Bet Me, Baby - Vegas Baby

Becket rolled over and wrapped his hand around my middle before I could scamper off the bed. “What’s wrong, sweetheart?”

I dropped my head against his chest and squeezed my eyes shut. “I can’t win a tournament unless I play in it, and I never made it to registration.”

Becket tilted my head back and pressed a gentle kiss against my lips before reassuring me, “You don’t have to skip the tournament. Drew had his assistant add you to the registration.”

“He did?” I grinned at him. “That’s so awesome! I’ll have to hunt him down to say thanks at some point today.”

His eyes narrowed, and he pulled me closer. “Fuck no! Your gratitude belongs to me, just like the rest of you. Besides which, I already thanked him for us.”

“You’re picturing something along the lines of how we apologize to each other, aren’t you?” I squirmed a little, thinking about all the ways I could express my appreciation to Becket.

“Maybe.” He flashed me a grin and kissed me again, deeper this time.

I reluctantly pulled away from him to glance at the clock on the bedside table. “I hate to say this, but it’s going to have to wait until after the tournament since I barely have enough time to pop some pain relievers and get dressed before I need to head downstairs.”

“Shit, sweetheart. I should’ve grabbed you some pills and water first thing this morning.” After he slid off the mattress and padded into the bathroom, I went over to the closet to grab my outfit for the day. I paused in dressing to swallow down the ibuprofen he handed me and spent maybe five minutes on my hair and makeup once I was done.

“You look fucking amazing.” Becket came up and wrapped his arms around me. Our eyes briefly met in the mirror before I turned in his hold to stare up at him. “Ready to conquer the poker world?”

I nodded. “Damn straight.”

We walked hand-in-hand out of the room and to the elevator. “Sorry we had to rush this morning.” I traced my finger up his palm. “I promise to make it up to you later.”

“You don’t need to apologize. I had to get up anyway since I’m dealing at the tournament. But we’ll add that thank you owe me to our celebration of your big win. Plan for a long night.” He winked at me right as the elevator doors slid open.

I loved how confident he was of my capabilities, but I wasn’t quite so sure that I’d win this one. “There might not be anything to celebrate. It’s going to be so hard to concentrate, knowing that I could be sitting across from the person who shoved me in that closet.”

Becket pulled me over to a corner and cupped my cheeks with his hands. “Don’t give that fuckhead another thought. You won’t be seeing him ever again, let alone playing in a tournament against him.”

“I won’t?” I reached out to grab his arms and held on as relief coursed through my veins and made me a little weak in the knees.

“Knox already tracked his ass down, beat the shit out of him for me because I didn’t want to leave you alone, and handed him over to the cops. By the time he was through with him, the motherfucker was more than willing to explain to the cops how he figured he’d be a shoo in to win with you out of the way. So he drugged you and tied you up in a closet to stop you from registering. With his confession, they won’t need you in court,” Becket explained.

I wasn’t stunned that they’d found the guy so quickly considering the level of security at the Lennox. But knowing Becket placed my need for him—even while I was sleeping and might not have noticed he was gone—over his desire for retribution left me speechless. “Oh.”

His thumbs swept over the perfect circle my lips formed. “I can’t wait to see these wrapped around my cock tonight.” I thought about getting a taste of him and my tongue darted out to wet them, making him groan. “Are you sure you need to win this tournament?”

The reasons it’d been vital to me only a few short days ago no longer seemed quite as important now that Becket was in my life. My parents might never understand the life I’d chosen to lead, but he did. And it’s not like they didn’t still love me anyway. “As long as I have you, no.”

His lips crashed down on mine, claiming my mouth in a deep kiss. When he finally lifted his head, I was seriously thinking about tugging him back into the elevator so we could head back to my suite. Before I could suggest it, he blew me away with his declaration. “That’s something you’ll never have to worry about. You’ve got me forever, sweetheart.”