Love Me Like No Other Read Online Free PDF Page B

painfully slowly, most likely because he wanted it to go fast. He took care of mundane tasks then called his manager to give last-minute instructions for his week away. One entire week was the longest he’d ever been away from the Gramercy. It was going to be difficult but he was sure that being with Jade would pass the time quickly.
    Linc remembered the feel of her, soft and accommodating; and the taste of her, sweeter than any dessert his casino offered. He remembered her smile and the way her eyes, her nose, had crinkled when she’d taken her first swig of beer. That night at the frat party she’d bewitched him. He’d wanted her fiercely and had gotten her.
    Tonight, he still wanted her.
    So he’d moved quickly to get to his penthouse, to get to her. Only to find that she wasn’t there.
    Okay, so maybe she was late. He decided to take his shower and change. An hour later when he was still in his penthouse alone he knew she wasn’t coming. A call downstairs informed him that Mario had returned to the hotel, without his guest, over two hours ago. In minutes Linc was stepping off the elevator heading out of the casino. Mario stood from his perch against the limo as he approached.
    “Where is she?”
    Mario shrugged. “Told me to take her home.”
    Linc gritted his teeth then yanked the handle to the back door not waiting for Mario’s assistance. Mario followed his boss’s lead and climbed into the driver’s seat. With a glance in the rearview mirror he asked where to.
    Linc answered with a scowl. “Take me to her.”
    Mario did as he was told, weaving through the early evening traffic in the direction from which he’d just come.
    She was a stubborn one, Linc mused from his seat in the back of the vehicle. When they’d first met she’d seemed amiable enough, but then they’d both had a few drinks by that point. He remembered clearly the assessing way she’d looked at him when he proposed a private party in his room.He’d felt that same desperation, that same paralyzing need for her to say yes then, just as he had earlier today.
    What was it about her?
    And why on earth was he chasing her?
    Even with his reputation he had an endless choice of women. But none of them had ever stirred him like Jade did.
    He didn’t have time to search for an answer as the car had stopped in front of an apartment building he assumed was where she resided. Linc stepped out after Mario had opened his door. Surveying his surroundings he noted that this wasn’t one of the best neighborhoods in the city. It wasn’t the worst but for some reason he had a hard time picturing Jade here.
    “I took her bags up to 3C,” Mario volunteered in a stiff voice.
    Linc nodded then took the few steps leading to a rusted wrought-iron gate serving as the entrance.
    The elevator was taking too long and Linc’s patience was wearing thin, so instead of losing his temper—which he often did—he found the door to the stairs and headed upward.
     
    Jade had just emerged from a soothing chamomile bath topping off her state of pure relaxation. Wrapped in her kimono-style robe she paddedbarefoot across the wooden floors to the kitchen. Through the open window she heard the rumblings of nightlife awakening on the outskirts of the Strip.
    Women of the night and their employers would hit the streets as soon as the sky darkened completely while from a distance the glitz and glamour of the Strip would beckon all with at least a nickel in their pockets. An enticing trap, she thought to herself.
    As was Lincoln Donovan.
    She’d accepted his deal for one reason and one reason only—to save her sister.
    This was the last time, she’d told herself, and now had told Noelle. She’d help her sister out of this jam and then Noelle would be on her own. She refused to spend her time making money just to spend it all on Noelle and her crazy lifestyle. Why her sister thought she could go and gamble with money she didn’t have was beyond Jade’s imagination. Still,