Split the Aces Page 7

The question nagged at her. When all other thought fled her, that one thought remained. What had she done to deserve this perfect moment with Cori? What could she do to make it last?

  “I could ask you the same question.” Cori met Rae’s probing gaze. “But I won’t. I’m just going to enjoy you while you’re here.”

  Her choice of words puzzled Rae. Cori was the one who was leaving, not Rae. Was she only interested in a fleeting encounter? Maybe Rae had misjudged the situation. She was certain, after the look she’d intercepted at the party, that Cori was jealous and hurt. Had she since decided that Rae wasn’t worth more than a vacation fling? Rae was starting to want much more than that but didn’t dare think about the reasons. She certainly wasn’t ready to share her confusing emotions.

  “Then let’s enjoy ourselves.” She ran her tongue along the edge of Cori’s ear and sucked the lobe between her teeth. She bit down, but only with a teasing pressure. Tonight wasn’t about testing the edge between pleasure and pain. She just wanted Cori to feel treasured.

  Normally she knew exactly where to go, what to touch, how to touch, whether to use her hand, her mouth, her thigh. Tonight she wanted to do everything all at once. Of all her options, however, she wasn’t willing to sacrifice the connection she felt when she looked into Cori’s eyes. She ran her hand down Cori’s body, smoothing it over the small goose bumps rising on her skin. She paused to enjoy the tension in her tight abdominal muscles, fanning her fingers over the slight swell of her tummy. Cori was soft and yielding, and Rae continued down, not stopping until she reached the hot, wet folds of her sex. She felt Cori tense beneath her touch and saw a yearning in the depths of her eyes that barely made it to her lips.

  “Please, Rae. Don’t make me wait.” It was the faintest whisper, a prayer between rough, shallow breaths.

  She was so wet and so open. Carefully, slowly, Rae pushed into her. She almost cried out at the perfection of the moment. She could see the need and hunger written plainly on Cori’s face, feel it in the tightening muscles surrounding her fingers. It was impossible to hold back any longer. Cori didn’t want to wait, either, so Rae did the only thing left to her. She took her with the careful abandon of a lover. She wanted, no needed to possess her, to take everything she offered and give her everything she deserved.

  Cori felt perfect, the surge and pulse of her, the gliding sweat on her skin, the clutching need of her nails digging into Rae’s back. She rose up to meet every stroke, thrusting against Rae. Eyes closed, head tilted back, she released a long, rising groan as her muscles clenched and fluttered in release.

  Rae clutched her, sure in the aftermath of Cori’s orgasm that she’d never really seen a woman before. Not like that. No matter how many times she’d experienced a shared orgasm, she’d never looked into the soul of a woman as she released herself so completely in the woman’s hands. Rae was humbled and honored to have Cori open herself up this way. She ached to keep this moment locked in time, a brief reprieve from the harshness of life. Was this what a future with Cori would hold? She felt herself slipping further down a path of promises and commitment.

  Cori sagged against the bed. “God, you’re good at that.”

  She sucked in air and waited for the blur of black and white pinpoint dots to clear the edges of her vision. She hated that she needed Rae so much. It would be simpler, less complicated, and less painful if she didn’t. She knew she should have said no when Rae asked to spend the day with her. She should have said no when Rae kissed her as they looked out over the dam. And when Rae brought her back to the hotel. But how could she? Hell, it was her idea to come here. And why not?

  If only she were able to enjoy the physical pleasure of being with Rae and ignore the clawing emotional need, the overwhelming sadness of knowing she soon had to leave, and the scratching jealousy that Rae would probably be in another woman’s arms before her plane touched down in Seattle. She’d been in another woman’s arms when Cori found her last night. She’d tried all day to suppress the memory of that blonde on her knees bringing Rae to climax with her mouth. But no matter how forcefully she ignored it, the truth of the situation didn’t change. Rae was a player, a woman only interested in her next conquest.

  Cori didn’t want to believe it. When Rae was with her, she felt special, like she was the only woman in the world, more importantly, the only woman in Rae’s world. But that was wishful thinking. In spite of her better judgment, Cori snuggled into Rae’s arms. Just like last time, she felt safe and protected. She hadn’t realized how important that feeling was to her.

  Her father had taught her not to expect comfort in the arms of another. His “my way or the highway” approach to parenting was unforgiving, and through years of absolutes, Cori had learned to be self-reliant. Maricel, her oldest sister, said it hadn’t always been like that. She remembered their father being loving and nurturing. He’d changed when his own father died, his passion and love of family apparently buried along with the cherished man. His heart never seemed to recover. Cori didn’t know if it was true. All she remembered was steely eyes condemning her at every turn.

  As she grew up, it was odd to see her friends being hugged and encouraged. She was grateful to avoid being scolded. Her mother had been too busy cleaning house and bowing to his wishes to stop him from chasing their children out of their lives. Latino families were known for living together long after the children reached adult status. Cori, on the other hand, had moved out of her parents’ house the day she turned eighteen. She seldom visited anymore. She could live without the sense that she was a disappointment.

  Rae kissed the top of her head. “I love the way you look. Wild, tense, chasing the moment of release. Makes me want to try harder, take you higher.” Her tone was reflective. She squeezed Cori a little tighter. “You make everything else just disappear. Everything that is normally important to me just fades away.”

  Cori didn’t respond right away, letting Rae’s words settle in her brain. She was saying all the right things. Did she say that to every woman she was with? Cori sighed. Why couldn’t she just relax and enjoy the moment? “Do you mean that?”

  “Yeah.” Rae traced random patterns over her hip. “Scares me to death.”

  “Why?” Cori couldn’t believe she asked the question. It betrayed her need to hope that maybe there was a chance with Rae after all. She needed to not entertain that possibility, even for a second. They lived hours apart, in different area codes for Christ’s sake. Rae had already demonstrated that, when it came to women, impulse control was not her strong point. Only a naïve fool would ever trust her.

  “How could it not scare me?” Rae sought her eyes. “I don’t let women affect me like this, but here I am, trying to make sense of the hold you have on me. I don’t understand it, but it’s still there.”

  “And that’s bad?”

  “Cori, I don’t even know where you live. I know nothing about you, except that you’re great with your hands, your voice melts my insides, and when you kiss me everything else disappears.”

  Cori smiled. All she had to do to keep Rae’s focus was to kiss her? Too easy. She pressed her lips to Rae’s, pleased with the sharp intake of breath as she pushed her tongue past Rae’s teeth. She didn’t lose herself in the kiss like she had earlier. Rather, she just wanted to test the truth in Rae’s statement. The glossed-over state of her eyes told her everything she needed to know.

  “Seattle.”

  Rae blinked. “Huh?”

  “I live in Seattle.”

  “Do you like it there?”

  That was something Cori seldom thought about. What difference did it make if she liked it or not? It was where she lived, where she worked, where her family lived. She’d never had any reason not to like it. “I guess.”

  Rae looked disappointed, like someone let the air out of her. “Do you sing there?”

  That’s right, Rae had said something earlier about her singing and she’d missed it in the wake of the kissing comment. When had Rae heard her si
ng? Cori tried to remember their car ride. Had she sung along with the car stereo? She didn’t think so.

  “No, not unless you count karaoke.”

  She must have looked puzzled because Rae explained, “I stopped in during the auditions yesterday.”

  “Oh.” With the emotional storm surrounding Rae, she’d forgotten all about the audition. “I was a little drunk. Those blue drinks they serve by the pool have more rum than blue.”

  “Think you’ll get the gig?” There was an odd note in Rae’s voice.

  Cori studied her closely and realized what she was seeing. Rae was fearful. Players didn’t like their throwaway partners to show up again. No doubt she was worried that if Cori joined the band she would move to town and expect them to pick up where they left off. Her unspoken dismay made Cori’s throat close.

  “Kel said they aren’t going to make a decision for a couple of weeks,” she explained, saddened that Rae obviously didn’t want her to get the job. “They’re going on vacation, then when they get back they’ll let everybody know.”

  She sensed Rae growing tenser as the conversation went on and felt a wave of anger rise from her belly. Did the thought that she might move to Vegas upset Rae that much? Was she worried that Cori would try to stake a claim over her or tie her down?

  “Do you want to get it?” Rae asked.

  Cori didn’t look at her. “Don’t worry. If I decide to move here, I’ll try not to cramp your style.”

  The hand caressing Cori’s hip stopped moving. “What does that mean?”

  “I saw you with that woman last night, Rae. I know what you’re like.” Cori willed her mouth to stop moving, but she couldn’t stop the words from forming. Even from her point of view, it felt like she was attacking Rae, but she couldn’t help herself.

  Rae reared back. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “At the party. I know you saw me.”

  “So?”

  Cori’s temper flashed. “So, I don’t want to be with a woman who fucks me in the afternoon and another woman the same night.”

  Rae was out of bed, hands on her hips, outrage lining her face. “Who I fuck is none of your damn business.” She jerked her pants on. “And I didn’t hear any complaints from you when I made you come.”

  The words stung. How could it not be any of Cori’s business? Rae had just told her she was special and Cori knew she meant it. How could it not matter if Rae gave that part of herself to another woman?

  Cori jumped out of bed. “It goddamn well is my business. For just plain old-fashioned health concerns, if nothing else.” She punctuated the sentence with short little jabs to Rae’s chest with her forefinger.

  “No, Cori, it’s not. You are not my wife. I can fuck who I want, when I want.” Rae shoved her arms into the sleeves of her shirt, leaving the buttons open. She scooped up her shoes and opened the door. “I like you, Cori. A lot. But you don’t get to tell me what to do and how to live. We haven’t even known each other for a week.”

  Panic gathered in Cori’s chest. A few minutes ago they’d been so close, and with the night stretching out before them, she’d imagined a deepening of the connection she’d sensed earlier, at the dam. She wished she could take back the last few minutes. Even as she’d spoken, she knew she was taking a risk and that her words would push Rae away. Maybe that was why she did it. Rae was only going to hurt her if given the chance. At least this way she wouldn’t have that power.

  Cori remained silent as she watched Rae walk out the door. The urge to run after her was so strong that she grabbed hold of the bed to stop her feet from moving. The events of the past day or so would only sting for a short time. Then she would be free of Rae’s hold on her mind and body, free to live the life she planned without complications. One day she would find someone who would share her dreams and become part of her world. Rae Sutherland wasn’t that woman.

  Chapter Eight

  Rae straightened the knot in her tie for the thirtieth time that night. Not that it needed straightening; she executed a perfect double Windsor every time she donned her work uniform. Rather, she needed something to do while the shuffler whirred through three decks before she could deal the next round.

  Cori stood at the roulette table, just beyond the reach of her voice, but well within her range of sight. Her presence was the kind of distracting torture Rae didn’t need while working. The normal buffet of women filtering through the casino damaged her concentration less than Cori did, all by herself. Normally, Rae would engage a woman from across the room, letting her gestures transmit her intentions. She would remain focused on the table in front of her, but section off a little pocket of excitement in her mind, one that would get her full attention later.

  With Cori, she couldn’t bring her thoughts in line. All she could picture was the hurt on her face, first at the party, then last night as Rae walked out of her room. Twice she’d caused pain and was angry with herself for doing so. Cori had forgiven her the first time. Would she do it a second? Just seeing her, even without being able to talk to her, gave Rae comfort. At least she was still in Vegas. There was a chance that they could spend time together again.

  “Distracted much, Rae?”

  “Christ.” She just about jumped out of her skin when Marco touched her arm. “Don’t do that.”

  He pointed to the silent shuffler. “Cards are ready.”

  Reflexively, she began laying out cards for the next round. There were two empty chairs at her table. They’d been full when she’d placed the new decks in the shuffler. The players had left without her noticing. Taking cover behind a veil of cool efficiency, she finished out the hand, paying out one winner and collecting losses from the other three.

  “Greg wants to count out your table. It’s time for you to take a break.” Marco spoke softly in her ear, low enough that the gamblers wouldn’t hear.

  Rae asked the players if they’d like to color up before she closed the table, then decked the house chips out on trays as Greg arrived to take over. It wasn’t unusual to count down a table mid-shift. Random spot-checks on accuracy were a part of the casino’s routine loss prevention efforts, aimed at keeping dealers focused and honest.

  Marco waited with her while they verified the funds. “What’s going on with you?”

  Rae tore her eyes off Cori. “What do you mean?”

  “I’ve been watching you ignore every hot woman in the place, including the ones sending signals. That’s not like you.”

  This was not good. Rae always noticed good-looking women. Always. Even when she was getting over the flu a year ago she’d noticed a particularly tasty blonde with legs that went on forever. She’d gone to the guest’s room after the shift and let her kiss away her pains.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, glancing back to see if Cori was watching. She wasn’t.

  The banker signaled that everything checked out and Marco walked her toward the break area and away from Cori. “Come on, Rae. Cut the bullshit.”

  Rae tried a different tactic. “School is a pain, man. Mid-terms are kicking my ass this quarter. Seriously. Nothing to worry about.”

  Marco didn’t look convinced. He motioned for her to sit as he lifted a plastic container from the refrigerator. “Loti made tamales.”

  He put the container, sans lid, in the microwave while Rae found a couple of bottles of water. Food was Marco’s solution for everything, bless him. Not a bad approach to life, really. Hard to not find common ground over a good plate of gazpacho.

  “Eat.” He dropped a portion in front of Rae and handed her a fork.

  It wasn’t that she didn’t want to unburden herself, she just didn’t know what to say. How could she explain to a stand-up guy like Marco what she was feeling for Cori when she didn’t understand it herself? He’d been happily married the entire time Rae had known him and was singular in his devotion to his wife and their children. He was the guy who helped little old ladies cross the street, played catch with his
kids in the yard, and dressed his family up for church on Sunday. He didn’t do those things because he had to, and he didn’t seem to regret giving up his single life like some guys. Rae had concluded that taking care of others made him feel like more of a man. And that he could do it for the woman he loved made life all the sweeter.

  Rae wondered how much easier life would be if she were like him. She chewed the layers of corn and pork slowly, savoring the flavor and trying to assemble her thoughts into a cohesive summary to present to him. For his part, Marco ate in silence, giving her the room she needed. The tamale went down easy before she finally decided to ask his opinion.

  “How did you know that Loti was the one?” It seemed like a good place to start and hopefully find the answer to her real question: How would she know if Cori was the right one for her?

  Marco’s smile said that only an idiot wouldn’t know the answer to that question. Which, Rae reasoned, didn’t feel too far off base. She’d spent a good deal of time in the last few days feeling properly idiotic.

  “That was easy,” he said. “When I met Loti, I stopped noticing all the other women. Or, if I did notice, I couldn’t help comparing them to her.”

  “Oh.” This was not going to help. Rae needed someone to tell her she was acting crazy and had to get herself under control. Still, she couldn’t help but ask for more information. “What did you do?”

  “I begged her to marry me.”

  No surprises there. Of course he’d just known and done the respectable thing. A guy like Marco bought a ring and got down on one knee. He knew how to count his blessings. “How long did you know her first?”

  “Four days.”

  Rae choked on her water, sending it sputtering across the room. “What?”

  “I had to do something fast. She was engaged to another man and she was going to move to Georgia to be with him. I knew I couldn’t live without her.”

  “You made her choose.”

  “I couldn’t ask her to give up her future unless I promised something just as good in return,” Marco said. “So I offered her all I had.”