Read Gambling on the Bodyguard for Free Online

many credits should I play?”
    “Any number you want, but the more credits you play, the faster the money is gone.”
    “So I just hit this button?” When he nodded, she pressed the blinking light and set the pictures in motion. When they stopped, she was down to seven credits. “That was surprisingly undramatic,” she said.
    “Try it again.” His voice reverberated so close to her ear that she felt it to her toes. She didn’t really care when she ended up another credit down. Then another. When the machine flashed on her fourth spin, she thought it must have been her overloaded senses screaming jackpot over the man who practically had his arms around her, but then the man in question pointed to her number of credits.
    “You’re up to a hundred and twenty four,” he explained.
    She turned her head only to lose her breath when she found he was even closer than she’d thought. “What does that mean?”
    He tipped his head just enough to make her anticipate a kiss that didn’t come. Instead, he offered a boyish grin that had her thinking of very adult things. “You just won about thirty bucks,” he said. “Which means if you stop now, you’ll have achieved the impossible.”
    “What’s that?”
    “First time gambling, you won Vegas.”
    God, the man melted her. But he was wrong. “Not quite.”
    The corner of his mouth quirked. “What do you mean?”
    “My first win wasn’t here,” she said. “It was back at the Masquerade. Door number two.”

Chapter Four
    Jax could only stare as Ellie’s words sank in. Jesus, this woman. All he’d wanted was to keep her away from Focker. Jerk move for all the right reasons, and now Jax was paying with his soul. He wasn’t so bothered by the fact that he wanted to taste her every delectable inch, but that he was already picturing the morning after. Pancakes in bed. Licking syrup from her nipples. Wrecked sheets and sex. Wrecked him . And it was too damned much, especially considering his number one rule was to never spend the night. He’d found out the hard way that waking up next to the same woman he’d gone to bed with triggered something in her that said relationship , and it was a mistake he wouldn’t make twice.
    Getting personal—letting someone believe in him—was a mistake he’d never make again.
    One funeral had been enough.
    “Let’s cash out,” Ellie said, oblivious to his dark thoughts. “My friend back home gave me enough grief for coming here. She said I’d never loosen up enough to have any fun so I want at least one winning ticket to show her.”
    “Then you better take a picture of it.” He showed her how to print the voucher, then used her phone to take a picture of her holding the slip for her friend. “That okay?” he asked, holding up the picture for her approval.
    She peered at the image, then at him. “Almost. Do you mind being in the picture with me?”
    Oh, hell. The lowest of lows…a selfie with a cash out ticket. He’d have to turn in his right to call himself a local if he agreed. He did it anyway, just in case Ellie ever wanted to look back and remember him. Another dumb move for a guy who generally preferred to be forgotten, but at some point the rules had left the building.
    She snapped the picture then showed him. And it cut like a knife.
    We look like a couple .
    Worse, he liked it. He liked looking like he belonged with someone. Liked looking like he belonged with her .
    Hated the sudden urge he had to ask her to send him a copy.
    “Evidence preserved,” she said with a grin. “Now how do we cash out?”
    “Kiosk.” He pointed toward one of the ATM-like stations that traded vouchers for cash and waited off to one side while the machine paid out. As he stood there, he scoped out his surroundings, and in particular the people. Very much in particular the jerk standing way too close to Ellie. He hadn’t quit staring at her butt since he’d had the good fortune of getting in line behind her. Jax could hardly