The night progresses as if I’m living inside of a kaleidoscope. Everything sparkles with beautiful colors and blinding lights.

Every time Jay’s hand innocently grazes against mine, a thrill like I’ve never known rips through me. When he presses his hand against the small of my back, leaning in close to point out a figure painted on the casino’s ceiling, I can’t help but feel that everything is perfect. Standing next to Jay feels so right, as if I’ve spent my whole life here with him, and somehow am only just noticing it.

Is this actually real?

We leave the casino and he takes me for a walk down the gloriously vibrant street. There are other casinos, all of them flashy, but none as big as the Venetian. Jay seems to know the place well, rattling off names and historical facts for me, but I’m barely listening.

All I can focus on is his face—the way it always seems like he’s trying to stop himself from smiling, the little twitch of his right eyebrow that says he finds something amusing. I want to sit down in a quiet space and draw him until the end of time.

We eat thick noodles at a hole-in-the-wall spot, the kind of place with nothing but several stools to perch on, and then amble back toward the main strip.

“Ready for another drink?” Jay asks me as the bright orb that is the Venetian shines ahead of us.

I lean in close to him. There’s not the slightest buzz in my body—it’s been hours since I had that last cocktail—but I’m feeling brave. I have no clue what hour it must be, though surely it’s closer to sunrise than it is sunset. It doesn’t matter. Jay and I are trapped in this timeless dimension where nothing matters but the two of us.

“At your hotel,” I say softly.

I can nearly feel the excitement radiating through him. He keeps it cool, though, and hails a cab. We silently wait on the curb, the quiet space between us tranquil amid the raucousness going on all around.

In the car, I roll the window down and fold my arms against the frame. Wind tugs at my hair and kisses my face, and I swear I can feel the brightly colored lights sweeping across my cheeks and eyelids.

Feeling Jay’s eyes on me, I turn to look at him. He unabashedly gazes back.

“It’s funny, isn’t it?” he says.

“What is?”

“That we’re from the same country, but we should meet here, all the way on the other side of the world?”

“Maybe it’s destiny.”

“Maybe,” he muses in a low voice.

Jay’s hotel is extravagant. There’s no other word for it. Someone opens the car door for us when we arrive. Someone opens the hotel’s front door. Someone presses the elevator button for us. All along the way, it’s evident that the staff knows and likes Jay.

“Do you stay here a lot?” I ask him as we leave the elevator and enter a hallway decorated in reds and golds. At the end of the hall, a large window overlooks the sparkling city lights.

“I don’t really have a place of my own…hotels are my home, I guess.”

There’s a grimness to his confession.

“Really?” I ask. “Don’t you want a house or an apartment that you can go back to after traveling?”

He cocks his head to the side and looks up at the ceiling as we walk.

“The answer to that used to be no. After getting out of prison, the last thing I wanted was to be tied down to one place. Now?” He looks ahead, his eyes seeing something that isn’t there. “It would be nice.”

We stop at the end of the hallway, Jay swipes his keycard, and we enter a foyer. In the middle of the entranceway to the suite is a table with a vase full of roses. Their scent is so strong it nearly knocks me over. I rush to the table and press my face into the blooms, inhaling deeply and rubbing the soft petals gently between my fingertips.

“You like roses?” Jay asks from close behind me.

His voice makes me shiver with delight. I close my eyes and try to imprint this moment in my memory. The sweet smell in the air. Jay’s deep, soothing voice. I could carry it all with me for the rest of my life and never get tired of it.

I turn, but he’s already gone. In the large main room, he drops ice into two tumblers and pours some kind of spirit over them. The view from his suite is even more amazing than it was in the hall.

“That’s the Venetian!” I exclaim, going to the window.

Jay nods and smiles in pleasure. “Nice, isn’t it?”

“Just think,” I murmur, touching the glass between the casino and me. “Tomorrow night, you’ll be there, winning the game of your life.”

“What makes you so sure I’m going to win?”

He hands me my glass, but I don’t take a drink yet. “I saw you play tonight. It’s obvious that you’re extremely lucky.”

“I have to be. I met you, didn’t I?” he says seriously.

Excitement makes me suck in a sharp breath. I don’t even want a sip of whatever is in my hand; I already feel amazing, on a natural buzz. Setting the glass down on the nearby coffee table, I look back to Jay. He follows my action, resting his glass next to mine.

“I’m going to kiss you now.”

“I…”

Jay takes a step toward me and ducks his head to look into my eyes. I’m not going to tell him to stop. I just want to make each moment last as long as it can.

He moves a little closer, and his face presses against mine, his lips a hair away. Our breath mixes and stands suspended in the air between us. It’s the most magical moment, that second before our lips touch for the first time.

With the slightest final movement, Jay’s mouth is against mine. His lips are velvety smooth, kissing with just the right amount of pressure. Each push of them against mine sends a jolt of pleasure through my body.

Relaxing myself against him, I wrap my arms around his neck and hold on tight. The whole world is spinning, and I’m going to fly away if I’m not careful.

Luckily, Jay is here.

He wraps his arms around my lower back and pulls me against him. Just like I suspected, I fit perfectly in his arms. The kisses become more intense, with our lips slowly opening wider and tongues tentatively running across each other. Jay’s taste fills my mouth, and makes me wonder what the rest of him tastes like.

His hands push up and into my hair, stroking and rubbing. Spinning us around, he walks us to the couch—all without breaking our kissing for a second. As he falls onto the cushions, I eagerly collapse onto him and kick off my heels. My dress is stretched tight as I straddle Jay’s lap.

None of this was planned. I don’t know how I even found myself here tonight. But this is what’s happening, and I already know that when you meet a person like Jay, you can’t just let them go.

After taking a necessary breath, I crash my mouth against his again, and instantly, this new round of kisses becomes more fevered than the last. The bulge in Jay’s pants presses against my inner thigh, and I enjoy the feeling. I feel confident and sexy, for the first time in a long time.

Jay makes a noise of hunger and presses his palms against my back. His hands go lower, running over my hips and ass. I kiss him faster, frantically working at the buttons on his shirt as I do so.

The shirt gapes open and I rub my fingers over the tattooed skin underneath. His chest is hard and smooth, with muscles rolling underneath my touch. Jay twists the hem of my skirt, pushing it up further as his tongue runs across my bottom lip.

Desire so strong that it becomes almost painful pounds through me. I roll my hips against Jay’s, pressing against the bulge in his pants. He groans in pleasure, and I keep going, thrusting gently through our clothes. He pushes my dress up higher and skims his thumb along my thong line. Sparks of pleasure ignite whenever he touches me, my core burning more as he gets dangerously closer to pulling the underwear off.

Instead, he presses his palm against my mound, cupping me through the fabric of my panties. Pleasure explodes and I cry out, one simple touch nearly blinding me with ecstasy.

“I have to take this off,” I gasp, frantically reaching for the zipper on the back of the dress.

Jay reaches behind me and slowly unzips the dress, peppering kisses along my neck as he does so. With it fully open, he lifts it and skillfully pulls it over my head. His gaze slides down my torso and he lets out an appreciative sigh.

“This couch isn’t good enough for everything I want to do to you.”

I smile in pleasure as he lifts me up and carries me across the main room and into the bedroom. I have just enough time to take in the white and gold king-size bed before I’m gently laid down onto it.

Jay drops his already open shirt to the floor and climbs on top of me. With his legs straddling me, he begins to press a trail of kisses down my body. I close my eyes as his lips press against my neck, my shoulder, the curve of my breasts above my bra, and then my stomach.

He reaches my panties and twists them in his fingers before pulling them slowly down my thighs. I lift my legs so he can tug them off the rest of the way and toss them to the floor. With his smoldering eyes staring into mine, he reaches behind me and unhooks my bra, then tosses it out of the way, as well.

I’m completely naked, but I don’t feel exposed at all. I feel safe and comfortable, sexy and wild. The way Jay is looking at me, I feel like there must be a crazy vixen inside of me that I’ve never known about—and she’s finally come out.

Before he can move back down to my hips, I seize his belt and quickly unbuckle it. I feel his cock straining through the fabric, eager to be released. It pops out from the zipper opening, smooth and thick. Just the sight of it makes my mouth water. Grabbing his member with one hand, I wrap my lips around the thick girth and run my tongue up and down his shaft.

He pulses his hips slightly against my face, silently asking for more. I suck lightly, and then speed up the motion. He becomes harder, the tip of his dick pressing against the back of my throat.

He murmurs something I don’t quite hear, and then says it again. My name.

I smile around his girth. I don’t get the chance to keep going, though. He gently pushes me off him and stands up on the bed.

As I lay against a pile of pillows that are fit for a queen, Jay finishes stripping. Hard muscle after hard muscle comes my way and he settles his weight down on my body. We’re both finally naked, the warmth of his body enveloping me.

His hands are tangled in my hair, and he kisses me tenderly. It’s a slow kiss, one of passion and emotion. My heart seems to swell and become bigger with each slide of his tongue against mine. I wrap my arms around him and open my mouth as wide as it will go. I want everything Jay is willing to give me. There’s no way I’m missing any opportunity to taste or feel him.

He angles his hips against mine, his cock pushing against the inside of my thigh. I open my legs to him, and he slides inside of me. I gasp against the intense pleasure of it all, closing my eyes tight.

Jay slowly rocks into me, each move gentle and sure. I press my palms against his broad back as the heat between us grows. Our kisses become more frantic as we pulse faster against each other. Jay’s mouth slides across my lips and sucks along my jaw, my throat.

Pleasure spirals inside of me. It’s a hot, blindingly white ball of light. Each second of pleasure Jay gives me adds to it. I gasp against his mouth, my legs beginning to shake. Before I know it, I’m exploding, ecstasy flying through me.

I hold on tight to him and ride out the pleasure. It goes on and on, Jay somehow knowing how to prolong it. Just as it’s ending, he pulls out of me with his own groan, coming on my stomach.

His forehead falls against mine, sweaty and hot. Shivers wrack our bodies, the aftershocks of pleasure still traveling through us. I tilt my face so I can press our mouths together. He responds earnestly, kissing me with just as much hunger as he did on the couch.

Already, desire rises in me again. Who am I?

I’ve never wanted a man so much before. I’ve never felt so comfortable with a man—even though Jay is so hot and suave that he makes me weak in the knees.

Something I still don’t fully understand is happening to me.

As Jay’s lips caress mine, I remember how upset I was when I saw the cruise ship pull away from the harbor earlier in the night. Now look where I am.

Looks like missing that ship might have just been the best thing to ever happen to me…