Love Is the Drug by K. E. Saxon Page A

pressure with the fire, the answering motion, that should have been there earlier, but wasn’t. Thank you, God.
    But. She was three sheets to the wind. Probably wouldn’t even remember this later. And if she did—he'd be in the doghouse again, for sure. Shit! Jason broke the kiss. He rested his forehead against hers. They were both struggling for air. After about the fifth intake of breath, he could finally speak. “You still want to go down to the casino?” He was weak, he knew it. But, he swore to God, if she said no, he’d take her to bed right now. Doghouse, be damned.
    Unfortunately—or fortunately, he couldn’t say which at this moment—the burger must’ve finally kicked in, because she nodded and said, “Yeah, sounds great.”
    “Okay.” Even to his own ears, there was a distinct lack of enthusiasm in his voice. He stepped back and slowly dropped her legs until she was standing on her feet again—this time, with no support. “I’ll take you to one of the stores, too, so we can get you something to wear to dinner tonight.”
    “Oh, yeah. Thanks.”
    He strode over to the door and opened it. “Ready?”
    “You bet.”
    * * *
    Lou Davis’s jittery hand splashed some of the Jack out of the glass and onto his cheek as he slammed it down his throat. It was the third shot he’d taken in a row and, even though it was warm going down, it failed to soothe his nerves. He swiped at his face with the back of one hand while he lifted the empty glass with the other and motioned to the bartender. “Set me up again, Jim.” He slapped a c-note down on the counter.
    “Don’t you think you’d better use that to pay your bookie?” Jim tossed his head in the direction of the private lounge where all the high-stakes action took place. “Weren’t those some of his wise guys just now?”
    Lou shrugged, but his leg started jiggling up and down again. “Yeah.” His eyes darted left and right and then he leaned over the bar a little more. “But I tell ya, Jim, this here”—he put his pointer on the hundred—“won’t even scratch the surface of what I owe. What I need is a story—something sensational—something that I can sell for twenty grand or so.”
    “Your glory days of hot-shot reporting here are over, Lou. They have been for a while. Why don’t you find yourself a new city? Miami, or something, and start over?”
    “Maybe. But, first I’ve gotta pay Bruno.” The crowd behind him at the craps table whooped and clapped. He turned around. “What’s going on over there?”
    Jim shrugged. “A couple have been rollin’ the dice for over an hour. They’re winnin’ big, it seems.”
    Lou nodded and slid off his stool, tucking the c-note in his pocket at the same time. “I’d better check it out.” He walked over and pressed himself through the crowd.
    * * *
    After a few minutes, Lou went back up to the bar. “Hey, Jim, does that couple at the craps table look familiar to you?”
    Jim glanced in their direction and shrugged. “Nah. Why?”
    Lou shook his head. “I don’t know. There’s something niggling at my memory, but for the life of me, I can’t get a handle on it.”
    Jim looked at his watch. “Time for the sports news.” He grabbed the remote from under the bar and turned the volume up.
    “… Connie Del Mar. The previously unreleased movie is—”
    “ Del Mar! That’s it Jim!” Lou leapt off the stool. “I’ve got my story!” He hustled back over to the craps table, feeling in his pocket for his mind-erasers. Or I will have by morning.
    * * *
    Jason took hold of Julie’s hand and led her away from the table toward the lobby.
    “I told you we should have cashed in earlier,” she said, pouting a little.
    He grinned down at her. “Sorry. I thought for sure you had at least one more good roll in you. Damn! That was one helluva winning streak you were on.”
    “I agree. You were on a real heater,” a rather stout, middle aged man said as he got in step with them. He put