Split the Aces Read online

  Gretchen was here. Now. And more than willing to help her forget, if only for the night. Rae wouldn’t even hesitate. She’d have Gretchen up against her car in the parking lot, making her scream for all of greater Seattle to hear. Wasn’t that what she did the night before? With Sharon and Dar? She’d tried to fuck Cori out of her system. And still she’d called Cori, strung tight and in need of release.

  Cori wasn’t going to wait while Rae figured out what she wanted. Her heart couldn’t take it. She turned toward the door of the lounge to see Gretchen waiting there, watching. She started walking.

  Gretchen met her halfway, her lips open to the hard invasion of Cori’s tongue.

  “Take me home,” Cori said, feeling cheap. “Your place.”

  *

  Cori flipped Gretchen and ran one finger down her spine. The lack of any real passion made her increasingly aggressive and Gretchen proportionately more responsive.

  “God,” Gretchen panted, the blanket gripped tight in her fingers, her toes curled tight. “You’re so fucking hot.”

  Cori nipped the taut skin of Gretchen’s lower back, then slid her tongue along the crease between Gretchen’s cheeks. Gretchen shivered. From behind, with the lights down and her eyes closed, Cori could almost imagine Gretchen was Rae.

  Almost.

  She gripped Gretchen’s hips, urging her up on all fours, and ground her pelvis into Gretchen’s ass. This isn’t Rae played through her mind on constant refrain, muting the experience and keeping her passion from flaring hot. She bent at the waist, curling over Gretchen, and dragged her nipples across the firm back beneath her.

  Gretchen arched against her and Cori held her tight. Close to her ear, she asked, “Do you have a cock?”

  There was no way she was going to come tonight. Not with Gretchen. Not like this. But there was no reason Gretchen shouldn’t enjoy herself.

  Gretchen nodded—urgent, fevered.

  “Do you want me to use it?” Cori circled her hips slowly against Gretchen, pressing hard.

  “God, yes.” Gretchen started to pull away, moving toward the edge of the bed.

  “No.” Cori held her firm. “Stay here. I’ll get it.”

  Gretchen dropped her head to the mattress, her ass high, legs spread, her pink center dripping. Cori retrieved the toy from the drawer Gretchen pointed to and slipped into the leather harness. It’d been a long time since she’d used one and she planned to fuck Gretchen hard enough to chase Rae’s image away. She grabbed a small bottle of lube and climbed back on the bed, the purple silicone bobbing between her legs.

  She squirted lube on her fingers and worked her hand up and down the cock. She liked the way it felt. If she had a real one, she’d never get anything done. She’d simply stay home and stroke it all day long.

  Gretchen edged backward, begging. Cori placed the purple tip at her opening, but didn’t push in.

  Gretchen moaned. “Please.”

  “You want this.” Cori wriggled slightly, one hand on Gretchen’s back, the other around the dildo, holding it just outside.

  Gretchen pushed against Cori. “Yes.”

  Cori moved her hands to their earlier position on Gretchen’s hips and eased forward. Slow and steady, feeling her way, she pushed into Gretchen, stretching her. Gretchen looked back over her shoulder. Her face danced the line between pain and ecstasy.

  Cori stopped. “Can you take it all?”

  “Yes. Just…easy,” Gretchen choked out between gritted teeth. “More.”

  Cori gripped Gretchen’s ass and massaged the wet parting with her thumbs, relaxing it, coaxing her open. Then she pushed until she was all in with Gretchen’s pussy stretched around her. The base of the cock pressed against Cori’s clit. She kept her front tight against Gretchen’s trembling backside, then eased out until just the head remained inside.

  “Are you ready to be fucked?”

  Gretchen’s voice shook. “Yes.”

  Cori stroked in deep, filling her completely, then pulling back. She rode her harder with each plunge until sweat dripped from her and pooled in the dip of Gretchen’s spine.

  “Oh, God, please. Fuck me,” Gretchen panted.

  Cori pushed harder, but still Rae’s face swam in front of her.

  “Yes.”

  Faster. She felt Rae’s breath on her thighs.

  “Just like that.”

  Deeper. And Rae was inside of her, fucking her, coaxing her.

  Gretchen slammed back into her, pressing tight as she quaked through her orgasm. Cori held her and moaned out a faked climax. Rae’s teasing laughter echoed in her head. Come back to Vegas, Cori. I’ll make you scream loud enough to wake up the neighborhood. You’ll never have to fake it again.

  “God.” Gretchen collapsed and the cock slid out of her with a pop.

  Cori headed toward the bathroom, stepping out of the harness as she went.

  “You can leave that on the sink,” Gretchen called. “I’ll take care of it later.”

  Cori washed the lube from her hands and did as she was told. The purple dildo looked vulgar against the sterile white tile. With a heavy sigh she returned to the bedroom and collected her clothes.

  “Hey, you don’t have to rush off.” Gretchen looked hurt.

  “Yeah. I do.” Cori stepped into her panties and slipped her dress over her head. Guilt settled around her with the fabric. She’d used Gretchen. The quicker she got home and washed the smell of sex from her skin, the better.

  “Hey, sit down.” Gretchen urged her onto the edge of the bed. “Relax a moment.”

  She reached out for Cori’s hand, almost as though expecting a rebuff. Cori allowed the tentative clasp, curling her fingers lightly around Gretchen’s. Holding hands felt surprisingly chaste given their recent activities.

  “Want to tell me about it?” Gretchen asked.

  Cori didn’t. She shook her head.

  “Cori, you’re a great fuck. No doubt about it.” Regret laced Gretchen’s words, as though she already knew this would be their first and last encounter. “But it’s not worth it if it makes you feel like this afterward.”

  “How do you know what I feel?” Cori knew she sounded like a petulant child. All that was missing was arms tightly folded and the stomp of her foot. She held herself stiffly, resisting the urge.

  “Well, I think it’s pretty safe to say that tonight isn’t about love for either of us.”

  Cori laughed bitterly. Gretchen was wrong. Cori was pretty sure that’s exactly what it was about. “I used you.”

  “And I used you.” Gretchen released her hand. “What’s the problem?”

  Cori tried again. “I fucked you.”

  Gretchen laughed. “Yes, you did. And I thank you for that.”

  “But I was thinking about someone else.”

  “Ah.” Gretchen gave a small smile. “The crux of the matter.”

  Cori didn’t know what else to say. For all the nice bonding and sharing, she still wanted a shower. And Rae.

  “I had a woman like that once. Made me forget everything but her.”

  “What happened?”

  “We lived together for ten years.” Gretchen looked at the wall. “She died last year. Cancer.”

  “Oh, Christ.” What can of worms had she opened? “I’m sorry.”

  “Tonight was my first date since…”

  “And you got me.” Cori sagged. All the air fizzed from her self-absorbed anger. She sat down on the edge of the bed. “I’m sorry, Gretchen.”

  “It’s okay. Truth be told, I wasn’t thinking about you either.”

  Cori laughed. “Well, aren’t we a pair?”

  “There’s not a moment with her that I don’t wish I could get back,” Gretchen said forlornly. “Even the screaming fights. The annoying habits. All of it. I’d trade everything for just one more day. In her arms, life was worth living.”

  They sat together in silence. Cori wanted to say something comforting to help Gretchen not feel her loss so vividly. But words l
ike that didn’t exist, she was sure. “She sounds very special.”

  “She was.” Gretchen took her hand again. “If you have even the slightest chance at love like that, you have to grab it and not let go. It’s worth it. Every miserable, unbearable, blissful moment is worth it.”

  Cori’s breath seemed trapped in her chest. Her throat refused to open. Did she have a chance for that kind of love? An all-consuming, life-spanning love…with Rae? Only a fool wouldn’t find out.

  She was going back. She had found Rae and wouldn’t let her slip away.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The Warhol-style painting of three lucky sevens seemed oddly out of sync with the rest of the conservative furnishings in the room. Rae breathed in the scent of leather and wood polish as she shook Ed Rashner’s hand. His grip was firm, reminiscent of his good ol’ boy Texas upbringing.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.” Rae held herself back, terrified that her wide-eyed excitement would show through. “I can’t believe I’m here.”

  She’d spent the morning in front of the mirror, wrestling her facial features under control. As soon as she’d managed a weak vestige of calm, the thrill of being summoned to the vice president’s office would spring to the surface again.

  “The pleasure’s mine, Rae.” He gestured toward a high back leather chair. “Have a seat.”

  Ed Rashner wore his smile like a hard-won commodity. Rae guessed that it had once been charming, back when he was a ranch hand in the Lone Star State. Now he had a salesman’s polish, the look of a man who made his living off the poor impulse control of others. How many mornings had he stood in front of his own mirror perfecting that look?

  “Did Greg tell you why I requested this meeting?” He leaned against the corner of his great mahogany desk, one hand resting on a thick manila folder.

  “No, sir. He just said you wished to speak with me.” Rae felt her bangs slipping into her eyes and tucked them behind her ear.

  Mr. Rashner picked up the file and flipped it open. “You’ve worked for us for quite some time now. Your mother, too.”

  Rae nodded, unsure where this was going.

  “During that time, you’ve attended classes, working toward a BA in business management. Is that correct?”

  “Right.”

  “And you’ve been vocal about your interest in one day occupying my office.” He closed the file. “What do you say, should we start that journey today?”

  Rae’s mouth fell open and she snapped it shut, her teeth jarring together. “I don’t understand, sir.”

  “We have an opening, starting in a few weeks, for a pit boss on days. It’s the first step on the ladder.” Mr. Rashner looked pleased, sure of himself.

  Rae let her smile loose. This was it, the offer she’d been working for. It would mean a change in her class schedule, but that was a technicality, certainly not an obstacle. She couldn’t wait to tell her mom, to tell Cori.

  Cori. Who lived in Seattle.

  Her confidence faltered.

  She’d always wanted the glittering bells and whistles of the Las Vegas Strip. As a child she huddled beneath her mom’s table, church mouse quiet, as the cards were doled out, one after another. The hypnotic sound of the shuffler lulled her to sleep and she’d dreamed of smoke-filled rooms, spinning numbers, and glittering sequins until her mom gathered her up and carried her home to finish the night.

  Then her grandmother—bitter over the wasted life of her only son, Rae’s absentee father—had asked, “Rae, what will you be when you grow up?” The condemning judgment dared her to be useful, to not disappoint.

  “I’m going to work with mommy, at the casino.” Rae had been sure that was a good answer. Mommy liked her job. She laughed and played games all night long.

  Her grandmother, old even then, had tapped her cane against the floor. “No. If you work in a casino, you run the casino. Nothing else will do.”

  Rae had nodded, soaking up the rare smile on her grandmother’s face.

  “Well, Rae?” Mr. Rashner’s voice brought Rae out of her memories. “What do you say?”

  A month ago, Rae would have jumped on the offer. “I’m not sure, sir.”

  “What?”

  Rae backpedaled, her sense of self-preservation kicking in one sentence too late. “I’m flattered. And of course I’m interested. I would just like to talk over the offer with a couple of people. This is not a small decision and I want to make the right one.”

  The move to day shift would have a financial impact due to loss of tips. The increase in pay had to be significant enough to offset that and make the increase in responsibility worthwhile. This mix of pros and cons made the day shift the most difficult to fill. When someone like Rae, who was looking to climb high, was ready for promotion, it was a blessing for both the casino and the employee. Still, she could hide behind the money as a reason for delaying her decision. She needed to talk to her mom. And, if she could manage it, she needed to talk to Cori.

  Mr. Rashner’s smile returned in full, dazzling Rae with a row of perfect white caps. “Of course. I understand the financial considerations. Take a couple of days. But this matter needs to be resolved by Wednesday.”

  “Fine.” Rae stood, shook his outstretched hand, and retreated to the elevator.

  Wednesday gave her a full day longer than she needed. A quick stop at her mom’s house, followed by a night of clutching the phone, trying to work up the nerve to dial Cori’s number. Before she could decide anything, she had to know where the two of them were going.

  *

  Norma squealed and threw her arms around Rae. “The old bastard finally offered you a promotion, huh?”

  Rae detangled herself and took a sip of her tea. “Yep, looks like.”

  Norma narrowed her eyes. “Why aren’t you more excited?”

  Rae sidestepped the question by asking one of her own. “Why do you love Vegas?”

  “Oh, honey, I don’t. Sometimes I hate this damn city.”

  “You don’t like Vegas? I thought…” Rae was stunned. “Then why did you stay?”

  “Because I love you and the work was here.” Norma pulled out a chair at the kitchen table, her eyes drifting as she thought back. “Finding work as a single mom is not easy to do. It was even harder back then. And your grandmother, old dragon that she was, promised to help.”

  “You realize this changes my entire outlook. I grew up loving Vegas because of you. All my memories are tied up with casinos and lights.”

  Norma rested her elbows on the flat, wooden tabletop. “It hasn’t been a bad life, Rae. Those memories, and the love, that’s all real.”

  Rae nodded, not convinced.

  “So.” Norma shifted back to talk of the promotion. “When do you start the new job?”

  “I’m not sure. I told him I have to think about it.”

  “Rae, what’s going on in that head of yours?” Norma mussed Rae’s hair, a move only a mother could get away with.

  “Cori.”

  “Nice girl, I like her. You should bring her by again.”

  “She’s gone.”

  “Gone?”

  “Back to Seattle, where she lives.”

  Rae stared out the sliding glass door. Sunlight glinted off the water in Norma’s rarely used pool. Did Cori like to swim?

  “Is that what this is about?”

  “She’s all I think about.”

  Norma gave an impatient huff. “So, go and get her.”

  Such simple words. Go and get her. If only life could be pared down to a four-word sentence. “It’s not that easy, Mom.”

  “Do you love her?”

  There it was, the question of the ages. Was she in love with Cori? If this wasn’t love, the real thing would kill her completely. “I think so.”

  “Then it is that easy.” Norma brushed her hands together like she was dusting them off. “What else is there but love?”

  “She wants more than I can give.” Was that true? She knew exactly wh
at to give Cori in the bedroom, but did she know what Cori wanted from life? She’d never asked.

  “And what is that?” Norma put her on the spot, which wasn’t unusual.

  “I think she wants happily ever after.”

  “And what do you want?”

  Rae paused. The answer was so simple before Cori. She’d wanted a fast life, the big office, and easy women. Now, all she could think about was cuddling with Cori beneath the covers. “I don’t know,” she whispered.

  “What’s wrong with having a relationship?”

  “Nothing, I’m just not sure I’m relationship material.”

  “How will you ever know if you don’t try?”

  Was that what her father did? Tried and found out too late, after a wife and child were part of the equation? Rae refused to be like him. “I won’t make a promise I can’t keep.”

  Norma circled the table and drew Rae into a hug. “Sweetie, you don’t have to. Just let the relationship happen. Let yourself be happy.”

  “Isn’t that what happened to you and Dad? He left to be happy?”

  Rae had never questioned Norma about her relationship with her dad before. In fact, they rarely discussed him beyond bullet point updates. He’s in California. He’s doing well. He said to tell you hi. Nothing more.

  Rae didn’t tell her mom about the time he’d called her for bail money. Or that his current girlfriend was younger than Rae. Or that he showed up at her apartment every few years, drunk and begging forgiveness for being such a bad father. He never remembered her birthday. He’d smashed her piggy bank with a hammer when she was eight, taking every last nickel. She hadn’t seen him again after that visit until she turned eleven. She didn’t mention to her mom that the only time he called her at Christmas was when he needed something. Or that he was banned from the casino for tying to snatch a stack of chips from Rae’s table, demanding that she owed him for all the sacrifices he’d made for her. She’d almost lost her job over that incident. Thankfully she’d been able to convince loss prevention that even though he was her father, she wasn’t in collusion with him. She still puzzled over the sacrifices he claimed to have made on her behalf.