High Card: A Billionaire Shifter Novel (Lions of Las Vegas Book 1) (18 page)

Landon slides his hands off my pussy before I finish.

Anger flashes through me because
I’m coming you fucking teasing bastard you can’t stop now
but then he lifts my ass in his rough hands and settles me backward onto him, his hard cock driving into me, pressing against my deepest walls while I’m still coming and now I’m fucking him, out of my mind with lust, bouncing on his thick cock, beyond all rational thought, beyond the worries and fears and hopes that weigh on my life like a curse, freed by this fiery closeness and intensity and togetherness, reaching down and tugging on my lover’s swollen balls while the water sloshes out of the hot tub and another wave of pleasure builds in me, a second come even more intense than the first.
 

Landon’s moaning with me now, pushing up to meet my ass as it falls, his cock hardening still more, each thrust making me gasp and bite my lip, our voices rising above the crackling fire and into the blue-black desert night while my ass smacks down to meet his cock. I’m wincing from the size of him but needing every inch; his arm’s wrapped around my waist and his thumb’s at my clit again and then he looses a long bellow and wraps me in his powerful arms and pulls me into a hug so tight it whooshes the breath from my lungs.
 

For a moment we’re still together, his arms holding me motionless in his lap. The only sounds are our gasping breaths and the wind whistling through the hills and the fire crackling in the stove. Then Landon’s balls cinch tight in my hand, the muscles in his legs rippling like he’s been struck by lightning. His cock swells even more,
oh shit he feels good oh shit I’m coming again the bastard oh shit
, the hot tip of my lover’s perfect cock throbbing as his come laces from his balls and into my swollen, ravaged pussy and he’s squeezing me tight as he comes, holding me to him, his sweet, scalding come filling me, coaxing another orgasm, a third come so sharp it stings and then he’s leaning away, his hands slipping to my hips and I stay seated on him for a few moments, arc my back, feel him appreciating how I look naked in the firelight in the hot tub under the desert sky, loving the feel of his hot come in me, not wanting to lose his cock just yet and so I flip my hair back, glance over my shoulder, look him straight in the eye and say, “Hey Landon?”

“Yeah?”

“You mind passing me my drink?”

“I CAN’T FUCKING believe you, brother.”

“You need to watch your tone, Blake. Seriously. I’m finished with your bullshit.”

I’m sitting in the boardroom in the executive offices of Savannah’s Casino. At the head of a mahogany table large enough to seat twenty executives. But Blake’s talking to me like we’re cubs again and he’s bossing me around—

“Watch
my
tone?
My
bullshit?” Blake’s eyes light up. He hates it when I talk down to him. “You mean to tell me—”

“Landon’s right, Blake,” Rachael says. “I know you’re upset. But we need to stay calm—”

“Upset?” Blake slams his hand on the table, then looks at me for a reaction. “Stay calm? Fucking hell, listen to you two. Landon
turned
, Rachael. There aren’t many worse—no, there’s
nothing
worse that could’ve happened.”

“He could’ve died,” Rachael reminds him.

“Yeah. He could’ve,” Blake says in a way that makes it clear he thinks that would’ve been the best outcome.

I ignore his juvenile outburst. Blake’s always been known for his quick temper. Never been able to keep his cool—

“I’ll deal with it,” I say, my tone straining for patience.
 

“Sure. Yeah. How, exactly? Talk it out with the Council and Samuel? We both know there’s a target on your head. I’m a partner in this casino. If you go down we all go.” Blake shoots me a venomous glance. “Maybe you’ve forgotten that, Landon? This isn’t Blue Line. I have a say—”

“You have a fifteen percent say,” I remind him, my voice deadly sharp. “Which is, of course, not much of a say at all.”

“You motherfucker,” Blake snarls. “So that’s how it’s gunna be, huh? I shoulda known. Casino hasn’t even officially opened and you’re already lording your position over me. You’ve always been a smug bastard, Landon. Now the Council wants you dead. You’ll get what you deserve.”

I struggle to remain calm. On the outside, my expression is impassive. Distant. But on the inside? I’m broiling. Blake knows I’ll murer him if he and I ever square off. His strength is in scheming, not going toe-to-toe like a true alpha predator should. But it’s dangerous to underestimate Blake’s ruthlessness or ambition. He’s one of those guys who gets ahead by using his rival’s weaknesses to his advantage. The kind of guy who always manages to betray and backstab and manipulate his way into a position of authority.

I gave him a toe in the door of the casino.
 

That was a mistake.

This is a dangerous time for my brother and I.

“Blake? I need you to hear me. You talk to me like that again, I’ll gut you. Right here in this boardroom. I’ll open you up and spread your insides across this table. It’s be a shame to ruin such nice mahogany with a stain like you. But I’ll do it.”

Blake goes an ugly reddish color. His skin ripples.
 

He’s thinking about it.

“You hear me, bro?” I say.

Blake and me lock eyes. After a long pause his shoulders slump. He looks down at the table. “I hear you, Landon. Loud and fucking clear.”

“Good. Now. Can we get on with figuring out what to do about the Council?”
 

Rachael’s seated between us. Peacekeeper is her customary role. Blake and I have one of these sparring matches every few weeks. Although recently, with the pressure of the casino opening, it’s been more like every few days—

“What’s done is done,” Rachael says, giving me a disapproving glance. “The question is: where do we go from here?”

‘Here’ means after I told them I lost control and unleashed my lion. After I told them about the wildwolves chasing me down. I left everything about Summer out, of course. As far as Blake and Rachael are concerned she’s out of the picture. But they’re sensing something’s not quite right with my story. They’ll both do some digging. Shit. It’s partly why Blake’s acting so bold. Usually he’d never have the balls to speak to me like this.
 

But he knows I’m already weakened.

Blake never misses an opportunity to kick a rival while he’s down.

Maybe that’s what makes him so good at what he does.

So dangerous.
 

“All right, all right,” Blake says, acting conciliatory. “Where do we go from here? It’s Thursday. The gala opening is in three days. That’s not enough time to put out a fire like this. The Council’s never going to let this slide. You escaped their wildwolves…” Blake slows. Casts me a suspicious glance. This is the part of the story he has trouble believing. No condemned Wildblood has ever escaped a wildwolf on the hunt.
 

Just doesn’t happen.

Yet here I am.

“Only thing to do is turn yourself in to the Council,” Blake says. “I’m sorry, Landon. But that’s your only option.”

Blake crosses his arms and settles into his chair like the decision is so obvious he’s shocked he has to mention it. He’s trying—and failing—to hide how excited my death makes him.
 

You lying, phony motherfucker,
I think.
That’s exactly what you want. Me out of the picture.

A tough old Wildblood named Samuel Owens is the current elected president of the Wildblood Council. He’s a powerful alpha in his own right, a fearsome Bengal tiger. He’s responsible for enforcing the code that keeps the Wildblood secret safe. Samuel’s also known for being absolutely ruthless when it comes to retribution for breaking Wildblood law.

When one of us turns animal it leaves a psychic footprint in the minds of the highest ranking and most powerful Wildblood alphas who comprise the Council. Sometimes, for a few moments, we can even see through the recently turned animal’s eyes. Usually when a Wildblood turns it means his human form is lost forever. The animal simply takes over. That’s why I was so weak when Summer found me in the desert.
 

I fought my lion down. Locked him away.

It nearly killed me.

Then Samuel sent the wildwolves. He believed my life as a human was over, and the Council cannot permit a fully turned wild animal to run loose in the world of men.

But neither Samuel nor I counted on Summer Mason.
 

I have my elbows set on the table, my fingers laced together and placed at my chin. I’m wearing my customary cobalt blue Brioni suit. My battle armor.
 

Blake’s dressed in a rumpled Hawaiian shirt, cut-off shorts and flip-flops, looking like the slob he is.
 

“You do need to get in front of this, Landon,” Rachael says.

“What? Apologize? Pinkie-swear it’ll never happen again? C’mon. You both know what happens if I turn myself in to the Council. They lock me up. A few years later they might have a trial, then an execution.”

“You should’ve run,” Blake says.

“Become a nomad? Thought never crossed my mind. Not my style.”

Blake’s gaze is like a knife cutting into me. I’m having a hard time not attacking him right here. But I need proof he’s conspiring against me or I’ll lose the support of the entire Stone pride—

“Then staying alive isn’t your style, I guess,” Blake scoffs. “I’m surprised they haven’t come to collect you yet.”
 

Truth is so am I.
 

Something to do with Summer.

What she did out there in the desert. Killing the wildwolves.
 

That’s what my instincts are telling me—

Rachael rubs her face in her hands, visibly upset. “Let’s think this through. You went animal. The Council knows it. The penalty is death. There’s no way around that. But you already escaped the wildwolves. They can’t send more out in public. So you stay here, in the casino. Surrounded by humans. That means they’ll need to send bounty hunters. We can handle them. We have our own private security detail—”

“Whoa whoa,” Blake says, shaking his head. “What you’re talking about is treason. Samuel will urge the council to issue an edict. A call for Landon’s head. He’ll be a marked…man. If he isn’t already. Any Wildblood will be bound to turn him in. And every nut-job with a grudge will come out of the woodwork, itching to take the fugitive down to gain the Council’s favor.”

“There’s another way,” I say, almost to myself.

Both Rachael and Blake turn and stare.

Outside the room, from the casino floor, I hear the sound of slots ringing.
 

Blake’s the first to break the silence. “Maybe you really
have
lost it. You want to challenge Trent ‘Scythe’ Thorsa for lion pride alpha? You might as well deliver the Council your head on a plate. It’ll be a lot less painful.” Blake leans forward, like he’s sharing a secret. “Y’know, Landon, you and I don’t always see eye to eye. Okay, fuck it, we
never
do. But that doesn’t mean I don’t give a shit. You’re family. Trent’s been alpha for two decades for a reason. He’s a stone-cold killer. You? You’re good at business. Making deals. Killing it here, in the boardroom. But in the cage? You haven’t been in a death match in years. You’re gunna get slaughtered.”

“It’s the only way,” I say, my voice as rough as gravel. “I hoped you’d have my back.”

Blake shakes his head. “I
do
have your back. That’s why I’m telling you the truth. It’s insane.”
 

Rachael’s deathly pale. “Trent’s never been beaten, Landon.”

“He’s a mean son-of-a-bitch,” Blake finishes grimly. “A butcher. He refuses to give his opponents an opportunity to yield. He kills them. Every single one.”

“It’s the only way,” I say, glaring at my siblings. “Alpha’s are free to summon their animals as they see fit. It’s part of the respect Wildbloods show their alphas. If I defeat Trent and claim his title…”

The truth is, I’m not the only one pushing for this death match. My lion’s been roaring ever since Summer and me hooked up. It’s like she awakened something in himl. I lift my hands over the table, pull my suit cuffs up and clench my fists, watching the muscles in my forearms bulge. Blake and Rachael are glancing at one another suspiciously, but right now I can’t be fucked to worry about them. I’m sick of the politics. Sick of the scheming. I’ve lived too long among humans.
 

There’s a new hunger in me.
 

A new strength.
 

I felt it the night after Summer and I fucked in the hot tub. We went inside shortly after. Fucked again in the retreat’s king size bed, facing a two story wall of windows that looked out over the moonlit desert. Later, when Summer was asleep, I slipped from bed and walked to the window and pressed my fingertips to the glass. My entire body was humming with an energy and strength I’ve never felt before. My lion was right there at the surface of me and I…wasn’t afraid.

For the first time in my life I felt in control of what I am.

I’ve called my Wildblood heritage a curse.
 

Even thought of it as disease.
 

Something to hide and be ashamed of.

But right then I knew how wrong I’ve been.

Wildblood is a gift. A treasure.

I stood staring out the window for a long time. Just searching within myself, trying to discover the source of this new strength. Then Summer moaned in her sleep, and I turned and saw her lying on the bed, the sheet only half covering her tattooed body.