trading herself so cheaply to Alan MacKenzie, Shelby had taken a hard look at herself and her life and she’d promised to never be in that position again. To never be vulnerable to any man. So how exactly had she ended up here—blindfolded with only Hayden’s warm hand in hers to guide her through an unfamiliar world?
Panic raced through her. She heard people moving around her and felt as if she was ten again at Meredith Nelson’s birthday party. Meredith and the other girls had all disappeared when Shelby had donned the pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey mask. When she’d pulled it off, she’d been left all alone. Standing there in the secondhand dress her mother had purchased on the way to the party. Tears burning her eyes, secure in the knowledge that she wasn’t like other kids and would never fit in.
She felt that way again. Being back in Vegas brought all the old insecurities to the surface. It had to be the money thing. Money always triggered that same gut reaction. The blindfold was too much. She reached for the mask.
He caught her fingers, holding both of her hands easily in his grip. “Shh, baby. Don’t panic. I’m right here.”
“I know I did this to you, but I don’t think I like it,” she said.
He leaned down and whispered into her ear, “You look so sweet and sexy. I like the fact that I’m responsible for you. I have to protect you. Will you let me do this?”
“I’m a grown woman, Hayden. I don’t need a man to protect me.”
“Do this for me, please.”
He never said please. She nodded her head. She’d try for him, because he’d done it for her without any complaints. But then she doubted he’d ever been in any situation where he wasn’t comfortable.
“Are you still upset from the blackjack table earlier?”
She had no response to that. No idea how to respond and still preserve what she now knew was her own illusion that she’d fooled him. The show had been nice but all she felt while she’d been sitting there in the dark was that once again she was in the land of make-believe. Surrounded by people who were pretending their real lives didn’t exist.
She felt the warmth of his fingers feathering up her arm, rubbing gently against her skin, wanting her to relax.
“What is going on tonight?” he asked, murmuring his words against the top of her head.
“I don’t want you to think I’m after your money,” she said, blurting out the words. Then she groaned. She’d never meant to say that.
“Honey…”
“Don’t. Let me continue. I’m never going to have as much money as you do. And we’ll never really be social equals. But—”
He stopped the wild flow of words with his mouth. His lips moved over hers with surety and strength, making her feel as if everything was irrelevant except him touching her.
He lifted his head but dropped several small nibbling kisses on her neck before taking her hand in his again. “Follow me.”
She bit her lip and let him tug her along. She realized that her panic with the mask wasn’t only due to the insecurity she’d felt earlier but also had to do with trust. She didn’t trust herself. Didn’t trust that the woman she’d become was real. Didn’t trust that she’d really left behind the young girl she’d been.
Did she trust Hayden? She hadn’t when she’d been twenty. But now…? She’d trusted him with her body; she’d set up her shop here based on the success of his casino. Obviously she was leaning that way, but to have the choice taken from her…To have to trust him to protect her while she couldn’t see wasn’t something she’d been prepared to do.
He stopped walking. She heard him pushing some buttons and then the release of a gate. She was surrounded by the scent of roses and night-blooming jasmine. Hayden wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back so that she was sitting on his lap. He nibbled at her neck and she surrendered to the feelings he always aroused in her.
“What’s in that little bag?” he asked.
“What little bag?” she asked, turning on his lap so that she rested her head on his shoulder. His aftershave was strong at his neck. She scraped her teeth across the nerve-rich area and felt him stir under her hips.
“You know very well which bag I’m referring to,” he said.
His hands roamed up her torso, settling over her breasts. He palmed both of them and she felt them swell and grow heavy under his touch. She reached for the buttons on his shirt, finding them and releasing the top three until she could slip her hand under the cloth and feel his strong, warm pecs. She scraped her fingernail in a random pattern over him and felt his muscle flex under her.
“Stop distracting me. I want to know what’s in that bag. I never did get to see you in the red leather.”
His thumbs were tracing her distended nipples through the material of her blouse. It felt so good that she couldn’t speak for a minute.
“I know. I figured since you were so big on competition, I’d provide you with your own leather.”
He groaned. “Damn, woman, I’m not wearing leather underwear.”
“Come on. I’ll make it worth your while.”
“Like you did with the stripping contest?” he asked. His hand was on her waist and then she felt him pulling her shirt slowly up.
She panicked, gripping his wrists. “Hayden, we’re in a public place, aren’t we?”
He stopped though she knew he was stronger than her and could have pushed her shirt up despite her protests.
“It’s time to decide if you trust me or not.”
She felt a million things at once—nervous, excited, aroused and a little bit upset that she was so aroused. She shifted on his lap, pressing her thighs together and wondering if she could pretend this was just about sex. But she knew it wasn’t. Hayden wanted her trust and if they had any chance of moving forward, she had to give it to him.
With a sigh, she dropped her hands, knowing that Hayden would always keep her safe. It was him trusting her that had always been the issue. She acknowledged she’d never given him a chance to really trust her because she’d been lying to him. But this time Shelby realized she needed to learn to trust herself and stop lying about what she’d been running from.
Hayden knew they were completely secluded here. The garden was his private place to escape from the busy casino. He’d deactivated the cameras to this section and opened the security gate earlier. They were now in a private section of the maze. She was perfectly safe.
He knew he was pushing her, but couldn’t help himself. He wanted—no, needed—to stake his claim on her and he wasn’t going to wait any longer. Making love to her two nights ago had made the fact that she didn’t trust him into a sharp ache. He knew he’d done little in the past to earn her trust, but this time…this time he was determined to do things right.
She let go of his wrists and he slipped his hands under her shirt. Her stomach clenched as he moved his hand over her. She turned to straddle him, draping her thighs over his, and held him
