Bet on Me (2 page)

That had been exciting. The lurking had been exciting too, and had fueled more than a few restless nights. If she had a steady boyfriend she trusted implicitly with her…

If she had Wyatt with her? Oh my.

No, she had no issue with complete strangers watching her do anything with him.

Reading her thoughts, Akira spoke. “Come. Bring him. I want more contacts in the Vegas market. I also want to see him naked.”

“I wish.” Tatiana shook her head, regretful already. “We need to be here next weekend. Wyatt has an event he can’t miss.”

“Damn it.” Akira arched a perfectly plucked eyebrow. “I would be happy to host something smaller this week. Locally.”

“Something smaller, huh?” Tatiana pursed her lips, amused and intrigued. “I don’t know…”

“Sorry if I’m overstepping.” Akira traced Tatiana’s necklace with her gaze and then a fingertip. She reached the loop around her neck and gave a gentle tug. Tatiana stiffened and swayed toward the other woman. “I assumed that if Caine inspired your new line, he must be rather creative. Not a vanilla kind of guy.”

“I’m so happy you understood the concept behind the pieces,” Tatiana murmured, catching her breath. The woman’s lack of boundaries was intoxicating, the sexuality she oozed firing Tatiana’s imagination.

Akira flashed a megawatt smile. “Honey, the day I can’t identify sex toys when I see them is the day you can bury me six feet under.”

“To answer your other question, no, Wyatt isn’t…vanilla.” Tatiana whispered the last word, since the gallery manager had circled around, within earshot.

“So. Let’s get together.” Akira bit her lip and leaned in closer, lashes fluttering flirtatiously. “It’ll be fun.”

Akira’s fragrant perfume twined around Tatiana, teasing her with promise. It would be more than fun.

Tatiana glanced Wyatt’s way, but he was hidden from view. The man had been working so hard lately. Managing his business from her home wasn’t a cakewalk, and yet he had done it without complaint. For her. For them.

Sometimes she thought she would burst with the secret of her love for him. She might not be able to tell him yet, but she could do something for him. Something mind-blowing.

Tatiana met Akira’s expectant gaze. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Good girl.” Akira narrowed her eyes, calculation replacing seduction. “In the meantime, I’ll go introduce myself now.”

“I thought you came to see my new line,” Tatiana teased. All of Akira’s hedonism hid an ambition that put Wyatt’s to shame. No surprise networking took precedence over shiny things.

“I saw it. Already bought a bunch. You’ll be busy.”

Tatiana wanted to collapse in relief. Akira didn’t buy crap, even from her friends. The offhand comment was more valuable than any ringing endorsement or review.

Even if no one else buys anything, you did okay.

An artist’s insecurities were a terrible thing. Right up there with relationship insecurities.

Akira took a step away before spinning back. “I won’t steal him away from you,” she blurted out. “Either now or later.”

Tatiana bit the inside of her cheek. She supposed Akira might have to occasionally deal with jealous females, but she was hardly one of them. “Whore, please.”

Last week, Wyatt had visited Tatiana’s studio, a sun-drenched warehouse not far from her small apartment. While she worked, her fidgeting hands became deft and sure, her focus laser sharp. A fascinating thing to watch.

This was a different aspect of her work, and it was no less interesting. His clever, dreamy, occasionally vulgar girlfriend had tugged on her more polished persona to schmooze wealthy patrons and solicit the highest price for her art. Prices even he, despite his deep pockets, raised an eyebrow over.

Wyatt allowed himself a small smile and leaned against the bar, content to take his time getting their drinks. He was in no hurry to rush back to her right this minute. She was speaking with a tall, strikingly pretty Asian woman, and for the first time since they’d walked into this place, she appeared at ease. No need for him to attempt to distract her from her nerves.

He had thought posing as her arm candy would only entail looking on proudly. Like him, she was heavily invested in her work, and he hadn’t believed anything could shake her confidence in her finished product.

He was wrong. Worry had created shadows in her eyes and a line between her brows. Was this how she was during every show? Maybe it was an artist thing.

Glasses clinking on the bar behind him prompted him into turning around. He pulled out cash for the pinot noir and whiskey and thanked the bartender.

“No problem. Sorry for the wait. Always know it’s a good show when people rush the bar later in the evening.”

“It is a good show.” He hoped so. If Tatiana was fretting this much without knowing the sales, he feared she might be despondent if she didn’t do well. That would, of course, make all the attendees blithering idiots. He might be biased, but though everything Tatiana made was stunning, she had outdone herself with the pieces she had crafted over the course of the past year.

You’re my inspiration,
she’d murmured against his ear last week. He would have chalked that up to cooing nonsense, had he not been testing a prototype for her at the time, running a string of pearls between her legs.

Such a clever girl.

“Hello there.” The husky female voice came from his right.

He sipped his whiskey and glanced over to find the woman who had been speaking to Tatiana. “Hello.”

She held out a hand. “Akira Mori.”

The name rang a distant bell. Her hand was slender, but there was nothing delicate about her firm grip. “Wyatt Caine.”

“I’m aware.” She tilted her head. “I’m a friend of Tatiana’s.”

Tatiana might have mentioned someone named Akira a time or two, but Wyatt couldn’t quite recall what those conversations had revolved around. “Good. She could use more friends here.” Here, in the room, as well as in Vegas.

He was a fan of anything that made Tatiana feel at home in this city. Persuading her to even consider living with him had been a herculean task. He was a bit of a loner, but she needed friends to be happy.

“I didn’t realize she was dating you. It’s a surprise.”

“Is it?”

“I’ve heard of you. You don’t seem like her type,” she said frankly.

He raised an eyebrow. Who did this blunt stranger think she was? “We’ve known each other a long time. I suppose Tatiana would know best what her type is.”

“She’s lovely.”

“She is.”

“Unexpected.”

“Unexpected?”

“She looks like she’d be a simple woman, but she has so many layers.” The woman’s black eyes were cold, merciless. “I don’t have many friends. I like to ensure the ones I have are taken care of.”

This was the most bizarre conversation he had ever taken part in. Was this woman warning him? In that case, he should probably tell her that Tatiana’s family had made pointing out his inferiority an art form. He was well aware she was a prize. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Mori, but I really need to…” He trailed off. “Wait. Mori? Are you related to—?”

“Yes.”

“Your father is—”

“Yes.”

“That makes you—”

“Yes.”

“Ah.” He nodded. “Akira Mori. I’ve been to one of your clubs.”

“Good. You have excellent taste.”

No wonder this was weird. He had heard Akira Mori was blunt to the point of being rude, and more than a little eccentric. He scanned his mental databank on the woman, stiffening when he recalled the context in which Tatiana had spoken of her. “You and Tatiana are close?”

Akira picked up the wine he had ordered for Tatiana and took a large gulp. “As close as I am to anyone.”

“I’ve heard about your parties.”

Her lips curled. “Most people have.”

Wyatt worked his jaw. “Tatiana will not be attending any in the near future.”

A delicate sneer crossed her face, freezing when he calmly continued. “Not without me.”

She stilled. “Oh really?”

“Yes.” He knew Tatiana was too passionate to have been celibate during their years apart, but whatever she had done then was her business.

What she did now was his business.

Akira studied him, her fingers tapping the glass. “You’re okay with that, then?”

Tatiana would enjoy herself, little exhibitionist that she was. Lately, his entire life was consumed with pleasing her. Giving her pleasure through sex? Easy. It was whether he was pleasing her in other ways that kept him guessing. Was he making the same mistakes he’d made before? Was she happy? He had tried to mesh their lives together while respecting her world, but he’d had to fly back numerous times during the one month they’d spent in San Francisco. Each time, he’d wondered if she’d still be waiting for him when he returned.

Or would she realize, like everyone else had always known, that she could do so much better? Yes. Sex was easy. It was all these other details that made him feel like he was trying to hold water in his hands. “I want whatever Tatiana wants.”

Akira watched him. “The gossip mill is pretty quiet about you.”

“Is it?”

“Except that you’re a cold bastard.”

“That’s deserved.” He was a cold bastard. Except when he was with Tatiana.

He scanned the small space. With his height, he was able to spot her amongst the sea of other attendees. Her honey-blonde hair was gathered on top of her head in a sexy, haphazard manner that looked like it was one pin away from tumbling down her back. Her tight, curvy body was poured into that simple white dress. The dress, under which she wore no panties. His fingers itched with the desire to wreck her.

She was talking to the gallery manager. Her eye roll was so subtle, if he hadn’t been watching her, he would have missed it. His woman was bored. Probably hungry, too, since nerves and fear her dress wouldn’t fit had kept her from eating before the show.

She shifted, and Wyatt glanced at her three-inch heels. Silly fuck-me shoes that provided little arch support. Her feet were paining her.

Tatiana gave a strained smile and nodded. The light glinted on the chain around her neck.

His eyes narrowed. The necklace was new, a delicate gold braid that was looped around her neck once. There was no closure on this necklace, as there were on most. Both emerald-tipped ends were left to dangle, though she had slipped them inside her bodice.

He focused on her chest, but the material of her dress was too thick to see the chain. Best guess? Those emeralds were snug against her nipples right now. Teasing was what they were designed for, after all.

Bad girl.

A reckless urge rose within him. He couldn’t do anything about her shoes or her belly, but he could play the good arm candy. Boredom and stress were foes he was always up for vanquishing. It probably wasn’t the sanest idea, but sanity and rational thought generally fled when faced with the chance to play with Tatiana.

“You don’t look cold.” Akira leaned close to him, until he could feel her breath against his cheek. “You don’t look cold at all.”

Over a year ago, he might have been tempted by this strange, uninhibited, beautiful woman. But that was before Tatiana had stormed back into his life.

He glanced at Akira. “Excuse me.” He turned back to the bar, pulled out a pen, and quickly scribbled a note on a napkin. He folded it up and snagged a passing waiter. “Can you ensure that the woman…right there…in white gets this?”

The man nodded and accepted the napkin.

Akira waited for the waiter to walk away before speaking. “Funny. I can’t see Tatiana’s teeth from all the way over here. How do you know something’s stuck between them?”

Wyatt twitched his tie into place before smoothing it. Of course she had read over his shoulder. He’d be annoyed if he didn’t feel like she was some odd kindred spirit. And if he didn’t have to attend to his woman in the most delightful way. “It’s been a pleasure to meet you,” he said formally. “If you don’t mind, I need to find the restroom.”

A flash of amused mischief lit her eyes, replacing the icy speculation. “My, Caine. People have you pegged wrong, don’t they?”

“I try not to get pegged at all.”

“Hmmm.” She shook her head. “You people and your layers. Take my word for it, it’s so much easier to be shallow and one-dimensional, you know?”

“I wouldn’t know.” He eyed her. “And I don’t think you do either.”

She merely smiled. He had only taken three steps when she spoke again. “FYI. The ladies’ room is in the opposite direction.”

Tatiana bared her teeth in the mirror. What the hell had Wyatt been talking about? She’d made a horrified excuse upon reading the napkin the server had delivered and fled to the bathroom, but her teeth were perfectly fine.

The door opened, and she blinked at the man who entered. “Wyatt?”

He ignored her and walked into the ladies’ room, big and dark and far too masculine for the ivory marble and rose-gold fixtures. He pushed open both empty stalls and then came for her.

“Wyatt, what the hell are you doing in the—
mmph
.”

He sank his hand into her hair and yanked her close, taking her lips in a hungry kiss. It was rough and forceful, his teeth biting, his tongue rubbing against hers.

One hand slid down her back and grabbed her ass, kneading the flesh. She ripped her mouth away, breathing heavy. “Wyatt, this is the ladies’ room.”

“I don’t care.” Denied, he drew his mouth down her throat, latching on to the patch of skin at the hollow and sucking it between his teeth, hard enough that she knew she’d have a mark tomorrow.

Normally she sneered when a grown man left a hickey on a woman. Such an adolescent thing to do. However, Wyatt had never left marks in visible places when they were teens, for fear her parents would see.

She kind of loved it on the rare occasion he did it now. It was a sign of his lack of control. A sign of their mutual lack of consideration for whether the world saw his possession of her body.

“I know you don’t care.” Her eyes nearly rolled back in her head when he sucked harder. “I don’t think the women who have been drinking wine all night will be so blasé. Alcohol’s a diuretic,” she babbled.