Chapter Five
The Castillo resort chain used the Las Vegas location as a flagship. All their party spots and restaurants around the world were based on the successes they managed in Sin City. The penthouse nightclub, Taboo, was no exception. By the time Gillian and Ramon entered, escorted past the very long line straight to their private booth, it teemed with well-dressed people.
The combination of desire, a deep rumbling of emotion, and the heat of all the bodies made her woozy. She let him lead her to the table. The bass from the latest house mix hip-hop settled deep in her chest.
They drank, kissed, and showed off for the crowd on the dance floor for a while as she worked herself into a horny state worthy of the best bodice ripper. The noise precluded that. And after about an hour, the sight of all the sweet young things angling for her date’s attention had pissed her off one time too many.
Granted, the man had no right to look so good. Dark trousers and a stark white, slightly textured shirt that had started out topped with a blue tie at dinner, caressed his amazing body like a glove. His glossy black hair had grown since the last time she’d seen him—on television—being carried off the field on a stretcher. It touched his collar, inviting her fingers. She used the dance floor as an excuse to grind against him, to thread her hands into the silky strands, teasing him, using her body and lips to entice.
They collapsed into their booth, sweaty from three songs worth of bump and grind.
“Ramon.” She had to shout over the din.
He leaned in, seeking her lips, but she pulled away.
“Can we go?”
He nodded so eagerly she wished she’d suggested it earlier. She followed him from the nightclub, into the crowded elevator, through the loud casino, and onto the sidewalk. Once out in the steamy summer night, surrounded by tourists, he crushed her to him. She let herself relax in his arms. There, outside the usual crush of Vegas bullshit, on the sidewalk, they connected.
She parted her lips, let his tongue invade, and relished the feel of his strong body. It had been so long since she’d shared anything of herself with a man. And something about this particular man seemed right, but terrifying to her wounded heart.
She stepped out of his strong embrace, needing some air, and starting to panic. It had gone too far. The whole thing felt like too much about pure physical satisfaction, in a town where that was easy to accomplish. She wanted more.
But this guy? He had one foot out the door already.
Ramon’s body was zinging, light as air. He’d never dreamed Gillian would instigate that bathroom scene. And their dance floor moments had been so hot. He’d stuffed the tie in his pocket, danced his ass off with her to the point his bad knee had started a low grade hum of dissatisfaction. And his cock still throbbed with unconsummated lust. But worse than that, he could picture himself with her, with her kid, staying for the duration. That nearly blinded him with terror.
Once they’d escaped the nightclub madhouse, his need to really kiss her, somehow prove his intentions, overcame his promise to Jackson. The evening had stopped being about a one-night-stand hours ago for him. As he held her in his arms, tasted her lips, his decision solidified in his head, his earlier panic subsiding. But he had no idea how to tell her. She’d think him weak, unwilling to even try to regain his former glory.
They strolled along the Strip, hand-in-hand, cooling off from the overheated atmosphere of the dance floor. He steeled his resolve. Stopping on the busy sidewalk, making the tourists and drunken assholes move around them, he cradled her face in his hands.
“Can I buy you a nightcap?”
She threw her head back with full-throated laughter and linked her hands in the small of his back, holding him close, making him even harder, were that possible. Her full lips touched his. “I think we’re a little beyond that, don’t you?”
He nodded, took her hand and led her through the throng, his entire soul suffused with happiness. He knew this had to be the right thing, for the very first time in his entire life.
***
People watched them as Ramon lead her through the large, tastefully decorated Castillo lobby. Her head buzzed, but she’d been drinking water for the last two hours. Where she was headed with this man, his body, his lips—that made her drunk with anticipation.
The mirrored elevator trebled her image from many angles as she wrapped around the amazing dark-skinned young man. His arms, chest, face, tongue, all combined to invade her senses. Her natural reserve drifted away. He hit the stop button on the panel while he kissed her, possessed her. His entire being intoxicated her. She tried not to moan too loudly.
“Oh, dear God, Gillian,” he murmured, his lips against her neck. They’d backed into the corner of the stalled elevator. He lifted her short skirt and shoved aside her thong. His finger touched the hard nub of her engorged clit. She shuddered as he finally found his target. Keeping his thumb against the button of flesh, he thrust two fingers inside her moist pussy.
Their lips teased, nipping at each other. She lifted one knee, wrapped it around his waist, giving him more access, needing him deeper. Her body, so long neglected, reacted quickly. Long-buried desire raged through her brain.
The orgasm ripped through her with a fierce energy. She clutched his shoulders and cried out, her voice hoarse with passion. He kept his fingers inside her as her body calmed. His lips never left her skin. She gasped at the sensation of his teeth against her neck.
“God, that was beautiful.” He sighed and eased his fingers out. She watched as he put them into his mouth one by one, sucking her essence from his flesh. She struggled away from the wall, a little embarrassed by her knee-jerk reaction. Before she could say a word, he had both hands propped on either side of her head, pinning her back against the cool glass.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, before giving her a tender kiss. She tasted herself on his lips, but drew back in surprise.
“Sorry for what? Was it not clear how good that felt?” She adjusted her dress and tried to rearrange her hair, cursing her fair skin for giving away her emotions. He’s leaving Gillian. This is all you get, so enjoy it.
His lovely, gentle smile reflected such honest happiness she couldn’t help but grin back. “It’s Jackson. He told me I should, you know, go slow with you. Not to rush.”
She put her arms around the man’s neck and held him close. “Jackson Castillo is full of shit,” she whispered in his ear. “Now, take me to your room. I want more.”
Without taking his eyes from hers, he hit the start button and the number twenty-seven, then leaned in and owned her mouth once more with a sweep of his tongue.