The Big Blind (Nadia Wolf) (35 page)

I spied him as I entered the room. He was near the unlit fireplace with the towel wrapped loosely around him. Perhaps he just needed me to reciprocate what he gave me our first night together. We could leave the sex part for six months from now. I’d desperately need it then. I smirked as the idea swirled in my brain. Hell, why not? It would keep him thinking about our planned date.

I snuck up behind him. He was so engaged in his phone call he didn’t see or hear me. I looped my finger into the towel and tugged, letting it fall to the floor. Greyson was about to pick it up when I wrapped my arms around him. He turned to look at me. My eyes must have told the whole story because he said into the phone, “I think I need to go.”

I shook my head.

He arched his brow. “I don’t have to go?”

I whispered, “No.”

He continued his phone conversation while watching my every move. I made sure to stay quiet while I kissed his chest and then moved lower to his abs. I kept my eye on him as I continued to move lower. His eyes grew wider and wider, until. . . “Oh, sweetheart!”

“Uh, no, not you,” he said into the phone. “Never mind. Just go on with what you were saying.” Greyson tried to grasp my arm to stand me up.

I smiled at him but stayed where I was.

He was growing tenser by the moment. It was taking everything he had to hold back. It made me want him more. I gave him more play time, grabbing his butt as my tongue flicked and teased. He groaned.

“No, I just stubbed my toe. I seriously need to go. Call me back when you have the release ready. No. . . . not release . . . the . . . whatever it is you’re doing,” he said and hung up.

“Nadia, get up now,” he growled.

I peeked up with a smirk. “I’m just giving you a goodbye gift.”

“It’s time for me to give you a goodbye gift.”

My eyes widened. “No, it’s okay.”

“No, really. I need to properly thank you for making me sound like an ass on the phone. Look, I’m even turning off my phone.”

I chuckled as I hurried away. He had me within his reach in a few steps, my towel was ripped away. He captured me and carried me to the bed where we both fell on it. He landed firmly on top of me.

Greyson grinned at me before he slid lower. I grasped at him to pull him back.

“It’s my gift,” he said.

I felt his warm breath, the stubble on his face, his lips, and then . . .
oh, God!

Chapter 28

I laid on top of Greyson trying to regulate my breath. “Greyson, I don’t think we can gift anymore. I’m all gifted out.”

“Are you all gifted out for six months?”

“I think I’m gifted out for two years.”

“Good.”

My phone buzzed. I reached to grab it off the nightstand. It was a text from an unknown number. It must be David.

Watch the morning news. It’s my wedding gift to you.

Wedding gift?
I showed the message to Greyson. His eyebrows shot up. He flipped on the television and found the station. I shrugged on a robe.

“It should be on in a couple of minutes,” he said.

“Why did he say wedding gift? It doesn’t make any sense.”

“He likes to egg me on. This is just another way to mess with me.”

“Gee, I didn’t know marrying me would be a source of conflict.”

“You misunderstood me.”

“It’s on,” I said. My eyes widened as I watched the video of an aerial view of a house on fire. It looked like Dagor’s house.

An eight building explosion lit up the Vegas skyline last night as fire and emergency crews responded to the calls. All buildings, including a house, belonging to Dagor Moliente are reduced to ashes. As crews sift through the wreckage, no casualties have been found. Investigators say this was no accident as several explosives and accelerants were used to make the powerful explosions. Police are still looking for Dagor Moliente.

Greyson and I looked at each other briefly but didn’t have time to say any thing when the next story hit.

In other news, Lost City Casino has been found with dirty money. A printing press in the casino was found pumping out millions of dollars worth of counterfeit money. Jason Biggs has been arrested for counterfeiting and attempted murder. Greyson Miller, CEO of the Rotunda Casinos, found the printing press late last night in a storage room at the Lost City Casino. He was shot by Jason Biggs moments later. Sources say Miller is already out of the hospital and recovering. Workers who were the last to see Greyson Miller say he was planning on marrying professional poker player Nadia Wolf this weekend. No word on if the wedding will proceed.

I heard an “eek” and running footsteps down the hall. Mya burst through the doors and squealed, “You didn’t tell me you’re getting married! I’m so happy!”

“It was a joke,” I said to Greyson. “They can’t really think we’re getting married.”

“It looks like they did,” he said. He watched Mya who was still bouncing up and down. “Mya, it’s not true. Nadia and I don’t have any plans to get married. In fact, we aren’t going to see each other for six months.”

Mya’s smile fell. “Six months?”

“I have to repair the casino and get it back on its feet. If I tried to date Nadia during that time, both of you would end up hating me.”

“But . . .”

“It’s okay, Mya,” I said. “I’m flying to South America tomorrow.”

Greyson turned to me. “You are?”

I shrugged. “Frankie told me when we got back.”

“Mya, can you give Nadia and I a moment? We need to get ready to go.”

“Sure.” Mya closed the door on her way out.

“So, do I need to be worried about fighting off a Brazilian or Argentinean man?”

“According to our agreement, I’m free for six months. I might have a desire to try out the South American
men
u.” I kept my poker face in full force. I nearly let out a laugh, but I wanted to see what Greyson had to say.

He growled instead. “Just remember our date in six months.”

“Six months is so far away. I’ve heard South American men are known for their sexual prowess.”

Greyson eyed me. “You’re just screwing with me. I can see right through your poker face.”

I chuckled. “I need to get back to work. My poker face is suffering.”

He kissed my forehead. “Come on. I’ll scrub you down in the shower. You can work on your poker face while I try my hardest to break it.”

Frankie dropped me off at the airport. He called to me as I was rushing through the departure door.

“Don’t forget to send me a postcard. Make sure to give me status updates so I can update the website.”

I gave him a wave and ran to the departures. A long line brought me to a dead halt. There was no way I could check my bag and make it to the gate before it boarded. I already had my ticket Frankie preprinted. I’d have to abandon my bag if I wanted to catch the plane.

I’m going to kill Frankie. I told him I didn’t need to color coordinate. Just give me jeans and a hoodie and I’m good to go.

I left my bag behind a plant and called Frankie to return and pick it up. I rushed to security. It was another long line, but they had enough stations opened to whisk me through with five minutes to spare.

I raced through the crowded airport.
This is ridiculous!
Why am I bothering killing myself to board a plane to a place I don’t want to go to?

What did I have to keep me in Vegas anyways? Just another day sitting at a poker table. I guess I might as well sit at a poker table where I don’t understand the language. It could help my game.

The attendant scanned my ticket, and I raced down the gateway. I skidded on the plane.

I was seat C11. I read the numbers as I made my way down the aisle. I stopped at C and D 11. I slid into my seat and took a breath before I peeked at my seat neighbor.

“Oh, come on!” I cried. It was Caleb. I scrambled out of my seat to make a dash for the door.

“It’s too late,” he said. “They closed the doors.”

He was right. The doors were closed. “What’s going on? Why are you here?”

“I’m playing in the Latin poker tour. Why are you here? I heard you were going to marry Greyson this weekend.”

“Frankie said I was playing in the tournament. That other thing is a rumor.”

“Where are you staying?”

I shuffled through the papers Frankie gave me. “Hotel Destino del Sur.”

“That’s where I’m staying. Do you know what room?”

“Frankie scribbled in the corner. It looks like the Romantico Suite.”

“Frankie set you up with this?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Nadia, I’m booked in the Romantico Suite.”

My eyes widened as his turned hungry.

“Looks like I’m collecting on my weekend sooner than I foresaw. Here I thought the Romantico Suite would be wasted.”

I gulped.

There was a brief commotion a few rows behind us. I turned to see what the problem was.

“Sir, you can have a drink once we’re in the air, and you’re not allowed to touch any of the flight attendants. This is your last warning, or you’ll be escorted off the plane,” a flight attendant said.

“Alright, baby,” Dagor said. “Just get me that drink as soon as we’re in the air. If you want a little something after duty, you know where I am.”

The flight attendant hurried down the aisle to distance herself from Dagor. I didn’t blame her. His gaze followed her until she flew past me. His eyes widened at the sight of me seated only a few rows in front. He reddened briefly, but an evil sneer crept on his face. He formed a gun with his hand and squeezed the imaginary trigger at me. He mouthed, “You’re dead.”

I quickly turned in my seat to evade Dagor’s line of vision. He had to be fleeing from the police and was heading to the same destination. A killer was on the plane with me. He was only a few rows behind me and could sneak up and kill me while I was napping at thirty-thousand feet. Or he might wait and shoot me outside my hotel. Either way, my one-way ticket didn’t seem like my biggest problem anymore. It seemed like a promise.

“Nadia, what’s wrong? You’re turning white,” Caleb said.

“I need to get off this plane.”

Caleb peeked out the window. “We’re on the runway. You’re not getting off this plane anytime soon. If you’re afraid to fly, I can help you forget you’re on a plane.” He smiled and took my hand into his. He brought my hand up to his lips where he softly kissed the tip of each finger. I watched intently as he placed each kiss so carefully and with an underlying agenda, giving the kisses so much more meaning. “Since you aren’t marrying Greyson this weekend, I’ll be collecting on our wager you lost.”

The plane raced down the runway and soared into the sky. I was pressed back into my seat before I could argue. Caleb wanted to collect on his wager. Dagor was going to kill me. And I was on a plane to South America with no money and no way of returning home.

I’m going to kill Frankie!

Continue the adventure and read the next exciting Nadia Wolf novel!

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