First Rapture(21)

He’d known a hundred beautiful females who hadn’t made him look twice.

On the point of barging his way into the bathroom and hauling her back to the bed—or maybe he’d just lure her into the shower—the connecting door was shoved open.

“At last—” His words came to a sharp halt, his brows snapping together at the sight of Madison wearing a casual yellow sundress with a scooped neckline and spaghetti straps. Her hair pulled into a simple ponytail. “Why are you dressed?”

Opening a large Gucci bag, she set it on a chair and began collecting her clothes that were scattered over the carpet.

“I think that should be obvious.”

Luc watched her jerky movements with a strange sense of incredulity. Was this the same woman who’d just shattered in his arms? Who’d cried out his name at the height of her pleasure?

“Obvious to whom?” he demanded. “Certainly not me.”

She shoved her gown and shoes into the bag, not even glancing in his direction. “I’ve done what I came to do and now I’m leaving.”

“Leaving?” His sluggish thoughts struggled to make sense of this abrupt change from lover to stranger. “You said this was your room.”

“I paid for the night.” She at last turned to face him, her expression unreadable. “Feel free to stay if you want.”

With an impatient growl, Luc shoved himself off the bed, stalking toward her. “What the hell is going on here?”

She tilted her chin, her body rigid. “Come on, Luc. You’re an intelligent man.”

He halted directly in front of her. “I used to think so, but clearly there’s something wrong with my brain since I can’t think of one reason you aren’t in this bed with me.”

“I told you, I finished what I came to Vegas to do.”

Luc flicked his gaze toward the packed bag before returning to Madison’s aloof expression. Anger abruptly replaced his confusion.

She was packing to leave.

“You came to screw me?” he snarled.

“To seduce you,” she corrected.

“Why?” He glared at her in disbelief. “You wanted a quickie for old times’ sake?”

She kept her chin at a defiant angle, but Luc didn’t miss her covert step away from his tightly coiled body.

“I wanted you to feel what it’s like to be lying in a bed when someone else walks away.”

“Son of a bitch,” he breathed, suddenly remembering his earlier suspicion that Madison was hiding something from him. Now he knew. “This was revenge sex.”

“Precisely.” A sweet smile curved the lush lips he’d so recently imagined wrapped around his cock, but it did nothing to warm the cold hazel eyes. She grabbed her bag. “Goodbye, Luc.”

Luc was standing in front of the door before he even realized he was moving. “I don’t think so.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Get out of my way.”

He folded his arms over his na**d chest, his gaze taking in the frantic pulse at the base of her throat.

So. She wasn’t the ice queen she was pretending to be.

“No,” he said, grabbing her by the waist and tossing her over his shoulder.

He hadn’t built a financial empire without developing the ability to take command of a situation.

No matter how crazy-ass the situation might be.