CHAPTER FOUR
The next morning, Jamie ignored the multitude of texts from his friends, all asking what the hell had happened after he’d stormed the stage and stolen the entertainment. He’d stayed out all night, and by the time he’d returned to the suite he was sharing with Gabe and Eric, they’d been asleep. They’d stayed asleep while Jamie showered, made coffee, and dressed. By the time Jamie headed back out, no one, including Cole, Luke, and Ryan, who were sharing the suite next door, had so much as stirred, much less woken up.
Now Jamie sat across from Pete Hines, an executive at Whitcomb Enterprises, in a little bistro located inside the Bellagio. He shoved thoughts of Lucy’s undulating hips and his friend’s open mouths to the back of his mind. It was time to work, not analyze whether or not any of his friends realized he’d had a history with the woman stripping on stage the night before.
As they had coffee and croissants, Hines filled him in on the group of citizens attempting to block the opening of the manufacturing plant in Summitville.
Jamie wasn’t surprised that the group’s leader was Mayor Milton Hendrix, Sierra’s father. After all, the man believed Jamie was responsible for Sierra’s death. And Jamie couldn’t deny that one of the reasons he was pushing so hard to have the new manufacturing plant set up in Summitville was to assuage his own guilt.
But it wasn’t just that.
The town had meant something to Sierra, just like Sierra had meant something to him. He wanted to help the townspeople get back on their feet in a way that would be beneficial to everyone involved. Helping Summitville regain its former prosperity couldn’t completely heal the wounds of the past, but it could help.
“I’m sorry, Jamie. The group, spearheaded by Milton Hendrix, is seriously twisting the town council’s arm to reject Whitcomb Enterprises’s proposal. The council’s actually considering taking the discussion off its agenda altogether.”
“Has Hendrix mentioned my name during all his arm-twisting?”
“Well…um…”
His gut twisted. “It’s okay, Pete. I can take it.”
“He has. Numerous times. He says a man born with a silver spoon simply can’t have the needs of everyday citizens on his radar.”
“Right.” In other words, like Sierra and Lucy, Hendrix found Jamie untrustworthy based on the size of Jamie’s bank account. Of course, Jamie knew there was more to it than that, the same way he knew convincing Hendrix that Jamie and his family could relate to the average person just as well as anyone else was a lost cause.
Forget convincing Lucy of that. She’d made up her mind about him. And with her little stunt last night, she’d made it loud and clear what lengths she was willing to go to push him away. Well, she’d finally succeeded.
He was going to keep his distance from her this time. He didn’t like feeling jealous and judgmental. Hated feeling helpless and afraid that everything he said or did was going to be twisted out of context and he was somehow going to be made out to be the bad guy again.
“Jamie…you okay?”
Jamie’s head jerked as he realized Pete was talking to him.
“I’m sorry. What were you saying, Pete?”
Pete took the signed documents Jamie had given him, placed them in his briefcase, and with a chuckle said, “Seriously, Jamie, I’ve never seen you like this before. Did you get drunk and end up married last night, or something?”
He’d definitely done the first. After he’d left Lucy and his friends at the club, he’d gotten rip-roaring drunk then passed out. When he’d stumbled out of bed, gritty-eyed and nauseous, his friends had been dead to the world, so Jamie hadn’t talked to them before his meeting. And God, he wanted to put that off. Put off getting confirmation that each and every one of them had seen his Lucy completely naked…
“It’s Vegas,” Jamie said. “If I did, I don’t have to tell.” He gave Pete what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “So what’s next?”
“I’ve been hustling and blowing up the town council’s phones. I finally got them to agree to meet with you next week. They want to meet the head honcho behind this project in person before they allow you to take the floor at a town meeting.”
Jamie nodded. “Alright, then. Good job. Let’s make it happen.”
“Any idea what you’ll say to win them over?”
“I’ve come up with some great incentives, including the townspeople being given first priority for all of the jobs, even the executive ones, before they’re opened up to anyone else. Also, anyone who was laid off when the automotive plant closed down will automatically have a job.”
“That should be more than enough to get the council on board. The town has really suffered since the automotive plant slammed its doors shut. By reopening the factory to produce airplane parts, Whitcomb Enterprises is offering Summitville a huge opportunity to become economically sound again. They’d be crazy not to see that.”
Maybe, Jamie thought. But crazy or not, there were many in town that wouldn’t trust Whitcomb Enterprises because they didn’t trust him. Their actions gave new meaning to the expression cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face.
“Well,” Pete said, “I wish you the best of luck. That’s all you and I need to do today. How was the bachelor party?”
Jamie’s mind reformed the image of a scantily dressed Lucy humping that metal pole on the stage while a bunch of horny men looked on. She’d looked so hot in her little white bra and thong, the long blond wig brushing softly across her chest and her hard nipples taunting him through the thin lace material of the bra. His cock twitched and his stomach churned all at the same time.
“It went well,” he said simply, because what else could he add? That his former girlfriend had stripped for his friends? That she’d shoved the fact that they were over in his face? That he hated that part of him for still wanting her?
“You headed back to California today?”
He shook his head. “I’m going to a grand opening tonight, to something I financially invested in and want to attend.”
“A nightclub?” Pete asked.
“No, something much more fun—a magic theater.”
“Magic? As in, David Copperfield?” Pete wore a puzzled expression.
“As in, mind-boggling illusion and sexual acrobatics all in one,” Jamie said. He was looking forward to seeing Rhys and Max’s plans come to fruition, but he wasn’t looking forward to running into Lucy.
For a moment, he pushed away his own hurt and jealousy, and forced himself to recall the hurt look on her face when she accused him of thinking she was a slut.
He hated the fact she’d stripped, but he didn’t think she was slut. He loved how sexually open and adventurous she was, but still, she’d crossed the line last night.
To give himself more time to think, Jamie left Pete and made his way around the Mile High Mall. At one point, thinking he’d pick up something for Brianne or his mother, he stopped in front of a little antique jewelry shop. There was a ring in the window that caught his attention. It was an Edwardian diamond and sapphire engagement ring, platinum with intricate designs of bows and flowers pierced into the sides. It had antique mill grain edging and it was set with one round five-carat diamond with a single blue sapphire on each side. It was beautiful and intricate and vibrant.
It reminded him of Lucy.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
Jamie turned to see a woman standing by his side. Her nametag identified her only as “Denise.” She had long, straight auburn hair and huge green eyes surrounded by mile long eyelashes. She wore an expensive looking grey business suit that was cut to fit her curves. The shirt underneath allowed just a peek of lace above a sexy, perfect looking cleavage. She wore a delicate silver chain with a solitary jade pendant that skimmed her cleavage lightly. There was a matching bracelet around her right wrist and silver ring on her right hand.
Overall, the woman’s look was elegant and sexy at the same time.
“The ring’s breathtaking,” Jamie agreed.
“Are you thinking of proposing?” the woman asked him.
“Nope. I’m not dating anyone right now.”
“Oh well, that’s too bad,” she said with a flirty smile.
He thought about Lucy, who was beautiful, intelligent, impetuous, hotheaded, stubborn, and sexy. She also wasn’t even willing to try to be part of Jamie’s world, didn’t believe she could ever find her place there.
He took in the woman in front of him. Maybe he was still upset at Lucy for stripping. Maybe he was just reading Denise correctly—that she’d be the type of woman who’d be able to thrive, when necessary, in the highest of society. Whatever the reason, he thought about asking her out. To prove to himself and Lucy that she didn’t need to push him away—because he was moving the fuck on.
In the end, he didn’t do it.
Because no matter how angry Lucy had made him last night, he got it.
She still wanted him. And that terrified her. That was the reason she’d done what she did.
And the fact remained, he still wanted her.
He just didn’t know what he was going to do about it.
One thing was for sure—she didn’t want commitment. Maybe it was time he finally let that possibility go. If he did, would she let him in her bed? Would he be okay with taking her there, knowing that’s all it would ever be between them—sex?
For once, his body won the silent battle with his mind.
If she wanted him, why not let her have him?
And let him have her, even if it was just temporary.
It would be better than never having her. Never getting to kiss or touch her again. And maybe, just maybe, by finally having her, he’d be able to get her out of his system and move on for real.
An hour later, Jamie met Gabe, Eric, and Cole for lunch back at the hotel. Ryan and Luke had gone to take a helicopter ride over Hoover Dam and Rhys and Max were getting ready for their big opening night.
The guys were already at the restaurant when he got there. Jamie couldn’t help but smile a little at the miserable shape Gabe and Eric both seemed to be in. Reminded him of their college days.
“Hey, it’s the show-stopper,” Gabe called out. “Gonna tell us what you did with the stripper? You’ve been avoiding my texts.”
“Story for another time,” Jamie said, jutting out his jaw in a signal that he didn’t want to talk about what had happened the night before. “What did you do, go back to our suite and clean out the mini-bar?” he asked, changing the subject and deflecting the attention off him and his insane antics last night.
Gabe raised his eyebrows at him, but didn’t push it. “More like we hit the blackjack tables and availed ourselves of free shots all night long,” Gabe told him. “Just thinking about it is making my stomach churn.”
“I think I won though,” Eric said. “Now I can pay for my honeymoon,” he joked. Money was not an issue for him or his family, who was almost as rich as Jamie’s.
Jamie ordered an iced tea and then said, “You’ve met my sister, right? I really don’t think two dollars is going to cover it.”
Eric groaned. “Don’t remind me. She’s already got one whole day during our honeymoon planned for us to shop.”
When they finished eating, Gabe and Eric went off to “win another two dollars” at the tables. When they were gone Cole turned serious. “Are you doing okay?”
“Sure, why?” Jamie asked.
Cole looked like he wasn’t sure if he should say anything or not. Finally, he said, “It’s not every day you carry some woman off the stage, especially mid-strip tease. Or maybe I’m wrong. Hell, maybe you’ve gotten in touch with your kinky side and—”
“You’re not wrong,” Jamie said quietly. “The woman I carried off stage? It was Lucy.”
Cole whistled. “Are you shitting me?”
“Nope.”
“The fiery professor you were so into before she dumped your ass?”
“That’s the one.”
“Fuck, no wonder you went bat shit crazy.”
“Yeah, well…” Jamie cleared this throat.
“If you weren’t such a good guy, I’d make you squirm, but you should know--she didn’t come back once you left.”
* * *
As she got ready to attend the magic theater grand opening, Lucy agonized for over an hour over what to wear. When she realized she was worried about wearing something too revealing and how Jamie might react to that, she let out a little growl and picked the skimpiest outfit she’d brought with her. Then she spent another hour on her hair and re-did her make-up twice before her cell phone rang.
It was Grace.
“Max and Rhys decided to meet us at the theater. Opening night jitters. Want us to come pick you up?”
“Sounds good,” Lucy said.
“Okay, meet you in the lobby in five.”
When they got there, Grace was dressed in an elegant blue dress and looking gorgeous as usual. Melina had on a black cocktail dress that she rocked despite the fact she’d recently had twin babies. When Melina saw Lucy, she whistled. “With you around, Lucy, it’s amazing I ever got married.”
“Why do you say that?” Lucy asked her.
Grace grinned. “Because you’re so damn beautiful.”
“So are you and Melina, Grace.”
“Well, you have this sexuality that just oozes out your pores. I swear when we’d go out men would barely notice me because they couldn’t take their eyes off you.”
“Totally,” Melina agreed.
Lucy rolled her eyes as they got into the back of the limo that was waiting for them. “Right,” she said with a chuckle. “Well, maybe that’s because when it came to the three of us, it was easy for men to spot the easy lay.”
Grace gasped. “Have you lost your mind?”
Melina frowned. “What’s that about?”
“Nothing.”
“Don’t ‘nothing’ us, Lucy. Out with it.”
“There’s nothing…” As Melina and Grace continued to glare at her, Lucy gave in. “Jamie’s upset with me.” Granted, that’s what she’d wanted—to drive a wedge between them. But now that that had happened, it was almost more than she could bear.
Lucy told Melina and Grace what had happened the night before. About getting up and stripping on stage in front of the entire nightclub. About Jamie, hauling ass and storming the stage to grab her and take her away. “He lost it when he saw me up there.”
“Of course he lost it,” Melina said. “You were stripping. In public! God, you were about to show your breasts and hoo-hoo to his friends! He was probably so jealous he couldn’t stand it.”
“Why would he be jealous? There’s nothing between us.” Right. Say it enough times and maybe you’ll believe it, Lucy.
“Nothing but explosive chemistry and unresolved feelings,” Grace snorted, calling Lucy on her bullshit.
Not about to give in, Lucy shook her head. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I broke up with him. He let me. He knows just as well as I do that I wouldn’t fit into his world.”
“His world? You’re barking up the wrong tree, Lucy. You make it sound like he lives on another planet.”
“He might as well. He has a private jet, for God’s sake.”
“Correction,” Melina said. “His family’s company has a jet, one he very nicely used to take you to see your sister. And I’m not sure what him being rich and reacting to seeing you strip have in common.”
Memories of Mason filled her mind. She’d loved her high school boyfriend, only she’d proven to be something he didn’t want in his life. Something that embarrassed him. Lucy shrugged. “Let’s forget Mister Billionaire Former Professor, shall we, and talk about Rhys and Max’s big night. I’m excited to see what they have up their sleeves.”
Lucy didn’t miss the look Melina and Grace shared, but thankfully they went along with Lucy changing the subject.
The new theater was only a ten-minute drive from Lucy’s hotel. Several splashy signs outside advertised the grand opening. Grace told Lucy that this first show had already been sold out for over a month.
The Dalton Magic Show had changed its focus, and rumors were buzzing that the new act would be something fantastic. Entertaining. Sexy. The guest list tonight was limited to the media, who’s-who in entertainment, a few Las Vegas dignitaries, and close friends of Rhys and Max Dalton, the sexy identical twins whose magic show was about to blow the lid off all magic shows.
Lucy had watched both her best friends fall one after the other for a Dalton brother—first Melina and Rhys found love and marriage and babies together, then Grace and Max did the same. Well, not the marriage and babies part—at least, not yet.
Too bad the Dalton twins weren’t triplets. She could use someone special to help get her mind off Jamie.
The theater sported a dramatic entryway with red velvet curtains and vaulted ceilings that opened up into a large theatre that seated over a thousand people. Next to the theater was a more intimate lounge, with a full bar and cushy high-backed red velvet chairs arranged around dark cherry wood tables, where patrons could have drinks and appetizers before the show.
“Come on,” Grace said. “Drinks are on me.”
The waiter gave them menus and took their drink orders. Lucy’s dirty martini had just arrived when she heard Jamie’s voice. Automatically, she turned around. He was wearing a black sports coat and a crisp electric blue shirt. Her heart started pounding double-time and she almost couldn’t resist the desire to walk up to him. To apologize for having upset him. To tell him she’d only been trying to push him away when all she wanted was to pull him closer.
Knowing she was about to cave, she immediately excused herself to go to the bathroom. She dabbed at her face with a wet towel, took deep breaths, and told herself to get it together. When she returned, Jamie was talking to Melina and Grace, so Lucy headed to the bar.
“Hello there,” a male voice said.
Lucy turned to look at the man leaning against the bar beside her. He was gorgeous, and just her type. He had longish, shaggy black hair and pretty deep green eyes. He had a sexy and nicely trimmed goatee and a trim little mustache. He wore a black sleeveless T-shirt and his muscular arms were covered in colorful tattoos, and to top it off he wore round plugs in his ears. She wondered if he was pierced and where.
He held out a hand. On his wrist he wore black leather bracelets with silver studs on them, and his long fingers were adorned with skull shaped silver rings. “I’m Damien. Damien Cruz.”
Lucy took his hand and he held it a little longer than necessary after shaking it. When he let go, she leaned back against the bar and faced him. He smiled, and a deep dimple flashed on the left side of his face.
If she was looking for someone to take her mind off Jamie, she suspected she’d just hit the mother lode. She hadn’t had sex since breaking things off with Jericho, and this man was a perfect specimen.
She was about to ask if he was alone when she heard someone clear his throat.
She turned to see Jamie behind her.
“Melina and Grace have gone inside. The show’s about to start,” he said. “Max and Rhys seated us together. Do you want to go in?”
She tucked her hair behind her ears, suddenly not sure what she should be doing with her hands. Other than putting them all over him.
“Um, yeah,” she said. She turned back to Damien Cruz and said, “It was nice meeting you.”
He reached into his shirt pocket, retrieved and held out a room key for the MGM Grand, and said, “If you want to see even more of me, I’ll be there after midnight.”
Well, that was certainly bold of him. It made things crystal clear right from the start.
Uncomplicated, unlike her very complicated feelings for Jamie.
Lucy stared at the key card for a few seconds, undecided. She sensed Jamie beside her. Thought about how much she wanted him.
Then took the hotel key.
While she’d been deciding whether to take Damien’s hotel key, Jamie had ordered a shot. He picked it up and swigged it back. His throat muscles rippled. He set the glass down on the bar, never taking his gaze from hers. Desire slowly rolled through her, making her tremble.
“You ready now?” he asked.
She lifted her chin and brushed past him, hyper aware when he followed very closely behind her.
Once they took their seats, Max and Rhys welcomed everyone to the show and thanked them for coming. They introduced their chef and mentioned Jamie as one of their business partners. They put the spotlight on Melina, introducing her as Rhys’s beautiful wife, and on Grace, who Max called the love of his life. Then they left the stage and everyone waited for the show to begin.
“Excited?”
A rush of arousal thrummed through her at the sound of Jamie’s voice in her ear. At the way his breath hushed against the sensitive skin on her neck. At how his scent filled her nostrils. Damn it, it wasn’t a good sign that no sooner had she taken Damien’s room key than she’d put the guy completely out of her mind. Her entire being was focused on the man beside her.
“I’m assuming you mean, am I excited to watch the show?” she said, forcing a mocking tone into her words. She kept her eyes focused up front—on the dark and empty stage. But then she couldn’t help it—she let her gaze slide over Jamie, taking in how his jacket fit him to perfection, how the blue of his dress shirt collar showed off the tanned skin on his face and neck, how his eyes glittered golden even in the dim light of the theater, and how his seal-brown hair looked slightly disheveled, as if a lover had recently run her hands through it. She loved the way his hair felt when she grabbed it, pressing his head closer so that she could…
No. She couldn’t go there. Not now. Not tonight.
Think about Damien. The tattoos. The key card he gave you.
“Yeah, I’m asking if you’re excited about the show. But does something else have you excited? Thinking about the guy with the tattoos who handed you his hotel key?” Jamie asked.
“What do you care? After what I did last night, I’m surprised you even want to sit with me. I must—I must disgust you.”
His expression sobered. “You’re wrong. Is that why you didn’t get back on stage? Because you didn’t want to disgust me?”
She hesitated, then said, “I didn’t want to upset you. Not any more than I already had.”
“But upsetting me was the whole point, wasn’t it?”
No way was she confirming that but clearly she didn’t need to.
He knew, just like he always seemed to know what went on inside her head.
When she said nothing, he continued, “I respect you more than you’ll ever know. And despite your attempt to push me away, Lucy, I still want you. But I got your message loud and clear last night. We will never have a future together. I accept that. But if you’re thinking of using that room key because you need something, you don’t have to go to a stranger. I can give it to you. And it would be my pleasure to do so. One night. No strings attached.”
Wait—what had he just said? Was he seriously offering a one-night stand? Offering to give her his entire body—complete with penetration—for a night, and one night only? But he’d held off before, so why now? Had her actions on stage finally convinced him that she’d never fit into his life? Could it have been that easy?
She stared at him in shock but before she could respond, the house lights went out, plunging the theater into complete darkness, and it was too late. Way too late.
The music started and strobe lights started flashing around the space above the seats. Even with Jamie’s shocking words bouncing around in her head, Lucy gasped at the spectacle happening around her. Smoke and mirrors, she reminded herself. Magic was about illusion…misdirection…mystery. The answers were there, just shrouded in optical illusions and brilliant tricks. But she didn’t care about the logic of the moment. No…the magic was in the mystery. Every time a strobe light went off, it illuminated a different woman, suspended directly over the audience. Each woman was writhing, dancing, seemingly flying without ropes or hoops or any other means of holding them in the air.
And their bodies… The women appeared to be wearing nothing but glimmering, shimmering paint in various sensual colors. Lucy gasped when a strobe light illuminated a woman suspended directly in front of her and Jamie. The light flashed again, and the woman maneuvered her body in a way that brought her close enough that either Lucy or Jamie could have reached out and touched her.
For several minutes, the female bodies above them twisted and swayed in mind-boggling, breathtaking positions. At some point, Lucy realized she was breathing hard and that she’d somehow put her hand on Jamie’s knee.
She automatically tried to jerk her hand away.
But before she could, Jamie covered her hand with his.
One night. No strings attached.
His offer was a temptation she couldn’t put from her mind.
It felt so good to be touching him again. He was warm and strong and God she was getting goose bumps all over just thinking about his hand touching other parts of her body…
He rubbed small circles on the back of her hand with his thumb, sending jolts of electricity all the way up her arm and down her spine. The show was enthralling, but doubly so when combined with Jamie’s touch.
He turned his hand over, so his palm was facing up, and before she knew what was happening, she was caressing it with feather light touches of her thumb and fingers. She had the overwhelming urge to pick up his hand and kiss it, to run her tongue along his lifeline…
Instead, she caressed his hand the way she wanted to caress the rest of him. His entire body tensed when she traced between his fingers and she could tell by the way he shifted in his seat that he was as turned on as she was.
She couldn’t stop her mind from replacing the acrobatics of the dancers in the show with those of hers and Jamie’s bodies, bending and twisting and writhing as they kissed and touched one another.
Her breaths quickened and she felt so hot she knew her whole face had to be fire engine red. The more he stroked her palm, and the more forcefully he did it, the hotter she got.
Lucy’s world became focused on Jamie. They were in public but also very much alone.
In the dark.
Surrounded by eroticism. Artistry. Poetry.
Magic.
* * *
By the time the opening acrobatic act was over, Lucy was shaking. Desperate, she grabbed Jamie’s wandering hand and held it tightly in both of hers. At first, he resisted being restrained, but then Max came on stage. Jamie stopped fighting her, but entwined his fingers with hers.
Max did several tricks that Lucy had seen him do before. Then he introduced a new one. The only thing on stage with Max was a huge metal box resting on a stand so the audience had a clear view of the space from the bottom of the box to the floor beneath it. Max lifted the lid of the box and helped out two scantily clad, very sexy young women, who he introduced as Amanda and Tina. After Max closed the lid again, Amanda lay on her back across the top of the box. Then he handed a satin rope to Tina who tied Amanda up while swaying her hips seductively to the sound of the music. In the meantime, Amanda arched her back and her hips would rise up off the box just slightly, and Tina paused every so often to look back at Max. The air sizzled with sexual tension.
Once Amanda was completely restrained, Max lifted her and gently deposited her into the box before closing it and locking it. He then lifted Tina so she could stand on the box in her high heels and skimpy outfit with the lights shining behind her.
After a few moments, she reached down and picked up a velvet curtain that encircled the top of the box. She pulled it up over her head and completely disappearing from view. Max said a few words, there was a puff of smoke and when the curtain dropped, Amanda, the woman who he’d originally put inside the box, was standing on top of it. He unlocked the box and opened it, and then he reached inside and lifted out Tina with her extremities tied in the same way that Amanda’s had been just moments ago.
The audience clapped loudly. Once the catcalls and whistles had died down, Amanda and Tina left the stage, and Max was joined by another assistant, who he introduced as Gina. Max motioned for Gina to climb into the same box he’d used in the previous trick. She melodramatically shook her head and said, “No.” Max once again asked her to climb in, and again she said “No.” She then told him to get into the box. Max looked at the laughing audience, who encouraged him to get in. He stepped inside and laid down so Gina could close the lid. Then she proceeded to fold the sides of the box down until it was flat, and continue folding until the box was reduced to the size of a pocket book. The audience yelled at her to bring Max back. Lucy knew it was only a trick, but she could feel her heart pounding in her chest. Finally, Max’s assistant put the tiny box back down and unfolded it. When it was back to its actual size she lifted the lid. Max climbed out of the box…followed by Grace. Max kissed her passionately, like they were the only two people in the room. Then he suddenly dropped to one knee on the stage and held out a red velvet box.
Lucy sucked in a breath, and the silence in the audience was palpable.
“Dixie,” he said, calling Grace by the nickname he’d given her. “Every night I thank God I have you in my life. Will you do me this honor, Grace? Will you marry me?”
Grace covered her mouth with her hand to muffle her sob of joy but it escaped anyway. She nodded over and over, obviously too overcome to speak. Finally, she managed to say, “Yes, Max! Yes. There’s nothing I’d love more than to be your wife.”
Max slipped the ring on her finger, and Lucy suspected that no matter where people were sitting in the crowded theater, they could see the large diamond gleaming beneath the overhead lights. Max swept Grace up in his arms, kissed her again, then carried her off stage.
The audience was on their feet, clapping and cheering. Lucy could hardly breathe as she leapt to her feet, as well, and wiped away her tears.
She glanced to the side and saw Jamie looking at her with a deep, smoldering look.
“That was so beautiful,” she murmured.
“You’re beautiful, Lucy.”
Bending down, he brushed his lips against her ear, and his hot breath sent goose bumps shooting down her spine as he said, “You going to use that hotel key?”
She knew she should say yes. Knew she should find Damien and fuck him and make sure Jamie knew she was doing it. Obviously, stripping hadn’t driven him away, but instinctively she knew if she actually slept with Damien, she’d never have to worry about Jamie pursuing her again.
But she wasn’t going to say yes. She wasn’t going to sleep with Damien.
There was only one man she wanted right now.
She turned to him, brushing her lips against his ear. “You said one night. What will that entail?”
“A private suite. Champagne. And me.”
“I’ll need more than foreplay,” she whispered back.
“Good,” he said, “Because if you come with me, I promise to fuck you until you forget your own name even as you scream out mine.”
God, if she hadn’t been wet before, she was wet now.
Creamy.
Smooth.
Slick.
Ready to take Jamie inside her.
One night. No strings attached.
“Let’s go.”
After dispensing congratulatory hugs to their friends, Lucy and Jamie stepped outside. The crowd from the show had dispersed and they were alone. Taking her hand, Jamie led her around the side of the building where he stopped, grabbed her shoulders, then bent and brushed his lips against hers several times, his kiss restrained even as he grabbed her hips, backed her against the wall, and wedged his thigh between her legs.
The contrast of his gentle touch against her mouth and the aggressive pressure of his body against her core threw her off guard and divided her attention. She wanted him to deepen the kiss. Use his tongue. Teeth. And she wanted him to move his thigh. Rub it against her. Drive her to the brink of orgasm in seconds flat. She whimpered with need and he pulled back to stare into her eyes.
“What do you want, sweet thing? This?”
He pushed his thigh tighter against her, just long enough for her head to fall back in pleasure. Involuntarily, her hips arched into his touch.
“Or this?” he asked before his mouth took hers. His tongue dipped between her lips, savoring and slow. As always, whether it was wild and claiming, or like now, more gentle, Jamie’s kiss made her feel cherished. Complete. As if he was giving her back a piece of herself she’d lost long ago but at the same time making her feel desperate for even more. For something to ease the hollow ache between her legs.
Abruptly, he ripped his mouth away from hers. “I’ve got to get you to a place with a bed. I can’t wait to get inside you, Luce.”
She reached down and cupped his straining erection. “Then call your driver and let’s get there.”
The ride back to the Bellagio, where Jamie and his friends were sharing several suites, was so fast they barely had time to do more than kiss before they arrived. Quickly, Jamie registered for a room, not blinking an eye when he was told the only suite available was the penthouse. They weren’t even touching or holding hands when they got on the elevator, but when the doors slid closed, Jamie grabbed her, crushed his mouth down on hers, and pushed her against the back wall. With one hand on her waist, he slid the other down to the hem of her miniskirt and slowly slipped his hand underneath until he was massaging her ass with his palm.
When the elevator doors dinged, he cursed and dropped his hand but kept her plastered to his side. Two women who looked like they were on their way to a party stepped inside. Jamie only had eyes for her. When they reached the thirtieth floor, the women got out.
No one else got on the elevator as it took them to the top floor. Once there, Jamie practically dragged her into the penthouse suite.
No sooner had the door closed behind them than they began tugging at each other’s clothes. As his mouth slanted against hers, this time hard and forceful, Jamie slid the zipper down her dress then took a step back and watched as she stepped out of it. The dress had a bra built into it so she was now almost nude but for her tiny panties. She saw him shudder as he stared at her.
Reaching out, he cupped one breast and gave her another hard kiss.
She loved the way he smelled: sexy and manly but also with a hint of sweetness, which always made her hungry to taste him. He leaned down and moved his nose across her nipples, making her quiver. Her quiver turned into an internal explosion as he sucked one into his mouth. He nipped and licked at it wildly, and it felt so good that she wanted to scream. Her panties were rapidly becoming saturated and she was already anticipating having him inside of her.
Gathering her hair into his fist, he tipped her head back rather roughly so he could look into her eyes. “I need you, Lucy.”
She was thrilled and excited by his energy, his insistence and his direct, blunt need. He nudged her towards the bed and when the backs of her legs were against it, he twisted her panties in his fist and ripped them from her. Her arousal spiked so strongly she felt dizzy. He was breathing hard as he looked down at her and finished pulling off the rest of his clothes, but not before removing a condom from his wallet.
He looked dark and dangerous, like he’d left the nice guy at the door. He was a man, she was a woman, he wanted her and he was taking her. Lucy fucking loved it.
He pulled off his boxers and his rock hard cock stood straight up, straining and throbbing. With a hand to her chest, he lightly pushed her until she lay sprawled out on the bed. Then he was on her, his hips cradled between her thighs. He never broke eye contact with her as he rolled the condom on. Then, without further delay, he grabbed her hips, positioned her, and slowly thrust inside.
Lucy felt her eyes roll back. She had been with a lot of men, but nothing had prepared her for this.
He pulled back until he was nearly all the way out and then buried himself inside her again. He did this over and over and over, never once taking his eyes off of hers. As he fucked her—roughly, fully, and deeply—she felt him getting harder and bigger inside her.
He was already on the edge of orgasm.
She wasn’t disappointed that their first time was going to be so quick. She knew they weren’t finished. Jamie would make it up to her, and she was already looking forward to it.
“Do it,” she urged. “Come for me, baby.”
“No,” he said hoarsely. “Not without you.”
“I don’t want you to wait,” she cried. “I want you to lose control. Please!”
“Not. Without. You.”
Roughly, he pushed her legs back and out. “Hold them there,” he ordered. She grabbed her knees, holding her legs wide, whimpering at the determined glint in his eyes. Reaching between them, he rubbed her clit. She moaned as she felt him thrust even harder and faster, hammering in and out of her.
In about ten seconds flat, he got her there, to that place where her body was convulsing and she had to let go of her legs so she could rake her nails down his back. “So good,” she moaned. “So good.”
He growled deep in his throat, grabbed her hips and shoved himself as deep as he could even as he buried his face in her neck and groaned. With each spurt of his orgasm he withdrew just a little before penetrating her once again, riding the next pulse, the next wave, as if he never wanted to let her go.
* * *
“Jesus,” Jamie gasped out as he collapsed next to her on the bed. “I can’t believe we waited so long to do that.”
Even as she struggled with her own orgasm-induced daze, Lucy managed to giggle and said, “You were the one who wanted to wait, remember?”
“I must have been out of my mind. Thank God the waiting is over and we can just fuck each other’s brains out all night long.” He gave her a light kiss. “Be right back.”
After rolling off the bed, he sauntered to the bathroom, presumably to take care of the used condom.
Staring at his gorgeous backside, Lucy pondered his words. He’d said they would only have one night together. That was for the best. It was why she’d allowed herself to have this.
So why was her stomach suddenly aching at the thought of leaving Vegas, and him, behind?
Didn’t matter. She didn’t want to talk about it. She didn’t even want to think about it. She just wanted to enjoy being with him while she could.
When he was back in bed beside her, she said, “The night’s not over and I still have plenty of brains left. You going to do something about that?” She rolled slightly to one side and kissed him. He kissed her back softly and brushed a piece of hair behind her ear.
“You’re so beautiful, Lucy. I can’t stop thinking about you. I can’t think about anyone else. Nothing feels better than you in my arms—”
She cut him off with another kiss. She loved what he was saying. His words caused waves of desire to ripple through her. But what she wanted right now was more action, not words.
“Show me,” she told him in a husky voice.
Jamie grinned and shifted position so he was back between her legs. Curling his strong arms underneath her thighs, he pulled her to the edge of the bed. Her clit was still swollen, aching, waiting for more; it throbbed painfully as he licked her calves and then the inner curve of her thighs. She writhed with pleasure and frustration, savoring the anticipation and silently begging for him to give her what she most wanted. Where she most wanted it. He lifted his head slightly so he could see her face, then trailed his fingers up her thighs, over her stomach, and between breasts until his fingers, which carried her musky scent, brushed against her mouth. His sensual touch and the taste of her on his fingers caused her entire body to convulse violently.
She arched her hips in another silent demand, but his hand lingered, outlining her lips with his fingertips before brushing them firmly with the pad of his thumb. When her lips parted on a gasp, he gently thrust his thumb inside her mouth. Lucy closed her eyes and began to suck.
His face flushed with building arousal. He watched her suck him before gently withdrawing his thumb. Then he glided his hand to her breasts and lightly brushed across her hard nipples, teasing her again and causing tiny jolts of electricity to surge through her before his hand was once more between her legs.
As if he couldn’t control himself any longer, as if he couldn’t stand not having some part of him enveloped by her clinging heat, he pushed a finger inside of her, and then two. However, once he penetrated her, he didn’t move his fingers at all. She rocked her hips, rode his fingers herself, hoped to entice him into deep, thrusting action. She swiveled and undulated until she was panting in desperation. It was only when she paused, exhausted by her efforts, that he gave her more of what she really wanted. Slowly, he withdrew his fingers. He rubbed her clit with the pad of his thumb. Then he plunged his fingers back inside her. He repeated that pattern over and over.
“God, yes, Jamie. That feels so good,” she whimpered.
“Let’s see if we can make you feel even better,” he said.
Keeping his fingers inside her, he lowered his head until she felt the thrilling sensation of his warm breath against her. When he flicked his tongue lightly against her clit, her body jerked in response.
“Is that what you want, Lucy? Is my tongue what you need?”
“Yes….” she said breathlessly.
“Tell me, sweetheart,” he said as he thrust his fingers in and out of her, pausing on each upstroke to gather her juices and rub them against her pouty pussy lips. She looked down at him, at his incredibly handsome face and begged, “I need your tongue, Jamie. Please, put your tongue inside me. Deep inside me.”
He smiled as he placed a hand flat on her belly to hold her in place, and then he bent and thrust out his tongue, moving it in erratic circles round and round. He was delving in, but still not hitting the key spot. Lucy twisted and thrust and moaned and begged, enjoying the sensations but dying for more.
He reached up with his other hand, found her nipples, and roughly massaged them. That additional stimulation was like being hit by a bolt of lightning, and when he finally ran his tongue quickly across her hardened clit, she moaned from relief as much as pleasure.
Flattening his tongue, he licked her slowly and thoroughly. He did this several times, pulling stuttering moans out of her, before he picked up speed. She heard how drenched she was as he plunged his fingers in and out of her. God, it turned her on. Made her crazy. Made her desperate to reach that lovely peak he’d pushed her over not even an hour before.
He took her clit completely into his mouth and sucked and licked her as she bucked her hips, crying out loudly. She didn’t care if the people in the next room could hear her. She didn’t care if the people down the street could hear her. It was too much, too good for her to keep quiet.
When she finally came it was like an explosion. Her body arched into the air and he held onto her until she collapsed back down on the mattress with a spray of fluid erupting across the palm of his hand. The pressure that he’d built up in her had released at last, pushing the tension out in a gush that he rubbed against his lips and then her own.
God, he was an amazing lover. No inhibitions. He pushed her in ways she didn’t even know she could be pushed.
She lay there with her eyes half closed and a satiated smile playing across her lips. She loved being in this place where she felt everything and nothing all at the same time. Even the colors on the ceiling looked brighter, and it was like she could taste the air. She rolled his name across her tongue.
“Jamie,” she said, pushing his name out on the wings of a soft, heady sigh. He moved up her body until he was crouched above her. “Thank you,” she told him, finally looking up into his deep brown eyes. She lightly stroked his soft hair, and then grinned mischievously. “Now it’s my turn. Lie down.”
“You sure? You don’t have to…”
She shot him an “Are you kidding me?” look.
He laughed, but there was a decided hint of desperation in the sound.
“Okay, forget I said that. You really, really have to or I think I might just die.”
“How about I do my best to kill you with pleasure, instead?”
He lay down beside her and she took the time to relish the sight of his smooth muscular form. She could feel the crackle of energy between them as she scooted herself down on the bed, dragging her hard nipples across his body until her mouth was level with his rock hard shaft. She flattened her tongue and ran it from the bottom of the shaft all the way to the head.
When he groaned, reaching down and tunneling his hands through her hair, she smiled up at him. She loved the look of entranced pleasure on his face. Loved the fact that she was the one who’d put it there. Lowering her face again, she ran her tongue around the head of his cock and then, taking only the tip between her lips, she started sucking on it, hard.
Now it was Jamie’s turn to moan and writhe in desperate desire. His grip on her hair tightened as he guided her head, pushing her to take more of him, a little at time, deeper and deeper, until his massive length disappeared inside her moist warm mouth. She began sucking harder and faster, licking the underside with her tongue. Jamie was saying her name now, over and over, even as he bucked his hips, fucking her mouth with a driving, urgent need.
When he was close to the edge, she stopped suddenly and moved her attention to his balls, kissing and licking across them softly and then gently sucking them one at a time into her mouth.
“Fuck, you really are killing me,” he said. “Shift to the side so I can play with your breasts.”
She ignored him, then gasped when he roughly tugged on her hair. “Do it, Lucy. Now.”
She did, changing her position until she was kneeling next to him, her breasts dangling within his reach. With one hand, he played with her nipples, pinching and tugging in time to her sucks.
“Your mouth feels so good, but I want back inside you, baby. I need to fuck you again. Get a condom from my pants. Put it on me.”
Lucy didn’t argue. She scrambled to his clothes, found the condom, ripped the package open with her teeth and then, with shaking hands, swiftly suited him up. As soon as she touched him, he gritted his teeth and arched his hips. “Hurry, Luce. I need you to fuck me.”
She scrambled astride him until she was leaning back on her haunches, the tip of his cock brushing against her core. She was so wet that when she slid herself along his shaft, aligning him with her opening, he immediately slipped inside her with ease.
They both groaned as he took her nipples between his fingers and she began rocking back and forth, letting him glide in and out of her. He hammered his hips up and together they found a sweet, sexy, erotic rhythm. Lucy arched her back and closed her eyes, swept her own hands over her breasts, loving the fact that they brushed against his, then moved lower until she was plucking at her clit. As she continued to fuck him and finger herself at the same time, the sounds of her massaging the small turgid piece of flesh and the hard slap of his cock as he repeatedly buried it inside her only added to the pressure building inside them both.
“Jamie,” she whimpered. “This feels so good. So, so good. God, I’ve missed your touch.”
* * *
At Lucy’s words, Jamie opened his eyes and took her in. She had her head thrown back, and her hair lay in wet tendrils across her cheeks and forehead. Her beautiful breasts bounced with the motion of their fucking and Jamie thought that at that moment he had to be luckiest man alive. No, this wasn’t something that was going to lead to an emotional commitment or a long-term relationship, but it was still damn awesome. He loved the fact she’d opened herself up enough to tell him she’d missed him. He was going to enjoy every second with her while he had the chance.
Reaching up, he curled his hand around the back of Lucy’s neck and pulled her down for a kiss. He was ready to come and he knew she was getting close. He could taste her and himself on her lips. She pushed her tongue into his mouth. Their tongues rubbed and sparred until she’d had enough. She nipped at his tongue lightly, then sucked his bottom lip hard. She shifted, her movements on his dick becoming less controlled. Harder. More demanding.
She was reaching for it.
And he was going to give it to her.
Jamie put his hands on her slim hips and began moving her, pulling her up then pounding her back down on his cock, burying himself to the hilt, not giving her any choice but to take all of him, and take him hard. Her eyes widened, and her body began to spasm and shake.
Her shout combined with his as they simultaneously found their release. He shot his load into the condom even as he felt the moisture of her own release soaking both their thighs. Breathing harshly, Lucy dropped her spent body down on top of him and he held her like that, loving the feel of her heart as it hammered against both of their chests.
After several minutes she shifted. Her eyes remained closed when she said, “I—I can go back to my hotel—”
“Shut up, Luce,” he said. “Just let me hold you and go to sleep.”
To his surprise, she said nothing more.
Just melted into him.
As he heard her breathing regulate, he drifted to sleep himself.
As he did, he reminded himself not to enjoy the feel in her arms too much—because as good as it felt, it wasn’t going to last.