Kate raced out of the back room, unsure of what she was going to do, but knowing she had to do it.

Wade stood at the front entrance of Vice as she ran toward the door.

“Kate. Long time, no…whoa. Are you okay? Where’s the fire?”

“Is he here?”

“Liam? Yeah, he’s in his office.”

“Please. I need to see him.” She gulped for air. Even the run from the taxi bay had winded her. Sometimes the only thing worse than going on a health food diet was going off it again.

“Sure. I’ll take you.”

She didn’t bat an eye at the statues of naked goddesses or the flashing lights from the slots on the way to the elevator. Not even the goddamn ceiling of smoke made her blink. She remained focused, needing to see Liam. She just needed to know…

The door opened into his office, and there he was. Facing away from them, Liam stood at the window, looking out over the Strip. No suit today. Just a rumpled grey T-shirt and faded jeans. His hair seemed a bit longer in back, and from her angle, she spied a bit more beard growth on his jaw.

He still took her breath away, even with his face turned.

Wade called out. “Liam, you have a visitor.” He ushered her inside and stepped back into the elevator. As the door closed, he gave her a wink.

Liam turned. His lips parted with a breath. “Kate.”

Her heart hammered in her chest. In those torturous seconds, she wanted to fly into his arms. Her eyes watered. Before she could collect her thoughts, a huge sob wracked her chest.

Liam raced over. He grabbed her by the shoulders, holding her gently. “Baby, please don’t cry.”

“You sold them. Your casinos.”

“Yes. My pal Alex took them off my hands.”

“Why?”

His lips turned up on one side into a grin that made her belly ache. “I did it for you, Kate. I did it all for you.”

Kate pulled away. “But I didn’t want this! I didn’t want you to throw away your life for me, Liam. These casinos, you built them up from the ground. They’re part of you.” She crumpled to the carpet and buried her face in her hands.

He joined her on the carpet, sitting in front of her, and pried her hands from her wet face. “Kate, the casinos aren’t me. They’re bricks and mortar and poker chips. They’re illusion and dream.”

He tipped up her chin to make her look at him. His husky eyes no longer bore any hint of fatigue. He looked good. Refreshed. Sexy as hell.

“Look, I sold the casinos for a couple of reasons. I didn’t want you to worry, but I’ve been having some chest pains for a while.”

She stared at his chest, wishing she could see right through it to his heart, to see if it was pumping properly.

“My doctor says I’m okay, but too stressed. He’s been trying to get me to slow down for a while now, so I am. I let these casinos take over my life. Hell, I have a condo I never see. I’m always here.” He stroked her hand, entwining his fingers with hers. “My dad died of heart problems at a young age. I refuse to go down the same road.”

Okay, she could accept that reason.

“Secondly,” he continued, his deep voice making her feel better already. “Like I told you, I always felt bad about taking Shauna’s money to start my business. Well, I’ve decided I need to forgive her. That’s never been easy for me. So in order to finally let her go, I needed to put her money to better use. I’m very comfortable after the sale of the hotels, so I took the amount Shauna gave me and I donated it to New Horizons.”

“That was you? Rod told me about the donation, but I never dreamed... Liam, that was a lot of money.”

“It’s only the beginning. I want to support your group, Kate. It’s time I gave back. You were right. I ignored the problems under my own nose for too long. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not against casinos, but I want to help the people whose lives have been impacted by them.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

Liam drew closer and pulled her onto his lap. “Then let me say a few more things.” He slid his arms around her waist and she wrapped her legs around his hips. “Kate, you told me I needed to hit rock bottom with Michelle. You were right, but that wasn’t my true rock bottom. Rock bottom was when I watched you walk away.”

“Oh, Liam, I’m so sorry.”

“No, don’t be. Turns out I have an addictive personality, and you were my addiction. I treated you like my own personal casino. It was too much, too soon. All of it, including the wild animal sex.” He grinned and the balls of his cheeks reddened. “Although I did enjoy that part.”

“It was okay,” Kate teased.

“Okay, she says.” Liam leaned in and teased her earlobe with his teeth. “I really want to start over and see if we can work our way back to the insane monkey sex.” She giggled and he danced his fingers under her shirt, smoothing them over her waist. “I do love you, Kate. I don’t want to fuck this up.”

“I love you, too.” She gave into temptation and brushed her lips over his neck and collarbone. “I was miserable without you.”

“Me too. Woman, you brought me to my knees. Ask Wade. I was a bear without you.”

Even as she laughed, she continued kissing him, letting her tongue trace the long lines of his neck.

Liam gripped her and pushed he back a bit. “Dammit, sugar. If you keep this up, you’ll be naked instead of letting me do the honorable thing.”

She licked her lips, savoring his taste. “And what would that be?”

He brushed his thumb over her wet lip, his gaze concentrated on her mouth. “I want to take you to dinner. Somewhere other than Vice. I want to discuss our future.”

“Our future?”

He smiled. “If there’s one thing I know, Kate, it’s that I’m never going to watch you walk away again. I did last time because I knew you needed a better man. I wanted to be a better man for you. But this time,” he said, his voice trembling with a low growl. “You’re mine.”

The hairs on her arms stood on end at his wonderfully-possessive tone.

“So,” he said, kissing her. “Where would you like to eat? I know some nice French restaurants, or maybe a Korean barbeque.”

Kate grinned. “How about pizza?”

Liam laughed. “I offer her swanky dining and she wants pizza. Doesn’t sound gluten-free.”

“Fuck gluten-free. Let’s get pizza.”

He folded her in his arms and buried his face in the crook of her neck. “Whatever makes you happy.”

Chapter Seventeen

An hour and a half later, Kate and Liam sat at the back of Massimo’s Pizza Parlor, polishing off the remains of a large double-cheese and pepperoni pizza. Liam sat back, stuffed, and smiled when Kate peeled the pepperonis off his discarded slice and popped them in her mouth. His cock hardened at the sight of that beautiful tongue licking her fingers with glee.

Damn. He so needed to see her naked again.

But business first. He needed to know they were on the same page before he could feel comfortable enough to lose himself in her sweet body. “So, full disclosure from now on?”

She gazed at him for a moment and then wiped her hands. “That would be awesome.”

He leaned forward and grabbed her hands, linking them with his own. “I’ve been seeing a therapist. He’s helping me comes to terms with my issues. My need to control my environment. You, Michelle, my work. God, even my choice of work. Do you know what one of the oldest sayings of the casino world is, Kate?”

She shook her head.

“‘The House always wins.’ That’s how I treated my life. I needed to be in charge to make up for the times I had no power.” He raised one of her hands and kissed it. “I’ve blamed myself for years for things over which I had no control. Including what happened to me while I was homeless.”

She squeezed his hand but didn’t say a word.

“I was hungry. I was cold. As a fourteen-year-old boy, I had to deal with big men who wanted to fuck me and women who wanted to buy me. To get by I lost my virginity way too young and learned it was a commodity. People were commodities. I was a commodity. It took me a long time to realize I was wrong.”