Chapter 2
Hope unlocked her apartment door and slipped inside. The living room was dark except for the sliver of moonlight that filtered in through the window’s parted curtains and lightly touched the figure sleeping on her sofa. The girl had a bedroom of her own, but no one would know it by the number of times she’d used it in the past eleven months.
Jeez, had it really been almost a year? She was going to have to think of something special to commemorate the anniversary. But that would have to wait until morning because she had just enough energy left in her to make it to her bedroom before she collapsed.
Still, she stopped as she crossed the living room to drape a blanket over the sleeping form and tuck an errant lock of hair behind the girl’s ear. It was the only time the teenager looked light and peaceful, so much in contrast to the heavy burden she carried around on her shoulders when she was awake.
At least it seemed some of the burden had been eased in the past year. Not so long ago, she’d been quite the spitfire with a chip on her shoulder to match, but Hope had seen right through the act. Of course, she had—it was the same act she had put on for the world herself for too many years to think about.
“Good night, Lexi,” she whispered before she continued across the room and down the short hall to her room. Once there, she collapsed on her bed, too exhausted to even turn down the covers. Her eyes were closed by the time her head hit the pillow, but as she surrendered to her fatigue, a face flashed behind her eyes; it belonged to the man she’d met after the show.
She knew who he was. Hell, everyone who’d been in Las Vegas for more than five minutes knew who Cade Stryker was. He was the owner of the city’s most prestigious hotel and casino, but while plenty of people knew of him, not many people knew much about him.
He was a billionaire mogul with a sketchy past, at best. How one managed to get to his position without someone having turned over every stone of his life, she had no idea, nor had the question really concerned her much before tonight. Suddenly, though, who Cade Stryker was and why no one seemed to know anything about him had risen to the top of her list of concerns. Why, she didn’t know.
The man was sexy as hell, but she’d known that already. She’d seen pictures of him in the past, and there was no point in denying he was probably the most attractive man she’d ever laid eyes on. That wasn’t what had caught her attention and thrown her off guard, though. It was something else; something deeper. There were secrets in the man’s eyes, and for some strange reason, the moment they’d touched, every fiber of her body had wanted to know each one of those secrets.
And that was quite the feat for a woman who didn’t have a curious bone in her body. She’d learned long ago that it was best to keep her head down and steer clear of everyone else’s business. It was the best shot she’d had at making sure everyone steered clear of hers.
Maybe it had just been seeing the man in the flesh. His broad, rock-hard frame was enough to make any woman weak in the knees. That was probably it. Hell, she hadn’t had anything that resembled a relationship in well over a year—maybe two. To be honest, she’d been so focused on work and Lexi that her lack of male companionship hadn’t really crossed her mind until she’d seen Cade Stryker standing there backstage.
And then he’d asked her out for drinks? What the hell was that? Even if he’d been in the mood for a quick lay, certainly, he had all kinds of women at his beck and call. So why go to the effort of asking a complete stranger? Maybe he thought she was just as much an easy lay as his other women. That had to be the reason.
While she’d been on the verge of sleep just seconds ago, the indignation that suddenly coursed through her veins forced her wide awake. The man thought he could snap his fingers and have her falling into bed with him? Well, he was crazy if he thought she was some floozy salivating over the opportunity to get him naked.
Despite the way desire tremored through her body at the thought, there was no way in hell that was going to happen. She just wasn’t the kind of woman who was going to drop her panties because some rich, handsome guy snapped his fingers. But damn it, as an image of what might lay beneath the man’s designer suit flashed through her mind, part of her wished she was that kind of woman.
She banished the image from her mind quickly and forced herself to inhale and exhale slowly, taking deep breaths until her pulse returned to something that resembled normal. Whether it was indignation or arousal that had her heartbeat racing out of control, she didn’t know, and it didn’t matter. Cade Stryker was history as far as she was concerned. She’d met him, turned down his poorly-concealed offer to hop into his bed, and now it was time to forget him. She breathed in, and then out, and her prior tiredness wound its way through her body, relaxing her muscles and pulling her under.