Cowboy Jackpot: Valentine's Day

Cowboy Jackpot: Valentine's Day

By Randi Alexander

Edited by E.L. Felder

Copyright 2013 Randi Alexander

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Dallas Burns shifted on the plush chair in the high-stakes
area of the Old West Casino in Las Vegas. He tipped his black cowboy hat back
on his head and glanced around the red velvet-lined room.

Hell, he hoped his buddies didn't see him playing roulette.
Not that it was a woman's game or anything, but rodeo men only talked about
poker. The way they liked to tease each other, this would be a tough one to
live down.

"Twenty-four black." The dealer set five more
chips on Dallas's bet on Black, and five on his Even bet.

He scooped up his winnings and stacked them in front of him.
He'd been fascinated with the game since he was a kid watching an old cowboy
movie. Tonight, he was having the best luck of his life. He did a quick count.
He had over six thousand dollars in chips and he'd started with three hundred.

He set five chips on First Twelve, and five on Odd. Mixing
it up had been working for him tonight. The table was busy. Seven other people
stood or sat around the board and placed bets that were quite a bit larger than
his. A few wrists flashed diamond-studded watches as they set down their chips.

He glanced around the room and caught a very familiar green
gaze.

Kira Morrow. Her eyes opened wide and she leaned toward the
strawberry blonde next to her, pointed at him, and said something he knew
couldn't be good.

Kira wore a soft-looking blue sleeveless dress and
low-heeled white sandals that matched the little purse hanging on her shoulder.
It was nearly noon, had they been out on the strip? Her bright red hair hung
loose and shimmery halfway down her back. He'd loved running his fingers
through it two months ago at Christmas. The day his buddy Boone had met his
fiancée, Gigi, right here in this same casino.

Dallas, Boone, and his brother Jayden, had been competing in
a rodeo put on for local charities. They'd driven down from Reno for a few
days, and had run into Gigi and Kira, who they'd mistaken for buckle bunnies.

Dallas looked back at the table, hoping she would keep
walking. He and Kira had gotten into a nasty dust-up on Christmas Day. She'd
stormed off and flown back to New York before he'd had a chance to cool down
and apologize.

Her unmistakable floral scent threaded through his nostrils
and into his brain, making his body remember how he'd wanted her crazily back
then. He turned his head. "Kira."

"Dallas." She stood right next to him, too close
for safety.

She looked better than ever, her long body slim and
graceful, her beautiful breasts large and round.

"Stop staring at my tits."

A couple people at the table laughed.

He met her gaze. "Then get them the heck out of my
face."

She lifted a brow. "As charming as ever, I see."
She gestured to his other side. "This is my cousin Stormie."

He turned and started to rise.

"Oh, don't get up." Stormie pressed her hand on
his shoulder, keeping him down. She was strong. Her denim shorts showed toned
legs ending in flip flops, and her white tank top displayed some noticeable but
feminine arm muscles.

He held out his hand to her. "My condolences for being
attached by blood to this…sweet lady."

Stormie giggled and shook his hand, then leaned closer to
Dallas. "She's always been mean, but now I'm big enough to fight
back."

He took a closer look at her. Green eyes like Kira's, pale
skin with cute freckles. Much too young for him, but he liked her spunk.
"Are you here for the bachelorette party?"

"Dallas?" Kira interrupted. "Can I play a
chip?"

He turned his head. "Sure." He could afford to
lose one chip to get Kira less irritated with him. He needed to work on
accomplishing that before they had to walk down the aisle together in New York
next week, at Boone and Gigi's wedding.

"I am going to the bachelorette thing." Stormie
drew his attention. "I hadn't planned on it so Kira and I were just out
shopping. I'm here with my parents for the stock show. When I heard Kira would
be here too, we arranged to meet. We had drinks with Gigi last night and she
invited me to the party tonight."

Dallas nodded. She worked with stock, probably rode a horse.
That's where her well-shaped curves came from.

"What kind of stock do you raise?"

"Horses, mostly, and we've diversified into bucking
broncs."

"I've met a few of those." He cracked his neck,
relieving the tightness from an old injury.

"Oh right, now it clicks. You're a bronc rider."
Stormie grimaced. "When Kira saw you, and told me your name, I didn't
place you right away."

More than likely because Kira had been saying something
insulting about him.

The dealer spun the wheel and set the ball rolling. "No
more bets," he called. "No more bets."

Dallas glanced at the table. All his chips were gone.
"What the fuck?"

The chips stood in a tall stack on one spot on the roulette
table.

"Kira." His heart palpitated and sweat broke out
on his forehead. "Why?"

She smirked. "I put them all on double zero, 'cause
you're a big old crusty double zero in my opinion."

Curses rained through his head, followed by a vision of
grabbing her long, pale neck and choking the life out of her. Then he felt the
need for tears. "Damn it to hell, woman." He grabbed her wrist.
"Do you know how much that was?"

She rolled her eyes and tugged her arm free. "You big
baby. What was it? Fifty bucks? I'll pay you back." She huffed out a
breath and opened her purse.

"More like six thousand."

She froze and her eyes widened. "Say that again."
Her cheeks flushed a peach color as she tipped her head.

"Double zero." The dealer's voice called.
"Double zero's the winner."

Dallas was so focused on Kira and his lost money, it didn't
register right away.

"You won!" Stormie jumped up and down.
"Dallas, you won!" She squealed like a little girl.

Cheers and applause boomed around the table.

Dallas sat staring. "I won?"

The pit boss came over with a small computer and typed. The
dealer counted Dallas's chips, then the two men stared at the computer.

The pit boss looked at Kira. "Congratulations. You've
won one hundred ninety six thousand dollars."

Dallas opened his mouth but nothing came out.

Kira pointed to him. "They're his chips."

"My chips," he repeated, his brain still dazed.

"Sir." He looked at Dallas. "Did you
authorize her to bet your chips?"

"I did, but I didn't think she'd—"

The pit boss nodded. "She placed the chips. The jackpot
is hers."

Dallas stood so fast his chair fell backward.
"What?" His voice echoed through the room. He turned to Kira.

She gave him a malicious smile, looked back at the pit boss,
and asked, "Can I get that wired right into my checking account?"

Dallas shook his head. The woman was beautiful, sexy,
frustrating, and asking for trouble. "Kira."

****

Kira let the smile fall from her face. The disappointment in
his voice ruined all her fun.

Stormie grabbed her arm. "You're not going to take his
money, are you?"

Kira looked into Dallas's black eyes. "I don't
know." She didn't need the money. Stormie knew her parents were wealthy,
but no one knew that Kira had inherited when she'd turned twenty-three.
Inherited a lot. She just wanted to keep him close for a while. Get to know who
he really was behind that rough surface. "I'm willing to discuss it with
you." She lifted her brows and gave him a grin.

Dallas visibly unclenched his jaw as someone picked up his
overturned chair. "What do you mean discuss it?" His hands fisted.

She hoped to spend time with him, not make him so angry
he'd…hit her? She shook her head.

Last Christmas, when Kira had her family attorney's private
investigator do background checks on him, Boone, and Boone's brother Jayden,
she'd found out Dallas had been accused of assault. Just last month, the
investigator let her know that he'd been found not guilty. Did that really mean
he was innocent, though?

"Kira?" He leaned closer. "Tell me what
you're planning."

The look he gave her sent up warning signals in her brain,
but she wanted to give him a chance. At Christmas, he was as amazing a person
as she'd ever met. Serious and intelligent, quietly sensual. At least, that's
how he'd been before things got ugly between them.

"The casino says the money is mine. You think it should
be yours, right?"

His eyes narrowed and he nodded. "Rightfully."

"Legally, it's mine, which trumps your 'rightfully,'
doesn't it?" She shook her head. She shouldn't tease him any longer.
"But I agree with you. You have a right to it."

He just stared, but he unfisted his hands.

"Hi, I'm Michelle, your casino host." A petite
woman in a dark suit stepped up to them. "Congratulations on your
win."

A cork popped. "Champagne, compliments of the Old West
Casino." Glasses were filled and handed to the three of them as well as to
the other players.

"Free champagne." Stormie grinned. "This is
so cool."

Dallas glanced at her then back at Kira. "Is she old
enough to drink?"

"I'm twenty-two." She tapped her glass to Kira's,
then to Dallas's. "Congratulations to whichever one of you wins this
battle."

The casino host gestured to someone behind her. "We'd
like to take a few photos, then we'll get you settled in the manager's office
to fill out your paperwork."

A photographer stepped closer, the casino host arranged them
in front of the roulette table, and said, "Smile."

Turning toward the camera, Dallas's lips curved slightly
upward. Evidently his version of happiness.

Kira grinned and turned on every watt of charm she had.
Leaning into Dallas, the firm, hot muscles of his arm burned into her through
his fancy western-cut shirt. The dark blue pattern hit her as extra macho as it
lay against his tan skin, and the tuft of dark hair showing at his chest made
her gooey inside. The photographer snapped away as Kira remembered those biceps
from Christmas. He had moved in for a kiss and she'd grabbed him to push
herself away.

Half blinded by the flashes, her memories of his sexy face
drawing closer to her sent warm rushes of desire into her belly. She rubbed a
little closer to him and her hand brushed where his dark jeans covered his sexy
ass.

He put his hand on her lower back. "Don't even think
you can seduce me out of all that money, woman."

Sucking in a breath, she let her body tingle with the excitement
of his touch. She turned to him. "You'd better play by my rules, Dallas,
or you're not going to see a penny of it."

His head swiveled to face her. "A man has his pride,
Kira. You push me too far…"

"And?" Was he threatening her?

"And I'll tell Gigi what you're up to." He tried
to fight back a smile.

Relief flowed through her. "That's not even fair,"
she teased.

"I have a suite for you two." The casino host's
smile looked a little unsure.

Kira wiggled closer to Dallas. "Are you telling us to
get a room?"

The woman blushed and winked. "I sure am." She
gestured. "Come with me and we'll get you all set up."

Kira turned to Stormie, who was having her champagne flute
refilled by a handsome casino employee. "Meet me in the Roundup Bar? And
would you call Gigi and see if she can be pried away from her fiancé long
enough to have a drink with us?"

Stormie nodded. "I'll see you there. Wait…" She
pulled Kira aside and her face turned serious. "Dallas seems like a nice
guy, under all the teasing. You're not going to screw him out of his money, are
you?"

Her cousin, the church-going, all-American, Oklahoma
cowgirl. Always everyone's conscience. One of the things Kira loved about her.
"No. I'm just making him sweat a little. Call it…payback."

With a smile, Stormie waved her off. "Don't push too
hard, or you may find him gone."

Kira took the words to heart as they left the table followed
by another chorus of congratulations.