Two To Wrangle (Hotel Rodeo #2)(12)

“Gigantic?” she snorted. “It seems to get bigger every time.”

He grinned. “When I think of you, it does.”

He brought her hand down between them, wrapping her fingers around his thick length. Her eyes grew wide and her breath came faster as he moved their joined hands up and down over his pulsing shaft.

“Maybe you’re right,” she replied in a hoarse whisper. “But this still won’t change my mind. Once I say my final goodbye to Tom, I’m going back to New York.”

“If that’s how it is, there isn’t much point to this, is there?” He released her hand from his dick.

“C’mon, Ty.” She shut her eyes on a frustrated huff. “Why can’t we just enjoy this? Isn’t that what you always wanted from me? To live in the moment? Why do we always have to mix business with pleasure?”

“Because the two things are inseparable,” he said, “at least as long as we both have an interest in Brandt Morgan. When you first came out to Vegas, you promised me sixty days to come up with financing to buy you out. I still have a month left. I want you to wait until that time is up. We’re not doing this again unless you agree.”

“Why? What difference does it make if I’m there or in New York?”

“All the difference in the world. I want a chance to show you the hotel could really be something.”

“But I can’t do it, Ty. If it wasn’t for Tom, I never would have gone out to Vegas at all. I don’t belong in Las Vegas. It’s not who I am.”

“Maybe you feel that way because you never tried to belong,” he suggested softly. “Things might have been a whole lot different if you had.”

Monica drew a breath but then closed her mouth. She had no rebuttal because he was right.

“I want you to come back to Vegas with me,” he said. “Just thirty days. That’s all I’m asking.”

“Why, Ty? You don’t need me anymore.”

His brows rose. “What are you talking about?”

She sighed. “There’s something I have to tell you. Something that changes everything. There’s a codicil bequeathing you controlling interest in Brandt Morgan. You see? You don’t have to answer to me or anyone else anymore.”

“You’re shitting me.” He’d never asked Tom about his will before, and anytime Tom tried to bring it up Ty had changed the uncomfortable subject.

“No. Bob told me today.”

“Wow.” He pursed his mouth. “I sure didn’t see that coming.” He didn’t know why he was so shocked. It only made sense that Tom would be as generous after his death as he’d been while he’d lived.

“I think you should also know that I’m still planning to sell out.”

He regarded her with a scowl. “You can’t sell it out from under me,” he said. “Not anymore.”

“I know that. I’m not trying to screw you over. I just want you to know I had an offer.”

“So you’d sell your share?”

She nodded. “That’s my intent. If not to you, then to another investor. You can do whatever you want, but I don’t want to be in the hotel business.”

He jerked back. “Who made the offer?” Her answer only confirmed what he already suspected.

“Evan. He came in from New York on a fishing expedition. He wants the property. I think you should sell it to him. Let’s just say for the sake of argument that you bought out my share, what are you going to do with the place? Even if you invest millions in renovation, you’ll never survive with your current business model. If you keep it, it’s only going to bankrupt you. If you had any sense you’d take Evan’s money and run.”

Evan’s money. The words rang in his head like a hammer striking an anvil. The thought of dealing with her ex almost made Ty see red. Evan was everything Ty wasn’t—a rich * who got off by throwing his weight around. Was it Evan’s money she wanted? But she’d just inherited nearly a billion. Maybe it was Evan’s name and power she wanted? Ty had none of that. Were those the real reasons she’d boarded Evan’s plane bound for New York?

“If I sold, then what?” he asked slowly.

“With tens of millions in the bank you could do whatever you want,” she replied.

“The hotel is what I want, Monica.”

“Look, Ty, even if you don’t want to, I’m still selling my interest. You see how this alters everything? I’m not in the picture anymore, so you can drop this whole seduction routine.”

“Is that what you think?” he asked. “That I was just using you?”

“Aren’t you?” she asked. “Not that I really mind all that much.” She stepped closer and ran her hands slowly up his chest. “I want this too, Ty.”

He scowled, all his former playfulness fading. “I don’t play these kinds of games.”

As much as he wanted to want someone else, Monica was the only woman he desired. He’d taken her to his house, something he’d never done, making an exception—for her. But even after he’d confessed as much to her, she’d flat out walked on him the next day. From that morning until the night he’d gotten shit faced, she’d given him the cold shoulder. Even explaining about Cassie and Delaney hadn’t helped. It was as if everything that had happened between them had never taken place. He still couldn’t figure out where he’d gone wrong. Hell, he’d never tried so hard with a woman before.