12. Bree

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"You guys could at least letme make conversation," I say to the twins as we walk back to the hotel after hours shopping and touring all I could.

As I go, I take it all in and I wonder if I can talk Declan into coming with me to tour other places. Walking around Vegas is so much fun!

Wait. Why am I wanting to spend more time with Declan? It's not that I'm falling for him. It has nothing to do with that. He's just been a good distraction, that's all. And since the twins are keeping me from escaping, he's the only distraction I have.

That and shopping, but I've done that for so long now that my feet and calves ache, even though I'm wearing flats.

"Sorry, Mrs. Burke," Sean mumbles, and I look back at him.

"You can speak?"

Finn laughs. "We both can, ma'am." It comes out, in his Irish brogue, like "mum."

"Good to know."

They follow me up to the hotel penthouse, bringing in all my things. They start to leave, but I stop them. "Hey. Do either one of you know how to play Blackjack?"

That's how thirty minutes later, I'm sitting cross-legged on the floor with two Irish mobsters who outweigh me by about a hundred pounds together, playing Blackjack.

"Hit me," I say, and Sean looks at my three cards incredulously. "Just hit me," I growl, and he slips me a card.

I groan, seeing that I went over.

"That's your problem," Finn says, throwing down his cards—a King and a nine. "You keep worrying about getting twenty-one. Instead of trying to make twenty-one, just get as high as you can without going over. Most times, you'll win the hand that way."

"Let's play again. Finn, you deal this time."

We play for a while longer, and finally, I start to beat Sean.

I narrow my eyes at him. "Are you letting me win?"

He grins. "Guilty."

I throw down my cards. "I'm gonna beat Declan at Blackjack if it kills me."

Sean laughs. "You won't beat Declan, dearie. He's a card shark, you know?"

"He is?" I have to admit that I suspected, given his sister's stories. "Does he cheat?"

He shakes his head, frowning. "Never. Irishmen don't cheat."

My father does.

I don't know why I thought that. He's cheated here and there at small games that we played, but I don't know if he does it in business. I don't like thinking that way about my father, and I shake my head to clear it.

"When will Declan come back?"

Finn shrugs. "It's getting dark. He should be back soon."

As if on cue, Declan comes in the door, stumbling a bit, and I look up at him. He frowns, seeing me sitting on the floor, and Sean and Finn scramble up.

"What's this?"

I kick the cards so they scatter as I stand up. "We were just playing Solitaire."

"Isn't Solitaire a solo game?"

Finn and Sean exit the room, and Declan kicks off his shoes, falling onto the bed.

"You smell like wine."

Declan nods. "Let's just say John and his friends like their booze," he mumbles.

"How'd it go?" I climb into bed with him, and he shrugs.

"It was fine. I was just relaying some messages, but James was not the most in the most attentive mood."

I frown.

"Never mind. John's friends left before I did, and John Renno and I were able to finally get everything sorted after a few more glasses of red."

"Well, you'd better sober up. We're going back to the casino. Plus, I'm hungry."

"You can order room service," he groans, but I shake my head, bouncing on the bed just to annoy him.

"No, it's our honeymoon, and you're going to take your wife to dinner and gambling. We leave tomorrow, right?"

"Tomorrow evening. And we've already switched hotels to Caesar's Palace, what else do you want?"

"I want you to take me to dinner and the casino," I repeat stubbornly, and he opens one eye, looking up at me.

"Okay." He gives me a half-smile. "I'll go wash my face."

I cheer, going to the closet to bring out my other evening gown –a black one with a slit up the side.

I put it on while he's in the bathroom, sliding on a pair of heels. I wince. My feet and ankles are starting to get sore from wearing heels, but it's worth it for how good I look.

It's worth it for the way that Declan looks at me when he gets back out of the bathroom.

He hums, putting a hand on the small of my back as we leave. He's still wearing a suit, although he's discarded the jacket so he's just in a shirt and vest. He looks amazing, though, because it's tailored tightly around his trim waist, showing off the broadness of his chest.

We head down to the restaurant, and they seat us right away.

I look over the menu, which has no prices, but at this point, I don't care. I have enough money stashed in my purse from shopping to gamble all night.

Declan orders a chicken salad, and I raise an eyebrow at him while I order steak and lobster.

"Don't want to overwhelm my stomach," he admits. "I had quite a lot of wine."

I laugh. "How drunk are you?"

"There's not two of you, so I guess I'm doing okay."

I smirk at him. "Well, I need to drink a bit to catch up, then."

But Declan shakes his head. "One of us should be alert."

I pout. "All right, fair enough."

Declan doesn't order a drink either, just water, and I order ginger beer, wishing I could have a Moscow Mule.

When the food arrives, he picks at his salad.

"Are you sure it went okay?"

"Yeah, it was fine." He smiles. "I guess I was worried I'd come back and you'd still be mad at me."

"Mad is kind of an understatement to how I feel about you, Declan."

He shrugs. "Well, I thought we were making some progress."

"We were." What's the point in pretending? I'm getting more comfortable in this whole situation. If you go along with something long enough, you can get used to anything.

"Then let's not let it be ruined." There's an edge of pleading to his voice.

I smile. "All right. That's why I wanted to come out, you know? I thought we could spend a little more time having fun before we go home."

"I am having fun with you." He looks away and then back at me.

"Me too," I murmur, before biting into a piece of melt-in-your-mouth steak.

Declan seems to rally after a couple of glasses of water and food, and we go to the casino after we leave the restaurant.

I take his hand, leading him immediately to the Blackjack table.

"You're playing against me?"

I grin. "Sean and Finn taught me how to play. What, you scared I'll win?"

He snorts and puts down money on the table to bid.

I get a face card but then so does the dealer, so I narrow my eyes.

"Hit me," I tell the dealer, and wonder of wonders, he gives me an ace. I try my best not to let it show on my face, and Declan bets against me.

The dealer takes a hit and stands at twenty, while Declan is at nineteen.

I show my card.

"Blackjack, for the lady!" the dealer says, pushing the chips toward me, and I cheer.

I've won about ten thousand dollars since we were the only ones in the round.

I grab up the chips, cackling.

Declan puts a hand on my arm. "That was just beginner's luck. Let's go again."

Three hands later, I've lost all my money and another three hundred dollars, and I'm flagging. Other people have come to the table, and Declan is fleecing them for all their worth, but I start to see the casino workers kind of watching us.

I stop bidding and head over to Declan, placing a hand on his arm and gesturing to the guards standing around.

"That's it for me," Declan says, winning his final round. The crowd boos, but Declan grabs my elbow in one hand and his winnings in the other and swiftly takes me to cash out.

As we wait for the money to be counted, guards are still eyeing and pointing at us, and my heart starts to race.

Declan grabs me and the bag of money and we start to jog toward the elevator. When we close the doors, the guards head our way.

My heart is beating out of my chest. "Are we in trouble?"

"Not if they don't catch us." Declan winks at me. "I'll call the twins, get them to grab our things."

"Where are we going?"

"Back to the Four Seasons."

"But…your credit card—" They have his card on file at the hotel.

He grins. "Not mine, sweetheart. I don't book under the Burke name. That's trouble waiting to happen."

"You're trouble waiting to happen," I murmur, but I am so turned on right now I can barely stand myself.

I've grown up among mobsters and thugs, but never a card shark. This is exciting, and I can't deny that it's making me hotter and hotter.

We go to the parking garage instead of upstairs, and Declan makes the call to Sean.

"Grab our stuff, meet us at the Seasons." He hangs up.

Sean is apparently trained not to ask questions.

Declan and I grab his car at the valet, and he takes off when we get inside.

We make it back to the Four Seasons without delay, and I grab his hand while we're inside, dragging him to the hotel room.

"Text Sean to keep our stuff until tomorrow. Tonight, I want you to myself."

"Oh?" He raises an eyebrow, but by the time we get into the room, I can tell that he's exhausted. It"s nearing two in the morning, and he's been working all day.

I don't believe he simply talked to the Rennos, especially since he seems to be favoring his right shoulder.

"Maybe we should just sleep tonight." I try to take deep breaths and calm myself down, and Declan groans.

"I'm sorry, princess. It's just been a long day."

"I can see that." I unbutton his shirt and pull it off him.

He winces, and sure enough, there's a huge bruise on the back of his right shoulder blade.

"Just relaying information, my ass."

"You know I can't tell you everything I do."

"Didn't say you had to. But you should tell me when you're hurt," I insist. "I never would have dragged you out."

"You had fun, didn't you?"

I unbutton his slacks, and he steps out of them when they fall on the floor.

I turn and let him unzip my dress. It pools on the floor, and I'm wearing a teddy underneath, a dark green one that I think shows off my eyes.

"This is just mean." Declan pouts as he looks me up and down, and I laugh.

"You're too tired for sex. And to tell you the truth, my dogs are barking from all the shopping."

"It's like a real honeymoon." He chuckles. "Everyone always does too much."

I laugh, pushing him down in the bed and crawling on top of him. It isn't sexual, though, just wanting to touch him, and he drags his hands along my shoulders and my bare arms.

I kiss him softly, sliding over to the side of him so I don't put weight on his bad shoulder.

He turns onto his good side, putting his arms around me and pulling me close.

I turn to kiss his cheek, and he's already nearly dozing.

I have to admit, today has been a dream, and it feels safe in his arms.

I had this plan to save money from gambling to get away from him, but I can't keep myself from enjoying his company and just being here. I've just been acting like this is a real honeymoon.

I've been acting like a real wife, and it's scary.

Do I have feelings for Declan? If I do, is it just some kind of weird reaction to spending so much time together?

I've got to get my head together. Why doesn't he feel like the enemy he is supposed to be? Why do I feel more like I belong with him than I ever felt since my mom left me?