Page 6 of Vex (Dragon Brides #12)

Vex had always been good at cards. Tonight, he was exceptional.

The high-stakes table was a battlefield disguised as entertainment.

The Uldorian ambassador touched his jeweled lapel pin when he bluffed.

The mining heiress drummed her fingers when she held a strong hand.

Maera Daxkar, some kind of philanthropist, smiled nervously.

Vex catalogued each weakness with the same attention he'd once used in the Vemion military academy. This was warfare fought with cards instead of weapons.

And he was winning.

The chips stacked higher with each hand. He'd earned glares from the other high rollers. No one liked having their winnings stolen.

Or their women.

A seductress slid onto the chair beside him, leaning so close she was practically in his lap. "I haven't seen you around here." Blonde, expensive, and calculated. Her perfume was cloying, her smile sharp as a blade.

"I already have a woman," Vex said without looking at her.

She laughed, a sound like crystal breaking. "She's not here."

The words should have been an invitation for the dissolute lord to take what was offered.

Any self-respecting rake would have accepted her proposition, especially when his mistress was safely upstairs.

It would have been perfect cover, proving to anyone watching that he was exactly the kind of man who would cheat without a second thought.

But the idea of touching anyone other than Luisa made his skin crawl. The reaction was visceral and completely irrational. He'd known her less than twenty-four hours. She was his partner, nothing more. A professional colleague whose safety he was responsible for.

His dragon stirred restlessly beneath his human facade, possessive and territorial in a way that had nothing to do with logic.

"Neither are you," he said coldly, gathering his chips.

She made a sound of affront as he stood, practically shoving her away.

The blonde's mask slipped for an instant, revealing genuine surprise beneath the practiced seduction. She clearly wasn't used to rejection.

He filed the reaction away as he moved from the table, his winnings secure in his jacket.

The pit boss had been watching him for the last hour. Vex could feel those eyes crawling over him as he moved to another table.

His dossier said the man's name was Brant Tallyer, confirmed by the nametag on his chest. He had the look of a man hunting for a mark.

The question was, what was he selling? Tallyer was about forty.

His suit was expensive but not ostentatious, his smile warm but never reaching his eyes.

Everything about him screamed middle management with ambitions, the kind of man who knew where bodies were buried and wasn't above selling maps.

Tallyer had been evaluating him all evening, watching his play style, his reactions, how he handled both winning and the blonde's advances. Was he looking to sell something to Vex? Or scam him?

He hated the Mountain. There wasn’t a single honest person to be found there.

But Vex could use that to his advantage.

Luisa had her way of finding information, he had his.

If he played it right, he'd let the Mountain come to him.

Places like this always had a black market.

He knew it existed, knew someone was selling IDA data.

The concierge had already practically offered him the services of the room attendant or anyone else on the property.

He wouldn't be shocked if the Mountain employed the blonde.

So Vex would throw around his cash and reputation, and if Luisa didn't find anything, someone would come to him.

He'd done enough for one day. Though there was one last way to flash his cash.

The elevator ride to the penthouse felt longer than usual.

He opened the suite door to find Luisa curled on the couch in silk pajamas, her dark hair loose around her shoulders. The look of her went straight to his cock.

Gone was the sharp-edged professional he'd left behind, replaced by something softer. Silk clung to her curves in ways that made his mouth go dry, and her hair fell in dark waves.

She looked like a woman waiting for her lover to come home.

Waiting for him.

Possessive heat that slammed through him was immediate and overwhelming. His dragon roared to life. Every instinct demanded that he cross the room, gather her into his arms, and take.

Professional. Keep it professional.

She looked up with a grin. "How much did you win?"

Vex reached into his jacket and withdrew a small velvet box.

He'd seen it in the casino's boutique and bought it, driven by an impulse he didn't want to examine too closely. The necklace inside was gold set with emeralds and rubies that would unquestioningly put his mark on her. It had cost more than most people made in a year. He didn’t give a damn.

"For me?"

"Anything for you." Vex the rake wouldn't say that. Vex the dragon didn't care. He'd seen the necklace and could only imagine Luisa wearing it.

And nothing else.

He wouldn't ask for the latter. But he could indulge himself in this one thing.

She smiled and gestured for him to sit beside her, sweeping her hair so he could put the necklace on. Once it was in place, she slid into his lap.

Vex froze.

The weight of her settled against him like she belonged there, all soft curves perfectly fitted to his body. Her scent surrounded him. This close, he could see the pulse beating at the base of her throat, could feel the rise and fall of her breathing against his chest.

But there was something in her eyes, a subtle warning that cut through the haze of want clouding his judgment.

She wasn't being affectionate. This was part of the performance, another layer of their cover that he needed to maintain no matter how much it was killing him.

Her lips brushed his ear. "There are eyes in the room," she whispered.

He didn't look around, but if he strained, he might have been able to hear the attendant.

Of course. The ever-present surveillance that was as much a part of the Mountain as the marble floors and crystal chandeliers.

They were never truly alone, never able to drop their masks completely.

Every gesture, every touch was being catalogued and analyzed by someone whose loyalties lay with the casino's management.

But knowing it was an act didn't make it any easier. The body pressed against his was real; her warmth seeped through his clothes and set every nerve ending on fire.

The way she fit in his arms was real, perfect in a way he couldn’t let himself think about.

His arm tightened around her waist, pulling her closer.

"What did you find?" he murmured against her neck.

This mission was going to kill him.