CHAPTER 50
Lex
Alison slipped through the crowd and approached Reggie. She gestured for him to lean down and spoke something in his ear. Whatever it was caused amusement to spread over his face, then he shook his head and followed her away through the partygoers.
My entire body relaxed the moment he vanished. Reggie was a flirt, and perhaps he tried a little too hard in social situations, but he was harmless. I knew that. Still, every time he became aggressive with me—while we danced and when we talked—I couldn’t help shifting a little in my skin.
Amie took my elbow and pulled me through the crowd toward the bar, and the discomfort I’d felt only moments before disappeared. She ordered us appletinis, which we’d been casually drinking all night, effectively numbing me to the man whose eyes I could feel following me around the room. I couldn’t understand why his gaze never seemed to leave. After what happened this morning, I expected to see him with Winter, playing his part in whatever game he thought he had to play.
“I’m totally borrowing that outfit,” Amie said, her gaze sweeping over me. “You look hot, girl.” Her eyes caught on something behind me and squinted a little. “Wow, Lex. I’m starting to think you have more secret admirers than Reggie.”
I set down my drink and tilted my head. “Huh?”
She laughed, her gaze still trapped on something else. “I thought I was imagining it, but Theo has been staring at you since he walked in.”
How did Amie notice these things? First Reggie, now Theo.
My cheeks flamed, and I blew her comment off with a laugh before taking a swig of my drink. “Trust me, Theo isn’t interested in me.”
She didn’t look convinced. “I don’t know. Now that I think about it, the rumors of him and Winter have died down. And you two have been dancing together a lot.” She shrugged then flashed me a grin. “Maybe Theo is totally into you.”
“Theo doesn’t date, remember? He definitely doesn’t date backup dancers. Besides, it’s against the rules.”
Amie’s eyes shone with laughter. “Sounds like you’ve thought about this.”
I gave her a warning glance and handed her my drink. “Find us a seat near the food. I’m starving, and I need to go to the bathroom.”
She saluted me, drink in hand, and I walked off with a roll of my eyes.
The bathroom was situated behind the bar. It was almost as crowded as the restaurant. I waited my turn, my eyes falling on Winter, who drifted into the bathroom past me and slipped into the next available stall. She didn’t even bat an eye at the rest of us waiting. Alison had followed her but stopped at the closed door to wait. She shot an apologetic smile to those of us in line. When her eyes locked on mine, her expression softened. “Hey, Lex.”
I mustered up a smile. “Hey.”
I wondered if she knew more about Winter and Theo and the extent of their relationship. The complexities of it, business and personal. She didn’t say anything more to me. Instead, she continued to stand by the bathroom stall Winter had disappeared behind.
“Gorgeous dress,” a woman behind me muttered, and I turned to find Desire McQueen, the show’s head costume designer.
“Thanks, Des.” Coming from her, I took that as quite the compliment.
Amie had insisted I splurge a little with my winnings, so I entertained the impromptu shopping trip at the Wynn. But other than a few new outfits, shoes to match, and manicures for both of us, the money was securely stored in the safety deposit box in the room.
When I left the bathroom a short while later, I was grateful to have missed an uncomfortable run-in with Winter. She must have slipped out when I finally got into a stall. I was walking down the dimly lit hallway when I heard my name being called.
“Lex.”
I swiveled to find Alison near a glass elevator, and I approached her timidly. “Were you calling me?”
She shifted her body and glanced nervously around us, as though she was about to get caught.
Why?
Her eyes settled back on me. “Do you trust me?”
How could I answer that? I didn’t know Alison well enough to trust her, but something in my gut told me to say yes. I nodded, and she pressed a button on the elevator.
“Go up to the fifty-first floor then take the staircase to the top.”
“Why?”
“I’m asking you to trust me, not ask questions.”
My heart fluttered, and I tried not to think about why she was being so secretive. Deep down, I already knew, but I wasn’t sure what it meant.
I entered the roof, the glow of the violet neon lights flooding the floor and walls. There was another bar outside, a large dance area, and seating by the edge that looked out over all of Vegas. Not a soul was outside, but I didn’t think the club opened until eight o’clock. The staircase she mentioned was a semispiral, and I took it up to find that floor empty too. I shook, waiting there with my hands gripping the rails as I gazed around me in awe.
In a place as loud and bright as Vegas, I’d never felt more at peace.
I heard the footsteps approaching and tensed, refusing to turn around. I knew it was Theo, and I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing my face crumble when he stared back at me. I’d come, and that was enough.
He stood behind me, leaving a few inches of distance, but I could feel him in the air around me, vaguely catching the scent of apple cinnamon and leather that I now knew was a mix of his body wash, his jacket, and his shampoo.
I knew the scent well since he loved to take me in the shower, with my breasts smashed against the glass as he pumped into me, slick and determined. He loved to hear my scream reverberate off the glass walls at the intensity of each thrust. And when I came, his mouth always found its way to mine to swallow my sounds. And I missed it. I missed all of it.
I crossed my arms, begging myself to forget how he made me feel last week and remembering how he made me feel this morning. Alone. Afraid. Heartbroken. Why had he arranged for me to come here? Hadn’t he done enough damage?
“I’m so sorry.”
I swallowed and slammed my lids shut, trying to tune out the shake in his voice. He stepped closer. I could feel his warmth, his breath, but he still wasn’t touching me.
“Last night, this morning. I was shitty to you, but I didn’t think there was another way. Lex, I’ve never regretted anything so much in my life.”
The air was cool, but that wasn’t why my entire body shivered. “So, Alison knows about us.”
He stepped forward again. This time his front pressed against my back, and his hands gripped the rails on either side of my hands. “She does.”
I felt the lump in my throat grow. “So, I’m screwed, then. She’s going to tell Winter.”
Theo’s hand moved to my cheek, brushing the hair away from my neck before he leaned down to press his lips to my skin. My entire body came alive with his touch, and as much as I loved it, I hated it too. Why was he doing this?
“It’s not an issue.”
I let out a laugh, my mind foggy with confusion and need. “Of course it’s an issue. Nothing has changed.”
He pressed another kiss to my neck, his fingers sliding up my arm to the strap over my shoulder. He slid it to the side and pressed a kiss there too. “She wants me to be happy. She knows Winter is trying to keep us apart, and she thinks it’s wrong.”
I froze, and he seemed to realize why immediately.
“Winter knows? How?”
He bit into my skin as if my life was not about to get fucked over by our actions. As if we had nothing to lose. And I wished we didn’t. I wished he could push into me against this rail right now. I wanted his scent all over me, inside me. I wanted to scream his name into the Vegas wind as I came.
“You took a selfie at my pool. Winter recognized it.”
Horror cascaded over me like lava. “Fuck.”
He bit my skin again, this time harder, and my eyes rolled back into my head. I knew he was punishing me because I cussed. “I’m crazy about you. As in, being away from you—being near you—drives me fucking insane, and all I can think about is being inside you.”
His hand slipped down my arm. His fingers threaded through mine, and he squeezed.
I turned my neck slightly to catch his eyes, a brilliant mixture of deep blue sea and mossy green, for the first time since we’d been up here. “If everyone knows, what am I still doing here?”
“Winter didn’t want to fire you. She also doesn’t want any of the dancers to find out about any of this. So she told me to stay away from you.”
“But you’re here.” I bit down on my bottom lip and chewed nervously.
“I told her what happened between us was none of her business, and she agreed to stay out of it. I was just trying to protect you, but I can’t stay away from you. Not even for an entire goddamn day. Not even going into the biggest job of my career and knowing being together could be one giant disaster. It’s selfish, and wrong, but you’re all I can think about. Touching your skin. Inhaling your scent. Kissing your mouth.” He pressed my body into the rail, letting me feel him. “There’s no one else. There never could be. Not after you.”
I swiveled to face him and kissed him so damn hard I could practically smell the flames of the inferno we’d created together. He engulfed me in his arms, and I wrapped mine around his neck then slid my fingers through his hair.
“Stay with me tonight,” he pleaded against my lips. “Be with me. Forgive me.” He peppered kisses against my mouth, fogging my mind even further.
“Are you telling me Winter is okay with this?”
He let out a sarcastic laugh. “No. But do you really want to spend the next six and a half months apart?”
“No, of course not. But what do you suggest? More secrets?” My hand gestured around the skyline. “In Vegas? Someone is bound to see us. Then what?”
“Then we deal with it. Until then, we keep it a secret. I’ll get us a room no one else needs to know about. It’ll be just how it was back in LA, then at the end of the show, we stop hiding.”
It all sounded so easy. Except, I knew there was more we weren’t thinking about. “What about Amie?” She was the first person who popped into my mind. “I’ve already been keeping secrets from Shane. You can’t keep expecting me to lie to the people closest to me.”
He searched my eyes. “Then tell her. Tell Shane. I don’t care. Just make sure it doesn’t get back to Winter. The deal was, we mind our business and she’ll mind hers. If we flaunt this, it ends.”
“How can you be so casual, knowing what could happen if any of this comes out?”
He leaned in, his eyes closing and opening again as he took a breath and let it out. “Because. I know what it’s like to feel that I’ve lost you, and I’d take any risk to prevent that from happening again.”
He released me and stepped back. “I know this is your career. I’m not trying to mess with that, but you know where I stand. Now I’m leaving this decision completely up to you.” He took another step away. “I’ll text you when I secure a room. If you show up, then I guess that’s my answer.”
And then he left, leaving me once again to find my center of gravity. On my own.