Loving The Temperamental Adonis
Chapter 291 - 29

Chapter 291: Chapter 29

The casino he took her to was only a few miles from the hotel, and it was a large private club where the members spoke an amazing variety of foreign languages and the table limits were very high because he’d taken her to the VIP section where it was obvious was meant for wealthy men to place their bet.

On the way there, Liam had described the casino as "Wealthy man’s paradise," which Rayne now realized translated into an atmosphere that was elegant, sophisticated, and subdued. It was an atmosphere that suited him perfectly, Rayne thought.

Wearing an impeccably tailored navy blue suit, dark gray shirt, and pale navy blue tie, he personified elegant sophistication and calm self-assurance.

The only resemblance between the casinos she’d been to in the past and this one was that gambling was legal in both. In fact, the only times she’d ever seen casinos like this were in movies and she’d never imagined herself to be in one like this.

Trying not to look as if she’d never been inside a place like this, or been around people like this, Rayne glanced past baccarat and roulette tables populated by wealthy men with large stacks of chips in front of them and well-kept women with glittering jewels at their wrists and throats.

"Are you looking for something in particular?" Liam asked.

"Yes," Rayne replied, flashing him a laughing look, "Tom Cruise."

"You’ll have to settle for me tonight."

"I can do that," she replied unhesitatingly, and he grinned.

"My original question referred to what game you prefer," Liam explained, suppressing the impulse to put his arm around her as they walked so the men staring at her would know who she belonged to.

"I prefer whatever game I can win money playing."

"In that case, we need to leave now," he joked.

"Don’t underestimate me, I’m very lucky at cards." She said with her chin up.

Liam grinned as he found her cute. "How is your luck at blackjack?"

"It depends."

"Then blackjack it is!" He smiled.

They found two seats together at a blackjack table, and although Rayne inwardly shuddered at the $1000 minimum, she opened her purse and resolutely withdrew her prepaid travel card before she sat down. "I need to withdraw $5000 from this first to cash out."

"I intended to back you or I wouldn’t have brought you here." Liam pointed out when she brought out her own card, while looking around for an ATM machine.

"I can’t gamble with your money. One of the things my father taught me was that a lady always gambles with her own money, or she doesn’t gamble at all."

"Your father seemed to be a very interesting man," Liam replied drily as she turned and walked away, heading toward the ATM machine nearby.

With an unconscious smile, he watched her walk, admiring her natural grace and the way her flame-colored hair changed from waves into thick curls below her shoulders.

"Bella donna." the man on Liam’s right remarked, his gaze also following Rayne.

"Yes, she is," Liam replied.

He signaled to the dealer and filled out the usual form to withdraw money using his line of credit. "Make sure the young lady doesn’t run out of chips when she needs more," Liam instructed the dealer as he began gathering his chips.

"Of course, Mr. Thompson."

An hour later, Rayna was $4,400 ahead, and Liam had stopped playing to watch Rayne play her hand.

It was clear from the start that she knew when to take another card, when to keep the cards she had, and when to double her bet. When she followed the standard strategy, she won a lot. What intrigued him even more was that sometimes, on a hunch, she would do the opposite of what was expected—and still win.

Unfortunately, her intuitive decisions made it difficult for the other players to predict her actions, causing them to make mistakes with their own hands.

Liam wondered if she realized this when she pushed her chips towards the dealer and said, "I’d like to cash these in, please." Then she turned to the four men at the table and added politely, "I apologize if my decisions disrupted your game. It’s hard for me to ignore my instincts once I have them."

The Italian man who had spoken to Liam earlier grinned broadly at her, lifted her hand, and kissed it in sheer gratitude. "È una donna bellissima e darei qualsiasi cosa per portarla via da te!" he exclaimed to Liam.

Caught between surprise and disbelief at the man’s actions, Rayne gathered up her winnings while the man spoke animatedly in Italian to Liam, whose face hardened. His voice was subtly cold as he replied to the man in Italian, his expression telling Rayne that he wasn’t pleased with whatever the man said.

"What was that all about?" Rayne asked as they walked away from the puzzled man.

"He noticed that you’re not only very beautiful, but you are also very lucky at blackjack."

"He said more than that. He asked you a question, too, because you shook your head and answered him in a rather chilly voice."

Liam grinned at her. "Did I sound chilly? That was rude of me then, and I’m rarely rude."

"What did he ask you?" Rayne persevered.

"He asked if I would be willing to share you with him so that he would have not only the benefit of your body but also, perhaps, your good fortune at cards."

Rayne snorted in disgust and shook her head. "He’s an old letch, and I’m disgusted by his kiss."

Liam’s shoulders shook with laughter at her words, and he suppressed another strong urge—the urge to snatch her up into his arms and indulge in a public display of affection.

"What did you say to him then?"

"It’s difficult to translate it in English accurately."

"Give it a try."

"Loosely translated, I told him that he’s an old letch, and that you’re disgusted by his kiss."

Rayne laughed, but she wasn’t buying it. "That’s not what you said."

Liam bent his head and whispered against her cheek, "I told the letch to get his own woman because I wasn’t going to share mine with him," then he straightened and continued walking as if having his lips on her cheek had been the farthest thing from his mind.

Rayne’s heart did a somersault at hearing Liam refer to her as his "woman," but she knew it was just a figure of speech, and she tried not to think it meant anything else.

She had a wonderful time for the rest of the evening, even though she lost half her winnings.

Liam gambled with the same effortless competence with which he did everything else, but what particularly fascinated Rayne was his reaction to several women who made frank obvious seductive gestures to him during the evening.

He had no reaction; he simply acted as if the women were invisible without sparing any of them a second glance. Either he was so accustomed to it that he didn’t notice, or else he didn’t enjoy being looked at like a delicious sexual feast. Rayne preferred to think the latter was true.

---

Shortly after midnight, when they’d finished gambling, they stopped in an intimate little restaurant on the first floor of the casino, where a young beautiful singer was singing on the platform with a guitar in hand.

They found an empty table, and while the singer, with her beautiful voice launched into the familiar lyrics of ’All Of Me,’ Rayne watched Liam sit down, unbutton his jacket, lean back in his chair, and casually stretch his long legs out.

That picture of him—relaxed, handsome, and utterly at ease in an exclusive private casino—imprinted itself on Rayne’s heart while the words to the song entwined around his image, framing it.

Trying to hide her admiring smile, she put her elbows on the table and leaned her chin downward on her folded hands, watching him from beneath her lashes.

A moment later, he evidently felt that a waiter should have already arrived, so he lifted his head an inch and glanced to his right with a trace of a frown.

Two female waiters materialized from opposite directions, almost colliding with each other in their haste to answer his summons, and Rayne muffled a smile with a little clearing of her throat.

In her father’s restaurant, she’d seen and witnessed how female waiters go crazy at the sight of a handsome man, but she’d never seen them look so obvious. But then, she didn’t blame them, not when she herself was smitten by him.

"How does white wine sound?" he asked while the waiter stood beside him.

"Fine, thank you," Rayne said, knowing she’d have only a sip. Still amused by her observations, she turned her head, watching the singer, a smile hovering at her lips.

Liam ordered their drinks and then mistook the reason for her smile. "Are you especially fond of that song?"

Rayne nodded. "Of course."

Feeling a little self-conscious because she could feel his eyes on her, Rayne glanced down at the table and realized his hand was resting beside hers, less than an inch away.

The sight of his long fingers lying so close to hers enthralled her and did crazy things to her innocent heart. Telling herself that she was being naive and foolish, she finally pulled her gaze away.

Liam’s head was bent, his gaze fixed intently on their hands, just as hers had been. Slowly, he lifted his hand, and then he laid it over hers.

Rayne felt a thrill run through her entire body. Swallowing, she watched to see if he had any noticeable reaction at all. He tightened his grip on her hand and interlocked their fingers together.