I wind my fingers through Lauren’s and step out into the blinding light of the night. Blinding light of the night, I think with a small smile. There’s something I never thought I would say—mostly because it doesn’t make sense.

But in Macau, it does. Especially after you’ve won one of the biggest poker games of the year. Cameras flash and reporters rush forward to ask questions, but I put my hand up and ignore them. Sometimes, I’m in the mood for interviews. Tonight, I’m not. I’m on the biggest winning streak I’ve had in years. There’s one million dollars headed straight for my bank account.

And, there’s a sexy, intelligent woman by my side. I’m not in the mood to have anything to do with anyone else.

I push our way toward the waiting limo, making sure Lauren is safely inside before climbing in after her. The second the door closes, and I pull her to me. Her hair falls around my face, creating a screen while we kiss. The shouting, cheering, and honking is still going on outside of the luxury car, but it all seems a million miles away.

All that exists is what’s right here, in my hands.

Lauren breaks the kiss with a breathy sigh. The sound is heaven. Already, I’m buzzing with the need to get that sexy black dress off her.

“Where are we going?” she asks.

I pull her all the way into my lap. She wraps her arms around my neck and looks down at me expectantly.

“Wherever you want to go,” I promise.

Lauren shakes her head. “This is your night.”

“And I want to celebrate it with you.”

Her lashes flutter. “Really?”

“Yes. Of course.”

Her full lips turn up into a smile. “I don’t care where we go.”

Lusty hunger fills me. Not for the first time, the thought of skipping the after-parties and clubs and just taking her back to my hotel room crosses my mind. But everything good is worth waiting for, and I don’t just want to get Lauren into bed again. I want to show her the city. I want to hear her laugh, to have her dance next to me. I want to enjoy her company in every way possible.

“I have somewhere I want to take you,” I say, playing with some of the sequins on her dress.

The club we go to is one of the most exclusive in Macau—as well as one of the most intimate. The VIP area sits above the rest of the club, roped off and watched over by several burly bodyguards. It takes no time at all to get a table, and Lauren and I collapse onto the cushions of a red couch, our hands still locked together.

The cocktail waitress brings us a bottle of vodka and all of the mixers, and I pour us each a drink. Lauren is already swaying in her seat, her shoulders and hips gently moving.

She stands up and continues to dance, her eyes on me as she moves backward across the floor. The dark club throbs around her, full of bodies and music, but everything else is just blurry. Lauren is all that exists in the world. With her dancing in front of me, not even the night’s winnings matter, anymore.

When was the last time I felt this way—like there was something for me to hold on to at the end of the day?

I can’t answer that, and it doesn’t matter. Lauren is taking my hand and pulling me to my feet. Our bodies push together in a natural way that’s more rhythmic than the music pounding through the speakers. Her lithe body slides along mine, the perfect fit in every way.

We dance until there’s nothing but the music and us, holding each other. Lauren and I are in a vacuum, living and breathing apart from the rest of the universe. I can barely remember my own name. All I know is her taste, her scent, and her soft skin under my palms.

Dizziness floods my senses, but it’s not the alcohol, and it’s not the new million dollars in my name. It’s the primal urge to claim the woman pressed against me. I’ve made her mine before, but I need to do it again.

“I need to get you alone,” I whisper into Lauren’s ear as she grinds her ass against me.

She flips her hair and looks into my eyes. Even in the dim lighting, the desire in her gaze is obvious.

Back in the limo, she’s on my lap the second the door closes. Our hands seem to be everywhere at once: on each other’s faces, on our torsos, on the insides of thighs.

I suck the hollow of Lauren’s throat and she rolls her head back and rocks her hips against me. My cock jerks to attention, hard and throbbing.

Taking the front of her dress in both hands, I roll the fabric back and release her plump and perky breasts. Her nipples are hard as pebbles, with goosebumps surrounding them. Licking my lips, I lower my face and draw one of the firm nubs between my teeth.

Lauren whimpers in pleasure. I make my sucks slower, alternating each one with a rolling of my tongue.

“Jay,” she pleadingly whispers.

Her quiet cry sends my body into overdrive. I need this woman right this second. No more waiting.

Still sucking on her breasts, I push her dress up and slip a finger under her panties. Her pussy is warm and wet, ready for me. With a teasing flick on her clit, I nudge my finger into her opening. Lauren pushes greedily against me.

Without warning, the limo comes to a stop. Pulling my face away from her breasts, I glance out the window. “Shit. We’re here.”

“Huh?” she asks, sounding confused.

I pull her dress back down and give her a quick kiss. “We need to get upstairs, now, or else I’m going to have my way with you in the lobby.”

Lauren’s cheeks flush and her lashes flutter. If I didn’t know better, I’d think the thought of me fucking her in the middle of the hotel excited her.

Christ. Maybe it does.

Taking her hand once more, I pull her into the elevator. The whole ride up to my floor, I’m wondering how I got so lucky to score such a woman. She’s beautiful. Intelligent. Kind. And a fucking tiger in bed.

I force myself to stop kissing Lauren as the elevator climbs closer to my floor, knowing the guards the casino sent to deliver my money to my room will be in the corridor. Sure enough, three of them solemnly stand near the elevator. I give them a nod and walk on. One more second not spent alone with Lauren and I’m going to explode.

Unlocking the door to my suite, I pull Lauren over the threshold and twirl her around. After I set her down, she walks into the foyer and then stops with a gasp.

“That’s a lot of money,” she quietly says.

I wrap my arms around her from behind and take in the stacks of fresh bills on the coffee table. I was there at the casino when the bills were counted, and I should probably count them again now, but I almost don’t give a fuck if I’m a thousand or two short. Not with Lauren’s firm, sexy body under my hands.

She turns around to face me, her hands pressed against my chest. “What’s it like to win?”

No one’s ever asked me that before. They’ve said, ‘how exciting’, and other things like that, but they’ve always just assumed that I feel a certain way when I win a game. Now, I pause for a second and give some real thought to the answer.

“It’s peaceful,” I finally say, my eyes flicking between her and the money. “When I realize that I have that hand, that one that can change it all, it’s like this wave of peace comes over me.”

It’s a lot like what happens when I’m with you.

With a start, I realize what’s so special about Lauren. When I’m around her, the world calms down. Or maybe I just don’t hear its noise as much. She takes up every ounce of my attention.

One hour spent with her is better than a million dollars, any day.

“Take that dress off,” I say, stepping back so I can get a full view of her.

She licks her lips and slowly unzips the dress, then steps out of it. She’s almost completely naked, with nothing on but heels and a thong. Though I’m aching with the need to touch her, I take my time walking a full circle around her, surveying each inch of her delicious body. Lauren watches me watching her, her breasts rising and falling with each breath.

Moving swiftly, I gather her into my arms. Lauren yelps, but her shriek quickly turns into giggles as I carry her to the long table along the wall.

Soon, her giggles become moans. With my tongue playing with hers, I knead her breasts, pinching her nipples between my fingers. Lauren’s legs open wide and I push myself against her. The table is the perfect height for what I intend to do. Taking my hands down to her hips, I seize her panties and rip them in half. Lauren gasps in shock.

“Those weren’t important, were they?” I ask, tossing the pieces of fabric over my shoulder. Lauren shakes her head. “Good.”

I cover her mouth with mine, this fresh kiss wild and unchecked. With our tongues thrusting against each other, I unzip my pants and pull my cock out. Lauren grabs it right away, eagerly pushing it toward her opening.

Coiling her loose hair around my fist, I hold her hips tight and sink deep into her. Her muscles squeeze around me right away, accepting and eager.

I urge Lauren’s mouth open wider, thrusting my tongue as far back as it will go. She welcomes me like a good girl, giving herself completely over to me. In our short time together, I’ve discovered that the way she sometimes lets go is one of the best things about her. It can be in bed, on the dance floor, or with her laughter. It doesn’t matter, though. When she lets loose, it’s a beautiful phenomenon to behold.

With our bodies locked together, I push all the way into her, burying myself to the hilt. Lauren opens her legs wider and bucks against me. I can feel the pleasure flowing through her and joining my own. Steadily, I push into her, keeping our kiss going the whole time.

Crazed jolts of pleasure hit me again and again. I go slower, needing to draw things out for as long as possible. Lauren gasps against my mouth, her small hands twisting my shirt. Over and over, I give her everything I have. With each thrust, I claim her. Tonight, this woman is completely mine.

She trembles against me, ecstatic sounds escaping her lips. Pleasure wraps around my limbs and twists my mind. Lauren cries out and kisses me with a new desperation. I hold her tight, absorbing her pleasure and making it my own.

With ecstasy pummeling through me, I draw out of her and let a guttural groan rip from my vocal chords. Everything is hot and blinding white.

Blinking the sweat from my eyelashes, I gaze at the woman in front of me. With her ruffled hair and red face, she’s just as sexy as she was in that slinky black dress.

“God,” I mutter.

Lauren cocks her head. “What?”

“You.”

She winds her fingers in mine and looks quizzically back at me. “Just saying ‘you’ isn’t really an answer, you know.”

“It’s all you’re going to get.”

I tickle her side and make her giggle. Gingerly, I step away from her and help her from the table. We go to the bathroom and I draw a hot bath, filling the tub with the whole bottle of complimentary bubble bath.

“This is going to be fun,” Lauren giddily says. She tests the water with a toe and then sinks in. “Mmm…”

I turn the chandelier lights down low and climb into the other side of the tub. It’s so big that we can both comfortably stretch out in it. Lauren twists her long hair into a bun and tucks it between the nape of her neck and the side of the tub.

“So, this is what your life is like all the time, huh?”

I laugh. “Bubble baths and a million dollars a night? No. It’s probably been five years since I took a bath.”

She grins and splashes some water at me.

“Hey!” I scold playfully. “You better watch it. If you’re looking for trouble, I’ll give it to you.”

“I know you will,” she answers with a saucy wink.

I smile and stretch out further, enjoying the heat permeating my muscles. Lauren closes her eyes and sighs, and for a while, we just sit here, comfortable with the silence.

As I gaze at the gorgeous woman in front of me, my thoughts drift to earlier in the night. When I’m at the poker table, I usually don’t think of anything else. The pause button is hit on time, and all that exists for me is the moment.

Tonight, it was different. During the match, I couldn’t get Lauren off my mind. I kept thinking of her sitting just a couple yards away. I wanted to win. I always want to win. But tonight, for the first time, I wanted to win for someone else. I wanted to make someone proud.

That’s never happened to me. There’s never been anyone to want to please. The gang leaders I used to take orders from don’t count. I only wanted their twisted kind of respect—the kind that isn’t really respect at all, but is instead a kind of currency used only on the streets. As far as foster parents, I never had any that were looking out for me, in the long term. Some of them were nice, sure, but even to them, I was just another kid.

She must feel my gaze on her, because Lauren opens her eyes.

“You’re always looking at me.”

“I’d be stupid not to.”

“Oh yeah?” she asks in that silly, excited voice that somehow still manages to be sexy.

“Yeah.”

That’s all I can say. There’s nothing more to add. I’d reach over and run my fingers through her hair if I could, but I’m all the way on the other end of the tub. For now, I just need to look at her. Which is fine. I could stare at her for days.

For years, it’s as if I’ve been on the run, first hopping from home to home, then from gang to gang. Next, prison. Now, casinos. I don’t even own a house or rent an apartment. I’m a drifter, living in hotels and feeling sometimes like I’m lost to all of time and space.

Sometimes, I wonder if anyone misses me, or if anyone outside of the casinos ever thinks of me. There have been women. Mostly casual flings. I’ve tried to make something serious work a few times, but for the most part, it’s just never been right.

Looking at Lauren now, though, I can’t help but think that the tide just might be turning.