Andrea Laurence - Back in Her Husband's Bed

His heavy brows rose in response to her declaration. “I hadn’t planned on seducing you.” Nate stood up and rounded the coffee table. He leaned over her, trapping her between the long length of his arms.

Annie eased back into the couch, but there wasn’t anywhere else to go. She could only breathe in his cologne and remember that same scent on her pillows as she’d slept in this very suite. Back then, Nate had had the ability to play her body like a musical instrument he’d studied his whole life. She’d never been with another man who could bring her pleasure like he had. What they had had was explosive. Mind-blowing.

The closer he came to her, the more she wondered if that connection had severed during their time apart. It didn’t feel like it.

His gaze raked over her body. “But if I did…what’s so wrong with that? It’s not a crime to sleep with your own husband, Annie.”

Back in Her

Husband’s Bed

Andrea Laurence

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ANDREA LAURENCEis an award-winning contemporary romance author who has been a lover of books and writing stories since she learned to read. She always dreamed of seeing her work in print and is thrilled to be able to share her books with the world. A dedicated West Coast girl transplanted into the Deep South, she’s working on her own “happily ever after” with her boyfriend and five fur-babies. You can contact Andrea at her website: www.andrealaurence.com.

To My Awesome Editor, Shana Smith—

Thank you for rescuing me and this book from

the slush pile and seeing us for the diamonds in the

(very) rough that we were. Even when this story didn’t

seem like it would work out, you didn’t give up on it

or my ability to make it shine. You may not know this,

but when you found me, I was on the verge of giving

up and I’m so glad I didn’t. You have quite literally

changed my life and I can’t send enough cookies

and cupcakes to thank you for it.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Epilogue

Excerpt

One

“Mr. Reed, our facial recognition software has detected a match for the Barracuda in pit three near the dollar slots.”

Nate smiled. Like a moth to a flame, Annie had walked right into his trap. He knew she couldn’t pass up the chance to play at his poker tournament, even if it meant returning to the scene of the crime. As the owner and manager of the Desert Sapphire Hotel and Casino, it was easy to have Annie red-flagged by his security team. The moment she strolled back in to his casino he knew it.

“We have visual confirmation. She’s on her way to the high-roller area.” Gabriel Hansen, his chief of security, lifted his hand to his earpiece and listened intently for a moment before nodding in confirmation. “She’s joined the Texas Hold’em game with Mr. Nakimori and Mr. Kline.”

“Of course she has.” Nate set aside his paperwork and made his way to the elevator. There was no time to waste. The Japanese businessman and the oil tycoon had credit lines in the millions, and they’d need every penny if he didn’t get down there. They didn’t call her the Barracuda for nothing.

“Do you need assistance with this, Mr. Reed?” Gabe was also his best friend, despite the formalities they used at work. Gabe knew what Annie’s arrival meant. His offer to accompany him was less about work and more about helping his friend.

Nate sighed and straightened his navy silk tie. He suspected Gabe would relish handcuffing Annie and parading her through the casino so everyone would see. To be honest, he wouldn’t mind that himself, but she’d never agree to his plan if he did. “No, I’ve got this handled.”

A quick swipe of his identification card sent the elevator plummeting down the twenty-five floors from his suite to the main casino lobby. A soft chime announced his arrival, and the doors opened to the office corridors where casino operations took place.

The walk through the casino to the high-roller area wasn’t long, but each step weighed more heavily on him than the last. Annie was here. In his casino. After three long years. He should be excited to finally confront her. To have his chance to exact his revenge and make her miserable. Or if not excited, perhaps smug. His plan was working just as he’d hoped it would. And yet he was none of those things.

His mouth was dry, his pulse racing in his throat. If he didn’t know better, he might think he was nervous. Imagine that: Nathan Reed, millionaire casino owner, former most eligible bachelor in Las Vegas, nervous. It was a ridiculous idea. And yet Annie had always been his weakness.

Nate rounded the corner and spied the entrance to the high-roller lounge. Even across the casino floor, he could spot her. Her back was to him as she leaned over her cards, her legs crossed beneath the table. Her long raven hair spilled over the olive skin of her bare shoulders. Beside her Mr. Nakimori leaned back into his seat, throwing his cards down in disgust.

Nate stopped just behind Annie and placed a heavy hand on her shoulder. She didn’t flinch. She’d been expecting him. Game on.

“Gentlemen,” he said, flashing a confident smile at the other players at the table and extending a hand to each of them. “It’s good to have you both back here at the Sapphire. Is everything going well for you this afternoon?”

Jackson Kline grinned wide and leaned back into his chair. “It was until this pretty little thing showed up. She’s taken more of my money than my ex-wife.”

Nate smiled and nodded. “Then I’m sure you gentlemen won’t mind if I deprive you of her company.”

“We’re in the middle of a hand.”

They were the first words she’d spoken to him since she disappeared. She didn’t say “hello.” Not even “I’m sorry” or “You’re looking well.” Just a complaint that he was interrupting her poker hand.

He leaned down and pressed his lips against the soft outer shell of her ear. The smell of her jasmine shampoo filled his lungs as he hovered near. The familiar scent was alluring and reminded him of the tangled sheets she left behind, but he wasn’t going to fall prey to her this time. “We need to talk. Fold.” The demand was simple and quiet, but powerful.

“Well, gentlemen—” Annie sighed “—I guess I’m done.” She slid the cards across the table and reached up to gently extract Nate’s hand from her shoulder. He complied, stepping back far enough to allow her to rise from her seat.

“Good afternoon,” the men responded in their respective Southern and Japanese accents, although they both seemed visibly relieved to see her go.

Annie grasped her red leather handbag and strolled to the exit with Nate quick on her heels. He moved alongside her, scooping her elbow up with a firm hand and guiding her toward the elevator.

“Take your hands off me,” she hissed through gritted teeth. She tugged against his grasp, but it was futile.

Nate couldn’t contain a chuckle. “I will not. You and I both know what happened the last time I did that. If you’d prefer, I could have security escort you upstairs instead.”

She came to a sudden stop, jerking Nate to turn back to her. Her azure-blue eyes were alight with anger. They penetrated him, a connection forming between them with a sudden snap of electricity. “You wouldn’t dare,” she said.