the envelope. She picked it up. It was heavy on one side. Opening it she saw the golden coin. It was Aiden’s prized possession. He’d parted with it. She removed the note.

Daisy,

I took the best part of you. It's only fair that I give you the best part of me. Forgive me.

Aiden

Daisy fell over on the bed. She cried.

It had been two days. Aiden walked the floor to the suite he’d gave Daisy and Pete. He had waited as long as he could stand it. He figured he’d talk to her and help her make sense of it. The hotel confirmed that Pete had left alone. Using his key, Aiden opened the door and stepped inside quietly. Donovan had told him of the state she was in. He was certain to find her in bed. But the bed was made and her things were gone. His jaw clenched. His eyes caught the note on the nightstand. He picked it up and read it.

We're even.

Daisy

Aiden clenched the note in anger. "Damn it, Daisy. It's not over."

Epilogue

6 Months Later

“Yo, Pete? How much longer on that Ford, man?”

Digging his heels in on the oil-stained concrete, Pete pushed out from under the car. After an hour in that stifling cramped darkness, he squinted under the light of the garage. Grease marked his chin and spotted his faded blue workman’s jumper. He looked as tired as he felt.

“Busted fuel line, Bud. I gotta check on some parts. It’ll be two, maybe three days, before I can get it in.”

“Yeah, well Ms. Baker needs her car so if we can get a rush on it, let’s do it. Keep this up and I’ll give you the head mechanic deal for sure.” His brother smiled as he walked off.

Pete sighed. He sat upright, his arms to his knees. A little more saving and he could get in school. He didn’t plan to be a grease-monkey for the rest of his days. Couldn’t say he was too fond of oil and fumes that were now so far up his nose he couldn’t tell a fresh-baked pie over the smell of a dump truck. He stood and cracked his back. Soreness traveled up his spine. What they needed to do was fix the hydraulic so they could get the cars lifted again. Maybe he’d call Big-boy and they’d make it a project.

Fixing things. That was something he was good at. Now it was lunch time. Removing the dingy rag from his back pocket, he tried to wipe the grit and grease from his hand, an impossible task. The curse of a mechanic was black-ringed fingernails. He’d probably take them to the grave. He smirked, shaking his head. Funny, the things that reminded him of her. Pete stared down at his chipped, worn-over fingernails. “Best damn manicurist in the Hollow, she was.”

Then he heard it. A laugh, distinct, but light and airy. Pete turned. He started toward it, on autopilot.

“Well hurry, sugar. I want to get back to the hotel before it gets late.”

Pete squinted more under the harsh light of the sun. At the pump there was a Maserati. It was a sleek, black beauty. It would go from zero to 60 in about 5 seconds. Top speed must be about 180 an hour, thought Pete. Fuck, he’d give his left nut just to check out the engine on that baby. His eyes traveled the length and then went up. Blonde hair and large oval shades were behind the windshield. The sun’s glare prevented a clear view. But the woman saw him. She lowered her shades, lifted in her seat to be sure.

“Holy shit!! Petie-boy? Is that you?”

Andy threw open the car door. “It is you!” she squealed. In her arms she carried a tiny Terrier with a pink jeweled collar. She strutted over on her toes in suicide heels, jeans so tight she seemed to have blue skin below the waist, and a top that put her breasts on full display. Pete just stared at her. In a million years he would never have imagined seeing her again.

“Hi, sugar!” She tossed her hair, even blonder now than it had been before. “My God, how have you been?”

“I’m fine, Andy,” said Pete. The dog snapped and growled. Pete’s eyes went past her, to her traveling companion. The older guy, possibly in his sixties, returned to the car. He spotted them and glared. “Nice to see you again. Take care,” he said, turning for the safety of the garage.

Andy touched his arm. “Hey, wait a second.” She shifted from toe to toe, popping her gum. “I wanted to apologize to you. I never got the chance. For, you know, everything.”

Pete looked back at her. “What brings you to Louisville?”

Andy grinned. He could tell she’d rather spend time talking about her new life than the one she’d left behind. “That man over there is Lucas. He’s my husband,” She said, waving. Lucas frowned. Andy turned and wiggled her fingers to show off her rock. “He owns some horses that will race in the Derby. We here to see about it. Just passing through.”

“Right. Well, congratulations.”

“Thank you, Pete. You so sweet.”

He checked his watch. “Well, I got work and stuff. Take care.” He turned and walked off. His heart pounded, pumping blood to face, as he felt the old flames of anger and resentment spark again.

“Pete!”

He stopped. He didn’t want to hear about Daisy and Aiden Keane. He didn’t want to know about their happily ever after. He should just walk away. Keep walking.

“He’s still looking for her, you know.”

“For whom?”

“Daisy. She really did a number on him by leaving like she did. I don’t think anyone has ever rejected Aiden Keane.”

“She’s not with him?”

Andy shook her head. “Nope. She disappeared after everything went down. Aiden hired all kinds of detectives to find her. He’s obsessed. I thought she was with you. But I can tell, Well, I can see in your eyes that she isn’t.”

Pete walked back toward her. “Where is she?”

“Oh now, sugar, you know I wouldn’t know that. Hell, all I knew is that you two were from the south. I didn’t know you were living in Kentucky.”

“You sure they aren’t together?”

Andy smirked. “Oh, I’m sure. Ole Aiden found the one thing he can’t have and it’s making him crazy as a bedbug. Serves his ass right,” she smirked. “Anyways. It’s good seeing you again. Take care.”

Her dog barked and bared its teeth. Pete nodded and watched as she kissed and stroked the pooch returning to her husband.

“If Daisy isn’t with Aiden Keane, then what happened to her?”

***

Aiden leaned out across the wrought-iron edge of his balcony. The desert sun wasn’t as bright in February, but still it warmed his cheeks as the wind came behind and cooled them. He looked out to the city he practically owned and to the casinos, all filled with the people whose pockets he would empty. He stared on and all he could do was think of her.

Rising, he turned and faced his friend, the only one he had.

“Is this all you have?”

Donovan sat back in the deck chair. He crossed his leg over his knee. He turned the silver tip, shaped like a wolf’s head, at the top of his cane. “For the moment, that’s all there is.”

“I’m paying you a fortune, Donovan, and in six months you’ve brought me shit!”

“You need to let this one go, Aiden.” Donovan’s flat, grey eyes narrowed on him.

“Don’t tell me what I need to do! I don’t pay you to tell me what I need to do!”

Donovan smirked. “That’s exactly what you pay me for. Look at you, friend. How much longer are you going to chase this one? She doesn’t want to be found.”

Aiden dropped into the chair across from him. One of his staff returned with fresh drinks. He glared at Donovan. His nostrils flared, his anger tight and heavy like a stone, weighing him down. It made him sloppy, forgetful; it had taken over his fucking life.

“It’s been six months,” he started again, in a more collected tone. “Six months. She barely found her way from Kentucky to Vegas, and you tell me she just vanished?”

“She’s gone.”

“She can’t be fucking gone. She doesn’t know how to be gone!”

“You gave her a million dollars, Aiden. She can be gone if she chooses. Her family doesn’t know where she is. That kid you chased out of town works in a garage and is living with another woman. He’s moved on. There’s no conspiracy. She knew you’d look for her and she’s been pretty creative in covering her tracks.”

“Try her family again. Family meant everything to her. They have to know.”

“You said you didn’t want to go that route. To make contact.”

“You said you could find her!” he shouted back

Donovan, unfazed, picked up his vodka and orange juice. He sipped. “I said I would try. After Reno, her trail went cold. She cashed the check, took the money, bought a used car and drove off into the fucking sunset, friend. That’s it. No activity on her social security card, nothing. She could have left for Mexico, for all you know. It’s over.”

Aiden wiped his hand down his chin. His face was half-covered in facial hair from a beard he could barely be bothered to groom. “She’s out there.” His eyes went back out into the desert sky. “Did you try nail salons?”

“Nail salons?” Donovan frowned.

“I told you she wanted to open a nail salon. Said something about hiring Koreans or Asians. See who’s opened a new business license for a salon.”

“In the entire country?” Donovan laughed.

“Did I say something funny?” Aiden seethed.

Donovan shook his head. “If she opened a salon it’s not under the name Daisy Johnson. Our people would have picked it up.”

Aiden dropped his head back. So that was it. He’d sunk a small fortune into hunting her down, and nothing. She’d fled him. Fled him. Why? She felt it, too. He was sure of it. On his yacht, that night in the rain when he opened his soul to her and she comforted him, she had to have felt it. Her leaving was not supposed to be the end of it. It only made his obsession with her deepen. Now, for him, she was some mythical creature, his salvation. She haunted him. Her last words haunted him. Everything about that summer night with her and that country boy Pete haunted him.

“I need to set it right. Where’s the kid?”

“He’s in Kentucky. Works out of a garage with his brothers. Louisville.”

“Not Hollow Creek?”

“Not according to our sources. He milled around for a month or two then landed there. Got an address if you want it.”

“You think he’s in touch with her?”

Donovan sat forward. “If he is, he won’t tell you where she is. What is it with you and this girl? I warned you about the games you play.”

“It’s not over.” Aiden looked at him. “I care about her, Donovan; she’s out there alone and probably hurt all because of me. Call it an attack of conscience.”

“You don’t have one, Aiden.”

“Then call it whatever the fuck you like! I want to find her, so you hire more men and you search every fucking city on this planet until you find her!” He rose. “I got the money and you got the time. Make it your top priority.”

“Aiden, you have other responsibilities.”

“MAKE IT YOUR TOP PRIORITY! SHE DOESN’T GET TO WALK AWAY!” he kicked the back of the chair and stormed off the lanai. “Show yourself out.”

***

Pete wiped his feet, then pushed open the door to the chapel before stepping quietly inside. He could hear Reverend Johnson’s deep voice echoing off the empty pulpit. The homey smell of the old church that generations of Johnson men had preached from was a comfort. He could see Daisy in the choir stand with her sisters. He remembered the days he’d parked out front waiting for her to come bouncing down the church steps. Pete stood at the doors of the sanctuary, watching as the Reverend practiced for Sunday’s service. Besides the mayor and the principal of Hollow Creek High, Reverend Johnson was the most respected man in Hollow Creek.

Pete remembered the first time Daisy brought him home to meet her father. He sat at the head of the table and just stared at him. After dinner, he made Pete join him on the porch. There he smoked his pipe and asked him about his people and what he wanted with his Daisy. Pete couldn’t formulate the words then, and even now he faltered. All he wanted was to be a part of her shine, that light Daisy carried that drew people to her. But that was a long time ago. They were different people now.

Removing his cap from his head, he stuffed it into his back pocket. Reverend Johnson turned and spotted him. He froze mid-sentence.

“Hi—hello, Reverend Johnson, sir.”

“Pete?” He took off his glasses.

“Yes, sir.”

Reverend Johnson put down his bible. His hands had a slight tremble and his eyes glistened. Pete hadn’t been back to the Hollow since he left Vegas. He showed up at his brother’s in Louisville and hid out. He hasn’t even seen his own mother. He just couldn’t return home since everything would remind him of Daisy.

“Where’s Daisy, Pete? Is she with you?” the Reverend asked looking past him to the closed church doors.

Pete’s heart sank. He had hoped that her family would have heard from her, or at least knew what became of her. Now he knew his threat had driven her from her home. No matter what happened between them, he had no right to do that to her. “No, sir. She isn’t.”

In that moment it seemed Daisy’s father aged. He had a weathered, pained look in his eyes and his shoulders slumped. He took a step back and sat in the minister’s chair, the one he sat in every Sunday. Pete wondered if it gave him comfort now. He walked down the purple-carpeted isle.

“Have you heard from her?”

The Reverend shook his head.

“Sir.”

“What happened to my daughter, Pete? When you took off from here, what happened to her? She called me and said she was coming home with you, boy!”

Pete had to look away. He didn’t know she’d called home. He swallowed hard. It took a moment to speak, a moment to say anything. “We went to Las Vegas.”

“And?”

“We were going to try to win some money. Daisy and I had plans to go to Port Angeles. To get married. She knew you wouldn’t approve. She didn’t want you to stop us.”

“Is she alive?”

“Yes, sir. Yes. I mean it’s not like that.” But in truth, she could be dead and he wouldn’t know it. Somehow, though, he felt in his heart he would.

“What happened to her in Vegas?”

Pete’s head dropped. He focused on the carpet. “We met this man and he offered us money. A deal. He wanted… we, um, agreed to what he wanted. It went wrong. Daisy and I had a fight, and in anger I left. I left her there.”

The Reverend just stared at him.

“I’m sorry, sir. I just assumed she would come home. I had no idea.”

“Six months, son? It’s been six months and you wait until now, to come here? Why didn’t you call me? I could have gone and brought her home.”

“I don’t know, sir. I was angry. Full of anger. It took me a minute to get my head right around it sir. I’m sorry.”

“Are you sure sh-she alive?” The Reverend asked.

“Yes. I mean she wasn’t in danger when I left. So…”

“Who is this man? The one who you met with some deal. Is she with him?”

“No. I thought she was. But no.”

The Reverend stood. “What’s his name, boy?”

“Aiden Keane, sir. He owns the Shamrock Casino. He doesn’t know where she is either. She left Vegas. She took the money and left.”

The Reverend turned. “What money?”

“A million dollars. He gave her a million dollars.” Pete couldn’t tell her father for what. But when he looked up at the Reverend he saw he didn’t have to. It just hung there in the air between them.

“Why you here now? You looking for the money?”

Pete’s stomach turned at the notion, but he knew he deserved the Reverend’s suspicion. “I jus,’ I jus’ came to see if you heard from her. I want her to be okay. I never should have left her behind the way I did. I let my pride get in the way of what’s right. Daisy’s special sir. She really is. I’m sorry for ever taking her out of the Hollow.”

The Reverend picked up his Bible. He stared down at it for a long moment before he spoke. “All these years I’ve looked to this book for answers. God’s word. It’s all we got to see us through. I used it as the blueprint to raise my girls, to be a good man, to be a good shepherd. I put this book in the crib of each one of my children. I tell ’em it’s the key to unlocking happiness and protecting their salvation. But the world is bigger than a father’s love, bigger than a father’s words, and my Daisy always wanted to be a part of it. Saw it in her since she was able to talk or walk. Saw it in her and could do nothing to stop it.” He sucked in a deep breath. “But the world aint bigger than God, that’s fo sho. He has Daisy now. I’m gonna trust in that.”

Pete nodded.

He looked back to Pete, “I don’t know what happened to you in Las Vegas, and the good Lord in Heaven knows for my pressure its best you not tell me. But I have to believe that Daisy is going to come home. Just as you did. Just as you did.” The Reverend shook his head and walked off the pulpit. He slipped out the side door of the chapel.

Pete sat down on the first pew, staring up at the statue of Christ impaled on the cross. There was no going back. He knew that. And he still couldn’t bring himself to forgive her. He just couldn’t. But she was out there alone and away from her family because he cast her that way. Could he live with that?

“No,” he answered for himself. “I need to find her.”

***

“Pete? Look!”

Pete turned from his packing. He’d been staying with the girl he’d been seeing for the past month. Her name was Laura and she was pretty sweet. When he believed Daisy was with Aiden Keane, he really tried to move on. With Laura it could be possible. But now he had to find Daisy and bring her home. To set them both free.

“What is it?”

“A limo!” said Laura.

Pete looked up. He turned and looked back at Laura. There was a knock on the door. “Stay here. I’ll answer it.”

“Who is it?” asked Laura, following him.

He went to the door and opened it. The driver stood there.

“Mr. Doyle, sir. Mr. Aiden Keane would like to speak with you.”

Pete looked past the driver to the dark-tinted windows of the limousine.

“Pete? Is everything okay?” asked Laura.

“Yeah. Stay inside.”

Pete walked down the steps toward the car. It was just like Aiden Keane to show up. To just walk into his life like he had some right. Well, they weren’t in Vegas and he’d crack Keane’s jaw if he had to. The driver opened the car door. Pete leaned in so his eyes could connect with the only human being he could honestly profess hate for.

“What you doing here, Keane?”

“Get inside. We need to talk.”

“Fuck off. Get the fuck away from here! You hear me?”

Aiden turned his eyes on Pete. “I’ll ask you once more, politely. Get inside. We need to talk.”

Pete’s head lifted out of the door and he looked back. Laura stood on the front step, watching him. He didn’t want any drama at her place. He remembered the shady characters that seemed to shadow this man. Climbing inside, he slammed the door. “Talk.”

“Have you heard from Daisy?”

Pete smirked. “Yes. She wants nothing to do with you.”

“Then I take it you haven’t.” Aiden said rolling his cigar between his fingers, with a weary sigh.

“If I had, I wouldn’t tell you.”

“She’s in danger, Pete. She’s out there alone and she’s in trouble. I can help her.”

“What are you talking about she—”

“Think about it. Six months, and nothing. She’s alone. We need to find her.”

“We? You trying to trick me into digging around for you? I’m not an idiot, Keane. I know how much money you have. For you to come here, you must be pretty desperate. That means you want me to go through her family and dig information up for you. Well fuck that! She’s gone.”

Aiden glared at him. “You listen to me, you little shit. I do have money, and more resources than you can imagine. Enough to teach you some manners.”

The pause was lethal, Both men glared.

“If I can’t find her, then something is wrong. Now you may not care about her, but I do. If you know anything you better—”

Pete opened the door. “I won’t help you. And stay away from her family, too. You’ll just upset them. They don’t know where she is either.”

“Pete.”

He stopped and looked at Aiden.

“I will find her. You can count on that.”

Pete smirked. “You never gave Daisy any credit, did you? She’s a lot smarter than you think. And I know her a lot better than you do. I’ll find her before you will. And when I do, I will make sure you never see her again.” He got out and slammed the car door. He didn’t bother to look back but he could feel the fury behind him. He had to find Daisy. He’d take his savings and do it. Now there was no other choice.

Aiden let his head drop back. He watched Pete return to his trailer and go inside with the young woman. “Where to now, Mr. Keane?”

“Airport.”

Aiden removed his phone, punched in numbers and pressed it to his ear. “Donovan, the kid might be your next lead. Make sure there’s someone tailing him.” He closed the phone and dropped it in his pocket. There was some truth in what Pete said about not giving Daisy credit. They’d all underestimated her A year, two, three, it didn’t matter how long he’d find her. Of that he was sure.

***

The ocean was something to behold at sunset. It was indeed the best time of day for her. Daisy walked through the shadowy palms and stepped out into the sands. She picked up the hem to her long skirt as the tiny grains sent pricks of heat through the balls of her feet. The sea wind had a salty freshness as it blew her hair back off her shoulders. She wore it wild lately. She liked it free and loose without chemicals. And it was growing past her shoulders. The doctor told her that it was her hormones. She was inclined to believe him.

Walking out to the shore, she squinted at the faint hint of a sailboat along the coast. Every time she saw a yacht or boat, her mind and heart would offer her little release. But she was stronger now. The past was where she left it. Daisy was gone. She moved her hand with the round smooth mound of her belly. She wasn’t a preacher’s kid, a girlfriend, a whore. Daisy smiled. “I’m a mother.”

She lifted her eyes to the soft radiance of the sun as another balmy breeze wafted over her and blew her skirt east. Six months pregnant, three more to go, and she would have the life she’d never dream. A life on her terms.

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