Crew

There are three things I can count on when I'm in Las Vegas. I'll win at the poker table. I owe that to my mom and two brothers. We spent every Saturday night when I was a kid around our kitchen table playing Texas Hold'em for a pot of nickels and dimes.

I have no doubt when I'm here that I'll eat well. That's because I own a stake in one of the best restaurants in Nevada. It's located in the most exclusive resort on the strip. I'm a silent partner, but when I sit down to indulge in a delicious dinner, I'm anything but quiet. I love a good meal, and I let the server, the chef and anyone within earshot know it.

The last sure thing is a good time with Lucia Turin. An exotic, brown-haired beauty with a mind for business; she's a constant during my visits to Sin City. I met her two years ago when she was standing outside her club.

We talked, had a drink and an hour-and-a-half later, I was between her legs, balls deep inside of her and ready to negotiate a deal that would give me controlling interest in that club.

She held out on the club, not the sex.  She never holds out on the sex.

That is as true tonight as it was the first time I laid eyes on her. It was the same night I met Adley, but she blurred into the background back then. She stood on the sidelines as I hammered out a deal with Ellie outside the club. I wanted her to move to New York to take on the job as head security officer at our flagship store on Fifth Avenue. She was working as a casino security guard at the time, and I watched her take down a man twice her size with ease. I knew I needed Ellie on the Matiz team. I had no idea back then that she'd end up marrying Nolan.

Ad stood in the shadows that night, watching me negotiating with her best friend. I caught her eye once, but I was oblivious to what was right in front of me.  I wanted the same thing I always did and that was a tall woman with a mane of dark hair and a thin frame.

"You're still dressed." Lucia enters the main living area of the massive hotel suite I call home when I'm here. I can see her reflection in the floor-to-ceiling windows now that night has settled over the city and the lights of the strip guide the way to a multitude of sins.

I don't need to leave my suite for that. Lucia is already naked.

We'd shared a meal in my restaurant and then two hours in our club. It felt familiar, comfortable and when she suggested we come up to my suite, I didn't see a reason not to.

I do now.

While she was freshening in the washroom, I sent Adley a text message.

I've been here for four days and I've held out reaching out until now. I needed room to breathe and clear my head.

I couldn't shake the vision of Hale's hand on her bare shoulder at the burger place. Eventually, that morphed into mental images of the two of them in his bed.

I couldn't be close when that happens. I had to bolt. I thought if I got out of the city I could handle the envy. I was dead wrong. I doubt like hell that a trip to the moon would ease what keeps rolling through my gut. Jealousy is a miserable beast, especially when you envy a man who has something that's been within your reach for years.

I pull my gaze from Lucia's nude body to look down at my phone again.

I miss you.

Those were the three words in the text message I sent to Adley in haste.

I miss you too.

Those were the four words she sent back that felt like I'd been given a gift.

They don't hold the promise of anything. They're simple words between two close friends, but I've been craving them for days, even if I didn't realize it until now.

"I've been dying to suck your cock since dinner." Lucia approaches, her hands trailing over her tits. "Take off your trousers, Crew."

It's an offer I shouldn't be able to refuse. Lucia knows what I like. She'll drop to her knees right here and blow me. She'll crawl into my bed and we'll spend the rest of my time in Vegas the way we always do when we're together. Little sleep, countless condoms, and an understanding that when I head back to New York, she's as free to do whoever the hell she wants as I am.

"Not tonight." I shake off her hand as she reaches for the front of my gray pants. "Get dressed."

"Not tonight?" she parrots back with a sneer." Exactly what does that mean?"

I turn to look at her, keeping my eyes focused on her face because what's below her neck doesn't interest me anymore. "It means I don't want to fuck you, Lucia. I want you to leave."

"Slow down, lover." Her hands move to caress my biceps through the white button down shirt I'm wearing. "You held me at bay for four days and now that I'm here, you're telling me to fuck off?"

I have kept her at arm's length since I landed earlier this week. I had work to do and I know from experience, that once Lucia gets her claws in me, business takes a back seat.

I promised her that we'd spend the next three days together.

"I'm not telling you to fuck off." I reach for my suit jacket. I'd tossed it onto the back of the plush sofa when we arrived. "Put this on."

"Why?" She pushes it away with both hands. "You suddenly don't like my body? I've never heard a complaint from you before."

She's right. I've only ever offered compliments. She's a beautiful woman who is skilled in the sack. Her business acumen makes her the perfect fit for me, yet we've never taken things between us beyond our shared interest in Veil West and a satisfying fuck whenever I'm in town.

"You won't hear one now." I turn back to the window and the lights that promise an experience unlike any other. Vegas comes with a rich treasure of hope mixed with every wicked pleasure imaginable. That's the reason it's one of my favorite places on this earth. "It's not about you."

She parts her feet and plants her hands on her hips. "You need to fuck, Crew. Whatever is on your mind will cease to exist once your cock hits the back of my throat."

My dick doesn't even twitch with those words. "I'm not in the mood."

"You're always in the mood." She cocks her head to the side.

"Not tonight." I bark back to her reflection. Her hand darts between her thighs. The temptation bait she's casting in my direction is a waste of her time.

She throws her head back and moans. I look down at my phone again. I want to call Adley. I want to ask how her week has been. I want to tell her that I've been thinking about her constantly, but I can't. Nothing has changed between us since I left. We're still just friends and she's still hanging out with Hale judging by an image that was posted to a random woman's Instagram account six hours ago and tagged with the halesbabe hashtag.

It was a picture of Ad and Hale at a café.  The fingers of her left hand were touching the front of her neck. It's a sure sign that she was uncomfortable in the moment. Hale's not the guy for her even if twenty-thousand people liked the picture and more than five hundred commented on what a perfect couple they are.

Idiots. They don't know her.

"I'm going to come," Lucia cries from where she's still standing, her hand moving in a frantic pace to get herself off.

I turn and walk past her, leaving her alone to enjoy the climax she needs, and I want no part of.