Her teeth sink into her lower lip. “Hmm…well, there is something I’ve always, always wanted to do.”
“Name it.” Whatever she wants, I’ll make it happen. That’s what a good daddy does. “Anything.”
She leans in, a naughty glint in her eyes. “I’ve always wanted to gamble.”
I stifle a chuckle. I don’t want her to think I’m laughing at her, but it’s the last thing I expected.
“Well, you’re in luck, baby. We’re in the gambling capital of the world.”
She claps her hands, bouncing up and down in her seat. “I’m sure I’ll be terrible and lose all your money, but it just looks like so much fun.”
Vegas, Baby has slots and tables, but the thought of running into my brother chills my mood. I want Emmeline all to myself. I decide on a change of scenery. “Let me make some calls and I’ll set something up.”
She watches my face as I call Shane Barr, a friend of Gabriel’s and the ‘make it happen man’, to have him book one of the panoramic corner rooms at the Wynnhamn hotel.
He picks up on the first ring. “Hey-llo.”
“Hey, man. Got a favor to ask.”
Five minutes later, we’ve got a suite booked, a maid packing up our things at Vegas, Baby, and a driver on the way to pick us up. I pay the check, leaving my usual fifty dollar tip, and pull her chair out for her.
As we glide through the restaurant to the street, she slides her hand in mine.
Making my heart beat a little faster.
It feels so good having this little girl at my side. I don’t even want to think about Sunday night when I have to send her home.
We slide into the backseat of the car, and she snuggles her way under shoulder. I wrap my arm around her, pulling her tight into my side, wishing I’d booked a further away hotel so we could have a longer ride.
She fits perfectly against me.
We make small talk, asking one another questions about our pasts. When we pull up to the Wynnhamn, she lets out a low murmur. “I’ve driven by here before, but I never dreamed I’d get to go inside.”
“Today, you get whatever you want.”
She gives me a sweet, shy smile. The driver opens the door for us and hand in hand, we go inside. I take her straight to the open air slots to start. The marble floors shine, and the breeze blows in. They’ve got the glass doors all pulled back, making it more like a veranda than a casino.
I gesture to the open seats. “Pick one. Any one of them feel particularly lucky to you?”
Her nose crinkles up, and she scans the slot machines as if she’s preparing for surgery. She nods, pointing to the one she’s chosen. “This one, daddy.”
My cock twitches at her choice of words.
Her hand flies to her mouth, her eyes widening. “Oops. I didn’t mean to call you that here. I mean, not in the bedroom. I know it’s like a sexy game thing and —”
I cut off her rambling words by pulling her toward me and giving her a deep kiss that makes her come up on her toes. She kisses me back, melting against me. I brush my lips over her ears. “It’s not a game to me. Not with you.”
I pull away to find her blushing, a shine in her eyes. She whispers back. “Okay, then. Daddy.”
I give her ass a little pat, escorting her to the seat she wanted. I grab my wallet, slipping a hundred dollar bill from it and slide it into the machine before she can protest the amount. “Have at it.”
I watch, entranced by her face as she focuses on the screen as if it’s a game of skill and not one of chance. She pulls the lever down, watching the little pictures roll around with the intensity of a surgeon.
Cherries, bells, jack.
She balls up her fists. “Damn.”
It’s so adorable, I have to hold in a chuckle. Her perfectly arched brows furrow and she pulls the lever again.
Four leaf clover, heart, cherries again.
“Double damn.” She balls up those fists again, brings them down on her thighs.
I could watch this all day.
A scantily dressed waitress approaches us, holding out her tray. “Drink, sir?” The voice is familiar. I turn to answer and feel my stomach drop into my shoes. It’s Rita. One of my flings. I can’t escape this bullshit. This one ended badly, with me not calling her and her talking shit around town about me.
“Rawley?” Recognition flashes in her face and her lips turn into a grimace. “Uh, good to see you?” But her face wrinkles in a grimace, telling me it’s not good to see me at all.
“Hey, Rita. Long time no see.”
She sniffs in Emmeline’s general direction, all pretense suddenly gone. “And who’s your little flavor of the week?”