High Stakes by Cheryl Douglas Read Free Book Online

the sparks ignited a fire that lit
him up inside. Every nerve ending was on high alert as he plunged in and out of
her mouth, letting his lips travel over her jaw, down her neck, to the swell of
her exposed breasts.
    “Liam,” she said, pushing against his
shoulders, “I need to be sure about this… about you.”
    He tried to leash his irritation as her
words settled over him. He was moving too fast; he needed to figure out how to
slow this down before he scared her away. “You’re right.” He held her face
between his hands as he leaned his head against her forehead. “You finish
getting ready. I’m gonna jump in the shower.” A nice, cold shower.
    She looped her thumbs through his belt loops.
There was no way for either of them to ignore the presence of his arousal
between them, letting her know how much it cost him to walk away from her now.
“I didn’t mean to—”
    “Don’t,” he said, pressing a chaste kiss to
her lips. “Don’t say another word. I just need a few minutes to pull myself
together.”

Chapter Five
     
    Alisa was suitably impressed when Liam led
her to a small but elegant private dining room set with a table for two. “This
is lovely,” she said, taking the seat their host held for her. “Thank you.”
    “My pleasure, ma’am.” He turned to Liam.
“Sir, shall I bring the wine you requested?”
    Liam smiled at him. “Yes, thank you,
Robert.”
    The man seemed pleased Liam thought to
address him by name, though he wore a gold name plate affixed to his black-and-white
uniform. “Okay, tell me the real story. You said you were in the hospitality
industry, but I’m getting the impression that you’re a pretty big player in
that game.”
    Alisa had spent enough time in her father’s
company to observe how people treated VIPs and Liam definitely commanded
preferential treatment.
    He folded his arms over his broad chest and
watched her carefully for a lingering moment before he said, “Okay, you got me.
Last name’s Bryson.”
    “Bryson?” She let his announcement settle
over her before she said, “You’re Liam Bryson. This is your hotel chain?” She
rolled her eyes. “No wonder they treat you like royalty around here.” She took
a sip from her water glass before she asked, “Why were you so reluctant to tell
me who you are?”
    He shrugged his broad shoulders. “Women
tend to see only the dollar signs when they meet me.”
    Her eyes traveled over his well-cut black
suit before coming back to rest on his handsome face. “I can assure you, the
last thing I think about is money when I look at you.”
    He smirked. “I’m relieved to hear that.”
    She had spent her entire life around
wealthy celebrities—her father, Ty, Nikki, Tori, her fiancé—and she knew people
treated them differently because of their wealth and fame. She couldn’t blame
Liam for being discreet. In fact, she kind of admired him for it. Many men
would have used that to try and entice her, but he seemed determined to
downplay it. “I know it’s not easy. My father is Trey Turner.” Since he was
honest with her, she felt she owed him the same measure of respect. “And my fiancé
is… uh, was Nick Sinclair.”
    He closed his eyes for a brief moment, and
when he opened them to look at her, she was surprised to see the tense set of
his jaw. “Is he still in the picture?”
    “Who? Nick?”
    “Yes.”
    Dare she tell him that Nick called her
every other week, begging for another chance? “He, uh, still calls me from time
to time.”
    “Are you still sleeping with him?”
    She didn’t know why she was so surprised by
his direct question. He obviously didn’t waste time worrying about diplomacy.
“No.”
    “Good.”
    “You’re willing to take me at my word, just
like that?”
    “I don’t really have a choice, do I?” Liam
glanced at the waiter, who was opening the bottle of wine he requested and
pouring a sample into his glass. He swirled the burgundy liquid around, brought
it to his lips,